Nuremberg – LEONI AG has, following a year of gathering strength, returned to its familiar, strong pace of growth. Based on preliminary figures, the Company generated consolidated sales of EUR 1.25 billion in the 2004 financial year, up from EUR 1.08 billion in 2003. With this gain of more than 15 percent, the Company exceeded its own guidance, which initially forecast a 13 percent increase. The gain in terms of net income was even more substantial with a 50 percent increase on the like-for-like figure for the previous year (EUR 22.1 million) to EUR 33.2 million, equating to per-share earnings of four euros. Disregarding the funds provided by the capital increase carried out in June 2004 and the capital spent on acquisition and equity investment projects, the Company was also able to meet its target of moderately positive free cash flow. LEONI employed 29,975 people worldwide on 31 December 2004.
Wiring systems drove an upsurge in sales
As expected, LEONI’s Wiring Systems Division generated the largest contribution to growth in the 2004 financial year. The division recorded a 22 percent year-on-year increase in sales from EUR 558 million to EUR 680 million. The driving force behind this was the successful start-up of wiring system production for new car models, in particular for the Opel Astra, the Mercedes A-Class as well as BMW’s 1 and 3 Series. The Company built new manufacturing facilities specifically for this output in the Ukraine, Romania and in Slovakia, at which locations it meanwhile employs a combined workforce of more than 7,000.
Wire and Cable Divisions also picked up
The Wire and Cable Divisions were also able to make gains despite a difficult market in some cases. The Cable Division increased its sales by six percent on the previous year’s figure of EUR 441 million, i.e. to EUR 468 million. The Wire Division, the restructuring of which was completed in 2004, even generated a 22 percent increase with sales up to EUR 99 million from the fiscal 2003 figure of EUR 81 million. The significantly higher price of copper compared with the previous year was one of the reasons for the gains in the wire and cable business.
