Thielert: Record Year 2006
Hamburg (euro adhoc) -
ots.CorporateNews transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
2006 was once again a record year in terms of sales and profits for Thielert AG, and the fourth quarter in 2006 was one of the strongest in the history of the company. The fourth quarter saw the delivery of the first Centurion 2.0 and 4.0 engines to aircraft manufacturers, known as Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). These two engines have been certified since the third and fourth quarters of 2006. The company's sales and profits expectations have been fulfilled.
Successor engine to the Centurion 1.7 goes into series production: Centurion 2.0
The expansion of production capacity at the plants at Lichtenstein/Saxony and Altenburg/Thuringia and the associated recruitment of new staff have largely been completed as scheduled. The company already started series production of the Centurion 2.0 und Centurion 4.0 aircraft piston engines in the last quarter. The Centurion 2.0 is the latest development stage of the Centurion 1.7 and has also 135 PS. The latter engine has in recent years made a considerable contribution to the growth and success of the company, with over 1,500 units delivered for general aviation.
In the Centurion 2.0, Thielert has been able to demonstrate that the proven and reliable design is upwardly compatible. The new engine will in future replace the Centurion 1.7 in all installations. The Centurion 2.0 has a greater engine capacity, particularly in order to meet the requirements of the US market. Thielert has developed a own engine block in the course of the development and approval process, which is especially designed to meet the demands of aviation. The European and US aviation authorities approved the engine in August and October 2006. Similarly, the Centurion 2.0 has been approved for installation in the Cessna 172 since August last year. The Centurion 2.0 is supplied to plane manufacturer Diamond Aircraft Industries as an installation kit, and built into the successful DA40 TDI and DA42 aircraft. Diamond is experiencing strong growth and has customer orders stretching beyond the end of 2007. Planning security for the Thielert AG companies is also further improved in 2007 by a second major and several minor OEM companies.
Defense Development Contracts
As announced in November, Thielert AG has won additional contracts from its US customer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI). Additionally Thielert was able to complete important developments in the forth quarter. As part of the ER/MP (Extended Range/Multi Purpose) program for the US Army, the current contract for the year 2006 was increased by 50 percent and was already relevant for the forth quarter earnings. These development services were related to the engine for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) "Sky Warrior". Thielert is the exclusive engine supplier for this program. GA-ASI will start with serial delivery of the Sky Warrior in mid of 2007.
General Market Situation Engine Components
Superior Air Parts, Inc., a subsidary of Thielert AG, has also grown strongly in the last year and was able to consolidate its market position. The measures of restructuring the organisation after the acquisition have been successful.
Outlook Earnings and Profits
The year 2006 was successful as projected. In the near future Thielert will publish some selected financial ratios especially in terms of liquidity. The company has a solide financing.
end of announcement euro adhoc 05.01.2007 09:59:55
Further inquiry note:
Sebastian Wentzler
Leiter Unternehmenskommunikation
Telefon: +49(40) 696950-35
E-Mail: s.wentzler@thielert.com
Branche: Machine Manufacturing
ISIN: DE0006052079
WKN: 605207
Index: SDAX, CDAX, Prime All Share, Classic All Share
Börsen: Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse / official dealing/prime standard
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