DGAP-News

Continental Achieves Targets and Anticipates Sales of Around EUR37.5 Billion in 2015 - Seite 2

fact that there was, in some cases, very weak growth in Europe, Russia, and
South America. There were also significant exchange rate fluctuations. In
addition, the mild winter at the end of 2014 had a negative impact on the
winter tire business in Europe. The driving force behind the sales
development once again came from China and North America. In light of this,
it is remarkable that profit after taxes of just under EUR2.4 billion or
EUR11.88 per share could be achieved. On this basis, we intend to increase
the dividend for the third time in a row. We are proposing a distribution
of EUR3.25 per share, corresponding to a dividend payout ratio of 27.4
percent, which is up slightly on the previous year's level."

"Another noteworthy aspect is the strong free cash flow of more than EUR2
billion. This enabled us to reduce net indebtedness to its lowest level
since 2006. At the same time, we invested more than EUR4 billion in
property, plant and equipment, software, and research and development,"
said Degenhart.

Installation of electronics and software will see continued strong growth

During the "Continental Webcast: Fiscal Year 2014" - the first fully
digital press conference of a DAX30 company's fiscal results - Degenhart
also outlined plans for the development of the company up until 2020: "We
are focusing on the increasing need for mobility and growing demand from
our industrial customers. The production volume for vehicles weighing up to
six tons is expected to rise to between 100 million and 105 million
vehicles. Furthermore, installation of electronics and software will
continue to grow substantially, driven by growing demands from end-users
and increasingly strict legal requirements for safety and energy
consumption. It is partly on this basis that we are aiming for profitable
sales of over EUR50 billion in 2020," explained Degenhart.

EBIT grow to EUR3.3 billion

In 2014, the Continental Corporation increased its sales by 3.5 percent to
EUR34.5 billion. Adjusted for negative exchange rate effects of
approximately EUR470 million and changes in the scope of consolidation, the
increase comes to 4.2 percent. EBIT grew by 2.5 percent to a good EUR3.3
billion. The EBIT margin was 9.7 percent after 9.8 percent in fiscal 2013.
Adjusted EBIT, adjusted particularly for acquisition-related amortization
and special effects, rose by 3.7 percent to almost EUR3.9 billion,
corresponding to 11.3 percent of sales after 11.2 percent in the previous
year.

Net interest expense improves by more than half a billion euros