GESCO increases earnings forecast after first nine months of the financial year

15.02.2016
DGAP-News: Gesco AG / Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement/9-month
figures

2016-02-15 / 07:35
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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* Increased incoming orders and sales in the first nine months of the
financial year
* Disproportionately high increase in earnings 
* Earnings guidance increased 
* Slight dip in demand, as expected, in the fourth quarter 
* Dr. Eric Bernhard strengthens GESCO's Executive Board  

Wuppertal, 15 February 2016 - In the first nine months (1 April to 31
December 2015) of financial year 2015/2016, GESCO Group recorded relatively
strong demand from customers, with growth in incoming orders and sales, as
well as a disproportionately high increase in earnings despite a
challenging economic environment. The earnings guidance for the full
financial year has been increased.

The first nine months of GESCO Group's financial year encompass the months
of April to December 2015 for GESCO AG and January to September 2015 for
its subsidiaries. In this period, incoming orders increased by 11.2 % to
EUR 378.1 million (previous year's period: EUR 340.0 million). Group sales
rose by 9.3 %,to EUR 369.2 million (EUR 337.9 million). Thanks to operating
improvements and successful restructuring measures at two subsidiaries, key
earnings figures rose more sharply than sales in the first nine months of
the financial year. This led to a 17.6 % increase in EBITDA to EUR 40.5
million (EUR 34.4 million) and a 23.7 % increase in EBIT to EUR 25.3
million (EUR 20.4 million). Group net income after minority interest rose
by 24.1 % to EUR 12.9 million (EUR 10.5 million). Earnings per share
pursuant to IFRS increased from EUR 3.14 to EUR 3.90.

In the following fourth quarter, which encompasses the operating months
October to December 2015 in the case of the subsidiaries, the Group
experienced the slight dip in demand expected due to the deterioration in
the overall economic climate. In the fourth quarter, incoming orders
totalled approximately EUR 104 million (EUR 108.8 million), while sales
stood at approximately EUR 120 million (EUR 113.4 million).

In its outlook for the full financial year, the company forecast Group
sales of between EUR 480 million and EUR 490 million. Now it expects sales
to come in at the upper end of that range. With regard to Group net income
after minority interest, the forecast most recently predicted a figure of
EUR 14.0 million or slightly higher. Based on the information available at
the current time, the company now expects a value of around EUR 16 million.

GESCO Executive Board Member Dr.-Ing. Hans-Gert Mayrose on the company's
development in the first nine months of the year: "Conditions for the
capital goods industry remain subdued. Weak economic growth in China and an
unclear outlook regarding the US economy are having a negative effect on
the climate. Over the course of the past few months, the low oil price has
increasingly come to be seen as an indication of deterioration in the
performance of the broader economy. While the drop in the price of oil is
bolstering consumption, it is also having a widely felt negative effect on
the willingness of companies to make investments. In this challenging
environment, GESCO Group achieved respectable growth in incoming orders and
sales. We are particularly pleased about the disproportionately high
increase in earnings. A number of GESCO Group companies developed better
than expected, and the restructuring measures at two subsidiaries made
significant progress."

At the Annual General Meeting on 18 August 2015, the Supervisory Board
announced that it intended to expand the Executive Board. Since 1 January
2016, Dr. Eric Bernhard has been an additional member of the Executive
Board of GESCO AG. Dr. Bernhard has extensive management experience in the
metal and plastics processing industry. As a member of the Executive Board
of GESCO AG, Dr. Bernhard is responsible for the strategic and operational
development of the subsidiaries. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Gert Mayrose continues to be
responsible for M&A and Investor Relations, and Robert Spartmann retains
responsibility for Finance, Legal and HR. In addition, they are both
responsible for supporting subsidiaries. The three members of the Executive
Board have equal rights; no chairman or spokesman has been appointed.

The full quarterly statement is available at
www.gesco.de/en/investor-relations/financial-reports.


About GESCO 
GESCO Group is an association of industrial SMEs, some of them market and
technology leaders, with a focus on tool manufacturing/mechanical
engineering and plastics technology. As a listed company, GESCO AG offers
private and institutional investors access to a portfolio of leading German
industrial SMEs.

Investor Relations   *   Oliver Vollbrecht 
Phone +49 202 24820-18   *   Fax: +49 202 24820-49 
Email: info@gesco.de   *   Website: www.gesco.de 


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2016-02-15 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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   Language:    English                                                     
   Company:     Gesco AG                                                    
                Johannisberg 7                                              
                42103 Wuppertal                                             
                Germany                                                     
   Phone:       +49 (0)202 248200                                           
   Fax:         +49 (0)202 2482049                                          
   E-mail:      gesco@gesco.de                                              
   Internet:    www.gesco.de                                                
   ISIN:        DE000A1K0201                                                
   WKN:         A1K020                                                      
   Listed:      Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated   
                Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover,  
                Munich, Stuttgart                                           
 
   
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