Hoeft & Wessel AG anticipates earnings of EUR 3 million and turnover of EUR 94 million for 2009

In the third quarter, the Hoeft & Wessel Group managed to continue its successful business trend in fiscal 2009. As at 30 September 2009, sales revenues of the German IT and engineering group increased by 1.4 per cent, to reach EUR 71 million (previous year: EUR 70 million). Disregarding the currency effects of the depreciation of the pound sterling, sales revenues would have risen by more than 5 per cent, to roughly EUR 74 million.

The operating result (earnings before interest and taxes - EBIT) was up by 10 per cent year-on-year, to EUR 2.3 million (30 September 2008: EUR 2.1 million).

With its nine-month figures, Hoeft & Wessel AG considers itself well on its way towards achieving a successful performance for 2009 as a whole.

In the fourth quarter, the ongoing investment reluctance in logistics and retail in the Skeye business division as well as a shift of sales revenues into the first quarter of 2010 within a large-scale Metric project in Philadelphia (U.S.) will lead to a slowdown in the positive business trend.

For the full financial year 2009, the company expects roughly EUR 94 million in sales revenues and EBIT of approx. EUR 3 million. 

For the year 2010, amid ongoing difficult economic conditions Hoeft & Wessel AG anticipates an increase both in sales revenues and earnings.

The order intake in the first three quarters of 2009, at EUR 57.5 million, was at a similar level as in the previous year (30 September 2008: EUR 59.7 million). Apart from a number of minor contracts, a large-scale order received from the U.S. also made a contribution in this regard. This does not include a major order for ticket vending terminals placed by the canton of Geneva.

The order portfolio as at 30 September 2009 came to EUR 74.7 million. On the same date a year earlier, it had still amounted to EUR 105.6 million on account of the order placed by Deutsche Bahn AG for stationary ticket vending machines.

In the first nine months of 2009, the Almex business division, supplier of ticketing systems as well as telematics and check-in solutions, supplied stationary ticket vending terminals to Aarhus (Denmark) and Hanover as well as to the Danish and German state-owned railway corporations. Almex was highly successful in selling ticketing systems for buses, especially in southern Europe. The German airline Lufthansa took delivery of new check-in terminals. Accordingly, the business division succeeded in ramping up both its sales revenues and operating result.

The Skeye business division supplied mobile terminals and POS solutions to companies engaged in particular in the retail and logistics segments. It was successful in acquiring new customers in spite of the economic crisis discernible in these industry segments. The order intake rose accordingly and is substantially higher than the sales revenues, holding the promise of better business trends in future. The organisation’s new customers include Intralot, a specialist for lottery systems with an international reach, deploying terminals with large touch screens for mobile sales of lottery tickets. As at 30 September 2009, sales revenues and operating result of the Skeye division were in decline, as expected.

The British subsidiary Metric, specialising in car park terminals and related services, installed car park terminals in several cities and municipalities in the United Kingdom by 30 September 2009, successfully concluding the first phase of the large-scale contract in Philadelphia, USA. Sales revenues and the operating result of the British subsidiary Metric were up substantially, reflecting the positive business trend unfolding this year.

With its Almex, Metric and Skeye business divisions largely operating independently, the Hoeft & Wessel Group has been engaged in many and various market segments for some time now. Synergy effects are realised within the scope of its immense research & development division. Thanks to its broadly based positioning, the Hoeft & Wessel Group reduces its dependency on specific market segments and considers itself successfully prepared to meet future challenges.