Corporate | 30 October 2002 09:32

Progress-Werk Oberkirch english

Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG (PWO) Achieves Strong Increase in Sales and Profits Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG (PWO) Achieves Strong Increase in Sales and Profits – Welcome third quarter – Predicted sales and profit growth for 2002 is confirmed in its entirety – Considerable expansion of the quarterly reporting The Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG reports today about its continuing positive business development in the third quarter of 2002. In this usually vacation- oriented, traditionally weaker period, consolidated sales of 46 million EUR were achieved – clearly more than in each of the first quarters of 2002. As compared to the third quarter of the previous year (39 million EUR), this amounts to an increase of 18%. In the first nine months of 2002, company-wide sales increased by about 8% to 131.0 million EUR (previous year: 121.6 million EUR). The development of the subsidiary PWO Canada Inc. was especially positive; thanks to brisk sales to new customers, it achieved an increase in sales of 32%. The executive board regards such clear growth in todays difficult market environment as the result of its successful focus on the development and manufacturing of innovative components and systems in the growth area of automobile safety and comfort. Driving growth are, as expected, the popular new products with increased function and performance, above all for the Mercedes E-class and the Ford Fiesta models. The higher sales volume lead, as announced, to a better utilization of capacities. Thus EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) increased, even when adjusted for the one-time IAS (International Accounting Standards) conversion effects, by over 8% for the first nine months. Including the conversion effects, EBIT improved by 2%, from 10.2 million EUR in the previous year to 10.4 million EUR. The arrears from 2001 in the first months of the year were completely corrected due to a continual increase in profits from quarter to quarter. Growth-oriented investments were continued further in the reporting time span. In the first nine months, including leasing, 13.3 million EUR was invested in fixed assets (previous year: 22.7 million EUR). In the entire year, the investments will, as predicted, amount to a total of 22 million EUR (previous year: 27 million EUR). Approximately 40% of this amount is due to customer- initiated investments, which are linked to fixed customer orders. PWO thus bears no risk. After nine months, PWO is completely within range of sales and profit expectations for the current fiscal year. Sales will, as announced at the beginning of the year, amount to more than 170 million EUR (previous year: 161 million EUR), EBIT will increase to approximately 13 million EUR (previous year: 12.1 million EUR before the one-time IAS conversion effects). The executive board asserts: Thus 2002 will be not just another year in which we fulfill our predictions; instead, it shows above all that we are in a position, even in a difficult environment, to grow and to steer the company quite precisely. The PWO strategy is oriented toward strong earnings growth. Therefore, in the future, new sales potential will be exploited through a focus on products with higher added value. Currently, these products account for more than 53% of sales. At the same time, low-volume and very wage-intensive products are being outsourced. Continual rationalization of production and efficient cost management will, in the future, continue to increase the companys earning power. Oberkirch, October 30, 2002 The Executive Board Progress Werk Oberkirch AG P.O. Box 13 44 77697 Oberkirch Telephone: +49 (0) 78 02/84-347 Fax: +49 (0) 78 02/84-356 rainer.molenaar@progress-werk.de http://www.progress-werk.de end of message, (c)DGAP 30.10.2002 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 696800; ISIN: DE0006968001; Index: SDAX Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (SMAX), Stuttgart; Freiverkehr in Hamburg 300932 Okt 02