- continued high level of business
- increased one-off earnings from the sale of a minority shareholding
- target result for the full year now EUR 12.6 million
Wuppertal, 15 February 2007 - Prime Standard-listed holding company,
GESCO AG, has continued its positive development during the third
quarter of financial year 2006/2007. The figures for the nine-month
period (01.04.-31.12.2006) confirm the operative planning, last
revised for the full year in November, which is based on Group sales
of EUR 263 million. The budgeted net profit for the entire year is
raised from EUR 12.0 million to EUR 12.6 million because the profit
on the sale of the 40% holding in Gewerbepark Wilthener Straße GmbH
came out EUR 0.6 million higher owing to a variable component of the
purchase price.
Operative business within the GESCO Group continuously developed
vigorously in the nine-month period. Incoming orders within the Group
rose by 11.4% over the same period in the previous year to EUR 206
million. Group sales rose by 12.3% and reached EUR 193 million. The
EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation)
rose by 10.6% to EUR 21 million and the EBIT (earnings before
interest and tax) rose by 11.0% to EUR 15 million. Owing to the sale
of the Gewerbepark holding, the pre-tax result rose
above-proportionally by 32.6% to EUR 16.5 million. After deducting
the tax and the profit shares allocated to the shareholding
directors, Group net income is EUR 9.6 million, an increase of 43.1%,
corresponding to earnings per share of EUR 3.49.
The staff complement increased by 16.3% to 1,542, the reason behind
this mainly being the acquisition of Frank Walz- und Schmiedetechnik
GmbH in July 2006.
Dr Hans-Gert Mayrose of the Executive Board regarding the quarterly
report: "The nine-month figures prove that the GESCO Group is
continuing on course for growth. Overall we continue to see positive
prospects for the Group's operative development. In addition to
internal growth, we are as ever aiming for external growth through
the acquisition of strategically attractive mid-sized industrial
companies in the metal and plastics processing sectors. We are
constantly examining concrete takeover opportunities. In our field of
activity with its focus on the SMEs, it is impossible to make
accurate forecasts of the nature and time of the next acquisitions,
yet we see realistic prospects, also during calendar year 2007, of
expanding our portfolio."
GESCO AG
Investor Relations
* Oliver Vollbrecht
Tel. ++49 - 202 - 2 48 20 - 18
* Fax ++49 - 202 - 2 48 20 - 49
E-Mail: info@gesco.de
* Homepage: www.gesco.de
--- End of Message ---
WKN: 587590; ISIN: DE0005875900; Index: CDAX, CLASSIC All Share,
Prime All Share;
Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse, Prime
Standard in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse,
Amtlicher Markt in Börse Düsseldorf, Freiverkehr in Börse Berlin
Bremen,
Freiverkehr in Hanseatische Wertpapierbörse zu Hamburg, Freiverkehr
in Bayerische Börse München,
Freiverkehr in Börse Stuttgart;
