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[November 2004]
Positive Outlook at RHI Group
RHI Group said that its good development in the first half of 2004 continued
into the third quarter. RHI Refractories (Refractories division) confirmed
the EBIT margin of 11.2%; Heraklith (Insulating) showed a clearly improved
EBIT margin of 9.7% in the quarter under review which reflected the
successful completion of restructuring. In addition, both RHI divisions
continued their sales growth.RHI Refractories increased its world-wide sales revenue by 6.1% in the first
nine months of 2004, adjusted for foreign currency effects by 9.3%, while
Heraklith improved sales revenue by 10.1% in the first three quarters.The two divisions also improved their operating results both
quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year; the EBIT margin in the RHI Group
amounted to a positive 9.3% (previous year: 9%). Overall, group sales
revenues were €958.8 million for the first nine months of 2004, up 4.1% from
the 2003 figure of €920.7 million. The growth was not fully visible because
€21.7 million of sales revenue was deconsolidated due to the sale of the
waterproofing activities in the previous year. On a comparable basis,
consolidated sales revenue was up 6.7%.The core business RHI Refractories contributed €274.3 million to sales
revenue in Q3 2004 (up from €254.7 million) and €818.6 million to nine-month
sales revenue which, adjusted for currency effects, was up 9.3%. By volume,
refractories sales grew by 10.2% to stand at 1.24 million tons.RHI said that the global framework conditions for RHI Refractories, which
are essentially determined by the major client industries and raw materials
markets, were not likely to change substantially in early 2005, with further
price increases in raw materials and energy to be expected. The level of
incoming orders remains good.The outlook for Heraklith is characterised by the positive development in
Eastern Europe and a persisting weak market environment in Western Europe.
The order situation remains good.Overall, said RHI, the earnings outlook for 2004 is positive and it expects
a similarly good operating result as in the previous year.
ENDS