SURTECO SE, leading international manufacturer of surface technologies based on plastics and papers for the international construction and furnishing industry, generated sales of € 191.1 million in the first half year of 2010. This was an improvement of 13 % above the sales volume in the equivalent year-earlier period. The German market grew by 3 %, foreign sales rose by 19 %. The percentage of foreign sales went up by three percentage points to 66 %.
The Strategic Business Unit Plastics closed the first six months of the reporting year with sales of € 112.0 million (+6 %). The paper segment generated € 79.1 million (+26 %). Growth was primarily powered by foreign markets.
During the first half year of 2010, the operating result (EBITDA) of the SURTECO Group amounted to € 32.0 million (+3 %). Earnings before tax (EBT) increased by +108 % from € 8.7 million to € 18.1 million. This was due to a number of factors including a significant improvement in the financial result from € -12.2 million to € -3.8 million. In the first half year of 2009, an impairment of € 6.0 million was necessary on account of the unfavourable development in price for the package of shares in Pfleiderer AG, Neumarkt, held by SURTECO.
Consolidated net profit amounted to € 12.7 million (2009: € 4.1 million) during the first six months of the year. 11,075,522 no-par shares yield earnings per share of € 1.15 (2009: € 0.37).
