Development of the key figures

Due to the global economic crisis, both volumes and prices in the business year 2009/10 lagged considerably behind those of the previous year so that revenue and operating result are correspondingly down.

In the comparison of all Group divisions, at 36.9%, the Profilform Division recorded the largest drop in revenue, falling from EUR 1,147.1 million to EUR 724.0 million. The operating result plunged even further, as it was additionally impacted by significant non-recurring adverse effects within the scope of restructuring measures due to unsatisfactory capacity utilization. EBITDA fell by 61.2% from EUR 163.8 million to EUR 63.6 million, while the operating result (EBIT) plummeted by 75.9% from EUR 132.4 million to EUR 31.9 million. The EBITDA margin in the business year 2009/10 was at 8.8% (previous year: 14.3%), under 10% for the first time in many years; the EBIT margin dropped from 11.5% to 4.4%.

Nevertheless, it must be noted that the success of the implemented crisis measures is reflected impressively in the quarter-to-quarter development of results. The break-even point was substantially reduced during the business year 2009/10 and that, together with increasingly more stable demand, it was possible to considerably improve the results. So a minimally negative operating result was recorded only for the first quarter of 2009/10. By the last quarter of the business year 2009/10, the Profilform Division was again able to post a two-digit operational margin at 10.1%.

The division had 3,087 employees as of March 31, 2010, representing a reduction of 425 employees or 12.1% over the previous year (3,512). This decline was the result of personnel adjustments made due to the steep drop in demand.