DGAP-News: SURTECO SE: Margin for half year improved

DGAP-News: SURTECO SE / Key word(s): Half Year Results SURTECO SE: Margin for half year improved 09.08.2013 / 07:14 --------------------------------------------------------------------- SURTECO SE: Margin for half year improved - Sales fell in the difficult sector environment by 6 % to 199.2 million euros - Slight increase in earnings - EBITDA margin improved from 12.6 % to 13.3 % - Outlook for 2013: Sound earnings development despite ongoing difficult framework conditions Buttenwiesen-Pfaffenhofen, 9 August 2013 - The first half year of 2013 for SURTECO SE - one of the world's leading manufacturers of decorative surface finishes - was defined by a difficult sector environment. Sales of 199.2 million euros lagged 6 % behind the comparable year-earlier period (210.9 million euros). As a result of consistent cost management and a slight easing on the procurement side, earnings before interest, tax and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) nevertheless underwent a slight increase at 26.6 million euros. The EBITDA margin increased from 12.6 % to 13.3 % and the EBIT margin went up by 0.7 percentage points to 8.0 %. Earnings after tax rose slightly to 8.0 million euros (HY1 2012: 7.8 million euros). 'SURTECO maintained its position well in a difficult environment. We have been able to report a stable result and improved margins for the half year,' was the conclusion of the Chairman of the Board of Management of SURTECO SE Friedhelm Päfgen. Free cash flow reduced, but continuingly positive Increased net current assets reduced the free cash flow to 6.2 million euros (2012: 11.1 million euros). The equity ratio of 46.3 % is slightly below the value for the year 2012 (47.8 %). Conversely, net debt was reduced slightly to 101.2 million euros. Outlook for 2013: No upturn expected in the second half year The Board of Management is not expecting an upturn in business activities for the second half year. SURTECO is therefore assuming total sales for the year 2013 amounting to less than 400 million euros (2012: 407.7 million euros). However, earnings before tax at the level of the previous year are still the aim on the basis of this sales expectation. You can find the report for the first half year of 2013 and other information on SURTECO SE on the Internet by going to www.surteco.com. Important indicators of SURTECO SE (in EUR million) <pre> H1 2012 H1 2013 Sales revenues 210.9 199.2 - of which SBU Paper 88.7 82.0 - of which SBU Plastics 122.2 117.2 Foreign sales in % 67.7 68.8 EBITDA 26.5 26.6 EBITDA margin in % 12.6 13.3 EBIT 15.5 16.0 EBT 11.5 11.9 Consolidated net profit 7.8 8.0 Earnings per share in EUR 1 0.70 0.72 Cash flow from current business operations 20.7 13.2 Free Cashflow 11.1 6.2 </pre> <pre> 31/12/2012 30/06/2013 Balance sheet total 467.3 481.6 Equity 223.2 223.2 Net debt 101.8 101.2 Gearing (level of debt) in 2 46 45 Equity ratio in % 47.8 46.3 Employees 1,967 1,972 </pre> (1) Based on an unchanged number of shares amounting to 11,075,522 (2) Net debt / Equity Profile of SURTECO SURTECO SE, Buttenwiesen-Pfaffenhofen, is a leading international specialist for surface technologies. The product portfolio includes papers printed with decorative designs, decorative flat foils and edgebandings based on specialist papers for technical applications and plastics. The extensive product portfolio is completed by skirtings made of plastic, do-it-yourself ranges and shutter and cladding systems. The Group currently has a workforce of appr. 2,000 and manufactures at 15 sites on four continents, currently generating approximately 31 % of sales in Germany, 44 % in European countries outside Germany and the remainder in America, Asia and Australia. Customers of SURTECO generally come from the furnishing industry and the construction sector. The shares of the company are listed on the official market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt and Munich Stock Exchanges under the ticker symbol SUR and ISIN DE0005176903. They are also traded on the stock markets in Berlin/Bremen, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart. Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements This press release contains statements of future forecasts or expectations and other forward-looking statements and involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties. There is therefore no guarantee for the statements and expectations expressed herein. The actual results and developments may differ substantially. The company does not intend to - and assumes no obligation - to update any forward looking statements contained herein or to adapt such information to future results or developments. Contact: <pre> SURTECO SE Andreas Riedl Martin Miller Chief Financial Officer Investor Relations and Press Office + 49 (0) 8274/99 88-563 + 49 (0) 8274/99 88-508 Internet www.surteco.com Email ir@SURTECO.com Fax + 49 (0) 8274/99 88-515 </pre> End of Corporate News --------------------------------------------------------------------- 09.08.2013 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: SURTECO SE Johan-Viktor-Bausch-Str. 2 86647 Buttenwiesen-Pfaffenhofen Germany Phone: +49 (0)8274 99 88-0 Fax: +49 (0)8274 99 88-5 05 E-mail: ir@surteco.com Internet: www.surteco.com ISIN: DE0005176903 WKN: 517 690 Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), München; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service --------------------------------------------------------------------- 225022 09.08.2013