A.S. Création Tapeten AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results
06.11.2012 / 08:20
A.S. Création Tapeten AG, Gummersbach
(ISIN DE0005079909)
A.S. Création continues to grow and raises earnings forecast
A.S. Création Tapeten AG, Europe's leading wallpaper manufacturer has today published the report on the nine-month period ended September 30, 2012. A summary is provided below:
Sales at record level
A.S. Création was able to increase its Group sales by 3.6% from EUR 146.6 million in the previous year to EUR 151.9 million in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. It was good to see that both divisions contributed to this increase to a new record level. The overall sales performance to date has been in line with expectations.
Greatly improved earnings position
The earnings position exceeded expectations in the current fiscal year. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) climbed 36.4% from EUR 8.5 million in the first nine months of 2011 to EUR 11.6 million in the reporting period, while the EBIT margin reached 7.6% (2011: 5.8%). This gratifying result is attributable to the higher gross profit margin, which reflects two material effects. First, A.S. Création has been able to raise its average sales prices with the help of an appropriate product policy focusing on higher-quality products as well as price adjustments implemented for part of the product range. Second, commodity and energy prices eased in the current fiscal year, having surged dramatically in the course of 2011. The improved margin situation helped to offset the expected increase in the start-up losses incurred in conjunction with the start-up of the production and sales organisation in Russia.
Further reduction in liabilities
The financial position improved materially, too. A.S. Création was able to reduce its net financing liabilities from EUR 29.4 million on December 31, 2011 by EUR 8.1 million to EUR 21.3 million on September 30, 2012. Based on the cash flow, this resulted in a short debt repayment period of 1.2 years. Together with the high equity ratio, which stood at 55.5% as of September 30, 2012, this underlines the very robust and healthy financial structure of A.S. Création.
Earnings forecast for 2012 raised
The Managing Board is satisfied with the fiscal year to date and expects the growth in sales to continue up to the end of the year. The new production facility in Russia was taken into operation and the first wallpaper rolls were produced in October. It will take some time before all processes run smoothly and the factory reaches its full capacity. The distribution of the locally produced wallpaper rolls will therefore have no material impact on full year sales, which are expected to reach the planned level of EUR 195 million to EUR 205 million.
With regard to the earnings position, the Managing Board does not expect any major surprises for the final quarter of 2012. The situation in the commodity and energy markets has improved, although current price levels are still very high by historical standards. The Managing Board currently believes that procurement prices will rise only moderately up to the end of the year. Accordingly, the gross profit margin for the full year 2012 will probably be much higher than the previous year's margin. This suggests that the overall earnings position in 2012 will be positive. Uncertainties primarily exist with regard to the amount of the start-up losses that will be incurred in Russia. The Managing Board nevertheless believes that A.S. Création will close the full year 2012 with a better result than planned and will post a net profit of between EUR 7.0 million and EUR 8.0 million instead of the originally projected EUR 6.0 million to EUR 7.0 million.
The Group's key figures for the first nine months of 2012 are summarised below:
|
|
01.01.-30.09. |
01.01.-30.09. |
Change |
|
|
2012 |
2011 |
|
Sales |
EUR '000 |
151,930 |
146,602 |
3.6 % |
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) |
EUR '000 |
11,558 |
8,474 |
36.4 % |
Earnings before income taxes |
EUR '000 |
10,193 |
6,989 |
45.8 % |
Net profit |
EUR '000 |
6,811 |
4,581 |
48.7 % |
Earnings per share |
EUR/share |
2.47 |
1.66 |
48.8 % |
Cash-flow |
EUR '000 |
13,866 |
11,667 |
18.8 % |
Capital expenditures |
EUR '000 |
10,258 |
16,735 |
-38.7 % |
Depreciation |
EUR '000 |
7,362 |
7,558 |
-2.6 % |
Number of employees (average) |
|
828 |
792 |
4.5 % |
Gummersbach, November 6, 2012
A.S. Création Tapeten AG
The Managing Board
Inquiries:
Maik Krämer, CFO, phone +49-(0)22 61/542-387, fax +49-(0)22 61/542-304,
e-mail m.kraemer@as-creation.de
The full 9-month report is available at
www.as-creation.de
or from:
A.S. Création Tapeten AG, Frau Börngen, Südstr. 47, D – 51645 Gummersbach, phone: +49-(0)22 61/542-350,
e-mail: investor@as-creation.de