Ad-hoc | 29 August 2002 14:44

Sartorius AG part 1

Sartorius AG (Part 1 of 2) Ad-hoc-announcement processed and transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Part 1 of 2 The Sartorius Group Continues to Grow in the First Half against the Cyclical Trend – The Biotechnology Division grows by 19% – The Mechatronics Division is down 5% – Nonrecurring expenses for adapting capacity levels in the Mechatronics Division have a negative impact on earnings – Positive full-year earnings expectations remain unchanged – Restructuring of GWT successfully completed In the first half of 2002, Sartorius Group sales revenue under the IAS rose 6.3% to EUR 232.6 million compared with EUR 218.9 million posted for the year- earlier period. Decisively propelling this growth again was the exceptionally positive development of business in the Biotechnology Division. In this Division, the available capacity at the new “Plant 2001” could continue to be increasingly used as scheduled due to the growing demand in the Bioprocess and Food & Beverage business areas. In addition, the fermenter business of our subsidiary BBI showed a highly positive development again as in the previous quarters. In this way, the Biotechnology Division’s sales revenues in total could be increased by 19.0% compared to the figure posted for the previous year’s quarter, whereas the Mechatronics Division had to accept a decline in sales of 5.2% because of the weak market cycle. On account of the persistent global recession in the markets of our Mechatronics Division, we responded by taking comprehensive measures to adapt our production capacity and make it even more flexible and by considerably restructuring our Industrial Mechatronics area. As a result of these measures, significant cost reductions can be expected as of the 3rd quarter. The corresponding costs for this package of measures have already been completely included in our first-half financial statements. In addition, the following had a negative impact on earnings as also during the first quarter: the setup of the international sales organization at our subsidiary Vivascience, which was proceeded independently from the postponement of its IPO, and the effects of the weak economic situation on our Mechatronics Division. First-half earnings before interest and taxes, EBIT, which were adjusted for the expenses of the organizational buildup at Vivascience and for the adaptive and restructuring measures taken in the Mechatronics Division, were EUR 3.7 million. Therefore, the first-half level of the previous year of EUR 8.6 million could not be attained due to the economic effects and to the increased depreciation in connection with investments in our “Plant 2001”. Adjusted accordingly, first-half earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, EBITDA, which we consider as the key figure for operating profitability under growth and liquidity aspects, were EUR 16.3 million, just under EUR 18.8 million reported for the year-earlier period. Because of the nonrecurring expenses mentioned, the non-adjusted EBIT was at EUR -3.5 million (EUR 7.3 million). Cash flows from operating activities rose substantially to EUR 17.4 million (EUR 4.4 million). End of Part 1 end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 29.08.2002 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 716560; ISIN: DE0007165607; Index: SDax Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (SMAX), Hannover; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Hamburg 291444 Aug 02