Ad-hoc | 25 February 2005 07:52

Rational AG:Dividend Proposal FY 2004/Special dividend of 5.00 euros per share

Ad hoc announcement §15 WpHG Dividend Proposal FY 2004 Rational AG:Dividend Proposal FY 2004/Special dividend of 5.00 euros per share Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— * Special dividend of 5.00 euros per share proposed for fiscal 2004 * Profits up 27 per cent * Sales up 19 per cent Landsberg, February 25th, 2005 – After growth of 19 per cent, RATIONAL AG sales stood at a record high of 221.8 million euros at the close of fiscal 2004 (previous year: 186.6 million euros). Net income rose no less than 27 per cent, from 26.8 million euros in 2003 to 34.1 million euros in 2004. Because of its earning power and low level of tied-up working capital, RATIONAL generates a high operational cashflow, in excess of the liquidity needed for the company to grow. So cash funds have risen year on year. Because the business outlook is expected to continue positive in 2005, as regards both sales and income, and because of the company’s very high cash funds, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board are proposing to RATIONAL AG’s General Meeting of Shareholders to distribute a special dividend of 5.00 euros per share for fiscal 2004, equivalent to a total distribution of 56.9 million euros (previous year 21.0 million euros). Subject to approval by the General Meeting of Shareholders this distribution will enable the company’s shareholders to participate in the company’s success in a quite remarkable fashion. Yet at the same time the financial and capital structure of the company will also be fully aligned to the strategic development and growth targets for the next few years. This will bring about a significant improvement in major indicators that reflect the company’s earning power, in particular return on capital employed. RATIONAL expects the global economy to continue to grow well in 2005. Given the superiority over the competition of the world’s first SelfCooking Center(R) launched in 2004 and the large and as yet untapped market potential, the management is confident of increasing sales in 2005 by 10 per cent to 244 million euros and EBIT by 12 per cent to 60 million euros. Rational AG Iglinger Straße 62 86899 Landsberg a. Lech Deutschland ISIN: DE0007010803 (SDAX) WKN: 701080 Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, München und Stuttgart End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 25.02.2005 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad hoc announcement: Contact: RATIONAL Aktiengesellschaft Dr. Günter Blaschke Tel.++49 (08191) 327-364 Fax ++49 (08191) 327-272 E-mail: g.blaschke@rational-online.de http://www.rational-ag.com Information for editors: RATIONAL is the world market and technology leader for the thermal preparation of food in professional kitchens. The company, founded in 1973, employs around 750 people, over 500 of whom are in Germany. RATIONAL was floated on the German stock market in 2000 and is currently represented in the SDAX. Since the IPO in 2000, the price of RATIONAL shares has practically trebled, making them one of the leading German shares and one of the jewels in the SDAX crown. The company’s principal objective is to offer customers maximum benefit at all times. Internally RATIONAL is committed to the principle of sustainability, expressed in its policies on environmental protection, leadership and social responsibility. Numerous international awards bear witness year on year to the high level of RATIONAL’s work. In millions of euros Q4 2004 Q4 2003 2004 2003 Sales 65.2 53.4 221.8 186.6 EBIT 18.2 14.5 53.6 42.3 Profit 12.3 9.5 34.1 26.8 EPS in euros 1.08 0.84 3.00 2.36 End of message (c)DGAP 250752 Feb 05