Ad-hoc | 18 August 1999 07:18

Ad hoc-Service: SW Umwelttechnik Interim repo

Ad-hoc Mitteilung übermittelt durch die DGAP. Für den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist allein der Emittent verantwortlich. —————————————————————————— Press release, 18 August 1999 SW Umwelttechnik 1999 interim report Turnover up by 63% – Hungarian acquisition SW Umwelttechnik Stoiser & Wolschner AG succeeded in significantly strengthening the market position of its core environmental technology and building products business sectors in the first half of 1999. Turnover rose by 63%, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) more than trebled as compared to the first half of 1998. Increased turnover and earnings in first half of 1999 The SW Umwelttechnik Group posted turnover of ATS 218 million (EUR 15.8 mn) in the first half of 1999. This 63% increase largely reflected acquisitions made in 1998. Hungary accounted for 49% of revenues, Austria for 43%, other EU countries 3%, and other Central European transitional countries 5%. The environmental products sector generated 38% of total turnover, environmental engineering 39% and building products 23%. Due to the rationalization measures undertaken by the Company EBIT more than trebled to ATS 3.0 mn (EUR 0.2 mn) despite unusually heavy investment during the period. In 1998 the profit on ordinary activities (POA) was influenced by the sale of a non-core Group operation. This accounts for the year-on-year decline in POA in the first half of 1999, which was expected. ATS mn EUR mn H1 1998* H1 1999* H1 1998* H1 1999* Change 1998/1999 Turnover 133.6 217.7 9.7 15.8 +63% Total output 149.3 227.3 10.9 16.5 +52% EBIT 0.9 3.0 0.1 0.2 +233% POA 17.4 4.3 1.3 0.3 -75% Payroll 572 600 +5% (Ave.for halfyear) * Consolidated Group as of the quarterly balance sheet date in question The Company tends to break even in the first half of the year due to slack activity in the industry in the winter months. Turnover and thus also earnings are higher in the second half. Capital expenditure and acquisitions Increased investment in tangible assets – devoted to plant expansion and modernization in Hungary, and increasing productivity in Austria – is proceeding on schedule. Most of the equipment concerned was commissioned during the second quarter of 1999, and positive impacts are expected to be seen by the second half of this year. In July 1999 SW Umwelttechnik concluded a preliminary contract for the purchase of a 94% interest in Strong Kft – the largest prefabricated concrete section factory in eastern Hungary. This company is very strongly established on the Hungarian market and has an annual turnover of approx. ATS 100 mn (EUR 7.3 mn).The significant overlap between Its product range and sales territories, and those of SW Group company BVM Mibet Kft means that there is room for short-term savings by streamlining production and concentrating product lines at given locations. In future the two companies will be merged into a single, efficient unit. Due diligence audits are being performed, and completion of the acquisition is anticipated by September 1999. Outlook for 1999 The extension by the Austrian Parliament of the deadline for compliance with the EU wastewater treatment directive will lead to the postponement of projects for the construction of decentralized treatment plants which have already been initiated. These will be implemented not, as provided for by the EU, by the year 2000, but over the next five years. In the light of this worsening of the market situation in Austria the competitive advantage enjoyed by SW Umwelttechnik as a result of rationalization measures already in place is of particular importance. In Hungary local authorities’ lack of funds is continuing to hamper the implementation of projects which have already been approved. However, 1999 saw a further improvement in the strong position of SW Group company OMS Hungaria Kft in the environmental engineering market. The firm’s comprehensive services, ranging from turnkey plant construction through to operation, were mainly responsible for this development. The Hungarian market for environmental and building products is currently dominated by industrial projects. SW Umwelttechnik has been particularly successful in attracting substantial orders of this kind from foreign clients. The environmental engineering sector’s order backlog stands at ATS 470 mn (EUR 34.2 mn), meaning that these Group companies can look for to working at full capacity for some time to come. Consolidated turnover is expected to rise to over ATS 600 mn (EUR 44 mn) in 1999 as a whole, while a marked increase in EBIT is also anticipated. Contacts Heinz Wolschner, Member of the Management Board of SW Umwelttechnik Tel: (+43 463) 321 09; fax: (+43 463) 37 6 67 Christian Riel, Investor Relations Tel: (+43 463) 321 09 ext. 23; fax: (+43 463) 37 6 67; e-mail:sw_rch@magnet.at Website: www.sw-umwelttechnik.at Ende der Mitteilung