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Good preliminary figures for 2004. Clear slowdown in industry demand at start of 2005 Dornach, March 24, 2005
Swissmetal today announces gross sales of CHF 204.8 million for 2004, a 20% increase on the 2003 figure. The company anticipates a positive operating result (EBIT) for 2004, in the upper single digit million area and a much higher income after tax (EAT), which can be attributed to one-off impacts arising from the financial restructuring at Swissmetal. For the metal working group, the order intake for the two first months of 2005 declined sharply in comparison to the very high level of the early part of 2004. The Swissmetal Group, a global leader in the manufacture of high-quality copper and copper-alloy products, increased gross sales in the 2004 financial year to a total of CHF 204.8 million, a 20% increase on the figures of the previous year. This significant growth can primarily be attributed to a robust economy and higher metal prices that was a feature of 2004. Gross added value sales (GVS)1, gross sales less metal, also progressed considerably compared to a year earlier, to reach CHF 114 million (+10%).
Swissmetal anticipates a positive operating result (EBIT) despite the difficult conditions in 2004, a year of restructuring and a particularly challenging one for Swissmetal due to the refinancing of the company, numerous operational changes, the Group-wide introduction of SAP software, and a week-long strike at the Reconvilier plant. The company expects income after tax (EAT) to be even higher, due to non-recurring impacts from the financial restructuring at Swissmetal. The closing figures for 2004 will be published by Mai 18th, 2005. The next annual general meeting will be held on June 9th, 2005 in Berne.
The year now underway got off to a more modest start than 2004 throughout the industry. In the first two months of 2005 Swissmetal reported a sharp decline in new orders intake compared to the same period in the previous year, which was marked by an exceptional high level. Demand particularly dipped for both standard products and specialty products for the sector of electrical power generation. Specialty products in the area of electronics and of writing instruments remained in high demand.
Swissmetal is facing a general trend towards ever shorter economic cycles within the industry. The company is doing all it can to create the flexibility required to enable a time-critical response to all phases in the cycle. In response to the current recession, the company is using all the means available to it to rigorously pursue greater cost flexibility. The headcount totalled 787 full-timeequivalents at the end of February 2005, down 3% from the 811 full-time-equivalents employees at the end of 2004. In order to be able to better address such economic cycles in the interest of the employees and the company, the employer and employee representatives at Swissmetal, in consultation with the SWISSMEM association and the trade unions UNIA and VSAM, have drawn up a proposal for an agreement on the introduction of an annual working time regime. This would allow greater flexibility in working hours and mean a considerably lower staff turnover during cyclical fluctuations. The proposal will shortly be voted on by the Swissmetal workforce. Swissmetal will announce the outcome of this ballot as soon as the results are known.
Contact: Martin Hellweg, Chief Executive Officer Yvonne Simonis, Chief Financial Officer Sam V. Furrer, Chief Development Officer Tel.: +41 (0)62 206 17 10 |
