Ad-hoc | 6 August 2002 08:00

Pfeiffer Vacuum english

Pfeiffer Vacuum announces 1st HY 2002 earnings Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Pfeiffer Vacuum, leading manufacturer of high-quality vacuum products, announces its results for the 1st half of 2002. Weak 1st half of 2002. New orders outpace sales. Changes HY 1/01 vs. HY 1/02: Sales – 18.2 % from 89.9 to 73.5 million Euro; Operating profit (EBIT) – 47.1 % from 16.4 to 8.7 million Euro; After-tax income – 46.8 % from 10.5 to 5.6 million Euro; Earnings per share 0.64 Euro (1.22 Euro) ; New orders – 13.4 % from 86.4 to 74.8 million Euro. Sharpest decline in sales in the USA, falling by 28 % from 25.8 million in HY 1/01 to 18.5 million in HY 1/02. The continuing crisis in the semiconductor industry is playing a key role in this region. Decline in sales in the other key markets: Germany from 24.3 to 19.7 million Euro = – 18.9 %, the rest of Europe from 29.4 to 24.5 million Euro = – 16.5 %. Sales in Asia and ROW rose by 2.7 % from 10.5 to 10.7 million Euro. Lower sales, which were reflected in a relatively higher ratio of SG&A expenses, as well as increased development activities, resulted in an operating profit of 8.7 million, as opposed to 16.4 million Euro in HY 1/01. In particular, the expenses involved in establishing the sales and marketing organization as well as the development costs for the new DVD Division impacted operating profit, as this division – as planned – is not yet generating any significant sales. The level of new orders suggests a positive change in the trend: For the first time since Q 1 / 2001, new orders rose year-on-year. While new orders had reached a low of 35.4 million Euro in Q1/02, they went on to rise by 11.3 % to 39.4 million Euro in Q2/02. For the first time, new orders in Q2/02, totaling 39.4 million Euro, were higher than sales (36.5 million Euro). Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Dondorf had this to say about the economic outlook: “We can’t be satisfied with the fiscal year thus far. … In spite of new products and heightened selling activities, we are still caught up in the difficult economic situation. Consequently, it is not likely that we will be able to achieve our goal of around 12 % growth this year. Sales are expected to fluctuate ± 5 % around the previous year’s level (170 million Euro). The return on sales for the entire fiscal year will be higher than the semiannual figure…” For detailed press release incl. financial tables see http://www.pfeiffer-vacuum.de. end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 06.08.2002 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 691660; ISIN: DE0006916604; Index: NEMAX 50 Listed: Neuer Markt Frankfurt; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Bremen, Düsseldorf, München, Hamburg, Hannover und Stuttgart 060800 Aug 02