11/12/2007 07:42:00 CET
Total operating revenue in the first nine months of 2007 up 72%
- EBIT lifts from € 3.7 million to € 6.3 million
Manz Automation AG is one of the world's leading producers of automation, quality assurance and laser process technology for the photovoltaic and LCD industry and once again accelerated the speed of its growth in the first nine months of fiscal year 2007. According to preliminary results, the Reutlingen-based high-tech engineering company increased revenues from € 31.65 million in the previous year to € 46.76 million, up around 48%. Growth in total operating revenue was even more striking – up around 72% to € 52.29 million (first nine months of 2006: € 30.44 million).
EBIT in the first three quarters lifted by more than 70% to € 6.28 million (first nine months of 2006: € 3.66 million). In terms of revenues, this corresponds to an EBIT margin of 13.4%. The marginal downturn compared to the first six months of 2007 is due to the growth in staff numbers and increased R&D spending in order to continue to grow successfully in future. As a result, the Managing Board is forecasting stable EBIT margins in the coming quarters as a result of standardized major orders and the resulting economies of scale. Compared to the first nine months of the previous year, Manz Automation AG more than doubled its EBT from € 2.94 million to € 6.44 million. The pre-tax margin was thus 13.8% and was up slightly in comparison to H1 2007. The positive earnings situation also meant that Manz Automation's equity ratio lifted to around 55% on September 30, 2007. At the same time, the cash flow from operating activities after the first three quarters increased to € 5.00 million (first three quarters of 2006: € 2.2 million).
Manz Automation recorded around 38% of its revenues in Germany, with the Asian region accounting for the same percentage. The systems.solar division was the clear growth driver in the first nine months, accounting for around 70% of revenues (systems.lcd: 12.4%, systems.aico: 17.8%).
The Managing Board has confirmed its forecasts for the current fiscal year and is anticipating revenues of € 65-68 million and EBIT of € 8.1-8.5 million. As a result of the positive order book for fiscal year 2008 the Managing Board also believes that growth will continue at a great rate of knots in the coming year.
