Successful start to new fiscal year
Sales raised to €790 million in 1999 - Dividend to stay at year-earlier levelIn fiscal 1999, the Vossloh Group generated sales of €790.1 million and a Group pretax profit, or EBT, of €41.4 million, both above the expectations outlined in December 1999.
Compared with the previous year, Vossloh thus raised sales by 37 percent. The companies acquired in 1998 and for the first time consolidated for a full 12-month period, as well as the 1999 takeovers contributed some €200 million to this sales growth. The like-for-like sales increase would have been 2 percent.
The operating profit exceeded the preceding year's by 9 percent. Owing to restructuring measures in the Lighting division and in Mechanical Engineering totaling some €19 million, EBT reached only €41.4 million, meaning €14 million or 25 percent less than in the preceding year. The Group's net income (after third-party P/L shares) amounted to €17.6 million, hence down 44 percent or €13.6 million from the 1998 level.
According to the budget presented in December 1999, Group sales are set to rise in the current fiscal year to €800 million and Group net income to €22 million. The Executive Board will report on the encouraging first quarter of 2000 at the presentation on April 26, 2000.
Taking the current profit situation into account among other factors, the Executive and Supervisory Boards will propose to the June 8, 2000 annual stockholders' meeting of Vossloh AG to resolve the distribution of a cash dividend of €0.60 net per share. This distribution, for the first time denominated in euro, is slightly above the prior year's DM 1.15.
Werdohl, March 24, 2000
If you have any further queries please contact:
Hans-Christian Semmler, phone (+49-2392) 52407
email: hans-christian.semmler@ag.vossloh.de