Kontron AG registers record level of design wins
October 27th, 2008Eching, Munich, October 27, 2008. With sales of EUR 123.8 million, Kontron AG continued the dynamic business progress of the first six months into the third quarter of the current financial year. This represents an increase of 7.7 percent compared to the prior year period (EUR 115,0 million). Overall organic growth was even as high as 16 percent when adjusted for the deconsolidation of the Quanmax joint venture as of June 30, as well as currency effects. Total sales in the first three quarters consequently rose to EUR 356.3 million (previous year period: EUR 322.6 million). The order backlog of EUR 299 million remains at an extremely high level as of September 30, 2008. This represents an increase of 12 percent compared with the prior year period (EUR 267 million). Growth rates were even higher in terms of design wins, which are important for our medium-term planning and forecasts. The number of design wins grew to 328, compared with 254 in the same period of the previous year, and the volume rose to EUR 241 million in the first three quarters (EUR 202 million in the prior year period). In particular, a new record level of EUR 91 million was achieved in the third quarter (prior year period: EUR 73 million).
With operating earnings of EUR 12.6 million, Kontron AG continued to achieve a double-digit EBIT margin of slightly above 10 percent in the third quarter. One-off extraordinary effects arising from the sale of the Mobile Computer division, and the acquisition of PLG, which together amounted to around EUR 7 million, should be taken into account when drawing a comparison with the previous year’s extraordinarily high result of EUR 16.8 million. This also has an impact on the cumulative period of the first nine months, as well as on the net profit for the period, which amounted to EUR 9.5 million in the third quarter (compared with EUR 12.8 million in the previous year’s period). EBIT for the first three quarters totaled EUR 34,0 million (previous year period: EUR 33.9 million), and net income for the first three quarters totaled EUR 25.4 million (previous year period: EUR 25.6 million). Kontron AG’s overall significant year-on-year rise in profitability is also evident in its gross margin, which rose from 30.5 percent in the third quarter of the previous year to 31.7 percent this year. Kontron AG reports an excellent and stable liquidity position as of September 30, 2008. Cash and short-term securities of EUR 52.3 million, for instance, registered a further rise compared with the end of the second quarter (EUR 49.3 million). The net cash position was slightly above EUR 40 million. Despite growing uncertainties in global markets, the Kontron Executive Board continues to expect to achieve (currency-adjusted) double-digit sales growth accompanied by an even faster rate of growth in operating earnings for 2008.
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