PDF, 3.2 MB - Pfleiderer AG

Company Report
Corporate portfolio more focused following disposal of Business Center
Poles & Towers and other marginal operations
Pre-tax results for continued operations up by 76.5 percent to
31.6 million euros
Equity ratio improves to 32.6 percent (including minority interests)
Net corporate indebtedness reduced by around 133 million euros to
122.9 million euros
Focusing on Core Competences
In a move to further reduce corporate indebtedness and to strengthen its equity ratio, the
Pfleiderer Group disposed of its Business Center Poles & Towers (both US and European operations)
in fiscal 2004, as well as its Business Units water systems and Wind Energy. In January
2004, Pfleiderer AG and Fuhrländer AG set up a joint holding company to incorporate all onshore
wind energy activities from both sides. In this newly formed company Fuhrländer AG holds the
majority stake and is responsible for managing operations. Under the terms of agreement, the
new joint venture took over with immediate effect all of Pfleiderer Wind Energy’s onshore activities,
including its customer base, patents, licenses and proprietary rights.
In February 2004, the Pfleiderer Group sold its US concrete and steel poles and towers operations
to Valmont Industries, Inc., a world market leader for poles, supports and infrastructure technology.
The transaction included seven concrete and steel pole plants in the USA with annual sales
of over 75 million dollars. The purchase price came to 115 million dollars, of which 105 million
dollars was paid in cash.
The remaining activities of the Business Center Poles & Towers were disposed of in two further
stages. On July 1, 2004, steel tower production for wind converters, with 135 employees based
in Leipzig, was sold to the steel and wind tower construction company SIAG Tube & Tower GmbH,
an affiliate of Schaaf Industrie Aktiengesellschaft, Leipzig. In December 2004, the residual
activities of the Business Center Poles & Towers were sold to financial investors in cooperation
with VTC Partners GmbH. This deal relates to three sites in Germany with 565 employees and
sales of around 80 million euros.
Finally, in November 2004, the Pfleiderer Group signed a contract for the sale of Pfleiderer
water systems GmbH. Formed in 2000, Pfleiderer water systems GmbH employs 33 people and
operates successfully in Germany, Europe, Asia and the USA.
In total, these disposals raised around 43.1 million euros, with a book profit of 51.4 million
euros.
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