- Group sales up by 16.9%, totaling EUR 119.4 million (2010:
EUR 102.1 million) - Sales of Urban footwear segment (incl. accessories) under
own “ULTRASONIC” brand as well as Sandals and Slippers
segment grew Year-on-Year by 33.3% and 25.4% respectively - Group gross profit margin slightly decreased to 30.9% in
2011 (2010: 31.5%) as a result from the lower margins in
the Shoe Soles segment partially offset by the strong
growth in the other segments - Group profit before income tax (EBT) increased by 10.2%
-12.9% to EUR 32.4 million – EUR 33.2 million (2010: EUR
29.4 million), depending on IPO cost assignment - Distributor network in China expanded to a total number of
7 distributors in 7 provinces and 2 municipal cities - Number of mono-label ULTRASONIC-stores increased to 84
shops as at 31 December 2011 - Growth to continue in FY 2012, new sales boost expected
with expansion of capacities in FY 2013
Cologne, 16 March 2012 – Ultrasonic AG (Prime Standard, ISIN
DE000A1KREX3, US5), the German holding of an established
Chinese manufacturer and provider of high quality branded
urban footwear products, today published its preliminary
results for the fiscal year 2011.
Group sales* increased by 16.9% from EUR 102.1 million in FY
2010 to EUR 119.4 million in FY 2011. Year-on-year, gross
profit* rose by 14.6% from EUR 32.2 million to EUR 36.9
million. The total IPO costs were approximately EUR 1.2
million. Depending on the amount of these costs assigned
directly to equity, the management board expects group profit
before income tax (EBT)* to range from around EUR 32.4
million to EUR 33.2 million in FY 2011 (2010: EUR 29.4
million), which represents a 10.2 -12.9% increase to the
previous year. Cash and cash equivalents as at 31 December
2011 were EUR 77.5 million (31 December 2010: EUR 43.4
million), an increase of almost 79%. Cash per share as at 31
December 2011 was EUR 7.31.
In 2011, all three segments contributed around one third to
the company’s sales. The growth drivers were Ultrasonic’s
Urban Footwear as well as Sandals and Slippers segments. The
Urban Footwear segment (incl. accessories) under its
“ULTRASONIC” brand increased sales by 33.3% compared to the
previous year to a total of EUR 19.6 million (2010: EUR 14.7
million), whereas sales under OEM brands grew by 12.8%
compared to the previous year to a total of EUR 16.7 million
(2010: EUR 14.8 million). The Sandals and Slippers segment
was able to grow its sales by 25.4% from EUR 34.7 million to
EUR 43.5 million. Due to high rates of utilisation of around
86% and 92% in 2010 and 2011 respectively, the Shoe Soles
segment only advanced about 4.5% to EUR 39.6 million (2010:
EUR 37.9 million).
The gross profit margin of the Urban Footwear segment (incl.
accessories) under the “ULTRASONIC” brand slightly increased
to 30.5% (2010: 30.1%), while the gross profit margin of the
Urban Footwear segment under OEM increased to 29.4% (2010:
29.1%). The Sandals and Slippers segment also expanded its
gross profit margin to 31.2% (2010: 30.9%). As expected by
the management of Ultrasonic, especially a price incline for
the major raw materials of around 3% and consistently
increased labor costs in combination with only slightly
increased selling prices for the current product range lead
to a decrease of the gross profit margin in the Shoe Soles
segment to 31.4% (2010: 33.7%).
Again, the continued strong growth in the Urban Footwear
segment for “ULTRASONIC” branded products contributed to the
increase in the company’s profitability, as the company was
able to pass higher costs for the production of the labelled
goods to its customers. The Management Board expects this
segment to continue to grow in terms of sales and profit and
to take a larger portion of total group sales in the years to
come. In 2011, the Urban Footwear segment advanced its share
of total sales of the group to 30% (2010: 29%). Because of
the lack of capacities, Ultrasonic currently uses outsourcing
partners for the production of its ULTRASONIC-labelled goods.
For the future, the company plans to repatriate production
for this segment and already invested in the construction of
a new production plant in order to foster future growth.
By the end of fiscal 2011, the distribution network for
ULTRASONIC-labelled footwear and accessories comprised of 7
distributors in 7 provinces and 2 municipal cities. The
number of mono-label ULTRASONIC-stores increased to 84 shops
as at 31 December 2011 (31 December 2010: 58 stores).
“The fact that our Urban Footwear segment is able to
constantly keep up with the high growth rates of the Chinese
premium leather shoe market, proves to us, that we made the
right decision to enter into this market. The distributors in
our sales network keep reporting on the ongoing high demand
from consumers for our labelled footwear products. We think
this trend will continue and believe in our vision to make
ULTRASONIC the largest Chinese brand for urban footwear.
Increasing the number of distributors in our network, while
at the same time maintaining a high quality for the points of
sale is crucial for us in order to achieve this goal”,
commented Qingyong Wu, the company’s CEO and chairman of the
Management Board.
For 2012, the Management Board expects group sales to
continue to grow at around 15% – 20%. With the expansion of
the company’s production capacities by around 20%, which will
be completed early in FY 2013, the company expects a new
boost in group sales.
The audited financial statements and the full annual report
for fiscal 2011 will be available at Investor
Relations/Publications on the company´s website at
www.ultrasonic-ag.de as of 26 April 2012.
* Sales and Earnings figures are 12-month consolidated
figures of Ultrasonic AG and all subsidiaries of Ultrasonic
AG. The average exchange rate for 2011 is 1 Euro = 9.01676
RMB
About Ultrasonic
The Cologne based Ultrasonic AG is the German holding of the
Chinese Ultrasonic-Group, an established manufacturer and
provider of high quality branded urban footwear. With almost
1,400 employees the group operates in three market segments,
each of which contributing about a third to the group’s
revenue. Ultrasonic produces sandals and slippers for the
upper price segment and is a long-term supplier of shoe soles
for leading manufacturers of the booming Chinese sport shoe
industry such as Anta, Xtep and Unisuper. Moreover, the
company has successfully established an own “Urban Footwear”
collection which is marketed under the brand ULTRASONIC and
specifically designed to the needs and taste of the growing
urban middle class. Ultrasonic’s branded urban footwear
collection is currently marketed in 90 mono-label
ULTRASONIC-shops, that realize selling prices in a range from
RMB 400 to RMB 1,200 per pair, which is equivalent to approx.
EUR 50 to EUR 140. Within the last three years Ultrasonic’s
business had a compounded annual growth rate of more than
34.4 percent. In FY2011, the company generated a total
revenue of EUR 119.4 million and achieved profit before
income tax of approximately EUR 32.4 million to EUR 33.2
million.
For Enquiries:
Ultrasonic AG
Chi Kwong Clifford Chan
Member of the Management Board and CFO
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots.
Phone: +86 1525 947 9902 (China), +852 966 227 40 (Hong Kong)
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This press release was issued by Ultrasonic AG and was initially posted at http://www.ultrasonic-ag.de. It was distributed, unedited and unaltered, by noodls on 2012-03-16 13:17:50 PM. The issuer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained therein. |
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