- Earnings before taxes rise almost 60 percent to €20.5m, up from €12.9m; additional €5.1m positive earnings impact due to discontinuation of goodwill amortisation
- Earnings per share 2003/4 rise strongly to €2.51
- Free cashflow exceeds forecast of €30m and reaches €35.1m
- Dividend of €0.90 per share proposed to General Meeting of Shareholders (FY 2002/3: €0.80)
- Business performance in Q1 2004/5 very encouraging and in line with expectations
Freudenstadt, 14 January 2005 – As part of its meeting convened on January 14, 2005, the Supervisory Board of schlott gruppe AG examined and adopted the annual financial statements for the 2003/4 financial year ended September 30, 2004. The preliminary results announced in October are confirmed.
In accordance with new IAS/IFRS provisions, schlott gruppe has not applied annual goodwill amortisation in the 2003/4 financial year, thereby changing its accounting policies with regard to this item. However, the growth data presented as part of this Press Release only relates to the progression of operating business in the period under review. All data pertaining to the 2003/04 financial year has been adjusted for the effects of this revised accounting policy and presented in a manner that is conducive to comparability.In the 2003/4 financial year, value-added sales increased by 1.6 per cent to €340.9 million, up from €335.4 million. Value-added sales reflect schlott gruppe’s actual business performance. As a key indicator, it eliminates the effects that fluctuating volumes of paper provided by customers as raw material may have on revenues. In contrast to paper purchased directly by the company, paper supplied by customers is not included in the accounts of schlott gruppe. In the period under review, the paper-provision ratio increased further to 72.2 per cent (FY 2002/3: 64.3 per cent). As a direct result, the revenue figure of €581.0 million reported for the period is lower than in the preceding financial year (€613.7 million).
In the 2003/4 financial year, schlott gruppe increased earnings before taxes (EBT) on a comparable basis by nearly 60 per cent to €20.5 million (previous year: €12.9 million). The first-time discontinuation of goodwill amortisation had an additional positive impact on earnings of €5.1 million. Reported EBT thus amounted to €25.6 million. Reported net profit for the 2003/4 financial year increased to €15.6 million, after €4.7 million in the previous financial year (comparable net profit 2003/4: €10.5 million). Earnings per share amounted to €2.51 for the 2003/4 financial year, as opposed to €0.76 in the previous reporting period (comparable EPS 2003/4: 1.69 €).
Cash flow from operating activities of €54.1 million was more than sufficient for the internal financing of investments relating to property, plant and equipment. The remaining free cash flow (€35.1 million after dividends) was used to pay €10.5 million of interest and to implement a significant reduction in net debt as announced. Net indebtedness was scaled back to €195.6 million, a reduction of €23.3 million. The equity ratio increased to 25.9%, up from 22.8%.
The Management Board and Supervisory Board propose an increase in dividends to €0.90 per share (FY 2003/4: 0.80); the proposal will be put to the General Meeting of Shareholders. schlott gruppe’s dividend policy is strongly orientated towards the principles of financial return and continuity. The proposed increase in dividends per share reflects the sustainable nature of the company’s earnings performance.
The detailed financial statements for 2003/4 will be presented at the press and analysts’ conference on January 26, 2005. On this occasion, schlott gruppe will also be presenting preliminary quarterly results, thereby underlining its commitment to proactive Investor Relations. Thus, the capital market will in future receive first-hand information on the course of business two weeks earlier than in the past.
As already outlined, the first quarter of FY 2004/5 (October – December) has developed very favourably indeed, showing a high level of capacity utilisation – as is common for this period of the year – and solid contributions to earnings.
