- Financial statements adopted: preliminary results for FY 2005/6 confirmed
- Dividend of €1.00 per share to be proposed to AGM
- Sigmund Kiener succeeds Erwin J. Kiefer as Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Freudenstadt, January 12, 2007. Adoption of financial statements
At its meeting convened today, the Supervisory Board of schlott gruppe approved the financial statements and consolidated financial statements for the financial year, as a result of which the accounts have been adopted. Thus, the preliminary results for the 2005/6 financial year (October to September), as announced on November 8, 2006, have been confirmed.
The Group generated value-added sales of €302.0 million in FY 2005/6, compared with €319.3 million the year before; reported revenue, including paper purchased, amounted to €517.6 million, in contrast to to €534.6 million. Consolidated earnings before taxes (EBT) stood at €22.0 million, compared with €25.9 million a year ago. Consolidated net profit stood at €11.8 million, after €15.8 million in the preceding financial year, while earnings per share reached €1.91, compared with €2.55.
The figures for the preceding year have been presented to allow year-on-year comparability, i.e. they have been adjusted for the deconsolidation of the company's subsidiary heckel at the beginning of FY 2005/6. The figures for the 2005/6 financial year include non-recurring charges of €4.6 million attributable to operating losses and restructuring costs for direct marketing activities in Scandinavia. These are counterbalanced to a certain extent by the adjustment and extension of the useful lives of assets categorised as property, plant and equipment, the positive effect of which has been calculated as €4.5 million. Furthermore, the tax rate climbed to 46.4% in FY 2005/6 – as a result of losses in Scandinavia not eligible for set-off – after a tax rate of 39.0% in the 2004/5 financial year. Segment performance was in line with that reported on earlier occasions (cf. the company's press release dated November 8, 2006).
Owing to a negative free cash flow of minus €6.4 million (previous year: plus €33.2 million), schlott gruppe's net debt rose from €177.5 million to €191.1 million at September 30, 2006, mainly prompted by the large-scale investment in a state-of-the-art rotary printing unit at the Freudenstadt facility as well as the acquisition of the Czech-based reus group.
Proposed dividend payment
Superbly positioned within its sector, schlott gruppe is set to benefit in the medium term from the ongoing consolidation processes witnessed in the market. In view of this and in accordance with the announcement made on July 24, 2006, the Management Board has proposed to the Supervisory Board an unchanged dividend of €1.00 per share for the 2005/6 financial year. The Supervisory Board today approved the aforementioned dividend proposal. The management will submit the proposal to the General Meeting of Shareholders on March 13, 2007.
Changes to the Supervisory Board
Having been a member of the Advisory Committee/Supervisory Board for 15 years, Erwin J. Kiefer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, today informed the board that he intends to step down from his post on February 12, 2007, upon conclusion of the deadline specified by the Articles of Association, citing personal reasons. Both the Supervisory Board and the Management Board deeply regret his decision and expressed their gratitude for Mr. Kiefer's integrity and outstanding contribution over the years.
As part of a highly successful partnership, Erwin J. Kiefer played a pivotal role in the development of schlott gruppe. In the early 1990s he displayed great vision in identifying the prospects of consolidation within the European gravure-printing industry and the tremendous commercial opportunities associated with these developments. Against this backdrop, he was one of the principal investors in schlott gruppe's management buyout in 1992.
Bernd Rose, Chairman of the Management Board of schlott gruppe: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank Erwin Kiefer personally for the many years of successful partnership, a period in which we sat together on many an occasion to map out the most appropriate course of action for our company – with great success. Erwin Kiefer has made a tremendous contribution to schlott gruppe."
The family of Erwin Kiefer holds an indirect interest of 9.1 per cent in schlott gruppe via EKS Beteiligungs-GmbH. This shareholding will not be affected by his departure from the Supervisory Board, i.e. the family will remain a key shareholder in schlott gruppe.
In future, the Supervisory Board will be chaired by Sigmund Kiener. He has been a member of the Supervisory Board since the inception of schlott gruppe as a stock corporation in 1997 and is well acquainted with the company. Drawing on his many years of experience in senior management positions within the German mail-order sector, Sigmund Kiener is able to offer schlott gruppe the benefits of in-depth industry expertise. Sigmund Kiener holds an interest of 4.6 per cent in schlott gruppe via S.K. Management- und Beteiligungs GmbH.
Sigmund Kiener reaffirmed the strategic positioning of schlott gruppe: "The Management Board has positioned schlott gruppe as one of the premier suppliers within the European gravure-printing industry, thus creating a strong vantage point from which to serve the market in line with current and future requirements. The company will maintain this successful strategy, and the Supervisory Board will continue to provide its full support."
Notes to financial data:
Alongside “revenue/sales”, schlott gruppe uses so-called “value-added sales” (VAS) as a financial indicator – both in its external communications and as part of its internal controlling mechanisms. Revenue is subject to fluctuations that are attributable to the volume of paper supplied by customers as raw material for certain projects. In contrast to paper purchased directly by the company, paper supplied by customers is not included in the accounts of schlott gruppe. In the 2005/6 financial year, the so-called paper provision ratio stood at 79.9 per cent. As a financial indicator, "value-added sales" eliminates fluctuations relating to paper supplied by customers, thus reflecting the actual sales performance.
