BUHLER REPORTS YEAR-END RESULTS
Buhler Industries Inc.
WINNIPEG, MB, December 9, 2005
Buhler’s revenue declines
Buhler's F2005 annual revenues declined by 2%, mostly influenced by a further
10 cent decline in the US dollar throughout the year. As 75% of the Company's
revenue is in US currency, meeting the revenue goals became increasing
difficult as the US dollar continued to weaken throughout F2005. As forecast,
gross margin showed quarter over quarter improvement. Our goal of a 16%
- 18% annual gross margin was exceeded and we are pleased to report a gross
margin of 18.3%. Sales of the Company's short line products including grain
augers, compact implements and front-end loaders grew almost 9% in Canada
and US. Sales outside North America also increased and now accounts for
over 15% of the company's total revenue. Revenue from tractor sales inside
North America decreased largely due to the declining US dollar, but also
due to reduced demand as customers anticipated the release of our new,
higher horsepower series of tractors. These products are now being delivered
to the marketplace. We are proud to be able to meet the tractor needs of
the largest farms in the world with tractors, which now range up to 535
hp. Steel prices moderated during the year, but continue to show signs
of instability. The US dollar continues to show signs of further decline.
As such, we are forecasting flat revenue and a slight improvement in gross
margin resulting in slightly improved EPS for F2006.
| Year Ending Sept 30th, 2005 | Year Ago |
|
|
$202,319,000 |
$206,130,000 |
|
$9,566,000 |
$12,049,000 |
|
$0.38 |
$0.50 |
(25 million shares) |
(Average 24.3 million shares) |
|
Fourth Quarter Revenue
Revenue for the 4th quarter was $34.3 million compared to $43.5 million last
year.
Fourth Quarter Earnings
Earnings for the 4th quarter were $1.2 million compared with $1.7 million
last year.
Year-end Revenue
Revenue for the year was $202.3 million compared to $206.1 million last year.
Year-end Earnings
Earnings for the year ending September 30th, 2005 were $9.6 million compared
with $12.0 million last year. Gross profit was $37.0 million (18.3% of
sales) for 2005 compared to $37.6 million (18.2% of sales) last year. The
number of shares outstanding at year-end was 25 million.
Dividend Increases
The Company increased its annual dividend from $0.14 to $0.15 per share.
The dividend is payable January 13th, 2006 to shareholders of record on
December 2nd, 2005. This is the 13th consecutive increase in dividends.
Contact: Craig Engel (204) 228-6206 E-mail: cengel@buhler.com
Web site: www.buhler.com Trading symbol: BUI
Complete financial statement: http://www.buhler.com/sitefiles/finance/reports/05/2005Q4.pdf
