EANS-Adhoc: Westag & Getalit AG Sales in 2012 stayed at good prior year level;
problems with raw materials weighed on bottom line in 2012; dividend stays at
high level of EUR 1.00 per preference share and EUR 0.94 per ordinary share
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ad-hoc disclosure pursuant to section 15 of the WpHG transmitted by euro
adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide distribution. The issuer is solely
responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Financial Figures/Balance Sheet
14.03.2013
Business trend in 2012
In spite of difficult economic conditions in some of the markets that are
relevant for Westag & Getalit AG, the company was able to increase its sales by
a moderate 0.1% to EUR 227.4 million in the fiscal year 2012 (2011: EUR 227.1
million). Export sales increased in sync with total sales revenues and were up
by 0.3% to EUR 48.9 million (2011: EUR 48.7 million). At 21.5%, the export share
stayed at the high level of the previous year.
Due to its strong dependence on public building construction, the
Plywood/Formwork Division suffered an 8.2% decline in sales revenues to EUR 32.0
million (2011: EUR 34.9 million). The Division was primarily affected by weak
economic activity abroad, which was reflected in an 18.8% drop in export sales.
The Doors/Frames Division once again boosted its sales revenues by 4.0% to EUR
113.9 million in 2012 (2011: EUR 109.4 million). The Division primarily
benefited from strong growth in the private housing construction sector.
Sales revenues in the Laminates/Elements Division declined by a moderate 1.2% to
EUR 74.8 million (2011: EUR 75.7 million). A slight shift in the product mix
affected the Division's total sales.
Earnings before income taxes amounted to EUR 10.8 million in the fiscal year,
down by 8.4% on the previous year's EUR 11.8 million. The main reason for this
were raw materials of inferior quality.
Net profit for the year showed the same trend as earnings before taxes and
amounted to EUR 7.5 million in the fiscal year 2012 (2011: EUR 8.2 million).
Earnings per share stood at EUR 1.35 for the common shares (2011: EUR 1.48) and
at EUR 1.41 for the preference shares (2011: EUR 1.54).
At today's annual accounts meeting of Westag & Getalit AG, the Supervisory Board
approved the financial statements for the fiscal year 2012. This was the first
meeting which was attended by new Supervisory Board member Dr. Joachim
Schönbeck, Managing Director of SMS Meer GmbH, Mönchengladbach. He was appointed
Supervisory Board member by the Gütersloh district court with effect from March
5, 2013 to succeed Ronald Jeffries, who deceased last September. At the Annual
General Meeting scheduled to take place in Rheda-Wiedenbrück on July 23, 2013,
the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of Westag & Getalit AG will
propose to pay out an unchanged dividend of EUR 0.94 per ordinary share and of
EUR 1.00 per preference share. This would be equivalent to a dividend yield of
6.4%. This means that we will continue to pursue a solid dividend policy despite
the reduction in earnings.
Employees
At the end of last year, we employed 1,287 people, of whom 1,090 worked at our
plant in Wiedenbrück and 197 at our plant in Wadersloh.
Capital expenditure
Last year saw us invest EUR 10.6 million at our two plants in Wiedenbrück and
Wadersloh. The single most important projects were the installation of a new
edge processing machine for the Doors/Frames Division and the erection of a new
gas co-generation unit, which will further increase our energy efficiency.
Outlook
The outlook for the German economy - especially for the construction sector - is
inconsistent. Economic experts expect the housing construction sector to grow
again in 2013, driven by investments in the much-cited "concrete gold". The
situation in the public construction sector and probably also in the commercial
construction sector will be much more difficult.
Against this economic background in the markets that are relevant for Westag &
Getalit, we project moderate overall growth for our company, which will be
driven by strong activity in the housing construction sector. Our
well-positioned product portfolio will allow our company to benefit from this
trend. Thanks to the wide range of products, we will seize the opportunities
arising outside Germany to expand our export activities.
Earnings for the year 2013 will be largely dependent on the trend in raw
materials prices. Most importantly, however, we will have to ensure that the raw
materials sourced by the Plywood/Formwork Division are again of a consistently
satisfactory quality in order to eliminate unplanned extra costs at the
production level, which are likely to weigh on the bottom line again in 2013.
Assuming that sales will growth moderately and raw materials costs will remain
stable, we will aim to generate a satisfactory profit for the year in spite of
these adverse circumstances.
Further inquiry note:
Thomas Sudhoff
PR und Finanzkommunikation
Tel. +49 (0) 52 42 / 17-5176
IR@westag-getalit.de
end of announcement euro adhoc
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issuer: Westag & Getalit AG
Hellweg 15
D-33378 Rheda-Wiedenbrück
phone: +49 (0)5242 17 0
FAX: +49 (0)5242 17 75000
mail: ir@westag-getalit.de
WWW: http://www.westag-getalit.de
sector: Building materials
ISIN: DE0007775207, DE0007775231
indexes: CDAX, Classic All Share, Prime All Share
stockmarkets: free trade: Berlin, Stuttgart, regulated dealing: Düsseldorf,
regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt
language: English