1 PFLEIDERER AG NINE-MONTH FINANCIAL REPORT 2007
1 PFLEIDERER AG NINE-MONTH FINANCIAL REPORT 2007
1 PFLEIDERER AG NINE-MONTH FINANCIAL REPORT 2007
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2006, to €773.1 million at the end of September <strong>2007</strong>. This puts the equity ratio at an excellent 40.2%<br />
after its temporary decline to 29.1% at the end of March following the acquisition of Pergo.<br />
The Pfleiderer Group’s net debt amounted to €676.6 million at the balance sheet date. This<br />
substantial reduction as against March 31, when net debt totaled €787.3 million following the<br />
acquisition of Pergo, is attributable to the funds from the hybrid bond. Gearing (the ratio of net debt to<br />
equity) fell from 1.44 to 0.88.<br />
The extremely sound balance sheet ratios that the Company was able to report despite the sharp<br />
increase in total assets underline the Pfleiderer Group’s strong financial base.<br />
Capital expenditure<br />
Capital expenditure increased<br />
To lay the groundwork for its future growth, the Pfleiderer Group invested a total of €120.2 million in<br />
the first nine months of <strong>2007</strong>, compared with €62.9 million in the comparable prior-year period.<br />
Investments focused on expanding capacity in the Eastern Europe region, with the most significant<br />
project in the current year being the new MDF plant in Grajewo, Poland. Capital expenditure in the<br />
Eastern Europe region totaled €87.2 million.<br />
In addition to increasing capacity, the Company concentrated on measures to rationalize and<br />
enhance the efficiency of existing production facilities in the reporting period. €18.8 million was spent<br />
on this in Western Europe and €13.0 million in North America.<br />
Employees<br />
At the end of September <strong>2007</strong>, the headcount attributable to continuing operations in the Pfleiderer<br />
Group totaled 5,851, up by 717 on the prior-year reporting date. This increase is mainly due to the<br />
integration of 489 Pergo employees. 3,296 of the Pfleiderer Group’s total staff were employed outside<br />
Germany (previous year: 2,566). The Group’s workforce in Germany decreased slightly from 2,568 to<br />
2,555. At the end of September, Pfleiderer also had 148 young people undergoing vocational training<br />
in commercial and industrial occupations in Germany. Training young people is a key component of<br />
the Company’s strategic human resources policy and allows it to create a pool of highly qualified<br />
potential staff.<br />
9 <strong>PFLEIDERER</strong> <strong>AG</strong> <strong>NINE</strong>-<strong>MONTH</strong> <strong>FINANCIAL</strong> <strong>REPORT</strong> <strong>2007</strong>