DGAP-News: 3W Power/AEG Power Solutions reports preliminary results for the first quarter of 2012

DGAP-News: 3W Power S.A. / AEG Power Solutions / Key word(s): Quarter
Results
3W Power/AEG Power Solutions reports preliminary results for the first
quarter of 2012

26.04.2012 / 07:00

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April 26th, 2012

3W Power/AEG Power Solutions reports preliminary results for the first
quarter of 2012

(in EUR million)                        Q1 2012       Q1 2011      Δ in %
Orders                                     91.1          94.0       -3.0%
Revenue                                    83.5          86.4       -3.0%
EBITDA                                     -2.8           2.3

  - Q1 orders of EUR 91.1 million, 3.0% below Q1 2011, but 14.6% up on Q4
    2011 (EUR 79.5 million), with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1 indicating
    resuming growth

  - Q1 orders in RES of EUR 45.5 million, 15% up on Q1 2011 (EUR 39.6
    million), underpinning continued growth momentum in renewables

  - Q1 revenues of EUR 83.5 million slightly below previous year after low
    order intake in the RES business segment in Q4 2011 due to project
    financing delays of key solar customers

  - EBITDA of -EUR 2.8 million mainly due to low solar volumes and
    restructuring charges in the telecom converter business. Figures
    include EUR 1.8 million of one-time charges

  - 3W Power reconfirms its 2012 expectations of revenues of EUR 430 to
    EUR 460 million and an EBITDA margin of 9% to 11% resulting from margin
    improvements in the EES business segment and the sales pipeline in RES
    for the second half of 2012

Luxembourg/ Zwanenburg, The Netherlands - April 26th, 2012 - 3W Power, the
holding company of AEG Power Solutions (AEG PS), today issued preliminary
results for Q1 2012. Order intake was down 3% year-on-year, but up 14.6%
compared to the previous quarter. Revenues for the first quarter were also
down by 3% at EUR 83.5 million (Q1 2011: EUR 86.4 million) and EBITDA was
EUR -2.8 million (Q1 2011: EUR 2.3 million), which includes one-time
expense
items of EUR 1.8 million. One-time items consist of restructuring charges
for the telecom converter business, write-off of receivables due to a solar
customer insolvency and certain legal fees.

'Q1 was negatively impacted by a temporary delay in solar projects due to
the financial crisis and by underperformance in our telecom converter
business. With resuming growth, our RES business segment will return to
double-digit EBITDA margins, and with the restructuring of our DC telecom
converter business unit (CVT), our EES business segment will return to
positive EBITDA margins in Q2. In addition, shared cost will be under
strict scrutiny for the remaining quarters. As of Q2, AEG Power Solutions
will be back on its profitable growth track', comments Horst J. Kayser, CEO
of 3W Power/AEG Power Solutions.

RES Business Segment
Due to the well diversified global positioning of the Renewable Energy
Solutions (RES) segment and a strong technology base designed to take
advantage of emerging applications in renewables, orders for the RES
segment as a whole were up 15% year-over-year.

The strong order intake in the Power Controller business unit in Q1 2012 is
based on two important wins for the delivery of power controller equipment
to the polysilicon industry. AEG Power Solutions has been selected because
of its outstanding technological leadership and will deliver its innovative
Thyrobox M power supply solution to a poly plant in Asia and a poly plant
in EMEA in 2012 and 2013 respectively. In addition, AEG PS has booked an
important order for its innovative Thyrobox H2 hydrolysis power supply for
a 6 MW hybrid power plant in Northern Germany. It will remain a strategic
priority of RES to diversify the Power Controller business beyond
polysilicon applications. While this order intake is encouraging, the
continued weakening of the spot market for polysilicon for our customers
indicates an oversupply situation that will have to be closely monitored
over the next few quarters.

Orders in the Solar business unit for Q1 2012 were at a similar level for
Q1 2011 due to successful positioning in growth regions. As announced,
orders in India are already above 2011 full year levels and orders from
growth regions (Eastern Europe, India, Southern Africa, USA) are expected
to offset and over-compensate expected market contractions in Western
Europe.

RES revenue for the quarter was EUR 33.0 million compared to EUR 38.2
million
in Q1 2011. As sales in the Power Control Systems business unit were up
40% in Q1 2012 compared to Q1 2011, RES' revenue decline was driven by an
expected revenue decrease in the Solar business unit in Q1 2012 compared to
the same period last year after low order intake in Q4 2011. The shortfall
was specifically caused by a delay in deliveries to large key customers,
due to customer difficulties in securing financing given the European debt
crises. However, deliveries resumed towards the end of Q1, which should
bode well for Q2 and beyond.

