Development of the key figures

Although the Railway Systems Division’s revenue and operating result did not attain last year’s figures, given the economic crisis, they can be considered very favorable. After EUR 2,351.0 million last year, sales revenue came to EUR 1,908.5 million, representing a decrease by 18.8%. Even though EBITDA fell by 20.7% from EUR 414.7 million to EUR 329.0 million and EBIT by 30.5% from EUR 324.7 million to EUR 225.6 million, it was possible to achieve two-digit profit margins. At 17.2%, the EBITDA margin was almost back to last year’s level (17.6%) and at 11.8%, the EBIT margin was only slightly below last year’s figure of 13.8%. However, this was possible only by way of an accelerated adjustment of the cost structure to the earnings structure, meaning a substantial reduction of the break-even point.

The development of the individual quarters of the business year 2009/10 impressively mirrors the Railway Systems Division’s high degree of stability with regard to revenue and profit, even in an extremely difficult market environment. While in the first half of 2009/10, it was primarily the rail and turnout segments that bolstered the division’s earnings due to the market environment and a high level of orders with attractive margins, a revitalization of the wire and seamless tube segments starting in the second half of 2009/10 was able to largely compensate the increasingly aggressive competition in the rail and turnout segments.

As of March 31, 2010, the Railway Systems Division had 7,863 employees; compared to the previous year (8,077) this corresponds to a 2.6% reduction.