EANS-Adhoc: Westag & Getalit AG / Difficult business conditions in the first half of 2009; Earnings before income taxes at EUR 4.3 million

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ad-hoc disclosure pursuant to section 15 of the WpHG transmitted by euro
adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide distribution. The issuer is solely
responsible for the content of this announcement.
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28.07.2009

Against the background of the very weak economic environment in Europe and the
19.9% decline in incoming orders in the German building construction sector
(source: Federal Statistical Office, January to May 2009), Westag & Getalit AG
reported a decline in sales. At EUR 97.2 million, sales revenues in the first
half of 2009 were down by 16.5% on the previous year´s EUR 116.3 million. Our
foreign operations were hit particularly hard, with sales dropping by 34.3% to
EUR 19.2 million (2008: EUR 29.3 million). The export share declined to 19.8% in
the first six months of 2009.

Earnings before income taxes amounted to EUR 4.3 million (2008: EUR 8.1 million)
in the first six months of 2009. The decline is mainly attributable to the much
lower sales revenues. A number of cost-cutting measures helped to partly offset
the negative effects of the drop in sales. Earnings per share amounted to EUR
0.53 EUR (2008: EUR 0.99).

We expect the economy to remain weak in the second half of the year both in
Germany and abroad. In view of the measures taken, we are optimistic that we
will be able to continue to generate stable, positive results. Once the markets
recover, we will be able to return to growth thanks to our broad product range,
our state-of-the-art production facilities and our motivated workforce.

Further inquiry note:
Felix Huisgen
Tel.: +49 (0)5242 17 5350
E-Mail: [email protected]

end of announcement euro adhoc
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emitter:      Westag & Getalit AG
              Hellweg  15
              D-33378 Rheda-Wiedenbrück
phone:        +49 (0)5242 17 0
FAX:          +49 (0)5242 17 75000
mail:         [email protected]
WWW:          http://www.westag-getalit.de
sector:       Building materials
ISIN:         DE0007775207, DE0007775231
indexes:      Prime All Share
stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, free trade: Berlin,
              Stuttgart, regulated dealing: Düsseldorf 
language:     English

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