Gelsenkirchen, Gelsenkirchen, March 24, 2006. Masterflex AG (ISIN DE0005492938) has successfully completed its 2006 business year. The results are well within the range publicly forecast in November 2005.
We retroactively adjusted the valuation at the time of initial consolidation of our subsidiaries DICOTA GmbH and Fleima Plastic GmbH in accordance with international accounting standard IFRS 3 and thereby also restated our financials for the 2004 business year. As a result of these changes, Masterflex AG's year-over-year growth was even better.
Based on the numbers published last year in the 2004 financial statements, the Group's consolidated revenues advanced 15 percent, from EUR 75.8 million last year to EUR 87.8 million, and EBIT climbed 8.0 percent. The Group's consolidated EBIT for the 2005 financial year came in even higher after adjusting the prior year's results, jumping 16.2 percent from EUR 10.6 million in 2004 to EUR 12.3 million.
The 2005 business year budget had called for an even more substantial increase in EBIT. As already explained in the 2005 third-quarter report, growth was strongly impacted by the temporary drop in revenue at our DICOTA GmbH subsidiary. The company conducts business in the mobile office systems sector, which is not part of Masterflex AG's core business.
Weaker earnings from financing activities and a steep year-over-year 35 percent increase in the Group's tax rate caused the Group's net profit to remain steady at the prior year's level of about EUR 6.0 million. The main reasons for the tax increase were a mandatory one-time adjustment of transfer prices and the profits generated by the DICOTA group in countries with higher tax burdens.
The revaluation related to initial consolidation reduced the earnings per share for the 2004 financial year by EUR 0.2 to EUR 1.33. Earnings per share for fiscal 2005 were EUR 1.37, or three percent higher than the adjusted prior year's result.
As a result of the overall success of the business, the Executive and Supervisory Boards of Masterflex AG will recommend payment of a dividend of EUR 0.8 at the annual general meeting, which will be held on June 14, 2006. Following a delightful start to the new year, Masterflex AG's board is expecting stronger revenue and earnings growth during the 2006 business year. This applies in particular to the core high-tech hose systems business and the DICOTA group.
The complete 2005 financial statements and the outlook for fiscal 2006 will be presented in detail at the annual earnings press conference to be held on March 31, 2006 in Düsseldorf, as well as the DVFA analysts' conference, which will take place in Frankfurt on April 3, 2006.