23 Mar 11. After record year in 2010, Rheinmetall forecasts further improvements in sales and earnings – dividend at new high
*Business figures for 2010: Consolidated sales grow by 17% to €3,989 m,
*EBIT reaches record level at €297m
*Dividend increase from €0.30 to €1.50 per share proposed
*Forecast for 2011: EBIT grows considerably more than sales and rises to between €330 m and €360m
After a very successful 2010 financial year in both company divisions, the course has been set for profitable growth to continue at Rheinmetall AG, based in Düsseldorf. Following the record results that Rheinmetall posted in 2010, the Group is again expecting strong growth in sales and earnings in 2011. Klaus Eberhardt, CEO of Rheinmetall AG: “Thanks to an impressive turnaround in the Automotive sector, we are once more on track for success.”
Rheinmetall Group: Sales reach almost €4bn – earnings at record level. Rheinmetall achieved consolidated sales of €3,989m in 2010, which equates to an increase of 17% in comparison with the previous year’s sales of €3,420m. This growth was largely driven by the highly positive performance of the Automotive sector, which has emerged strengthened from the crisis in the industry and increased its business volume by 30% in 2010. Sales in the Defence sector rose by 6%. 69% of the Group’s business volume was achieved through business with customers abroad. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in the Rheinmetall Group rose by €282m from €15m the previous year to €297m in fiscal 2010. This brought operating earnings to a new record level. The previous year’s earnings included €138m for measures to overcome the crisis in the Automotive sector. The EBIT margin in the Group was 7.4%, well above the previous year’s level of 0.4%. With net interest up €7 m and after deduction of taxes, Rheinmetall achieved consolidated net income of €174m, which exceeded the previous year’s figure by €226m. After deducting profit attributable to minority interests of €12m, this brought earnings per share to €4.23 (previous year: €-1.60).

21 Mar 11. A deal to combine MAN and Scania would allow cost savings in purchasing, components and hybrid technologies. A legal battle over a former subsidiary will not scupper MAN’s plans to combine with fellow truckmaker Scania, the German group’s chief executive said on Monday. Last year Volkswagen made a push to shake up its truck operations by combining MAN with Sweden’s Scania, but the project stalled this year after the German carmaker’s management turned its attention to other strategic issues. The slowdown had given rise to speculation that MAN’s tussle with the owner of its former Ferrostaal industrial service unit could hinder a deal with Scania. MAN agreed to sell 70 per cent of the unit to IPIC, an Abu Dhabi investment fund, in 2009. Georg Pachta-Reyhofen, MAN’s chief executive, said an ongoing row with IPIC over the cost of a bribery scandal that hit Ferrostaal last year was not a “show blocker”. “What is important is that one can limit the risks [arising from Ferrostaal],” he said. (Source: FT.com)