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

Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG / Annual accounts / Ad hoc: Record 
sales in 4th quarter of 2008. Profitability guidance
confirmed. New orders up 12.5 % year on year.
  
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by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this 
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Pfeiffer Vacuum, one of the world's leading manufacturers of vacuum
pumps, components and complete vacuum systems, announces its
preliminary, as-yet unaudited numbers for the 2008 fiscal year.

Sales revenues rose by 3.1 percent, from ¤ 192.0 million to ¤ 198.1
million. With sales totaling ¤ 56.0 million, the 4th quarter clearly
posted the highest sales revenues of the full fiscal year and in the
company's history. At ¤ 51.5 million, EBIT was down moderately from
the previous year's level of ¤ 52.8 million. Those currencies with
weak exchange rate parities relative to the euro, first and foremost
the U.S. dollar and the pound sterling, had a strong impact on both
total sales revenues and EBIT. The EBIT margin of 26.0 percent was
within the framework of both consensus expectations and the company's
own guidance.

Regionally, sales developed on a very good note in Germany, in
particular, where sales revenues advanced by 16.3 percent, from ¤
59.6 million to ¤ 69.3 million. This growth was fueled predominantly
by the solar industry, although product sales to customers in the
analytical industry were also up year on year. In the other countries
of Europe, sales revenues of ¤ 58.7 million roughly paralleled the
previous year's level (¤ 59.0 million). Due to the weakness of the
U.S. dollar, the euro-denominated consolidated sales revenues of our
American subsidiary declined modestly from ¤ 41.4 million to ¤ 40.8
million.

Expressed in U.S. dollars, sales revenues in this region were able to
be increased by 4.9 percent, from US$ 57.2 million to US$ 60.0
million, in spite of a difficult overall economic environment - this,
too, marked a new record in the company's history. Sales rose to
customers in the analytical industry in the U.S., in particular,
while again declining from their low level in the semiconductor
segment. In Asia and the rest of the world, sales revenues decreased
by ¤ 2.8 million, from ¤ 32.1 million to ¤ 29.3 million, especially
in Japan and Korea. Business in China developed on a clearly positive
note: Thanks to our new subsidiary in Shanghai, sales revenues in
this region were able to be increased by more than 30 percent.

At ¤ 225.3 million in fiscal 2008, the volume of new orders was up
12.5 percent from the previous year's level of ¤ 200.2 million. This
produced a positive book-to-bill ratio, the ratio between new orders
and sales revenues, of 1.14 - up sharply from the previous year's
ratio of 1.04. Orders came from all markets and all regions. The
company's strategy of not being dependent upon any single customers
or regions is now paying off. New orders in the United States
denominated in U.S. dollars developed on an especially positive note
- rising by nearly 12 percent over the year before.

Chief Executive Officer Manfred Bender had this to say about the
numbers: "We are proud of having been able to achieve record sales
revenues in the 4th quarter of 2008, in spite of the difficult times.
Sales revenues for the full fiscal year were off by only 2 percent
from our forecast of ¤ 202 million. Given the same exchange rate
parities as the year before, sales revenues would have been ¤ 5.3
million higher. In terms of profitability, with an EBIT margin of 26
percent we were exactly in the middle of the target corridor of
between 25 and 27 percent. This means that we continue to be one of
the most profitable companies in Germany. Even without the systems
engineering orders, the order backlog in our core business of pumps
and components was higher than at the end of the previous year. In
2008, our development significantly outpaced the general trend of the
economy as published in the VDMA numbers, for example.

"The company's unusually high level of orders on hand in the amount
of ¤ 61.0 million (2007: ¤ 33.8 million) gives us predictability for
the initial months of fiscal 2009."

The company will present its detailed, audited profitability numbers,
its complete financial statements and its dividend distribution
proposal at the financial press conference in Frankfurt on March 25,
2009.

Contact:
Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG
Gudrun Geissler, Investor Relations

Tel.   +49    (0)    6441    802-314        Fax    +49    (0)    6441
802-365
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;
Listed: Prime Standard in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse, Freiverkehr in 
Börse Berlin, 
Freiverkehr in Bayerische Börse München, Freiverkehr in Börse 
Düsseldorf, 
Freiverkehr in Börse Stuttgart, Freiverkehr in Hanseatische 
Wertpapierbörse zu Hamburg, 
Freiverkehr in Niedersächsische Börse zu Hannover, Open Market in 
Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse, 
Regulierter Markt in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse;