Group - L. Possehl & Co. mbH

Letter from the Executive Board
2
Dear Busines Partners, Dear Readers,
The Possehl Group remained on a successful path in 2007. The result from ordinary operations reached
€ 75.3 million. We were thus able to expand on the previous year’s results for the fourth time in a row. It is also the best
result achieved thus far in the history of our company.
Each of the divisions provided positive contributions to results. Almost all of the divisions were able to increase their earnings
compared to the previous year. While the earnings of the Electronics division – which continues to be our largest
performance pillar – declined, it was still able to maintain an overall high level. Five of the seven divisions were able to
achieve historic best marks in performance.
Net sales of the group of companies increased during the fiscal year from e 1.452 billion to e 1.522 billion. The
Cleaning Machines, International Trading and Special-purpose Construction divisions experienced the greatest organic
growth. Sales in the Elastomer Technology division increased in part due to the initial consolidation of an acquisition. The
Electronics division reported a decline in sales as a result of the weak US dollar.
We used the past year to completely abolish our net financial liabilities by e 122.9 million, and now report a positive value
of e 6.1 million in the balance sheet. This leaves the Possehl Group completely debt-free.
With respect to new acquisitions, we decided to take a little break in 2007. Following two extremely
acquisition-rich years, we limited our activities to two compact transactions last year. In the Elastomer Technology
division, we implemented a supplementary acquisition by purchasing the “Rubber & Plastics” unit of the Italian company
Techint in April 2007, which strengthens our successful Mixing Technology division of subsidiary Harburg-Freudenberger
Maschinenbau GmbH. The newly integrated unit already provided gratifying contributions to sales and results in 2007
and thus affirmed itself as a successful acquisition at an early stage.
As of October 1, 2007, we increased our interest in the Hako Group, located in Bad Oldesloe, to 100 %, after previously
holding a 56 % interest acquired in two stages in 2004 and 2006. We were thus able to successfully complete the acquisition
process scheduled jointly with the former owners.