Good start to FY 2008
Bergisch Gladbach, 1 July 2008 – At today’s Annual General Meeting, a large majority of the shareholders of INDUS Holding AG approved an unchanged dividend of EUR 1.20 per share. “The payout ratio of over 40% means that we continue our consistent dividend policy while at the same time strengthening our equity base,” said CEO Helmut Ruwisch.
Apart from the appropriation of the profit, all other items on the agenda, including the au-thorisation to acquire own shares, were approved by a vast majority of the shareholders.
In spite of the growing economic risks, the company had a good start to the financial year 2008. Both total output and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) exceeded the high level of the previous year in the first quarter of 2008. According to preliminary figures, total output and net profit continued to rise in the first five months of the year. The outlook for the full year also remains positive. “Supported by the stable performance of our existing investments, we anticipate continued sales growth. We expect sales to rise to over EUR 970 million and project an EBIT margin between 10 and 12 percent,” said an confident Helmut Ruwisch.
Having pursued a more restrictive acquisition policy in the past years, INDUS plans to ex-pand its portfolio through acquisitions now that prices are more realistic again. The company has a sound financial basis to put this plan into practice.
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