Von Roll: Annual result for 2014

- Sales of CHF 418.8 million stabilised at previous year's level

- Loss-making transformers business sold during the reporting year

- EBIT of minus CHF 32.5 million affected by comprehensive, substantial modernisation and restructuring measures

Au / Wädenswil, 18 March 2015 - Von Roll Holding AG today published its results for the financial year 2014, which was a year of significant planned change for the Von Roll Group. As announced, Von Roll turned their focus fully to its core business, Insulation and Composites. After several years of declining sales, the company was able to stabilise its figures at the previous year's level despite the difficult economic situation. The transformers business, which has made losses for a number of years, was sold at the end of 2014. This sale resulted in a "last time" significant negative impact on Von Roll's result in 2014. The negative EBIT of minus CHF 32.5 million was affected particularly by necessary restructuring measures in the core business and the associated start-up costs.

At CHF 418.8 million, Group sales increased by 0.2%, up slightly on 2013. It was pleasing that EMEA, Von Roll's largest market, managed to recover, with sales here increasing by 4.5% to CHF 229.0 million. While business expanded in North America, the South American declined, leading to an almost unchanged sales figure of CHF 95.6 million in the Americas region. Sales in Asia fell by 8.4% to CHF 94.2 million.

Order intake declined by 4.5% compared with the previous year to CHF 416.4 million. While the Insulation division's order intake was stable, the Composites division and Von Roll Water saw theirs drop.

The consolidation of the company's global plant network is continuing apace. The Düren site in Germany will be shut down by the end of 2015. With the exception of the product group "moulded parts", all products will continue to be manufactured at various Von Roll Group plants. This discontinued product group is not part of the core business. The facility in Dunstable, England, was closed in December 2014. In the meanwhile, Von Roll has optimised its production setup in India, concentrating all manufacturing output at a modern plant in Nelamangala, near Bangalore, working at full capacity. The other two sites will be cleared and sold. In the USA, the Monmouth Junction plant will be fully incorporated into the Schenectady site by April 2015.

These measures will improve capacity utilisation and efficiency, significantly reducing their share of fixed costs. The initiatives introduced and the implementation of the company's strategy will also continue in 2015 in line with plans and will already begin to have an impact in the current financial year, 2015. At the same time, investments are being made in new state-of-the art, high-performance machinery and equipment.

Adjusted for the one-off effects totalling CHF 31.4 million, the negative EBIT of CHF 32.5 million would only have been slightly negative. These non-recurring effects include restructuring costs incurred due to closing the above-mentioned plants.

Despite these effects, the gross margin increased in Insulation and Composites, both core areas of business. This is a key indicator of future business.

Apart from plant optimisation, the focus is on market development. In the core business, investments have been made in research and development, new applications and the launch of new products.

The outlook for 2015 remains modest. There are three main reasons for this: firstly, the full effect of the transformation programme will not yet be felt and, secondly, the market trend is expected to be subdued. Weak demand is an issue, particularly in traditional power generation sectors, such as hydropower and thermal power stations. The third reason is the strength of the Swiss franc in relation to other major currencies, which will impact the result in 2015 and will pose an additional challenge, especially to products with high local costs at the Swiss site. The countermeasures which have already been taken will only have an effect in the medium term.

For further details, please refer to the Annual Report 2014, which can be downloaded from http://www.vonroll.com/en/financial-reports.html.

About Von Roll Holding AG:
As a Swiss industrial company, Von Roll Holding AG focuses on products and systems for power generation, transmission and industrial applications. Von Roll is a global market leader for electrical insulation products, systems and services and has a worldwide presence at over 30 sites with about 2,268 employees.

Contact:
Claudia Guentert, Corporate Communications
T: +41 44 204 3529, F: +41 44 204 3007, E: press@vonroll.com

This press release is based on information currently available. Unforeseeable risks and influences may lead to discrepancies with the statements portrayed here. Furthermore, rounding differences may lead to discrepancies in the reported figures. For more detailed information on the company and business development, please see the Annual and Semi-annual Report of Von Roll Holding AG. They are available in digital form at www.vonroll.com.