EES Business Segment
In Energy Efficiency Solutions (EES), the Group achieved revenue of EUR
50.5
million in Q1 2012 (Q1 2011: EUR 48.2 million). Growth was mainly driven by
the strong global strategic position of AEG PS in its core segments of the
industrial UPS business, where sales were 14% above Q1 2011 performance.

Order intake for Q1 2011 in EES was 16% below previous year Q1. The order
shortfall is specifically caused by traditionally lower Q1 telecom activity
and additional cutbacks and delays in certain telecom customers' investment
plans. Orders are expected to recover in Q3 and Q4 for telecom sales to
reach previous full year levels.

EBITDA for EES in Q1 2012 was EUR -0.8 million (Q1 2011: EUR -1.1 million).

However, Q1 2012 EBITDA was break-even excluding the restructuring charge
of EUR 0.9 million for the telecom converter business. EES will return to
positive EBITDA in Q2 as 3W Power expects gross margin will continue to
improve due to product cost improvements and above-average growth of
profitable service business.

Outlook
'We remain focused on executing our profitable growth agenda', said Horst
J. Kayser. We are excellently positioned both regionally and
technologically to capture opportunities in the renewable markets,
especially in growing global solar markets and the trend towards electrical
energy storage and smart grid solutions. For 2012, the company continues
to anticipate growth in its key markets and reaffirms its expectation of
revenues in the range of EUR 430 to EUR 460 million and an EBITDA margin in
the range of 9% to 11%.

-- End of Announcement -

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About 3W Power/AEG Power Solutions: 

3W Power S.A. (WKN A0Q5SX / ISIN GG00B39QCR01), based in Luxembourg, is the
holding company of AEG Power Solutions Group. The Group is headquartered in
Zwanenburg in the Netherlands. The shares of 3W Power are admitted to
trading on Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: 3W9) and the warrants
are traded on NYSE Euronext, Amsterdam (ticker symbol: 3WPW).

AEG Power Solutions Group is a global provider of power electronic systems
and solutions for all industrial power supplies and offers one of the most
comprehensive product and service portfolios in the area of power
conversion and power controlling. The two complementary operating business
units Renewable Energy Solutions (RES) and Energy Efficiency Solutions
(EES) are serving customers worldwide. The RES product and service
portfolio consists of systems and solutions for solar power plants like
solar inverter, monitoring and control systems as well as power controller.
The EES product and service portfolio includes high performance
uninterruptable power supplies (USPs), industrial power controller and
DC-converter.
Thanks to its distinctive expertise, bridging both AC and DC power
technologies and spanning the worlds of both conventional and renewable
energy, the company creates innovative solutions for smart grids.

AEG PS' footprint is global including 17 subsidiaries and competence
centers around the world, employing 1,700 employees.

For more information go to: www.aegps.com

This communication does not constitute an offer or the solicitation of an
offer to buy, sell or exchange any securities of 3W Power. This
communication contains forward-looking statements which include, inter
alia, statements expressing our expectations, intentions, projections,
estimates, and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are based on
the reasonable evaluation and opinion of the management but are subject to
risks and uncertainties which are beyond the control of 3W Power and, as a
general rule, difficult to predict. The management and the company cannot
and do not, under any circumstances, guarantee future results or
performance of 3W Power and the actual results of 3W Power may materially
differ from the information expressed or implied in the forward-looking
statements. As a result, investors are cautioned against relying on the
forward-looking statements contained herein as a basis for their investment
decisions regarding 3W Power.

3W Power undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statement contained herein.

For more information, contact:

Media Relations:

Christiane L. Döhler
M. A. - Exec. MBA HSG

DOEHLER COMMUNICATIONS
Phone:  +49 89 51616810
Cell:   +49 175 2905054
E-mail:  cd@doehler-communications.com

Investor Relations:

Katja Buerkle
Associate Director

AEG Power Solutions
Phone:  +31 20 4077 854
Cell:   +31 6 1095 9019
E-mail:  investors@aegps.com


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Language:    English                                          
Company:     3W Power S.A. / AEG Power Solutions              
             19, rue Eugène Ruppert                           
             L-2453 Luxembourg                                
             Grand Duchy of Luxembourg                        
Phone:       +31 20 4077 863                                  
Fax:         +31 20 4077 875                                  
E-mail:      michael.julian@aegps.com                         
Internet:    www.aegps.com                                    
ISIN:        GG00B39QCR01                                     
WKN:         A0Q5SX                                           
Listed:      Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard)  
 
 
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166692 26.04.2012