Augsburg, GERMANY, Oct. 24, 2000 (PRIMEZONE) -- The SMAX company BOWE SYSTEC AG, Augsburg, continues to grow. At the end of the third quarter of 2000, the BOWE SYSTEC Group, active in 18 countries, continues its sustained growth. For five consecutive years the company has achieved two-fold growth in both sales and results. Compared with 1999, relating both to the quarter just elapsed and to the full nine months, new growth has once again been achieved. Thus BOWE SYSTEC has secured its leading position in the European market for high-performance inserting systems and associated services. At the same time the company is seeking to win an in-creased share in the American market. The dynamism of the company's growth in recent years means that new maximums should once again be attained for the business year 2000. The service sales was once again increased to no less than 40 percent of the overall business.
The BOWE SYSTEC Group sales achieved in the first nine months, at Euro 145.2 million, was 18 percent above the previous year's value of Euro 123.3 million. This growth was due in part to the sales development for the US American subsidiary which is of particular significance to the BOWE SYSTEC Group strategic orientation due to the size of the American market.
A similarly significant increase was shown by the BOWE SYSTEC Group results. The result before tax grew in the first three quarters by 14 percent to Euro 10.2 million, compared with Euro 9.0 million in the equivalent period of 1999. The result after tax was increased by 23 percent, i.e. disproportionately to the sales, to Euro 6.9 million (previous year Euro 5.6 million).
The overall volume of order intake to 30th September 2000 was Euro 158.3 million. The order in-take of the BOWE SYSTEC Group was thus around 10% higher than the order volume of the equivalent period in the previous year. The American subsidiary was able to equal its success in obtaining a major order in the second quarter of 1999 (approx. Euro 13 million) in 2000 through the growth of its business across the board. The orders on hand for the current year were more or less retained at the previous year's level. The orders on hand relating to products as at the relevant date of 30th September 2000 equaled Euro 40.9 million (previous year Euro 45.8 million).
The expectations of the BOWE SYSTEC Group for the whole of the year 2000 in respect of sales and results point towards a course of continued growth. The new record values for order intake and the level of the current sales and level of orders on hand mean that a further growth in sales compared with the previous year of 1999, and a new high in profits can be expected.
BOWE SYSTEC AG The Board