Press Release, 14.05.2008
TA Triumph-Adler AG confirms its targets
Subdued start into current financial year, March results meet expectations
Sales exceed EUR 100 million, earnings before tax at EUR 2,7 million
Nuremberg, May, 14, 2008: In the first three months of 2008 TA Triumph-Adler AG's consolidated revenue declined 2.3% year-on-year, from €105.2 million to €102.8 million. This amount contains €0.3 million of revenue from the new company TA Triumph-Adler Hessen-Thüringen. Pre-tax earnings of €2.7 million were down 15.6% year-on-year. The TA Triumph-Adler Group failed to achieve its sales objectives in terms of organic growth, and it was consequently unable to reach the corresponding earnings targets. March was the first month to once again meet expectations. The company is retaining its targets for the current year and is aiming for revenue of at least €440 million, and earnings before tax of almost €20 million.
As announced the specialist for efficiency in the document business has reinforced its successful acquisition strategy in the course of the first quarter. Acquired were specialist dealer operations in the States of Northrhine-Westfalia and Hesse contributing planned sales of up to € 10 million on an annual basis. The number of machines that are contractually tied to customers (machines in field [mif]) was raised from around 178,000 as of December 31, 2007, to around 185,000 as of March 31, 2008.
The materials expense fell slightly, by €0.3 million, compared with the first three months of the previous year, to €68.6 million. This resulted in a fall in the gross profit ratio (calculated as a revenue minus materials expense expressed as a percentage of revenue) of around one percentage point to 33.3%.
Personnel expenditure and Other operating expenses were better than planned. Personnel expenditure in the first three months totaled €17.4 million (previous year period: €17.0 million), operating expenses declined by 11.3% to €11.0 million. Despite the gratifying decline in costs, we reported a 23.1% decline in operating earnings (EBIT) compared with the previous year period, with a drop from €7.8 million to €6.0 million. The EBIT return declined from 7.4% to 5.8%.
The net financial result improved during the first three months from -€4.6 billion in 2007 to -€3.3 million in the current year. The improvement is mainly a consequence of the new financing implemented in August 2007.
This consequently gave rise to earnings before tax of €2.7 million, following €3.2 million in the same quarter of the previous year. The tax expense during the quarter includes income and other tax payments, amounting to €0.3 million (previous year period: €0.3 million). Quarterly earnings consequently amounted to €2.4 million, following €2.9 million in the first three months of 2007.
As of March 31, 2008, total consolidated assets amounted to €315.9 million, a €1.1 million reduction of the balance sheet total compared with the level on December 31, 2007 (€317.0 million). There were no significant changes in the Group's current and non-current assets.
As presented in several prior publications, due to the determination of an error by the Deutsche Prüfstelle für Rechnungslegung (DPR / German Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel), TA Triumph-Adler made an adjustment to deferred tax assets of around €170 million in the consolidated financial statements for the 2005 financial year, and adjusted subsequent financial statements correspondingly. This resulted in Consolidated equity after deducting the minority interest amounting to EUR –49,2 million as of December 31, 2007, which improved to EUR –46,6 million as of March 31, 2008. The TA Triumph-Adler AG parent company equity capital stood at EUR 93.9 million as of December 31, 2007, an equity ratio of around 30%.
Our Group continues to generate stable cash flow, and enjoys good liquidity backing. Cash flow in the first three months of the current financial year fell slightly in a year-on-year comparison, from €6.4 million to €5.8 million. Cash flow from operating activities moved up markedly to €7.4 million (previous year period: €0.1 million). Cash and cash equivalents rose in the first quarter from €27.5 million on December 31, 2007 to €27.6 million on March 31, 2008.
A total of 1,409 employees were active in the companies of the TA Triumph-Adler Group as of the March 31, 2008 reporting date (March 31, 2007: 1,403). Included are around 30 staff members employed by activities acquired as of March 1, 2008.
As already announced, in the course of the first quarter TA Triumph-Adler has developed a detailed program, entitled "Gearing up for 2010!", to strengthen organic growth and earnings. Implementation of the package of measures planned as part of this program has already started. The six growth-oriented measures include expanding our service offerings, and the additional charging of special services to customers. Targeted and additional activities aim to significantly raise deliveries of, and revenues from, printers and color machines, and we shall further develop our major customer business.
In the medium term, market shares in the neighboring countries of Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic are to be raised to our current levels of market share in Germany, and we are investing in the expansion of our sales operations for solutions for the digital Document Business.The related measures will make a significant contribution to allowing us to reach our growth objectives in terms of revenue and earnings. Group revenue is planned to reach € 500 million with an EBIT return on sales of 9% by 2010 at the latest.
