DGAP-News: Roth&Rau AG confirms key figures for financial year 2009
(firmenpresse) - Roth&Rau AG / Final Results
31.03.2010 12:05
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Roth&Rau AG confirms key figures for financial year 2009
- Second best financial year in spite of the crisis
- Acquisitions and investments strengthen the market position
- Outlook on 2010: Sales and earnings expected to grow
Hohenstein-Ernstthal, 31 March 2010 - At today's annual results press and
analysts' conference in Frankfurt am Main, Roth&Rau AG presented the
consolidated financial statements for the year 2009.
In spite of the difficult sector environment, Roth&Rau reported the
second best result in the history of the company, following the record year
2008. The Group generated sales revenues of EUR 197.9 million (2008: EUR
272.1 million) and EBIT of EUR 16.1 million (2008: EUR 28.5 million). The
EBIT margin stood at 8.1%, compared to 10.5% in the previous year. These
results were in line with the November 2009 forecast. 'Needless to say, we
felt the effects of the economic crisis and the declining momentum in our
industry. We are nevertheless satisfied with our operating performance in
the past financial year, which even exceeded the year 2007. We are also
proud of the strategic success in the past year, which saw us strengthen
our market position thanks to selected acquisitions and increased R&D
spending. We are now excellently positioned to benefit from future growth
in the solar sector,' said a satisfied Dr. Roth, CEO of Roth&Rau AG.
Investments remain at high level
In 2009, the company placed a strategic focus on the expansion of the
research and development activities in the field of highly efficient cell
technologies. The opening of the technology centres in Hohenstein-Ernstthal
and at the Swiss Institute for Microtechnology in Neuchâtel was an
important milestone. 'Solar cells with an efficiency of over 20% were
produced on the pilot plants in Neuchâtel already in early February 2010,
i.e. six months earlier than planned. This confirms our objective to
achieve at least 20% also under production conditions with the introduction
of the next but one solar cell generation based on hetero junction
technology,' said Dr. Roth.
The acquisitions made by the company also helped to increase its
competitiveness. Thanks to the takeovers, the product and service portfolio
has been expanded primarily in the fields of customer support, plant
automation and process management. In addition, the diffusion and firing
stages were integrated into the product range. As a result, Roth&Rau is
now able to supply up to 80% of the products and services required for the
production of crystalline silicon solar cells, compared to 45% in 2008. The
acquisition of CTF Solar GmbH additionally enables the company to expand
the thin film business. From 2010, Roth&Rau will launch turnkey
production lines for the manufacture of solar modules based on cadmium
telluride technology. For this purpose, a joint venture agreement with a
Chinese solar company was signed in February of this year.
Roth&Rau also invested in the expansion of its workforce in the fields of
R&D, technology, engineering and administration as well as in staff
training and education. In this context, the Roth&Rau Academy was opened
in 2009, which offers employees and customers a wide variety of further
training opportunities. Against this background, personnel expenses
increased by EUR 18.6 million to EUR 38.7 million in the past financial
year (2008: EUR 20.1 million).
The optimisation initiatives in the field of materials management, which
were introduced in 2008, were continued successfully in 2009. The
Group-wide procurement process has been restructured and improved, which
had a positive effect on supply security and the cost of materials. As a
result of the reduced business volume and the cost-cutting measures, the
cost of materials declined from EUR 205.3 million to EUR 118.1 million.
Consolidated net income of the Roth&Rau Group amounted to EUR 12.9
million in 2009 (2008: EUR 23.0 million), which is equivalent to earnings
per share of EUR 0.94 (2008: EUR 1.82). Says CFO Carsten Bovenschen: 'As
had been planned, we maintained investments at a high level in the past
year and accepted a temporary decline in the result. In addition, we
strengthened our internal structures and pushed ahead the integration of
the new subsidiaries. Overall, the Group is excellently positioned for the
coming years.'
Outlook
In the financial year 2010, the company will continue to place its
strategic focus on investments in R&D and the expansion of the product and
technology portfolio. To achieve this goal, Roth&Rau will seize
acquisition opportunities as they arise. The company sees operational
growth potential primarily outside Germany. Besides China, India will by
the most important market in Asia, while the USA, South America and North
Africa will also be interesting markets in the long term.
Bovenschen explained the forecast for the year 2010: 'We assume that the
spending restraint in the sector will slowly disappear. With orders worth
EUR 54.6 million received in the first three months of the year, our order
situation remains very positive. Provided that the environment continues to
improve moderately, we project sales revenues of EUR 285 million and an
EBIT margin of around 9% for the financial year 2010.'
About Roth&Rau AG:
Roth&Rau AG, based in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, has been one of the world's
leading suppliers of production equipment and innovative production
technologies for the photovoltaics industry for more than 10 years now. In
its photovoltaics segment, Roth&Rau focuses on providing antireflective
coating systems and turnkey production lines for use in the manufacture of
crystalline silicon solar cells. Further products include thermal
processing systems also used in the manufacture of crystalline silicon
solar cells, as well as coating systems and turnkey production lines for
the manufacture of thin film solar modules. Roth&Rau MicroSystems, a
subsidiary located in the Wüstenbrand district, develops and produces
process systems for plasma and ion beam enhanced thin film and surface
processing methods tailored to customers' specific needs. The customers
served by this division particularly include companies in the semiconductor
industry, R&D departments in various other industrial sectors, research
institutes and universities. The portfolio of the Roth&Rau Group is
supplemented by software products in the field of systems management,
production monitoring and maintenance and service offerings. Roth&Rau
posted sales of EUR 197.9 million and EBIT of EUR 16.1 million in the 2009
financial year. The Roth&Rau Group had a total workforce of 874 employees
as of 31 December 2009.
Contact:
Roth&Rau AG
Dr. Silvia Roth
Tel.: +49 (0) 3723/6685-333
E-Mail: investor(at)roth-rau.de
Haubrok Investor Relations GmbH
Simone Gorny
Tel.: +49 (0) 211/30126-130
E-Mail: s.gorny(at)haubrok.de
31.03.2010 12:05 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Media Release distributed by DGAP. Medienarchiv atwww.dgap-medientreff.deandwww.dgap.de---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Language: English
Company: Roth&Rau AG
An der Baumschule 6-8
09337 Hohenstein-Ernstthal
Deutschland
Phone: 03723 6685-0
Fax: 03723 6685-100
E-mail: info(at)roth-rau.de
Internet: www.roth-rau.de
ISIN: DE000A0JCZ51
WKN: A0JCZ5
Indices: TecDAX
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, München, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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