The Board of Directors of FLS Industries A/S has today reviewed and adopted the report and accounts for the first nine months of 2004. The Report is unaudited and presented in accordance with the same accounting policies as the 2003 Annual Report.
The full report is accessible via the Internet at:
http://www.flsindustries.com/investor/fls_reports.htm
The main conclusions are as follows:
Financial results
* All operating units apart from Airtech and FFE Minerals improved their earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) for the first nine months of 2004 compared to the same period of last year.
* EBITA amounted to DKK 161m in the third quarter as against DKK -235m in the same quarter of last year and DKK 305m for the first nine months of 2004 as against DKK -539m for the same period of last year.
* Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) amounted to DKK 136m in the third quarter as against DKK -262m in the same quarter of last year and DKK 232m for the first nine months of 2004 as against DKK -615m for the same period of last year.
* Earnings before tax (EBT) amounted to DKK 107m in the third quarter of 2004 as against DKK -324m in the same quarter of last year and DKK 79m for the first nine months of 2004 as against DKK -122m for the same period of last year which was positively influenced by the DKK 648m in profits accruing from sale of activities (Secil).
* Cash flows from operating activities amounted to DKK 252m in the third quarter as against DKK -70m for the same period of last year.
* The FLS Group's net turnover for the third quarter of 2004 was DKK 3,371m as against DKK 3,629m for the same quarter of the year before in which FLS Aerospace contributed a turnover of DKK 499m. The turnover amounted to DKK 11,038m in the first nine months of 2004 compared to DKK 10,684m for the same period of the year before.
* The FLSmidth companies received orders worth DKK 2.0bn in the third quarter as against DKK 1.7bn in the same quarter of last year. The order intake was DKK 6.9bn for the first nine months of 2004 as against DKK 6.6bn for the same period of last year. The total order backlog at the end of the third quarter amounted to DKK 8.2bn as against DKK 7.9bn at the end of 2003.
* The FLS Group's net interest-bearing debt at the end of the third quarter of 2004 amounted to DKK 2.9bn as against DKK 3.1bn at the end of the second quarter.
Other issues
* As a consequence of the strategy adopted by the FLS Group to concentrate entirely on equipment and complete plants for the cement and minerals industries, the Group's building material undertakings will eventually be sold. These disposals will take place as the companies concerned become ready for sale.
* The sale of Aalborg Portland and Unicon to the Italian cement group Cementir was closed on 29 October 2004 and is therefore not included in the third quarter accounts. FLS Industries is now without interest-bearing debt.
* As part of the process to make the Dansk Eternit Holding Group ready for sale, the book values will be assessed before the end of the year.
Prospects for the FLS Group for the whole of 2004
* The FLS Group maintains its expectations for consolidated turnover at approximately DKK 14bn.
* The FLS Group maintains its previously announced forecast of EBITA, EBIT and EBT as follows, exclusive of a possible value adjustment of Dansk Eternit Holding:
-Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) around the level of DKK 400-500m.
-Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) around the level of DKK 300-400m.
-Earnings before tax (EBT) around the level of DKK 750-850m.
FLS Industries A/S
Corporate Public Relations