Corporate | 12 May 2003 10:38

A.S. Création Tapeten english

Pressrelease: Interim report for the three-month period Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– A.S. Création wins market share in first quarter despite declining sales On May 12, 2003, A.S. Création Tapeten AG, Germanys largest wallpaper manufacturer, published the interim report for the three-month period ended March 31, 2003. The report is summarized below: Sales At EUR 33.5 million, first-quarter Group sales were down 2.0% on the previous years EUR 34.1 million. The decline in sales was attributable to the Wallpaper Division, whose export sales remained below the previous years level. In Germany, the Wallpaper Division performed against the general negative economic trend and slightly increased wallpaper sales over the previous year. The Furnishing Fabrics Division reported moderate sales growth in the first quarter. Despite the decline in sales, A.S. Créations Wallpaper Division outperformed the German overall wallpaper industry, whose sales declined by 4.8%. Compared to other German wallpaper manufacturers, A.S. Création increased its market share from approx. 27% in 2002 to 28% in the current year. The Managing Board is nevertheless not satisfied with the absolute sales figures. Financial and earnings position In the first quarter of 2003, the earnings position deteriorated against the same period of the previous year. Apart from the tight economic situation – and the related decline in consumer spending – earnings have been weighed down by increased prices of the main raw materials and energy since mid-2002. At EUR 1.6 million, net profit in the first quarter of 2003 was down 16.7% on the previous years EUR 1.9 million. First-quarter DVFA/SG earnings per share amounted to EUR 0.58, compared to EUR 0.70 in the same period of the previous year. Despite the difficult economic situation, the expansion of the production capacities at the Wiehl-Bomig plant continued according to plan. The new 10- colour rotary screen/gravure printing press was taken into service on April 30, 2003. Of the total first-quarter capital expenditures of EUR 4.3 million (2002: EUR 1.6 million), EUR 3.0 million referred to construction activities for the new production hall and down payments on the new printing press. Given that gross cash flow was not sufficient to finance the very high capital expenditure volume, A.S. Créations net financial debt increased. The equity ratio nevertheless stood at a very high level of 51.7% as of March 31, 2003 (December 31, 2002: 52.1%). Outlook The Managing Board of A.S. Création does currently not see any signs of an improvement of the domestic economic environment. There are no indications of an upward trend in consumer spending and general retailer sentiment tends to be pessimistic, meaning that the German market is unlikely to provide any significant stimulation for A.S. Créations sales. As regards the international business, the challenge will be to raise full-year sales above the previous years level. The Groups key figures for Q1 2003 at a glance: 01.01. 01.01. -31.03. -31.03. 2003 2002 Change Sales EUR ‘000 33,462 34,135 -2.0% Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) EUR ‘000 2,922 3,561 -17.9% Earnings before income taxes EUR ‘000 2,575 3,224 -20.1% Net profit EUR ‘000 1,613 1,937 -16.7% DVFA/SG earnings per share EUR/share 0.58 0.70 -17.1% Gross cash flow EUR ‘000 3,867 4,413 -12.4% Capital expenditures EUR ‘000 4,306 1,565 175.1% Depreciation EUR ‘000 1,887 2,104 -10.3% Number of employees (average) 617 616 0.2% Gummersbach, May 12, 2003 Inquiries: Maik Krämer, Director of Finance, phone: + 49 – (0)22 61/542-387, fax: + 49 – (0)22 61/542-304, e-mail: m.kraemer@as-creation.de The full interim report is available at www.as-creation.com/investor or may be ordered at: A.S. Création Tapeten AG, Mrs. Börngen, Südstr. 47, D – 51645 Gummersbach, phone: + 49 – (0)22 61/542-350, fax: + 49 – (0)22 61/542-304 end of message, (c)DGAP 12.05.2003 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 507990; ISIN: DE0005079909; Index: Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 121038 Mai 03