Pfleiderer Posts 1H Results, Discusses Pergo

Neumarkt, Germany, August 2, 2007--Pfleiderer AG has reported results for the first half of 2007 posting revenues that increased 31% to EUR886.2 million compared with EUR679.3 million in the year ago period.

Pfleiderer said the strong revenue growth is a result of the increase in business in the company's largest core market of Western Europe, as well as higher revenue from its business in Eastern Europe, a region it has systematically expanded in recent years.

By contrast, business development in North American fell short of expectations because of the challenging economic environment. However, it was offset by the increase in revenue from the European regions. The Pergo group was included in the consolidated figures for the period March to June 2007.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) improved by 34.3% in the first six months of 2007, from EUR90.1 million to EUR121.0 million. The EBITDA margin grew correspondingly from 13.3% to 13.7%.

The integration of the Pergo group, acquired in March, is expected to be mostly completed by the end of 2007. Pergo is regarded as the inventor of laminate flooring. The acquisition made Pfleiderer the largest integrated manufacturer of laminate flooring in the North American market, with a share of approximately 15%, and will also accelerate its move into the profitable European laminate flooring market.

"The acquisition and integration of the Kunz group in 2005 already underscored Pfleiderer's ability to integrate new companies into the group's organizational structure quickly and efficiently. We will do just the same with the Pergo integration," said CFO Derrick Noe.

Pfleiderer has launched a restructuring program that will involve the consolidation of locations and a reduction in the workforce in Canada and the U.S.A.

Pfleiderer now has more than 23 production sites in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and North America. The international share of consolidated revenues rose to 70.4% in the first six months of 2007, up from 67.2 % in the previous year.

Business development in North America was affected by the deteriorating real estate sector and the weaker consumer spending.

For fiscal 2007, Pfleiderer is reiterating its revenue forecast of EUR1.9 billion, including the Pergo group for the ten-month period.

Pfleiderer expects good business growth in the European engineered wood markets to offset the weaker volume sales growth in North America.