Corporate | 11 November 2002 11:53

A.S. Création Tapeten english

A.S.C reation Tapeten AG press release Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Rising sales and earnings in first nine months of 2002; High capital expenditures to expand competitive position On November 11, 2002, A.S. Creation Tapeten AG, Germanys largest wallpaper manufacturer, published its interim report for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2002. The full report is available at www.as-creation.de/Investor Relations or may be ordered at: A.S. Creation Tapeten AG, Mrs. Börngen, Südstr. 47, D-51645 Gummersbach, phone +49-(0)2261/542-350, e-mail: investor@as-creation.de. A summary of the report is provided below: Sales performance At EUR 91.4 million, the Groups sales in the first nine months of 2002 were up EUR 6.9 million or 8.2% on the same period of the previous year. At the bottom line, EUR 4.9 million or 5.8 % of the total sales growth were accounted for by FUGGERHAUS Stoffe GmbH, Gummersbach, and H. Strehl & Co. GmbH, Augsburg, which both operate in the furnishing fabrics segment. Both companies joined the consolidated entity on September 1, 2001. Adjusted for these changes to the consolidated entity, internal sales growth amounted to 2.4%. Against the background of the difficult economic situation, which resulted in Germany in a decline in the market volume for wallpaper/borders (-9%) and furnishing fabrics (-18%), the Managing Board considers the internal sales growth to be a success. Financial and earnings position The gross profit margin of A.S. Creation Tapeten AG was affected not only by the poor economic situation but also by clear increases in the prices of raw materials, especially in the third quarter. The shift in the product mix towards higher margin products was unable to compensate for these charges. As a result, earnings before taxes rose by only 1.7% from EUR 6.3 million in the first nine months of 2001 to EUR 6.4 million in the current fiscal year. DVFA/SG earnings per share amounted to EUR 1.40 in the first nine months of 2002, compared to EUR 1.36 in the same period of the previous year. Overall, the financial position of A.S. Creation is healthy and robust. As at September 30, 2002, the equity ratio stood at 51.3% (December 31, 2001: 50.4%). Net financial debt was reduced from EUR 17.2 million to EUR 16.6 million in the first nine months of the year. Outlook On the purchasing side, further price increases for important raw materials are expected for the fourth quarter of 2002. On the sales side, there are no signs pointing to a sustained improvement in the consumer climate. Despite the continued difficult economic situation, the Managing Board of A.S. Creation Tapeten AG still considers the full-year sales and net profit (DVFA/SG result) projections of approx. EUR 126 million and approx. EUR 6.5 million, respectively, to be achievable. In view of its declared objective to become the most efficient and profitable European wallpaper manufacturer by the year 2006, A.S. Creation Tapeten AG launched the construction activities of a EUR 6.5 million capital expenditure project in October 2002, which will expand the production capacities at the Wiehl-Bomig plant. The heart of the project will be a new state-of-the-art combined 10-colour rotary screen/gravure printing press that will enable production of wallpaper with complex visual effects and is designed to improve the companies competitive position, especially in the high-quality segment. The Groups key figures for nine month period ended September 30, 2002 at a glance: 01.01.- 01.01.- 31.03.2002 31.03.2001 Change Sales T EUR 34.135 31.810 7,3% Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) T EUR 3.561 3.706 -3,9% Earnings before income taxes T EUR 3.224 3.358 -4,0% Net profit T EUR 1.937 2.034 -4,8% DVFA/SG earnings per share EUR/Share 0,70 0,74 -5,4% Gross cash flow T EUR 4.413 4.759 -7,3% Capital expenditures T EUR 1.565 2.606 -39,9% Depreciation T EUR 2.104 2.051 2,6% Number of employees (average) 616 559 10,2% Gummersbach, November 11, 2002 Inquiries: Maik Krämer, Director of Finance, phone +49 – 22 61/542-387, fax +49 – 22 61/542-304, e-mail m.kraemer@as-creation.de end of message, (c)DGAP 11.11.2002 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 507990; ISIN: DE0005079909; Index: SDAX Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (SMAX), Freiverkehr in München, Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hannover und Stuttgart 111153 Nov 02