Ad-hoc | 2 May 2002 08:02

technotrans AG english

Interim Report Q1 2002 and Change in Board of Management Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– The expected downturn in demand from printing press manufacturers has had a marked impact on the figures for the first quarter of technotrans, leading systems supplier of equipment for the manufacture of print and optical storage media. Compared with the corresponding prior-year quarter, the group’s revenue showed a fall of 12.4 % to EUR 28.6 mill. As expected, the other areas of business were unable to compensate for the drop in revenue for the Print segment of 4.3 mill EUR. A whole raft of measures was introduced early on in an effort to safeguard profitability even in these difficult circumstances. The net profit for the period of EUR 587 thousand (previous year: EUR 1.67 mill) represents earnings per share of EUR 0.27 (compared with EUR 0.79 in Q1 2001). As part of the Value+ scheme, the workforce has been trimmed in order to bring personnel capacity in line with the lower volume of business. At the reporting date (31.03.2002), the group had 657 employees worldwide; the total has fallen by 68 since the end of September 2001. Outlook: The first quarter progressed as expected, and nothing has happened since to alter the boundary conditions on which the original plans were based. At present the Board of Management is thus able to reconfirm the plans for the year as a whole (revenue of EUR 128 mill remaining approximately on a par with the previous year’s level, earnings are to improve by around 50 % to between EUR 5 and 5.5 mill). To promote the dynamic international growth of the technotrans Group, the Supervisory Board of technotrans AG intends to appoint Wolfgang Breme as an additional member of the Board of Management at its next meeting. Over the past eleven years, the 41-year-old manager has been instrumental in developing international controllership structures, for instance at the mechanical engineering group GEA, and from 1996 on as Finance Director and latterly CEO of Sempell AG, a company that is part of the Tyco Group. At his own request, and with the agreement of the Board of Management and Supervisory Board, CFO Hilmar Welpelo will be leaving the company later on in the year. The full Interim Report is available for download from www.technotrans.de, >Investor Relations +45,6% Eigenkapitalquote 55.3% 39,8% 54,7% Mitarbeiter Mitarbeiter (Durchschn.) 687 588 668 +13,6% Personalaufwand 33.634 7.804 8.268 +5,9% in % des Umsatzes 25,7 23,9 28,9 Umsatz pro Mitarbeiter 191 55 43 -22,9% end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 02.05.2002 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad-hoc-announcement: The segments in the first quarter 2002: Due to slack demand from printing press manufacturers, revenue for the Print segment totalled only EUR 20.9 mill (-17 %). Although the positive effects of the cost-cutting measures drastically lowered the break-even point, they were not sufficient to compensate for the shortfall in revenue. The operating result (result for the segment following regular goodwill amortisation) totalled EUR 567 thousand (previous year EUR 2.1 mill). Revenue of the CD/DVD segment was sharply down on the previous year’s level, at EUR 1.1 mill (EUR 2.6 mill). However, this situation reflects expectations, as does the current satisfactory level of orders. The operating result was EUR -577 thousand (previous year EUR 159 thousand); in addition to lower revenue, it was temporarily diminished by the new microform.100 product line for the microstructure technology market. The Services segment enjoyed an excellent start to the new financial year, with revenue of EUR 6.6 mill (+ 36.1 %). Earnings rose by 31 % to EUR 1.4 mill (previous year EUR 1.1 mill), equivalent to a rate of return for the segment of over 21 %. Services thus made a significant contribution towards profitability in this difficult quarter. Key data acc. to IAS in TEUR 2001 Q1 2001 Q1 2002 Revenue 130,990 32,601 28,563 -12.4% Gross profit 41,623 11,064 9,005 -18.6% Operating result 9,130 3,369 1,350 -59.9% Net profit for the period 3,421 1,665 587 -64.7% EBIT 7,525 3,110 1,367 -56.0% EBITDA 14,150 4,217 2,743 -35.0% Earnings per share (IAS) 1.58 0.79 0.27 -64.7% Balance sheet Issued capital 6,600 6,180 6,600 +6.8% Equity 54,756 38,476 56,028 +45.6% Equity ratio 55.3% 39.8% 54.7% Employees Employees (average) 687 588 668 +13.6% Personnel expenses 33,634 7,804 8,268 +5.9% as % of revenue 25.7 23.9 28.9 Revenue per employee 191 55 43 -22.9% ——————————————————————————– WKN: 744900; ISIN: DE0007449001; Index: Listed: Neuer Markt in Frankfurt; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 020802 Mai 02