Contact:
Hannes Roither
Phone: +43 (0)662 4684 2260
E-Mail: h.roither@palfinger.com
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Kitzbuehel, Austria (pts044/23.01.2003/10:23) - 2002 was a difficult year for the Palfinger Group. Due to difficult global business conditions, sales of systems fell about six percent. Nevertheless, projects with long-term future effects in production processes (RAP) and the optimization of plant location were introduced as scheduled. In 2002, revenue fell 7.6 percent to EUR 306.8m. This was mainly because of poor economic conditions, particularly in Germany, and because of the completion of inventory reductions. The Group's projected operating earnings (EBIT) stood at EUR 23.0m from EUR 38.1m in 2001, a drop of 39.6 percent. These figures reflect reduced production utilization, the unfavorable exchange rate between the Euro and the US Dollar and a shift in product mix toward less profitable products.
Even so, comparisons with the company's peer group show the continued strength of Palfinger, which is again the top player thanks to its EBIT margin of 7.5 percent. The Group's equity ratio reached a historic high of about 45 percent.
The management expects a slight improvement in sales, earnings and margins for 2003.
The figures presented are provisional results taken from the projected IAS statements. The final results will be published on 24 March 2003. Contact: Hannes Roither, PALFINGER AG, Public & Investor Relations, http://www.palfinger.com
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