ElringKlinger lifts revenue to EUR 371 million in Q1 2015 based on preliminary figures

ElringKlinger AG  / Key word(s): Preliminary Results29.04.2015 07:55Dissemination of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmittedby DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.---------------------------------------------------------------------------ElringKlinger lifts revenue to EUR 371 million in Q1 2015 based onpreliminary figures  - Revenue increases by 14.6% - organically by 5.7% - to EUR 371.4 million  - Adjusted EBIT before purchase price allocations (EUR 1.3 million) at    EUR 36.7 million  - Outlook for 2015: organic revenue growth of 5 to 7% plus acquisitions;    adjusted EBIT of around EUR 165 million before purchase price    allocationsDettingen/Erms (Germany), April 29, 2015   +++ Based on preliminaryfigures, the ElringKlinger Group managed to increase sales revenue by 14.6%in the first quarter of 2015, taking the figure to EUR 371.4 (324.0)million. At an organic level, i.e. without the effects of acquisition andcurrency translation, growth totaled 5.7%. Thus, ElringKlinger againoutperformed the global vehicle markets in terms of growth. The companybenefited in particular from significant structural growth in many of itsproduct groups targeted at CO2 reduction.The first-time consolidation of M&W Manufacturing Company, Inc., Warren/USA(M&W), as from February 14, 2015, contributed additional revenue of EUR 4.9million. The entity's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) totaled EUR0.6 million (including purchase price allocation of EUR 0.3 million).The Group EBIT figure for the first quarter of 2015 was EUR 35.4 (42.1)million. Before purchase price allocations (EUR 1.3 million), EBIT amountedto EUR 36.7 (43.0) million, thus falling short of the prior-year figure.The comparative base of the Exhaust Gas Purification division (Hug) wasextremely high in the first quarter of the previous financial year, whichhas to be taken into account in a year-on-year comparison. In the firstquarter of 2014, Hug - buoyed by billings relating to two major projects -had contributed earnings before interest and taxes of EUR 7.6 million onthe back of revenue of EUR 20.7 million. In the first quarter of 2015, bycontrast, Hug generated revenue of EUR 12.2 million. In addition, EBIT wasdiluted by the sudden appreciation of the Swiss franc against the euro. Dueto the higher cost base, the Swiss subsidiary Hug didn't make acontribution to earnings in the first quarter of 2015. The strength of theSwiss franc also had an impact on ElringKlinger Abschirmtechnik,Switzerland, in the first quarter of 2015, albeit to a lesser extent thatin the case of Hug. In total, the appreciation of the Swiss franc dilutedGroup EBIT by around EUR 2.5 million.Business in the Original Equipment segment of the ElringKlinger Group wascharacterized by extremely high capacity utilization during the firstquarter of 2015. Individual divisions within this segment recorded adisproportionately large surge in demand. This necessitated theintroduction of extra shifts and production runs, thus additionally pushingthe cost base up by around EUR 4 million.Additionally, the staff profit-sharing bonus agreed for employees atElringKlinger AG, ElringKlinger Kunststofftechnik GmbH and Elring KlingerMotortechnik GmbH in respect of the 2014 financial year had an impact onearnings in the first quarter of 2015, as did the wage increase of 2.2%that has been in effect since May 1, 2014, and the one-off payment of EUR150 per employee in March 2015, as stipulated under the collectiveagreement. This resulted in additional staff costs of around EUR 2.5million in total.The EBIT margin (before purchase price allocations) thus stood at justunder 10% (13.3 %). In addition to being impacted by the factors outlinedabove during the first quarter of 2015, the EBIT margin was diluted by thefull consolidation of ElringKlinger Marusan Corporation, Japan, (around 0.3percentage points) as well as the persistently sluggish performance of theE-Mobility division (around 0.6 percentage points). Additionally, the Groupincurred start-up costs in connection with the commencement of serialproduction - scheduled for the second quarter of 2015 - of pioneeringhybrid polymer-metal components. This will contribute to improved marginsas from 2016.Earnings before taxes were higher than EBIT in the first quarter 2015,having benefited from positive foreign exchange effects accounted for inthe Group's net finance result, and totaled EUR 38.9 (39.5) million.Order intake up 23%Order intake developed well in the first quarter of 2015, rising by 25.0%to EUR 414.0 (331.2) million. On an organic basis, i.e. excluding theentity formerly known as M&W, order intake rose by 22.9% to EUR 407.1million. Order backlog as of March 31, 2015, thus totaled EUR 730.8 (602.6)million.Outlook 2015ElringKlinger anticipates that global automobile production will expand byaround 2% in 2015. Based on this assumption, the Group is targeting organicrevenue growth of 5 to 7%. Additionally, the consolidation of ElringKlingerAutomotive Manufacturing (M&W) will contribute around EUR 30 million toGroup revenue in the financial year as a whole.Against the backdrop of the Group's business performance in the firstquarter of 2015, ElringKlinger has already initiated measures aimed atoptimizing its earnings situation. The Group expects to achieve improvedearnings in the second half of 2015. EBIT, before purchase priceallocations and adjusted for non-recurring items, is expected to reacharound EUR 165 million in 2015 as a whole (previously: EUR 170 to 180million). The E-Mobility division is unlikely to see a fundamentalimprovement in its performance.________________________________________________________________________An explanatory conference call is scheduled to take place today, April 29,2015 (at 10 a.m.), in connection with the publication of the Group'spreliminary results for the first quarter of 2015. The full announcement ofthe definitive results for the first quarter of 2015 is scheduled for May6, 2015._________________________________________________________________________Contact:For further information, please contact:ElringKlinger AG - Investor Relations/Corporate PRSabrina HauflerMax-Eyth-Straße 272581 Dettingen/ErmsTel.: +49 (0)7123-724-137E-Mail: sabrina.haufler@elringklinger.com 29.04.2015 The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language:     EnglishCompany:      ElringKlinger AG              Max-Eyth-Straße 2              72581 Dettingen/Erms              GermanyPhone:        071 23 / 724-0Fax:          071 23 / 724-9006E-mail:       sabrina.haufler@elringklinger.comInternet:     www.elringklinger.deISIN:         DE0007856023WKN:          785602Indices:      MDAXListed:       Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Stuttgart;              Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg,              Hanover, Munich End of Announcement                             DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------