A.S. Création Tapeten AG / AGM/EGM/Quarter Results
07.05.2010 14:29
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A.S. Création reports 25% increase in earnings in Q1 2010. General Meeting
of Shareholders approves dividend of EUR 1.20 for 2009.
At today's General Meeting of Shareholders in Gummersbach, A.S. Création
Tapeten AG, Europe's leading wallpaper manufacturer, presented the report
on the three-month period ended March 31, 2010. At EUR 51.8 million,
first-quarter Group sales were up by 6.0% on the previous year's EUR 48.9
million. The increase is primarily attributable to the EU markets, whereas
exports to Eastern European countries outside the EU were below the low
level of the previous year.
Thanks to the increased sales revenues, capacity utilisation improved as
compared to the previous year, although sales were not sufficient to ensure
full capacity utilisation. At 766, the number of employees in the first
quarter of 2010 was therefore below the previous year's 819. The increase
in sales nevertheless had a positive impact on the earnings position of
A.S. Création, as the gross profit margin stayed at a high level of 50.6%
(2009: 49.4%). At EUR 4.6 million, first-quarter earnings before taxes were
up by 25.1% on the previous year's EUR 3.7 million. It was good to see that
both divisions showed positive performance. The Wallpaper Division boosted
its EBIT margin from 8.3% in the previous year to 9.3% in Q1 2010, and the
Furnishing Fabrics Division reported earnings before taxes of EUR 0.053
million in the first quarter of 2010, compared to a loss of EUR 0.134
million in the previous year.
The improvement in the financial position, which started in 2009, continued
in the first three months of 2010. Net financial liabilities were reduced
by another EUR 2.2 million from EUR 20.6 million on December 31, 2009 to
EUR 18.4 million on March 31, 2010, and the equity ratio stood at 50.4% on
March 31, 2010 (March 31, 2009: 48.8%). The financial position of A.S.
Création thus remains robust and healthy.
While the Managing Board is very satisfied with the results of the first
quarter, it does not interpret the three-month performance as an indicator
for the full year 2010, as the further sales trend and the adverse impacts
result from rising commodity prices remain uncertain.
The Group's key figures for the first three months of 2010 are summarised
below:
|[![CDATA[|[pre|]]]|]
01.01. 01.01.
-31.03. -31.03.
2010 2009 Change
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Sales EUR' 000 51,779 48,858 6.0 %
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) EUR' 000 5,048 4,079 23.8 %
Earnings before income taxes EUR' 000 4,569 3,651 25.1 %
Net profit EUR' 000 3,128 2,531 23.6 %
Earnings per share EUR/share 1.13 0.92 22.8 %
Cash-flow EUR' 000 5,155 4,634 11.2 %
Capital expenditures EUR' 000 1,608 1,681 - 4.3 %
Depreciation EUR' 000 2,318 2,223 4.3 %
Number of employees (average) 766 819 - 6.5 %
|[![CDATA[|[/pre|]]]|]
The General Meeting of Shareholders thanked all employees of A.S. Création
for their commitment. The acts of the Managing Board and the Supervisory
Board were approved almost unanimously. It was decided to distribute a
dividend of EUR 1.20 per share from the profit of the year 2009.
On the occasion of the General Meeting of Shareholders, Franz Jürgen
Schneider announced that the Supervisory Board had decided on this day to
renew the contracts with CEO Jörn Kämper and CFO Maik Krämer, which will
expire on March 31, 2011, by another term of office until March 31, 2016 to
ensure management continuity. CPO Bernhard Wagner, who will go into
retirement on March 31, 2011 after having spent more than 30 years with the
company, will probably be replaced internally.
Gummersbach, May 7, 2010
A.S. Création Tapeten AG
The Managing Board
The full 3-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
Contact:
Maik Krämer
Vorstand Finanzen
Südstr. 47
D-51645 Gummersbach
Telefon + 49 - (0)22 61/542-387
Fax + 49 - (0)22 61/542-304
E-Mail: m.kraemer@as-creation.de
07.05.2010 14:29 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Media Release distributed by DGAP. Medienarchiv at |[![CDATA[|[a href="http://www.dgap-medientreff.de"|]www.dgap-medientreff.de|[/a|]]]|] and |[![CDATA[|[a href="http://www.dgap.de"|]www.dgap.de|[/a|]]]|]
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Language: English
Company: A.S. Création Tapeten AG
SüdstraÃe 47
51645 Gummersbach
Deutschland
Phone: +49 22 61 54 2-0
Fax: +49 22 61 54 2-3 04
E-mail: investor@as-creation.de
Internet: http://www.as-creation.de
ISIN: DE0005079909
WKN: 507990
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, München, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Hamburg
End of News DGAP News-Service
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DGAP-News: A.S. Création reports 25% increase in earnings in Q1 2010. General Meeting of Shareholders approves dividend of EUR 1.20 for 2009.
| Source: EQS Group AG