Corporate | 12 June 2002 14:31

A.S. Creation Tapeten english

Press release A.S. Creation Tapeten AG, Gummersbach Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Annual General Meeting decides to pay out a dividend of EUR 0.80 per share; targeting European market leadership; share price up by more than 50% At today’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, A.S. Creation Tapeten AG, Germany’s largest wallpaper manufacturer, reported on the most successful fiscal year in the company’s history to date. At EUR 115.1 million, Group sales were up approx. 6% on the previous year (EUR 108.7 million). Results from ordinary activities increased at a disproportionate rate of approx. 24% to EUR 10.4 million (2000: EUR 8.4 million). DVFA/SG earnings per share amounted to EUR 2.24 (2000: EUR 1.70). The Annual General Meeting decided that a dividend of EUR 0.80 be paid out per share, which represents approx. 36% of DVFA/SG earnings per share. Apart from the high dividend, shareholders were also pleased about the extremely positive share price performance. Since early January 2001, the share price increased by more than 50% from EUR 11.71 to approx. EUR 18.00. During this time, the SDAX, in which A.S. Creation is listed, dropped by roughly 20%. A.S. Creation’s projections for FY 2002 include sales of EUR 126 million and results from ordinary activities of EUR 10.8 million. A key task will be the integration of FUGGERHAUS Stoffe GmbH, which was acquired in 2001, into the Group structure as well as the exploitation of the resulting cost savings potential. The company’s long-term plans provide for the positive development of the past 28 years to be continued. A.S. Creation aims to become the most efficient and most profitable wallpaper manufacturer in Europe by the year 2006. Gummersbach, June 13, 2002 Inquiries: Maik Krämer, Director of Finance, phone +49 – (0)2261 – 542 387, fax +49 – (0)2261 – 542 304, e-mail m.kraemer@as-creation.de end of message, (c)DGAP 12.06.2002