• Preliminary revenue up 7% to € 53.3 million 
• EBIT margin of 14.2% 
• Proposed dividend of € 0.70 per share  

SMT Scharf AG (German Securities Code (WKN) 575198, ISIN DE0005751986), technology and world market leader for railbound railway systems for the mining sector, increased its revenue and earnings in fiscal year 2009 according to preliminary figures. This went along with an expansion of the international business. Over the year as a whole, the SMT Scharf Group’s revenue increased by 7% from € 49.7 million to € 53.3 million. The proportion of revenue recorded outside Germany accounted for 84% (previous year: 75%); business in China and South Africa in particular enjoyed significant growth. 

The SMT Scharf Group’s EBIT was up 3% to € 7.6 million (previous year: € 7.4 million), which corresponds to a current EBIT margin of 14.2% (previous year: 14.9%). EBIT includes non-cash one-off expenses of € 0.8 million in connection with the deconsolidation of SMT Scharf Saar GmbH after this company filed an insolvency proceeding in October 2009. The consolidated net income fell slightly from € 5.3 million to € 5.1 million due to a higher tax rate. 

“We are pleased that our company has enjoyed such positive growth in 2009 despite the challenges posed by the economic crisis,” commented Dr. Friedrich Trautwein, SMT Scharf AG’s CEO on the figures. “The past fiscal year once again proved that we are right on track with our strategy of internationalization, and we have thus opened up significant additional growth potential for our company. That is why we are confident that we will be able to further increase our revenue and earnings on average over the coming years.”

The Managing and Supervisory Boards intend to propose to the General Meeting for fiscal year 2009 to pay a dividend of € 0.70. This corresponds to a 53% distribution rate. Based on the closing price of SMT Scharf's shares on February 4, 2010, the dividend yield is 7.1%.

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