| Stein am Rhein/Kloten, 22 April 2015. The Phoenix Mecano Group's consolidated gross sales in 2014 totalled €505.6 million, slightly up on the previous year (€500.6 million). Currency effects depressed gross sales by -0.3%. Corrected for changes in the scope of consolidation, sales were on a par with the previous year. The Enclosures and ELCOM/EMS divisions increased their sales. Sales in the Mechanical Components division declined slightly as liquidity problems at a major customer led to project delays. That problem has been substantially alleviated by the entry of a new investor into the company in question. Operating result The operating result decreased by 15.9%, from €35.0 million to €29.5 million. The operating margin shrank from 7.0% to 5.8%. The operating result included various one-off costs, with patent disputes, customer insolvencies and project delays in the Mechanical Components division generating non-recurring expenses of around €4 million. Another cause of the decline was increased amortisation linked to acquisition-related intangible assets, which rose by €1.9 million compared with the previous year, to €5.7 million. Division sales The Enclosures division saw its gross sales increase by 3.2% to €164.9 million (3.1% when corrected for differences in foreign-exchange rates). Gross sales in the Mechanical Components division fell slightly by 0.5% to €235.1 million. Corrected for differences in foreign-exchange rates, gross sales were up by 0.1%. There were no consolidation effects in either division. The ELCOM/EMS division posted a 1.2% increase in sales in 2014 (1.3% when corrected for differences in foreign-exchange rates). Adjusted for consolidation effects, gross sales were down by 3.6%. Result of the period The result of the period fell by 10.7% from €22.4 million to €20.4 million. The net margin decreased to 4.0% (previous year 4.5%). Equity ratio and net indebtedness The equity ratio at the balance sheet date 31 December 2014 was slightly higher than the previous year (64.6% compared to 64.3%). Net indebtedness stood at just 4.7% of equity, meaning that the Group still has the necessary financial leeway to exploit organic and acquisition-related growth opportunities. Q1 2015 The Phoenix Mecano Group's gross sales in the first quarter of 2015 rose by 5.1% year-on-year to €139.8 million. Positive currency effects totalled 5% and consolidation effects 0.5%. Incoming orders were up by 7.7% compared with the same period last year, at €142.8 million. The current book-to-bill ratio stands at 102.1%. The operating result of €8.7 million represents a 26.1% decline compared with the same high-performing period last year. The operating margin was 6.2% (previous year 8.9%). In the Enclosures division, gross sales rose by 4.1% to €45.8 million. The operating result fell by 16.7% to €6.1 million. The operating margin was 13.4% (previous year 16.7%). Gross sales in the Mechanical Components division increased to €65.5 million in Q1 2015, up 3.8% year-on-year. The operating result was €5.1 million, a drop of 18.9%. The operating margin was 7.8%. The ELCOM/EMS division generated gross sales of €28.5 million, an increase of 10.3%. The operating result fell by 57.7% to €-1.5 million, corresponding to an operating margin of -5.4%. Outlook Despite the increased uncertainty caused by various economic and geopolitical crises (Ukraine, resurgence of the euro crisis, dramatic slump in oil prices), from Phoenix Mecano's perspective the global industrial economy looks stable at the start of 2015. We will be stepping up our capacity expansion in the emerging growth regions of China and India in 2015. At the same time, our development and sales teams are breaking into new market niches with innovative products in order to safeguard the Group's growth in the years ahead. In the first quarter, the traditional models for determining the exchange-rate sensitivity of our results were found to be less effective in the event of very significant changes in exchange rate. In Phoenix Mecano's case, this relates mainly to the strong US dollar, which is the Group's second most important currency after its reporting currency, the euro. Although, globally, our costs and income are accrued largely in the same currencies, other factors beside currency flows come into play in the event of very strong exchange-rate movements. Examples of such factors include the issue of delays to and fundamental enforceability of price rises, relocation of production and movement of sourcing activities between currency areas, as well as price rises for raw materials traded in US dollars. With USD/EUR exchange rates currently varying by around 25% in the space of a year, these factors play a significant role and their medium-term effects cannot yet be fully predicted. The Phoenix Mecano Group's Q1 results suggest that the stronger US dollar is, on balance, impacting negatively on the Group's profitability. The coming months will show whether the measures adopted and to some extent already implemented will be enough to reverse this unwelcome trend. For this reason, we will not publish our guidance for the 2015 operating result until the time of the 2015 half-year results. The management and Board of Directors are keeping a close eye on the economic situation and are ready to respond quickly to any new developments. Dividend Phoenix Mecano is a financially sound company with a stable cash flow and low levels of debt. Thanks to its strong balance sheet, it has the strategic flexibility required to make investments as well as any necessary acquisitions. Despite special costs and one-off charges, the income it generates is more than sufficient to award shareholders a stable dividend. The Board of Directors will therefore propose to the next Shareholders' General Meeting that a dividend of CHF 15 be paid out, in line with the previous year. Link to the annual report 2014: http://www.phoenix-mecano.com/annualreports.html | 
