revenue up 20.2 percent to € 113.6 million / EBIT up 34.9 percent to € 11.9 million / net profit € 7.0 or € 1.04 per share
In the third quarter, too, revenue and earnings of technotrans made highly satisfactory progress. During that period, the company generated revenue of € 38.1 million (previous year € 31.1 million), an increase of more than € 7 million or 22.8 percent. Revenue overall rose to € 113.6 million (previous year € 94.5 million), equivalent to a rise of 20.2 percent. technotrans thus yet again succeeded in benefiting from the general recovery in the market to an above-average degree.
The growth in revenue again went hand in hand with a further improvement in earnings. Gross profit in the third quarter rose to € 13.2 million (previous year € 11.6 million, up 13.9 percent). The figure at the nine-month mark was € 39.0 million (previous year € 33.0), an increase of 18.2 percent. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) improved by 16 percent in the third quarter, from € 3.4 million in the previous year to € 4.0 million in 2006. At the nine-month mark, EBIT reached € 11.9 million (previous year € 8.8 million), with the EBIT margin consequently improving overall from 9.3 to 10.5 percent).
As announced, the production location in California was closed at the end of the third quarter and operations have now been concentrated at the second location near Chicago. The one-off costs of this measure are likely to be included in full in the nine-month figures.
The associated costs likewise meant that the net profit for the period amounted to only € 2.2 million (previous year € 1.9 million) in the third quarter. Overall, the net profit after nine months was up 36.6 percent from € 5.1 million in 2005 to € 7.0 million in the current financial year, equivalent to earnings per share of € 1.04 (previous year € 0.77).
The number of employees in the Group showed a moderate rise of 5.0 percent over the first nine months compared with the prior-year period, from an average of 680 to 714.
Targets for full year upgraded Business for 2006 to date has made better progress than originally planned. The Board of Management has consequently resolved to upgrade the targets for the year as a whole. Instead of revenue in excess of € 140 million, it now expects the company to complete the financial year with revenue in the order of € 150 million (previous year € 129.8 million). At the same time, it is expected that the net profit for the year will also be higher than originally planned (€ 8.5 to 9 million, previous year € 7.5 million) despite the additional costs of merging the two American locations. This expectation is based on business remaining steady, without any goodwill impairment as a result of the impairment tests that will be performed at the end of the year.
The Segments With a 21.9 percent rise on the corresponding prior-year quarter (€ 23.7 million) to € 28.9 million, technotrans again succeeded in boosting revenue for the Technology segment by a quite considerable amount. At the nine-month mark, this figure has risen by almost € 15 million, from € 72.5 million to € 87.2 million (+ 20.3 percent). This growth stems overwhelmingly from the positive development of the printing industry.
In consequence of the merger of our American production locations, the result for the segment was again slightly diminished in this quarter. At € 2.3 million, the company nevertheless succeeded in posting a result broadly in line with the previous year (€ 2.2 million). After three quarters, the result for the segment is now € 8.1 million (previous year € 5.3 million), a gain of 52.3 percent. The EBIT margin showed an overall improvement in rising to 9.2 percent, compared with 7.3 percent in the previous year.
Third-quarter revenue for the Services segment showed a rise of 25.5 percent to € 9.2 million (previous year: € 7.4 million). As a major one-off project was billed during this period, any comparisons with other quarters are of only limited validity. Revenue had risen to € 26.4 million (previous year € 22.0 million) nine months into the year, this being equivalent to growth of 20.1 percent.
The leap in earnings in the third quarter is likewise extraordinary. The result for the segment rose from € 1.1 million to € 1.6 million in the third quarter, pushing the rate of return for the segment up to 17.5 percent (previous year 14.8 percent). After nine months, the result for the segment was € 3.6 million and is therefore 12.0 percent up on the prior-year figure (€ 3.3 million). Notwithstanding the one-off effect of the major project, technotrans has achieved the declared aim of boosting the rate of return for the segment as the year has progressed, following a weak start. At the nine-month mark, the margin is now 13.8 percent.
Outlook technotrans' most important market, the printing industry, is enjoying a broad-based recovery. These positive framework conditions should dominate technotrans' market context for the next few months and establish a favourable basis for further growth. The company is moreover benefiting to a disproportionately high degree from the positive fortunes of the industry thanks to its long-standing strategy of "more technotrans per printing press". With the forthcoming series launch of the new contex.c blanket cleaners, technotrans is for instance tapping into a significant market segment that affords considerable revenue potential over the next few years.
"In summary," says Heinz Harling, Chairman of the Board of Management, "we expect the climate to remain favourable not only for the next few months, but probably also in the medium term; this should support the further positive development of technotrans especially in the largest segment Technology."
Technology