2005 financial year provides turnaround, company bond should consolidate financing structure
The final annual results confirm the positive trend in 2005. At €241.7 million, the record level of incoming orders exceeded the previous year’s figure by 25.8%. The order book as of December 31, 2005 amounted to €146.5 million, two thirds more than at the end of the previous year.
In the 2005 financial year, the CHRIST Group generated consolidated Group sales of €183.0 million (PY: €178.4 million). In an analysis of the 2.6% increase, it should be mentioned that, in contrast to 2004, no major projects were processed in 2005.
|
Sales (€ million) |
2005 |
2004 |
+/- % |
|
Pharma & Life Science (PhLS) |
46.8 |
31.0 |
+51.0% |
|
Ultrapure Water (UPW) |
71.1 |
96.9 |
-26.6% |
|
Food & Beverage (F&B) |
22.7 |
26.1 |
-13.0% |
|
Municipal Water Treatment (MWT) |
42.4 |
24.4 |
+73.8% |
|
Total Group sales |
183.0 |
178.4 |
+2.6% |
|
EBIT (€ million) |
2005 |
2004 |
+/- % |
|
Pharma & Life Science (PhLS) |
1.7 |
0.9 |
+82.8% |
|
Ultrapure Water (UPW) |
1.1 |
-6.5 |
- |
|
Food & Beverage (F&B) |
-1.0 |
0.7 |
- |
|
Municipal Water Treatment (MWT) |
2.2 |
1.6 |
+35.8% |
|
Total Group EBIT |
4.0 |
-3.2 |
- |
With the exception of the Food & Beverage segment, all segments contributed to the clear improvement in earnings. The greatest impact came from the Ultrapure Water segment which posted EBIT of €-6.5 million in 2004 and €+1.1 in the 2005 reporting year. The year 2004 included effects of old projects accepted below manufacturing costs. In 2005, such effects were much lower. The Pharma & Life Science segment benefited from the improved capacity utilization as a result of increased operational output. As in the past, the Municipal Water Treatment segment made an above-average contribution of €2.2 million to the Group’s success and once again exceeded the previous year’s earnings (€1.6 million) by 35.8%. The earnings performance in the Food & Beverage segment was disappointing. Here, as a result of the lack of major orders in the food industry from Eastern Europe, which had been processed during the past three years, the decreased volume of incoming orders was not enough to cover the fixed costs, making operating adjustment measures necessary. As a result of these adjusting expenses, EBIT decreased to €-1.0 million (PY: €+0.7 million).
Group earnings after minority interests were €2.9 million after a loss of €4.1 million in the previous year. Consequently, earnings per share in 2005 amounted to €0.16 per share, as against €-0.23 in 2004.
Significant reduction of net debt
As a result of positive cash flow, the CHRIST Group reduced its net debt to €20.4 million at year-end 2005. Consequently, gearing (net debt in relation to equity) improved from 92.9% to 49.5%. There was only a slight change in the Group’s total assets year-on-year, which totaled €144.4 million. As of December 31, 2005, the Group equity totaled €41.2 million, i.e. an equity ratio of 28.5% against 27.6% in 2004.
Outlook
Following the spin-off of CHRIST WATER TECHNOLOGY AG from BWT Aktiengesellschaft, the CHRIST Group is focusing on further developing the Group in the area of industrial and municipal water treatment. According to Dr. Karl Michael Millauer, Chairman of the Management Board, "The further internationalization of business activities, especially in the fast-growing Asian and Eastern European markets, is an important strategic goal, as is the extension of our customer service. On the basis of full order books and the CHRIST Group’s leading technological role in the growing market for water treatment, we are expecting to see considerable increases in both sales and Group earnings in 2006."
The long-term security of the Group financing and further optimization of the cash flow are also central focuses of attention at CHRIST.
CHRIST issues corporate bond
Christ Water Technology plans to issue a corporate bond to optimize the financing structure and to finance further growth. The bond should support the transformation process into a leading global provider of water technology and increase the financial scope to implement business opportunities. The bond will be offered to both institutional and private investors.
The key data of the bond:
Issue volume: €50 million.
Duration: 7 years
Interest rate: fixed, roughly 5.0% (will be established and published immediately before
subscription period)
Subscription period: April 21-25, 2006
The bond will be officially listed in the regulated over-the-counter market of the Vienna stock exchange. Bank Austria Creditanstalt will act as the lead manager.
Over the last few years, CHRIST has developed into a globally operating turnkey provider for water technology for customers in the pharmaceutical life sciences, microelectronics, petrochemical and other industries, food and beverages and for municipalities (treatment of drinking and waste water as well as desalination). A number of acquisitions and joint ventures have resulted in the setting up of sales and production facilities in China, India and the USA as well as in further consolidation of the already strong presence in Europe.
| Key financial data (Thd. €) |
2005 |
2004 |
Change |
| Order intake |
241,701 |
192,029 |
25.9% |
| Sales |
183,029 |
178,378 |
2.6% |
| EBITDA |
6,602 |
-398 |
- |
| EBIT |
3,982 |
-3,237 |
- |
| EBIT-Margin |
2.2% |
-1.8% |
- |
| EBT |
2,748 |
-4,663 |
- |
|
Net attribuable income |
2,902 |
-4,082 |
- |
| Earnings per share (€) |
0.16 |
-0.23 |
- |
| Cash Flow (result) |
4,647 |
-1,517 |
- |
| Operating Cash Flow |
10,818 |
4,632 |
133.5% |
| Investments |
3,133 |
3,943 |
-20.5% |
| Equity capital |
41,185 |
39,894 |
3.2% |
| Equity ratio |
25.8% |
27.6% |
- |
| Net debt |
20,399 |
37,076 |
-45.0% |
| Gearing |
50% |
93% |
- |
| Staff |
842 |
796 |
5.8% |
Contact:
Christ Water Technology AG, A-5310 Mondsee, Walter-Simmer-Str. 4
DDr. Karl Michael Millauer, CEO, Tel. +43 (0)664 2002305
Ralf Burchert, CEFA, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Tel. +43 (0)6232 5011 1113, Fax +43 (0)6232 5011 1109,
E-mail: ralf.burchert@christ-water.com
Financial calendar 2006
Annual General Meeting 2005 May 24
1Q report May 22
1H report August 18
1-3Q report November 20
Corporate profile of CHRIST WATER TECHNOLOGY:
The CHRIST WATER TECHNOLOGY Group is the European market leader in industrial water treatment technology with key positions in important growth markets in Asia. More than 800 employees in 30 Group companies worldwide develop, plan, construct and supervise pure and ultrapure water plants for industrial customers and drinking water, waste water and desalination plants for municipalities on a turnkey basis according to the motto “Water to Match Your Needs”. The CHRIST WATER TECHNOLOGY share is listed in the Prime Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange (ISIN: AT0000499157).
DISCLAIMER: This announcement does not constitute an offer or an invitation for the subscription or sale of securities. No public offering of the bonds will be made outside of the Republic of Austria, in particular no public offering will be made in the United States of America. A prospectus approved by the Austrian Financial Market Authority and published pursuant to sec 10 para 3 Capital Markets Act may be obtained at CHRIST WATER TECHNOLOGY AG, Walter-Simmer-Straße 4, A-5310 Mondsee, and at Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG, Vordere Zollamtsstraße 13, A-1030 Vienna, during the usual business hours free of charge. In connection with the offering of bonds of CHRIST WATER TECHNOLOGY AG, only the information contained in such prospectus is binding. This announcement and the information contained herein may not be published or distributed in the United States of America, Canada, Japan and Australia. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the Securities Act.