sia Abrasives posted a 3% increase in sales for the first quarter of 2004 compared to a year ago. Good order bookings in the first four months of 2004 beat expectations. The abrasives industry is often viewed as an early indicator for gauging the direction the economy is moving. The current trend offers reason to believe that 2004 results will be higher than last year.
The good order bookings in the first four months and cost savings accentuate the growth in sales and operating income for the first quarter, underpinning the outlook for full-year 2004 results. sia Abrasives expects sales for this year to increase 4% to 6%. The restructuring programs implemented at the beginning of the year and completed capital projects should result in considerable cost reductions in 2004. Productivity has improved significantly, and the teething troubles following the investments in new plant and equipment have been ironed out. This has led to good, consistent product quality and excellent delivery quality. Based on these facts and the quarterly results, sia Abrasives believes that the ratio of EBITDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization) to total revenues will be a good 14% for 2004 versus 12.3% for 2003. The EBIT (operating income before interest and taxes) margin should reach over 9% against 6.8% in 2003. sia Abrasives anticipates an equity ratio of well over 50% and free cash flow of more than CHF 18 million compared to CHF 1.9 million in 2003.
The improved figures are not only due to the economic climate. The Frauenfeld-based surface finishing specialist has consistently focused on customers’ needs and opened up new markets with innovations, especially for microfinishing applications. New coating processes developed for newly pioneered base materials enabled the sia Group to further boost sales in strongly growing high-tech markets, such as optics, wafers, printed circuit boards and composite panels.
Unchanged dividend
The 25th Annual Meeting of Stockholders of sia Abrasives Holding AG, held at Frauenfeld Stadtcasino on May 6, 2004, was attended by 302 stockholders holding 382'710 votes or 51% of the total registered shares entitled to vote. The Annual Meeting approved all the proposals put forward by the Board of Directors and discharged the Board of Directors and Executive Committee from liability for fiscal 2003. Stockholders will receive an unchanged dividend of CHF 6.75 per registered share. The Annual Meeting adopted the annual report as presented, together with the company’s financial statements and consolidated financial statements for 2003. PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, Winterthur, will act as statutory and Group auditors for a further year.
The sia Group based in Frauenfeld ranks among the world’s top three suppliers of innovative abrasive systems. It develops, manufactures and markets complete abrasive systems tailored to specific requirements and applications for surface preparation and finishing of all kinds. Sanding and grinding have thus become true surface technologies. sia Abrasives employs some 1,100 people throughout the world and posted net sales of CHF 240.8 million and operating income of CHF 16.3 million for 2003. sia Abrasives Holding AG is listed on SWX Swiss Exchange and generates more than 90% of its sales outside Switzerland.
For further information
Peter A. Schifferle, CEO and Executive Director Gerhard Mahrle, CFO and Investor Relations Phone: +41 52 724 45 75 Fax: +41 52 724 45 70 E-mail: ir@sia-abrasives.com Internet: http://www.sia-abrasives.com/
® Correct nomenclature for sia Abrasives Holding AG
As there are other companies and organizations that use the same abbreviation as our company, we would be grateful if you could help to avoid any misunderstandings by always writing our name as follows: sia Abrasives (never just sia by itself).
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