Beru – Quarter Figures Show Mixed Results

Tire Safety System (TSS) manufacturer Beru AG has posted total sales revenues of 116.8 million euros for the first quarter of the 2007 financial year, nearly equalling the sales revenues (117.4 million euros) of the prior-year period. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) reached 14.8 million euros, slightly down from last year’s 17.3 million euros and equivalent to an operating margin of 12.6 per cent.

The company’s Electronics and Sensor Technology division maintained its status as growth area during the quarter, with first quarter sales revenues of 38.8 million euros recorded during the quarter, an increase of 16.6 per cent over the previous year. Beru report that their TSS system was largely responsible for driving this growth.

The company experienced mixed fortunes in the various markets it operates in. The Beru Group’s sales revenues in its domestic German market increased by 13.5 per cent to 39.8 million euros, while in the remainder of Europe (excluding Germany) sales revenues decreased to 50.4 million euros, down from the previous year’s 57.3 million euros. Beru also posted lower sales revenues in North America, 9.5 million euros compared with 12.9 million euros in the first quarter of 2006. The strongest regional growth was achieved in Asia, where sales revenues rose by 29.1 per cent to 12.5 million euros, up from last year’s 9.7 million euros. In the other international markets, Beru achieved sales revenues of 4.5 million euros, almost double the previous year’s figure. The proportion of revenues generated outside the company’s domestic market was 65.9 per cent.

According to company figures Beru invested 6.1 per cent of its total sales revenues – 7.1 million euros – expanding its production facilities in Germany and abroad in the first quarter. As of March 31, 2007, the Group employed a total workforce of 2,580 persons. The Beru AG executive board is maintaining its forecasts for 2007, with sales revenues expected to increase by a low single-digit percentage and earnings likely to remain fairly flat in 2007 and 2008. As of 2009, new orders and the ramp-up of new products are anticipated to create stronger growth.