In the first half of 2009, the Nordex Group achieved a 10 per cent increase in sales to € 512.5 million (previous year: € 465.9 million) in line with expectations. This was accompanied by quarter-on-quarter growth of around 20 per cent in its business volumes. Sales in the second quarter of 2009 amounted to € 279.2 million (Q1 2009: € 233.3 million).
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During the period under review, the major source of growth was? in the USA, where Nordex achieved around 12 per cent of its sales for the first time, up from roughly one per cent in the previous year. Contributing around 80 percent to sales, business in €ope remained stable. With fixed costs largely steady together with higher business volumes, gross profit widened by 12 percent over the previous year, rising by around 16 percent in the second quarter to € 60.0 million (Q1 2009: € 51.8 million). Consequently, earnings before interest and taxes increased by € 9.2 million to € 9.5 million, compared with the first quarter (previous year: € 16.2 million). An EBIT margin of 3.3 percent was recorded in the second quarter (previous year: 3.8%). Consolidated net profit for the period dropped to € 2.3 million (previous year: € 13.4 million) primarily as a result of net borrowing costs of € 3.3 million and higher tax expense. Orders in hand amounted to € 2.5 billion as of the balancesheet date (December 31, 2008: € 3.0 billion) and comprised firm orders worth € 791 million and contingent orders (basic agreements including reservation fee) of around € 1.7 billion. Thus, on the basis of firm orders and projects completed, Nordex is already assured of reaching its sales target for 2009. Assuming that sales volumes as a whole remain flat across the entire industry, Nordex still anticipates an increase in its own sales to approx. € 1.2 billion for the year as a whole, although profitability is likely to be weaker than in the previous year. As a result of higher business volume, the Management Board expects higher earnings in the second half of the year, compared with the first half. The working capital ratio is expected to decline to around 15 percent thanks to reduced inventories by the end of the year.