Further details can be obtained from:
TA Triumph-Adler AG
Dr. Joachim Fleing
Phone: +49 (0) 911 / 68 94 - 499
Fax: +49 (0) 911 / 68 98 -200
Mailing address:
Suedwestpark 23
D -90449 Nuremberg, Germany
ir@ta.ag
www.triumph-adler.de
TA Triumph-Adler is the specialist in the Document Business. The company analyses and provides consultancy services to corporate customers on an individual basis, and implements efficient document workflow. Both in paper and in electronic formats, and including long-term service. With more than 170,000 installed systems at over 35,000 satisfied end-customers, and drawing on 111 years of experience in the "Document Business", the corporation ranks as the market leader in Germany. Backed by more than 450 of its own document consultants, and 400 of its own system supporters, the company provides comprehensive, area-wide service, and is available for customers at 60 German locations, as well as internationally. TA Triumph-Adler offers modular solution concepts (Hardware = TOM "Total Output Management"; Software = DIDO "Digital Document Organization"). The company fields a full range of products in the areas of printing, fax, copying, scanning, and DMS, and, with TA Leasing GmbH, has its own financial services provider offering an extensive range of financing solutions for corporate customers. The Document Specialist also attends to the needs of major national and international customers through its specialized company, TA Triumph-Adler Corporate Consulting GmbH. TA Triumph-Adler AG is listed in the Prime Standard of Deutsche Börse (WKN 749500), and generated revenue of €378 million in the 2006 financial year with an employee base of 1,400 members of staff. The company engages with its social and societal-political responsibilities via the Triumph-Adler "Children in Need" Foundation, is committed to environmental protection, and pursues efficient and comprehensive corporate governance.
Important notice:
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions and estimates made by the management of TA Triumph-Adler AG. Even if the management of the company is of the view that these assumptions and estimates are appropriate, future actual developments and future actual events may diverge significantly from these assumptions and estimates due to various factors. These factors may include, by way of example, changes in the macroeconomic situation, exchange rates, interest rates, as well as changes both within the market and in the competitive environment as the result of technological change. TA Triumph-Adler AG provides no guarantee, and accepts no liability, if future developments, and results achieved in the future, do not accord with the assumptions and estimates expressed in this press release.
Sales exceed EUR 100 million, earnings before tax at EUR 2,7 million
Nuremberg, May, 14, 2008: In the first three months of 2008 TA Triumph-Adler AG's consolidated revenue declined 2.3% year-on-year, from €105.2 million to €102.8 million. This amount contains €0.3 million of revenue from the new company TA Triumph-Adler Hessen-Thüringen. Pre-tax earnings of €2.7 million were down 15.6% year-on-year. The TA Triumph-Adler Group failed to achieve its sales objectives in terms of organic growth, and it was consequently unable to reach the corresponding earnings targets. March was the first month to once again meet expectations. The company is retaining its targets for the current year and is aiming for revenue of at least €440 million, and earnings before tax of almost €20 million.
As announced the specialist for efficiency in the document business has reinforced its successful acquisition strategy in the course of the first quarter. Acquired were specialist dealer operations in the States of Northrhine-Westfalia and Hesse contributing planned sales of up to € 10 million on an annual basis. The number of machines that are contractually tied to customers (machines in field [mif]) was raised from around 178,000 as of December 31, 2007, to around 185,000 as of March 31, 2008.
The materials expense fell slightly, by €0.3 million, compared with the first three months of the previous year, to €68.6 million. This resulted in a fall in the gross profit ratio (calculated as a revenue minus materials expense expressed as a percentage of revenue) of around one percentage point to 33.3%.
Personnel expenditure and Other operating expenses were better than planned. Personnel expenditure in the first three months totaled €17.4 million (previous year period: €17.0 million), operating expenses declined by 11.3% to €11.0 million. Despite the gratifying decline in costs, we reported a 23.1% decline in operating earnings (EBIT) compared with the previous year period, with a drop from €7.8 million to €6.0 million. The EBIT return declined from 7.4% to 5.8%.
The net financial result improved during the first three months from -€4.6 billion in 2007 to -€3.3 million in the current year. The improvement is mainly a consequence of the new financing implemented in August 2007.
This consequently gave rise to earnings before tax of €2.7 million, following €3.2 million in the same quarter of the previous year. The tax expense during the quarter includes income and other tax payments, amounting to €0.3 million (previous year period: €0.3 million). Quarterly earnings consequently amounted to €2.4 million, following €2.9 million in the first three months of 2007.
