“So far, the current financial year has passed off positively for almost every area of the company,” commented Dirk Engel, Chief Executive Officer of technotrans SE. The growth rates achieved in the laser and machine tool industry as well as in the growth markets, which bracket the activities involving electric mobility and also semiconductor, medical and scanner technology, were especially notable in that regard. Revenue growth from those markets reached double figures, thanks in part to production starts and the concluding of several blanket and project orders.

The activities in the plastics processing industry equally exhibited strong growth, which was supported among other things by the market launch of the new multi-circuit temperature control system. OEM business in the printing industry remained stable, while end customer business contracted slightly. Total revenue of EUR 62 million was generated in that area, representing a revenue share of 38 percent.

The positive overall development is reflected in the figures for the third quarter. technotrans stepped up the pace of growth: revenue climbed six percent to EUR 55.4 million, and EBIT grew to EUR 4.5 million (previous year: EUR 4.4 million). Below the line, profit after tax for the first nine months came to EUR 9.8 million, representing a gain of 4.2 percent. The net margin was 6.0 percent.

Confident about full year
The Technology segment maintained its positive revenue and earnings performance in the first nine months. Revenue rose by 5.2 percent to EUR 118.3 million. EBIT improved from EUR 6.0 million to now EUR 6.5 million, and the corresponding margin climbed 0.2 points to 5.5 percent.

Revenue for the Services segment rose by 3.3 percent to EUR 44.4 million. The segment result was slightly higher at EUR 7.1 million (previous year: EUR 6.8 million), with the margin remaining at 15.9 percent. The main positive contributors were follow-on business in the technology markets outside the printing industry and technical documentation.

“We are confident about the further development thanks to the large number of new, forward-looking projects and also the continuing high level of capacity utilisation,” explained Engel. The Board of Management is confident of achieving revenue in the order of EUR 212 to 220 million in the current financial year. The operating result (EBIT) is expected to lie within a range of EUR 18 to 20 million. The recently acquired activities are likely to contribute revenue in the low single-digit millions. However in view of their start-up character they are not yet expected to turn a profit in the 2018 financial year.   As matters stand, consolidated revenue for 2018 is therefore expected to come in towards the upper end of the range and the operating result at the lower end of its range.

The full nine-month report 2018 is available to download from Investor Relations/Financial Reports section of the company website:
https://www.technotrans.com/fileadmin/user_upload/tt_2016/IR/Finanzberic...