Kirn. The SIMONA Group recorded slight growth in revenue and solid earnings in the first half of 2016. Sales revenue rose by 1.3 per cent to €187.7 million. At €16.4 million (prev. year: €16.9 million), EBIT was slightly down on the prior-year figure, influenced primarily by the effects of foreign exchange rates. At the same time, however, SIMONA achieved an EBIT margin of 8.7 per cent in the first half, which was well above the 6 per cent mark targeted for the annual period as a whole. In the second quarter, sales revenue stood at €98.7 million, up 1.1 per cent on the figure posted for the same period a year ago.

Growth was again fuelled to a large extent by dynamic business in the United States. The region comprising the "Americas" saw revenue expand by 9.9 per cent in the first half, taking the figure to €45.7 million (prev. year: €41.6 million). This region's share in total Group revenue continued to rise and now stands at close to 25 per cent. In Europe, meanwhile, SIMONA recorded a slight downturn in revenue by 0.9 per cent to €133.6 million (prev. year: €134.9 million). This was attributable in part to the subdued performance of the chemical and mechanical engineering industry in Germany. The region covering "Asia and Pacific" recorded sales revenue of €8.4 million (prev. year: €8.8 million). This corresponds to a year-on-year reduction of 4.5 per cent. After an extremely sluggish first three months, business in Asia has been trending upwards again since the second quarter.

The company's product groups developed along different lines. The Semi-Finished and Finished Products division saw revenue grow by 2.8 per cent to €148.6 million (prev. year: €144.6 million). Business relating to PVC sheets benefited from buoyancy within the construction industry and sustained growth within the market for aircraft interiors. Revenue from foamed PVC products in particular developed favourably for the company, which covers a wide range of applications in the field of construction and advertising. Revenue from sheets made of fluoropolymers as well as specialty products was also up.

The Pipes and Fittings division recorded revenue of €39.1 million, down 3.9 per cent on the previous year (€40.7 million). In this area, lower investments in mining and district heating applications as well as weaker project business had an adverse effect on sales. This was offset only partially by a positive performance in the areas of infrastructure and industry.

The plastics processing company is satisfied with its earnings performance over the first half. At €16.4 million, EBIT was slightly lower than in the previous year. The EBIT margin, however, stood at 8.7 per cent, which is well above the EBIT margin of 7.4 per cent recorded for the 2015 financial year as a whole. What is more, earnings were adversely affected by currency translation.

On 29 July, the company officially inaugurated its new Technology Center, an event attended by the state premier of Rhineland-Palatinate as well as guests from the political, academic and business community. The investment totalling €10 million is aimed at strengthening the company's abilities in the field of innovation. The five-storey administration building brings together teams from R&D, Process Development, Technical Unit, Lab and Operations Scheduling at a single location. This ensures lean structures and an effective transfer of knowledge. The production facility is equipped with state-of-the-art extrusion lines, helping to expand the company's portfolio of materials and extend its capabilities relating to development projects.

"The new Technology Center is an important building block in terms of strategic repositioning. It allows us to reduce time to market for our products. In future, we will also use our modern production lines at the Technology Center to process high-performance plastics, which will help us to unlock new fields of application. For our customers, this means we can operate as a partner with a more complete product range," says Wolfgang Moyses, CEO of SIMONA AG. (Photos of Grand Opening www.simona.de/en/tc-opening)

"We made a solid start to the year and were able to build on our successful performance in 2015. Growth was again fuelled by our business in the United States. We stood our ground in Europe and improved profitability within the area of semi-finished parts. Our performance in Asia was below par. We still need a little more time for the strategic measures already initiated to take effect. The trend, however, has been pointing upwards in the last few months. Overall, we are satisfied with profitability at Group level. Our forex-adjusted earnings were up on the previous year's figure. We have improved at an operational level," says Moyses.

The outlook for the financial year as a whole, presented as part of the Annual General Meeting on 10 June, has been reaffirmed as €360-370 million in Group revenue and €20-25 million in EBIT.