Annual General Meeting of R. STAHL AG adopts dividend payment of EUR 1.00 per share

New York, 17/05/2013 (informazione.it - comunicati stampa - information technology)

Waldenburg, 17 May 2013 - The 20th Annual General Meeting of R. STAHL AG, held today in Neuenstein, Germany, has adopted a dividend payment of EUR 1.00 per share for fiscal year 2012. Compared to the previous year's dividend payment of EUR 0.70, this represents an increase of around 43%. The total payment of approx. EUR 5.9 million corresponds to a payout ratio of about 42% of the adopted balance sheet profit amounting to EUR 13,940,840.10. The remaining approx. EUR 8.0 million were carried forward. CEO Martin Schomaker commented: "We can look back on a very encouraging fiscal year 2012. The stock exchange has already recognised this trend with a strong increase in the R. STAHL share price. In addition to this, we would like our shareholders to benefit from the company's earnings growth and strong cash flow by means of our attractive dividend policy."

 

In fiscal year 2012, R. STAHL raised sales revenues by 20% to a new record level of EUR 290.9 million. Net profit for the year improved by 60% to EUR 14.3 million. Order intake also set a new record of EUR 297.1 million.

 

The Executive Board stated that the company's positive development resulted from consistently strong demand from customer industries, the successful enhancement of its standard product portfolio and systems business in the field of explosion protection, as well as the implementation of its growth strategy over the past few years. "Our new subsidiaries in the key growth markets of Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Canada and Brazil made a significant contribution to the Group's growth in 2012," stated Schomaker. The Group now generates almost 79% of its revenues abroad. This also benefits its German facilities: At the end of the year, 934 employees of the 1,658 permanently employed personnel were working in Germany - 20 more than in the previous year. The company plans to invest around EUR 24 million at its facilities in Waldenburg, Cologne and Hengelo in the coming years in order to meet the expected growing demand for R. STAHL products.

 

Supervisory Board elections

All items on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting were overwhelmingly approved by the company's shareholders. As scheduled, the six shareholder representatives on the Supervisory Board were elected for the coming four fiscal years. Hans-Volker Stahl, Heike Dannenbauer, Waltraud Hertreiter, Peter Leischner and Rudolf Meier were all re-elected to the committee. One new member of the Supervisory Board is Heiko Stallbörger. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Hans-Volker Stahl, thanked the retiring member Josef Kurth for his many years of service and dedicated work for the Supervisory Board, which he joined in 1994. He also thanked the departing staff representatives Monika Weidmann and Christoph Carle for their close cooperation. Prior to the Annual General Meeting, Heinz Grund and the new members Klaus Erker and Nikolaus Simeonidis were already voted by the work force as staff representatives on the Supervisory Board.

 

Course set for further growth

During the shareholder meeting, the management confirmed its targets for fiscal year 2013, which has so far met all expectations. After a good first quarter, management expects business to gather pace in the second half of the year. For 2013 as a whole, revenues are expected to lie between EUR 305 million and EUR 315 million. The company aims to reach pre-tax earnings (EBT) of EUR 21 million to EUR 23 million.

 

About R. STAHL - www.stahl.de

R. STAHL is one of the world's leading suppliers of electrical and electronic products and systems for explosion protection. These products and systems prevent explosions in risk areas, and contribute to the safety of people, machines and the environment. The portfolio ranges from products used in switching/ distributing, installing, operating/monitoring, lighting and signalling/alarming, up to automation. Typical customers operate in growth industries, such as the oil & gas industry, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and the food industry. In 2012, global revenues of EUR 291 million were generated with over 1,700 employees.

 

The shares of R. STAHL AG are traded on the Regulated Market/Prime Standard of Deutsche Boerse (ISIN DE000A1PHBB5).

 

 

For more information:
R. STAHL AG

Am Bahnhof 30, 74638 Waldenburg (Württ.)

 

Bernd Marx (CFO)

Phone: +49 7942 943-1271, e-mail: investornews@stahl.de

 

Frank Schwarz (Investor Relations)

Phone: +49 611 1745-39 811, e-mail: frank.schwarz@stahl.de

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