· Group achieves EUR 86.0 million of consolidated revenue
· Positive EBIT of EUR 10.6 million after extraordinary items
· New order intake lower than expected
· FY 2015 targets still achievable
Blaubeuren, August 13, 2015 – The centrotherm photovoltaics Group has realized total revenue of EUR 86.0 million during the first half of 2015, compared with EUR 78.1 million in the prior-year comparable period. Almost half of consolidated revenue was attributable to revenue deriving from progress made with the polysilicon factory project in Qatar, and to final invoicing of an old project with a silicon customer. Total operating performance grew to EUR 91.7 million, compared with EUR 82.2 million during the first half of 2014.
The Group reports year-on-year earnings improvements in both EBITDA and EBIT. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization amounted to EUR 12.3 million during the first half of 2015, following on from EUR 1.8 million in the previous year. EBIT improved from EUR -0.2 million to EUR +10.6 million. Consolidated net income for the first half of 2015 amounted to EUR 6.7 million, compared with an EUR 8.2 million loss during the previous-year equivalent period. Earnings per share stood at EUR 0.32, compared with EUR -0.39 in the previous year.
Final invoicing of an old project in the Silicon segment had a particularly positive effect on consolidated net income in the first half of 2015. Equally, cost reduction and efficiency enhancement measures that were launched at the end of September 2014 have already been bearing fruit in the first half of 2015. In particular, personnel expenses reduced from EUR 22.9 million to EUR 21.1 million, mainly due to the socially compatible job cuts that were completed in early 2015 following the agreement of a related management-labor contract and social plan.
