China Specialty Glass boosts EBIT by almost 80 per cent

China Specialty Glass AG ("CSG"), holding company of one of the largest producers of security glass in China, showed a strong performance in Q1 2013 with excellent growth rates and high profitability. Revenues increased significantly by 68.9 per cent from 18.2 million to 30.7 million Euros due to sales growth in all three operating segments. With sales of 13.4 million Euros (Q1 2012: 8.8 million Euros), bank security glass was the strongest segment followed by automotive security glass, which contributed 11.0 million Euros (Q1 2012: 6.6 million Euros) to total revenues. One reason for the high growth rates in these two segments was the increasing demand for CSG’s innovative intruder resistance glass series, which is becoming more and more popular for CSG’s existing and new customers in both banking and automotive sector, but also for new business sectors such as luxury stores. In the construction glass segment CSG generated revenues of 6.3 million Euros (Q1 2012: 2.8 million Euros).

High profitability
Gross profit showed a strong growth of 68.7 per cent from 8.5 million Euros in the first quarter of 2012 to 14.4 million Euros in the first quarter of 2013. With a stable gross profit margin of 46.7 per cent CSG continued to be highly profitable.

EBIT grew by 76.5 per cent to 11.4 million Euros (Q1 2012: 6.5 million Euros) while EBIT margin went up accordingly to 37.1 per cent (Q1 2012: 35.5 per cent). Net profit increased by 65.7 per cent to 8.6 million Euros (Q1 2012: 5.2 million Euros). Net profit margin dropped slightly from 28.6 per cent in the first quarter 2012 to 28.1 per cent in the first quarter 2013, mainly due to higher finance costs and selling and distribution expenses.

Furthermore, as of 31 March 2013 the Group disposed of a total equity of 128.2 million Euros and a solid equity ratio of about 66.9 per cent, forming a comfortable base for further investments.

Strong performance expected for the full year 2013
Given the very successful business development in the first quarter of 2013, the growth opportunities for CSG Group and its market leading position in China, the Group confirms its outlook for the full financial year 2013 published in the annual report 2012. The management expects revenues to increase by around 40 per cent and net profit to grow at the same pace compared to 2012.

Corresponding to its growth strategy, CSG intends to further increase its product sales by the expansion of its sales network in China and abroad. The enhanced production capacity that is needed will be achieved through the new laminated and thermal pre-stressed glass production lines in Sichuan Province and also by the expansion of the existing production plant in Guangzhou. Phase I of the Sichuan plant has started operation in 2013. Phase II of the Sichuan project is still under construction and is progressing according to plan.

About CSG
China Specialty Glass AG is the German holding company of the China Specialty Glass Group. The Group develops, produces and sells specialty glass. The Group's main products, which are all sold under the brand name “Hing Wah”, are, on the one hand, for safety glasses such as bullet-proof, bomb-proof and burglar-resistant glasses and, on the other hand, for constructional glasses including laminated, tempered and fire-resistant glasses, hollow glass blocks and electrically-controlled colour-changing glass. The Group is one of the leading companies in China in the fields of safety glass for banks and the automobile industry, both in terms of production output and market share.

The shares of China Specialty Glass AG are listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN DE000A1EL8Y8 / SIN A1EL8Y / Ticker 8GS).