Excellent Prospects for 2005 and Beyond
Pfeiffer Vacuum, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of vacuum pumps, components and complete vacuum systems, announces its as-yet unaudited numbers for 2004.
Currency effects, in particular the renewed weakening of the dollar relative to 2003, had a € 3.5 million impact on sales and a €2.2 million impact on EBIT. Had the exchange rate of the dollar been the same as the year before, sales would have risen by 10.9 %.
The percentage of total sales accounted for by the company’s highest-margin product, the turbopump, was able to be significantly increased. On a regional basis, Germany, the United States and Asia made the greatest contributions to the increase in sales.
The company’s withdrawal from DVD business – as reported several weeks ago – has been fully incorporated in the 2004 annual financial statements. Without the special effects resulting from the closure of DVD business operations, the EBIT margin would have been 17.3 %, instead of 11.6 %. The EBIT margin had been 13.5 % the year before.
Without this loss-producer, the company’s core business offers outstanding prospects for the years to come. The new orders received during the initial weeks of 2005 are highly promising. New products and new customers will additionally spark business.
Given the company’s good cash position, the Supervisory and Management Boards are expected to propose a significantly higher dividend payment than the year before (€0.70 per share) to the Annual Shareholders Meeting on June 8, 2005. The Management Board will announce the company’s final, audited detailed numbers on March 30, 2005.
Source: Pfeiffer Vacuum GmbH
