Kirn. The SIMONA Group again managed to expand its revenue and earnings in the third quarter. Sales revenue totalled €108.3 million in the third quarter (Q3 2017: €100.7 million), which was up 7.6 per cent on the prior-year figure. In the first nine months of the financial year sales revenue rose by 4.1 per cent to €313.2 million (9M 2017: €300.9 million).

Growth was driven primarily by the Group's solid performance in Central and Eastern Europe as well as the United States. On the back of strong forward momentum a year ago, SIMONA recorded small gains in Asia. Business in Western Europe was impacted by a weaker performance in France and Italy.

Both divisions contributed to growth in the first nine months as a whole. Business in the area of Semi-Finished Products was driven mainly by sheet products supplied to the chemical process industry and aviation sector, whereas revenue from sheets used in the field of advertising and printing was down amidst strong competition. The Pipes & Fittings division saw business expand further within the area of industrial applications.

Against the backdrop of a strong performance in the last two years, earnings remained buoyant in the first nine months of the current financial year. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) totalled €28.1 million, which translated into an EBIT margin of 9.0 per cent. Earnings before taxes (EBT) rose at a faster pace in the first nine months, up by 42.8 per cent to €26.9 million (9M 2017: €18.8 million). The EBT margin rose from 6.3 per cent to 8.6 per cent.

"We are satisfied with the direction taken in the first nine months, particularly our strong earnings performance. We are on track with regard to the financial year as a whole, although there are more pronounced signs of an economic slowdown. We will achieve the upper range of our revenue guidance of €405-410 million and the EBIT target of 7-9 per cent, provided that there are no exceptional occurrences," says Wolfgang Moyses, CEO of SIMONA AG.