EANS-News: Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG / PWO with sustained growth in first half of 2011

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6-month report

Subtitle: - High growth in revenue and total output - Operating EBIT
margin before currency effects improves - Revenue forecast
prospectively set to be exceeded due to offsetting of materials
prices - EBIT forecast confirmed

Oberkirch (euro adhoc) - Oberkirch, August 2, 2011 - Progress-Werk
Oberkirch AG has today published its interim financial report for the
second quarter and first half of 2011. The Group reports continued
high growth. A further improvement was recorded in the first six
months of the year in the EBIT margin before currency effects. As
announced, both sites in Canada and the Czech Republic are in the
process of stabilising their profitability in the series business,
and of expanding it gradually.

PWO's consolidated revenue and total output underwent sharp increases
in the second quarter: revenue was up by 30.9 percent to EUR 83.0
million (p/y: EUR 63.4 million), and total output increased by
21.7 percent to EUR 79.5 million (p/y: EUR 65.3 million). As a
consequence, PWO continues to benefit from the persistently good
sector economy, and from the start up of new series production runs.
Despite burdens arising from series start-ups, operating EBIT before
currency effects for the quarter increased to EUR 3.4 million (p/y:
EUR 3.2 million).

Accounting-based currency effects that result from higher
volatilities on currency markets, and do not reflect our sites'
operating trends, amounted to EUR -0.1 million in the quarter under
review (p/y: EUR 1.3 million). The Group's reported EBIT
correspondingly amounted to EUR 3.3 million in the second quarter
(p/y: EUR 4.5 million). The below-average growth in operating EBIT in
the second quarter results are particularly from a high volume of
tool revenues due to the reporting date, and burdens arising from
materials prices in the three-month period. EBT for the quarter under
review amounted to EUR 1.8 million (p/y: EUR 3.0 million), and net
income for the quarter stood at EUR 0.9 million (p/y: EUR 2.0
million).

The trend in the first half of 2011 underscores the strength of PWO's
current business development, which is more than compensating for the
burdens placed on second-quarter EBIT. In the first six months of
2011, revenue increased by 28.2 percent to EUR 160.1 million (p/y:
EUR 124.8 million), and total output was up by 22.9 percent to
EUR 160.0 million (p/y: EUR 130.1 million). Operating EBIT before
currency effects grew to EUR 9.3 million (p/y: EUR 7.1 million), and
the margin rose to 5.8 percent (p/y: 5.4 percent). After EUR -1.4
million of currency effects (p/y: EUR 1.7 million), operating EBIT
stood at EUR 7.8 million in the first half of 2011 (p/y: EUR 8.7
million).

With a look to the six-month period, we significantly limited the
increase in the materials expense ratio through passing on raw
materials price increases. Earnings before tax for the first half of
2011 amounted to EUR 4.7 million (p/y: EUR 5.5 million), and net
income for the first six months stood at EUR 2.5 million (p/y:
EUR 3.6 million).

First-half earnings were primarily generated by our high-performing
home location at Oberkirch. The Canadian site has already largely
achieved stable series ramp-up processes in the second quarter of
2011, however, and has already visibly exceeded breakeven in terms of
EBIT before currency effects. The Czech location continued to be
burdened by losses in its tools business in the second quarter, while
there was a pleasing development in its series business. As
communicated on several occasions, both of the sites in Mexico and
China will become profitable next year, and the year after.

With the earnings for the first half of 2011, we have created the
basis for achieving our forecast EBIT before currency effects of
EUR 19 million for the full 2011 year. We continue to budget revenue
from the series business at approximately EUR 300 million. In
addition, however, we also anticipate additional revenue effects
arising from the offsetting of higher materials prices.

Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG
The Management Board

PWO company profile PWO is one of the world's leading suppliers of
advanced metal components for automobile safety and comfort. The
company has developed unique knowledge in the forming and joining of
metals over the course of its over 90-year history since it was
founded in 1919. The German location at Oberkirch today employs
around 1,200 staff members. The Group is globally represented with
further sites in China, Canada, Mexico and the Czech Republic, and
employs around 2,300 staff around the world.

PW0 is a partner to the global automotive industry for the
development and production of innovative products in the areas of
"Mechanical components for electrical and electronic applications",
"Safety components for airbags, seats and steering" and "Components
and systems for vehicle bodies and chassis".

Further inquiry note:
Bernd Bartmann (CFO)
Phone: +49 7802 / 84-347
Fax: +49 7802 / 84-789
e-Mail: bernd.bartmann@progress-werk.de

end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG
Industriestraße 8
D-77704 Oberkirch
phone: +49(0)7802 84-0
mail: info@progress-werk.de
WWW: http://www.progress-werk.de
sector: Automotive Equipment
ISIN: DE0006968001
indexes:
stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, free trade: Berlin,
Hamburg, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, München
language: English