Koenig & Bauer AG / Dividend / Ad hoc: Koenig & Bauer AG proposes a dividend of 40 cents per share . Processed and transmitted by Thomson Reuters ONE. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The KBA group posted in 2012 a significant increase in operating profit. KBA's traditional business - as press manufacturer - is in sheetfed and web offset presses but is also successfully active in growing markets, such as packaging, security, digital printing and coding. Earnings before and after tax were higher than in 2011, despite a considerable one-off special depreciation. The management and supervisory boards will propose a dividend of 40 cents per share at the AGM on 13 June 2013 to allow shareholders to participate in the group's positive result and the profit of the Koenig & Bauer AG.
Group sales climbed by 10.9% to €1,293.9m, compared to the prior-year figure of €1,167.2m. Sheetfed offset sales rose by 10.2% to €643.2m triggered by the industry's leading trade show, Drupa. Despite newspaper, illustration and magazine printers reluctance to invest, in the web and special press division sales increased by 11.5% to €650.7m driven by strong business in special presses. However, the intake of new orders came to €1,116.2m, 28.1% lower than 2011. While the sheetfed division saw a 17.1% increase, orders for web and special presses were only half as high as in the record previous year. At the end of 2012 order backlog came to €648m, still more than in the years 2008 to 2010.
Cost-cutting measures and higher contribution margins from a rise in sales and the growth in service and special press turnover resulted in an operating profit before special items of €43.1m. Despite enormous ongoing pricing pressure affecting the web and sheetfed offset business, this figure is more than four times that of 2011 (€9.9m). KBA's sheetfed division was affected by a one-off special depreciation on fixed assets of €27.1m. Following this value adjustment, group operating profit stood at €16m. Benefiting from an advantageous product mix, the web and special press division posted a jump in earnings to €54.7m, almost twice the figure for 2011 (€28m). However, the one-time impairment as well as high trade show and launch costs for new press generations dampened operational earnings in the sheetfed sector. Following a €18.1m loss the previous year, earnings in this division fell to -€38.7m. Excluding the impairment this segment's result stood at -€11.6m.
Group pre-tax profit (EBT) climbed from €3.3m in 2011 to €6.1m. KBA posted a net group profit (after tax) of €2.3m and earnings per share of 14 cents.
Although the execution of major projects and the decline in new orders for web presses resulted in a fall in customer prepayments, cash flow from operating activities remained high at €83.3m (2011: €83.9m). Free cash flow grew from €57.8m to €61.2m causing liquid assets to swell to €206.3m. After scaling back bank loans to €31.6m, KBA's strong net financial position of +€174.7m plus credit lines approved for the next three years strengthen the group's solid financial standing. This is also reflected in the group's equity ratio of 40.2% and an above-average equity-to-fixed-assets ratio.
In the outlook for 2013, KBA management refers to the unstable market environment, ongoing consolidation in the printing press industry and further risks, such as exchange rate developments, which make longer-term forecasts difficult. The KBA board will therefore clarify its views further in the interim reports to come.
KBA expects a boost in sheetfed offset sales triggered by the world's second-largest trade show, China Print, in May. A further moderate increase in earnings and sales similar to 2012 are the group's targets for 2013 based on the current order and project situation. The group envisages a slight decline in sales for web offset presses and security printing systems, which will have to be counteracted with cost-cutting measures in the web division. In the sheetfed segment the strategy of not concentrating purely on sales volume is accompanied by cost savings especially in manufacturing. Beside the additional optimisation of the group's internal processes, diversifying in growth markets remains a focus.
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Source: Koenig & Bauer AG via Thomson Reuters ONE
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Koenig & Bauer AG
Friedrich-Koenig-Straße 4 Würzburg Germany
WKN: 719350;ISIN: DE0007193500;Index:SDAX;
Listed: Freiverkehr in Börse Stuttgart,
Freiverkehr in Hanseatische Wertpapierbörse zu Hamburg,
Freiverkehr in Börse Berlin,
Freiverkehr in Börse Düsseldorf,
Freiverkehr in Niedersächsische Börse zu Hannover,
Prime Standard in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse,
Regulierter Markt in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse,
Regulierter Markt in Bayerische Börse München;
