EANS-News: Villeroy & Boch AG / Interim Report on the third quarter of 2012 (with document)

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9-month report

Mettlach (euro adhoc) - Mettlach, 23 October 2012

Villeroy & Boch: Interim Report on the Third Quarter of 2012
Slight downturn in revenue due to difficult economic environment

* Revenue amounts to EUR 543.3 million after the third quarter, down
slightly on the previous year

* EBIT unchanged year-on-year at EUR 16.8 million

* Economic slowdown intensifies

Revenue down slightly on previous year

In the first three quarters of 2012, the Villeroy & Boch Group
generated net revenue of EUR 543.3 million after EUR 551.3 million in
the same period of the previous year. Global economic development
slowed significantly in the period under review. The important euro
zone markets for Villeroy & Boch are in a recession. Company and
consumer confidence has again deteriorated dramatically over recent
months as a result of the debt crisis and the continued fragile
situation in the European banking sector. Germany, which has seen
largely positive development to date, is also suffering from this
loss of confidence. Net revenue on the German market was down 3%
year-on-year at EUR 147.6 million. In the same period of the previous
year, the Tableware Division achieved a profit from a major order; no
similar extraordinary project is planned for this year. Adjusted for
this extraordinary transaction, revenue in the third quarter of 2012
was 2.5% higher than in the previous year. Revenue outside Germany
was down slightly year-on-year at EUR 395.7 million (1%). This was
due in particular to the lower revenue in the Bathroom and Wellness
Division in Mexico, with the sale of the plant in Saltillo also
representing Villeroy & Boch's targeted withdrawal from low-margin
project business.

Orders on hand also down slightly year-on-year

Orders on hand totalled EUR 50.4 million at 30 September 2012.
Adjusted for an extraordinary order in the Tableware Division in the
previous year, orders on hand declined by EUR 2.6 million compared
with the previous year. 62% of the orders on hand relate to the
Bathroom and Wellness Division.

Development in the divisions

Operating earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the first
three quarters of 2012 remained unchanged year-on-year at EUR 16.8
million. Earnings before taxes (EBT) also remained at the prior-year
level, amounting to EUR 8.6 million. The lower margin due to the EUR
8 million fall in revenue compared with the same period of the
previous year was offset by an improved product and country mix of
the goods sold, positive exchange rate effects and systematic cost
management. The extraordinary income from the sale of the ceramic
sanitary ware plant in Saltillo, Mexico, in the first quarter is
offset by expenses for the expansion of activities in the growth
markets of Russia and China.

Revenue in the Bathroom and Wellness Division remained unchanged
year-on-year at EUR 355.9 million in the first three quarters. There
were differences in terms of regional revenue development. The
above-average revenue growth in Russia and Germany continued in the
third quarter, with year-on-year growth rates of +13% and +7%
respectively. Revenue also increased in the Czech Republic (+46%),
Norway (+20%), Thailand (+22%) and the United Kingdom (+12%). By
contrast, there was a fall in revenue in Mexico (-19%), the
Netherlands (-19%) and Italy (-17%).

The Tableware Division generated revenue of EUR 187.4 million in the
period from January to September 2012, down 4% on the previous year.
The year-on-year decline in revenue of 11% in Germany in the first
half of 2012 was almost fully recovered. There was further revenue
growth in Russia (+36%), Austria (+22%) and the USA (+8%). Market
development in Australia remains difficult (-7%).

Investments

The Villeroy & Boch Group made investments of EUR 15.8 million in the
first nine months of the 2012 financial year (previous year: EUR 16.8
million). Of this figure, 61% related to the Bathroom and Wellness
Division and 39% to the Tableware Division.

Outlook for the 2012 financial year

Villeroy & Boch expects consolidated revenue for the 2012 financial
year as a whole to remain at the prior-year level. "Developments in
the first three quarters serve to reinforce our concerns about a
further economic slowdown, and we currently expect this development
to continue," explains Villeroy & Boch CEO Frank Göring, adding that
general price rises will again be systematically offset through cost
discipline and improved productivity in the final quarter of 2012.
Villeroy & Boch is forecasting an operating result of EUR 27.9
million or just above this figure; this corresponds to the prior-year
earnings level before real estate gains.

Please read the complete Press Release with Consolidated figures in
accordance with IFRS in the PDF attachment.

The complete Interim Report as a PDF-file for download: http://www.vi
lleroy-boch.com/en/euo/home/the-company/investor-relations/reports.ht
ml

Attachments with Announcement:
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http://resources.euroadhoc.com/us/nTqPt91B
http://resources.euroadhoc.com/us/cfUrDWID

Further inquiry note:
Almut Kellermeyer
Head of Presse & Public Relations
Tel: (+49) 68 64 - 81 13 97
Fax: (+49) 68 64 - 81 26 92
Mail: presse@villeroy-boch.com

end of announcement euro adhoc
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Attachments with Announcement:
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http://resources.euroadhoc.com/us/nTqPt91B
http://resources.euroadhoc.com/us/cfUrDWID

company: Villeroy & Boch AG
Saaruferstraße
D-66693 Mettlach
phone: +49-(0)6864-81-0
FAX: +49-(0)6864-81-2692
mail: info@villeroy-boch.com
WWW: http://www.villeroy-boch.com
sector: Consumer Goods
ISIN: DE0007657231
indexes: CDAX, Classic All Share, Prime All Share
stockmarkets: free trade: Berlin, München, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, regulated
dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt
language: English