Ad hoc: Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG: Pfeiffer...

Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG / Quarterly report / Ad hoc: Pfeiffer 
Vacuum with sound development in the 1st half year of 2009:
Sales advance even during economic crisis, Profitability remains
high, Order backlog up year on year
  
Ad hoc announcement according to §15 WpHG processed and transmitted 
by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this 
announcement.     
   
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Asslar, Germany, July 28, 2009. While Pfeiffer Vacuum was unable to
completely elude the impact of the financial and economic crisis
during the 1st half year of 2009, the company's position continued to
develop well.


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                      | H1 / 2009      | H1 / 2008      | Change   |
|----------------------+----------------+----------------+----------|
| Sales                | ¤ 98.6 million | ¤ 95.8 million | + 2.9 %  |
|----------------------+----------------+----------------+----------|
| Operating profit     | ¤ 21.9 million | ¤ 24.3 million | -10.1 %  |
| (EBIT)*              |                |                |          |
|----------------------+----------------+----------------+----------|
| Net income           | ¤ 15.6 million | ¤ 17.7 million | -12.3 %  |
|----------------------+----------------+----------------+----------|
| Earnings per share   | ¤ 1.82         | ¤ 2.00         | -  9.0 % |
|----------------------+----------------+----------------+----------|
| New orders           | ¤ 80.0 million | ¤ 103.3        | -22.6 %  |
|                      |                | million        |          |
|----------------------+----------------+----------------+----------|
| Order backlog        | ¤ 42.4 million | ¤ 41.3 million | + 2.7 %  |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+




+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                      | Q2 / 2009      | Q2 / 2008      | Change   |
|----------------------+----------------+----------------+----------|
| Sales                | ¤ 46.6 million | ¤ 46.8 million | -  0.4 % |
|----------------------+----------------+----------------+----------|
| Operating profit     | ¤ 8.9 million  | ¤ 11.5 million | -22.9 %  |
| (EBIT)*              |                |                |          |
|----------------------+----------------+----------------+----------|
| Net income           | ¤ 6.5 million  | ¤ 8.4 million  | -23.4 %  |
|----------------------+----------------+----------------+----------|
| Earnings per share   | ¤ 0.75         | ¤ 0.95         | -21.1 %  |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+


* Effective 2009 including gain or loss on currency translation; 2008
numbers have been correspondingly adjusted.

In these times of global recession, Pfeiffer Vacuum has succeeded in
increasing its revenues for the 1st half of 2009 by 2.9 percent over
the same period the year before. A major contract from the solar
industry for vacuum systems used for thin layer coating of solar
cells played a major role in the sales revenue rise. This contract,
which the company had received last year, is recognized in sales on
percentage-of-completion-basis. All work is progressing on schedule.

Regionally, Germany continues to account for the largest share of
total sales revenues at 44.3 percent. Pfeiffer Vacuum was able to
boost sales on its home market by 27.9 percent to ¤ 43.6 million.
Totaling ¤ 25.3 million, sales in the other countries of Europe were
down 15.8 percent from the year before. In the United States,
Pfeiffer Vacuum's sales revenues advanced by 8.4 percent year on year
to ¤ 17.8 million. However, this rise was essentially attributable to
exchange rate effects; expressed in U.S. dollars, sales revenues
declined by 6.2 percent. At ¤ 11.9 million, sales revenues in Asia
and the rest of the world were down 22.2 percent year on year.

In terms of the sales mix by markets, the Coating segment remained
far and away in first place, with sales revenues here surging by 57.0
percent to ¤ 34.2 million in the first half of 2009. Sales revenues
in the Analytical market segment declined by 12.1 percent to ¤ 21.4
million. The heterogeneous market segment of Industrial Applications
saw sales slip by 22.7 percent to ¤ 17.4 million. On the other hand,
increased public-sector investments in connection with the
implementation of various international economic stimulus programs
sparked sales revenue growth of 12.0 percent to ¤ 16.5 million in the
Research & Development sector. At ¤ 4.2 million, sales revenues in
the Chemical and Process Technology segment remained on the prior
year's level, while the overall weakness of the semiconductor
industry drove sales revenues down by 40.5 percent to ¤ 4.9 million.

In comparison with the extremely strong period the year before the
company saw new orders decline by 22.6 percent to ¤ 80.0 million
during the 1st half of 2009. What is noteworthy in this connection,
though, is that the ¤ 41.6 million in new orders during the 2nd
quarter of 2009 represented an 8.3 percent rise over the 1st quarter
of 2009. At ¤ 42.4 million, the level of order backlog at the end of
June 2009 was up 2.7 percent over the previous year. The assumption
that the downturn has bottomed out in the 1st quarter seems to prove
true.

Pfeiffer Vacuum continues to focus on cost control and on sustaining
high margins. Yet the product mix, economies of scale and costs in
conjunction with the modernization and reorganization of the
turbopump production facilities burdened gross margin, which at
43.6 percent was down 3.4 percentage points from the year before.
This effect, coupled with intensified selling activities, caused the
EBIT margin to decline by 3.2 percentage points to 22.2 percent.
However, these margins rank Pfeiffer Vacuum a leader in the
industrial environment.

Following payment of the dividend in the total amount of ¤ 28.5
million on May 27, 2009, cash and cash equivalents as at June 30,
2009, totaled ¤ 47.4 million, shareholders' equity ¤ 125.6 million.
At 85.3 percent, the equity ratio of debt-free Pfeiffer Vacuum at the
close of the second quarter of 2009 continued to remain far above
average levels.

Chief Executive Officer Manfred Bender comments: "The effects of the
economic crisis is now strongly noticeable in the mechanical
engineering industry. Nevertheless, we were able to record sound
development of our business in the first half of 2009. Our policy of
a broad-based alignment of our vacuum solution business and our
ability to offer leading technology in any number of fields is paying
off. Particularly our engagement in research and development is
enabling us to expand our know-how in forward-looking growth sectors.
Highly promising opportunities are opening up for example in the
field of modern energy supply. We are presently conducting intensive
talks with the purchasing and development departments at many
customers relating to future projects. However, we do not have the
visibility to predict when these talks will manifest themselves in
the form of concrete orders. Yet we can nevertheless reiterate our
guidance calling for sales revenues potentially declining by up to 10
to 15 percent in a worst-case scenario, as well as an EBIT margin in
excess of 20 percent for the full 2009 fiscal year."



The full press release including financial tables as well as the
respective quarterly report can be found on our web site at
www.pfeiffer-vacuum.net .



Contact:
Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG
Investor Relations
Dr. Brigitte Looss
Tel. [phone]
Fax [phone]
E-Mail [e-mail]


 
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Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG
Berliner Strasse 43 Asslar 
Germany

WKN: 691660; ISIN: DE0006916604; Index: TecDAX, CDAX, HDAX, MIDCAP, 
Prime All Share, TECH All Share;
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Börse Berlin, 
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Düsseldorf, 
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Wertpapierbörse zu Hamburg, 
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Regulierter Markt in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse;