05/15/2014 07:30:00 CEST
- Quarterly figures characterized by the cyclical development in the Premium Consumer Electronics market
- Revenue of EUR 54.2 million achieved in Q1 / 2014 with a positive operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 0.2 million.
- An order backlog of around EUR 133 million after further new orders to the value of EUR 75 million as an excellent basis for successful business development in 2014
Manz AG, one of the world’s leading high-tech engineering companies with an extensive technology portfolio covering the three strategic divisions of "Display", "Solar" and "Battery", has today published its figures for the first quarter of 2014. These showed that the Reutlingen-based company was in fact able to increase its sales revenues compared with the same reporting period in the previous year, but the operating result was still characterized by a comparatively low order backlog in the final quarter of 2013. This reflects the seasonality of the Premium Consumer Electronics market, which is becoming increasingly important for Manz and develops cyclically depending on the respective launch dates of the end devices. With further new orders worth EUR 75 million and the existing orders published in the first quarter totaling around EUR 95 million, Manz AG can now increase its order backlog to EUR 133 million. The company was able to acquire new orders in all three business segments, with the majority attributable to the Display segment. The orders particularly include systems and equipment in the areas of automation and laser process technology, which are mainly used in the manufacture of smartphones and tablet computers.
Dieter Manz, CEO and founder of Manz AG, comments on the current business development: "The expectedly cautious start to the new year is characterized by the cyclical development of the Premium Consumer Electronics market. As a result, we were unable to recoup the costs for the further development of the solar technology to the necessary extent in this quarter through the revenue from our Display business segment. However, we have every reason to approach the tasks ahead in the 2014 financial year full of optimism thanks to the recent new orders acquired with a value of EUR 75 million and an order backlog of EUR 133 million. Our strategic investments will also contribute to our further growth: We were able to strengthen our technology portfolio in the Battery segment and gain access to major new international customers with the acquisition of the mechanical engineering division of KEMET".
In the first quarter of 2014 Manz AG generated revenue of EUR 54.2 million compared to EUR 49.8 million in the same period last year. At the same time however, it reduced its overall performance to EUR 51.0 million compared to EUR 54.7 million in the first quarter of 2013 due to inventory changes. The contractual termination of payments from Würth Solar as part of the takeover agreement for the site in Schwäbisch Hall had a negative impact on the result. The EBITDA decreased to EUR 0.2 million after EUR 4.4 million in the previous year due to the low order backlog in the last quarter of 2013 because of the customary cyclical market development. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to EUR -5.7 million (previous year: EUR -1.4 million). The Group's earnings amounted to EUR -6.6 million (previous year: EUR -3.0 million); this corresponds to earnings of EUR -1.35 per share (previous year: EUR -0.66).
The largest share of revenue by business segment in the first quarter of 2014 was attributable to the Display business segment at EUR 28.4 million (previous year: EUR 28.3 million). This is primarily due to the continued high level of demand for touch panel displays for mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablet PCs. The Solar segment generated revenue of around EUR 2.4 million in the first three months of 2014 compared to EUR 3.1 million in the same quarter in the previous year. The Battery segment contributed EUR 1.2 million to the Group's revenue with the sale of equipment for the production of lithium-ion batteries (previous year: EUR 1.9 million). The PCB / OEM reporting segment achieved a significant 42.6% growth in sales at EUR 16.0 million (previous year: EUR 11.2 million). The remaining revenue amounting to EUR 6.1 million (previous year: EUR 5.4 million) was attributable to the Others reporting segment.
Dieter Manz is optimistic for the whole year: "The much higher order backlog forms an excellent basis for a successful and profitable financial year in 2014. Our optimism is not just attributable to the dynamic development in our Display and Battery business segments. We also see good opportunities for the sale of a turnkey CIGS production line (CIGSfab) this year in our strategic Solar target sector, thereby opening up tremendous potential for a significant increase in revenue within this business segment. Overall, we feel encouraged by our forecast of achieving strong growth in sales in the current financial year 2014 with a significantly improved EBIT compared to the previous year".
The full 2014 quarterly report is available to download from the "Investor Relations" section of the company's website at www.manz.com.
