EANS-News: Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG / PWO achieves good start to new year

- Revenue and total output rise to EUR 61.4 million (+48.4 percent)
and EUR 64.8 million (+50.7 percent) respectively
- EBIT stands at
EUR 4.2 million following EUR -5.0 million in the previous year
-
Consolidated net result EUR 1.6 million, following EUR -4.6 million
in the previous year
- Revenue increase of around 15 percent to more
than EUR 235 million ex-pected for 2010

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Financial Figures/Balance Sheet

Subtitle: - Revenue and total output rise to EUR 61.4 million (+48.4
percent) and EUR 64.8 million (+50.7 percent) respectively - EBIT
stands at EUR 4.2 million following EUR -5.0 million in the previous
year - Consolidated net result EUR 1.6 million, following EUR -4.6
million in the previous year - Revenue increase of around 15 percent
to more than EUR 235 million ex-pected for 2010

Oberkirch (euro adhoc) - Oberkirch, May 4, 2010 - In the first
quarter of 2010, the PWO Group benefited significantly from the
recovery process, particularly in the international automobile
industry's premium segment. Compared to the extremely weak prior-year
quarter, revenue and total output were up by 48.4 percent to EUR 61.4
million, and by 50.7 percent to EUR 64.8 million respectively. A
significantly positive result reflected higher business vol-umes, and
consequently also capacity utilisation, as well as last year's
far-reaching cost-reduction measures, which continue to exert an
effect.

EBIT reached EUR 4.2 million in the reporting quarter. As a
consequence, this figure has almost doubled compared with the fourth
quarter of 2009. The improvement amounts to EUR 9.2 million compared
with the first quarter of 2009, in which negative EBIT of EUR -5.0
million had been reported. Consolidated net income turned around from
a loss of EUR 4.6 million in the first quarter of the previous year
to a profit of EUR 1.6 million in the reporting quarter. After a loss
per share of EUR 1.82 was incurred in the first quarter of 2009,
earnings per share of EUR 0.63 were generated in the first quarter of
the cur-rent financial year.

All our locations contributed to the positive earnings trend, with in
part significant revenue increases. In absolute terms, our German
site at Oberkirch delivered the most significant earnings
contribution. Here, sales rose by 48.9 percent to EUR 48.7 million
(pre-vious year: EUR 32.7 million), and EBIT improved to EUR 4.4
million (previous year: EUR -4.0 million).

Our Czech site boosted revenue by 54.3 percent to EUR 6.1 million
(previous year: EUR 3.9 million). While tool sales were only slightly
higher, series production revenues almost doubled. There was a
tangible improvement in EBIT, but, at EUR -0.3 million (previous
year: EUR -0.5 million), it remained slightly below breakeven, not
least due to unfavourable currency effects. Here, we anticipate
significantly positive EBIT for the full year.

In the NAFTA region, revenue and total output were up by 50.0 percent
and 52.6 percent respectively in the reporting quarter to EUR 8.7
million (previous year: EUR 5.8 million) and EUR 9.0 million
(previous year: EUR 5.9 million) respectively. EBIT improved by EUR
1.2 million to breakeven in the reporting quarter, while the net
result for the period improved to EUR -0.2 million (previous year:
EUR -1.2 million). There will still be tangible start-up costs in
2010 due to numerous new projects that are currently in the series
preparation phase, and which will go into production over the further
course of the year.

At our Chinese subsidiary in Asia, we achieved revenue of EUR 0.8
million from series start-ups in the first quarter of 2010. We had
not yet generated revenue in the previous year's quarter. The
company, which is still in its development phase, achieved EBIT
breakeven due to currency effects in the reporting quarter, although
it continued to report figures in the red at the operating level, as
planned.

The PWO Group financing structure was further improved in the quarter
under review. Along with a slight increase in the equity ratio to
30.3 percent, following 30.0 percent as of the 2009 balance sheet
date, net debt was reduced to EUR 76.2 million. At the end of the
third quarter of 2009, net debt was still at EUR 84.9 million, and
the equity ratio was 28.3 percent.

Cash flow from investing activities of EUR -3.5 million was financed
entirely from operat-ing activities during the quarter under review.
Operating cash flow amounted to EUR 8.7 million, whereas it still
amounted to EUR -8.2 million in the previous year's comparable
quarter. Cash and cash equivalents doubled to EUR 7.2 million as part
of the positive business trend in the first quarter of 2010. In the
current financial year, extensive series productions, particularly
for cross beams, as well as car body, chassis and seat compo-nents,
with an estimated lifecycle volume of approximately EUR 350 million
will enter the start-up phase. As a consequence, approximately EUR 19
million of investments — pri-marily in such series start-ups — will
significantly exceed last year's reduced level.

Given these circumstances, the 2010 financial year will again stand
clearly under the sign of significant growth, although it may take
some time until we regain our original market volume. We anticipate
revenue growth of approximately 15 percent to EUR 235 million in the
current year. Our medium-term revenue objective remains to exceed the
EUR 300 million mark in 2012. The aim is to further secure Group
profitability this year on a sus-tainable basis. Above and beyond the
gearing effects resulting from a demand-led in-crease in capacity
utilisation, the reduction in the breakeven threshold that we
imple-mented during the sector recession will have an
earnings-boosting effect in this respect, along with the far advanced
stage of the development and expansion of our foreign sites, and
their future earnings contributions. In this context, the first
quarter solidly underpins our expectation of a clearly positive
consolidated net result for 2010.

Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG

The Management Board

PWO company profile PWO is one of the world's leading suppliers of
advanced metal components for automobile safety and comfort. The
company has developed unique knowledge in the forming and joining of
metals over the course of its 90-year history since it was founded in
1919. The German location at Oberkirch today employs around 1,100
staff members. The Group is globally represented with fur-ther sites
in China, Canada, Mexico and the Czech Republic, and employs around
1,900 staff around the world.

PW0 is a partner to the global automotive industry for the
development and production of innova-tive products in the areas of
"Mechanical components for electrical and electronic applications",
"Safety components for airbags, seats and steering" and "Components
and systems for vehicle bodies and chassis".

Series orders currently on hand will result in significant growth at
all sites over the next two years, irrespective of full market
recovery.

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Bernd Bartmann (CFO)

Phone: +49 7802 / 84-347

Fax: +49 7802 / 84-789

e-Mail: bernd.bartmann@progress-werk.de

Branche: Automotive Equipment
ISIN: DE0006968001
WKN: 696800
Börsen: Frankfurt / regulated dealing/prime standard
Berlin / free trade
Hamburg / free trade
Stuttgart / free trade
Düsseldorf / free trade
München / free trade