As of March 31, 2008, total consolidated assets amounted to €315.9 million, a €1.1 million reduction of the balance sheet total compared with the level on December 31, 2007 (€317.0 million). There were no significant changes in the Group's current and non-current assets.
As presented in several prior publications, due to the determination of an error by the Deutsche Prüfstelle für Rechnungslegung (DPR / German Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel), TA Triumph-Adler made an adjustment to deferred tax assets of around €170 million in the consolidated financial statements for the 2005 financial year, and adjusted subsequent financial statements correspondingly. This resulted in Consolidated equity after deducting the minority interest amounting to EUR –49,2 million as of December 31, 2007, which improved to EUR –46,6 million as of March 31, 2008. The TA Triumph-Adler AG parent company equity capital stood at EUR 93.9 million as of December 31, 2007, an equity ratio of around 30%.
Our Group continues to generate stable cash flow, and enjoys good liquidity backing. Cash flow in the first three months of the current financial year fell slightly in a year-on-year comparison, from €6.4 million to €5.8 million. Cash flow from operating activities moved up markedly to €7.4 million (previous year period: €0.1 million). Cash and cash equivalents rose in the first quarter from €27.5 million on December 31, 2007 to €27.6 million on March 31, 2008.
A total of 1,409 employees were active in the companies of the TA Triumph-Adler Group as of the March 31, 2008 reporting date (March 31, 2007: 1,403). Included are around 30 staff members employed by activities acquired as of March 1, 2008.
As already announced, in the course of the first quarter TA Triumph-Adler has developed a detailed program, entitled "Gearing up for 2010!", to strengthen organic growth and earnings. Implementation of the package of measures planned as part of this program has already started. The six growth-oriented measures include expanding our service offerings, and the additional charging of special services to customers. Targeted and additional activities aim to significantly raise deliveries of, and revenues from, printers and color machines, and we shall further develop our major customer business.
In the medium term, market shares in the neighboring countries of Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic are to be raised to our current levels of market share in Germany, and we are investing in the expansion of our sales operations for solutions for the digital Document Business.The related measures will make a significant contribution to allowing us to reach our growth objectives in terms of revenue and earnings. Group revenue is planned to reach € 500 million with an EBIT return on sales of 9% by 2010 at the latest.
Further details can be obtained from:
TA Triumph-Adler AG
Dr. Joachim Fleing
Phone: +49 (0) 911 / 68 94 - 499
Fax: +49 (0) 911 / 68 98 -200
Mailing address:
Suedwestpark 23
D -90449 Nuremberg, Germany
ir@ta.ag
www.triumph-adler.de
TA Triumph-Adler is the specialist in the Document Business. The company analyses and provides consultancy services to corporate customers on an individual basis, and implements efficient document workflow. Both in paper and in electronic formats, and including long-term service. With more than 170,000 installed systems at over 35,000 satisfied end-customers, and drawing on 111 years of experience in the "Document Business", the corporation ranks as the market leader in Germany. Backed by more than 450 of its own document consultants, and 400 of its own system supporters, the company provides comprehensive, area-wide service, and is available for customers at 60 German locations, as well as internationally. TA Triumph-Adler offers modular solution concepts (Hardware = TOM "Total Output Management"; Software = DIDO "Digital Document Organization"). The company fields a full range of products in the areas of printing, fax, copying, scanning, and DMS, and, with TA Leasing GmbH, has its own financial services provider offering an extensive range of financing solutions for corporate customers. The Document Specialist also attends to the needs of major national and international customers through its specialized company, TA Triumph-Adler Corporate Consulting GmbH. TA Triumph-Adler AG is listed in the Prime Standard of Deutsche Börse (WKN 749500), and generated revenue of €378 million in the 2006 financial year with an employee base of 1,400 members of staff. The company engages with its social and societal-political responsibilities via the Triumph-Adler "Children in Need" Foundation, is committed to environmental protection, and pursues efficient and comprehensive corporate governance.
Important notice:
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions and estimates made by the management of TA Triumph-Adler AG. Even if the management of the company is of the view that these assumptions and estimates are appropriate, future actual developments and future actual events may diverge significantly from these assumptions and estimates due to various factors. These factors may include, by way of example, changes in the macroeconomic situation, exchange rates, interest rates, as well as changes both within the market and in the competitive environment as the result of technological change. TA Triumph-Adler AG provides no guarantee, and accepts no liability, if future developments, and results achieved in the future, do not accord with the assumptions and estimates expressed in this press release.