DGAP-News: Balda AG: Balda AG at the heart of the mobile phone boom

26.04.2006

Balda AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results

26.04.2006 07:54

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Balda AG at the heart of the mobile phone boom

With its production sites in Asia, the group is ahead of the competition

According to market researchers and producers, the global mobile phone

market will have a two-digit growth also in 2006. After 816 million mobile

phones in 2005, experts anticipate sales of 900 million to 920 mil-lion

phones in the ongoing year. The first quarter shined with an increase in

sales of 26 percent. Balda AG, Bad Oeynhausen, has good prospects to

benefit from this positive trend. The specialist in high-performance

plastics develops, manufactures and re-fines all components and systems for

cellular phones of polymers. The product portfolio reaches from di-verse

covers to keypads. The company situated in Eastern Westphalia gained in the

first quarter of 2006 an increase in sales figures of 14,7 percent. Until

the end of 2006 the Balda Group would like to grow or-ganically about 15

percent to a level of 450 million to 460 million.

Excellent strategic positioning in Asia

‘The prerequisites for actually reaching these goals are excellent’,

explains Joachim Gut, Balda’s CEO. The manager’s optimism becomes very

plausible once you take a look at Balda’s position in the global growth

markets. The group is set up in a strategically superb way. With two

production sites in China near Shanghai and Beijing, and another plant in

Malaysia, the German group has a strong foothold. Balda is currently more

than doubling its tooling capacities in China. In mid-2006, a new site with

an investment volume of up to 10 million US-dollars will be opened at

Chennai in south-ern India. More than one out of two Balda employees is

currently situated in Asia.

Expanding international competitiveness

According to the professionals, China and India will bet the fastest

growing mobile phone markets until 2010. The rate of growth within this

five-year period is seen at 300 to 400 percent. Additionally, China will

continue to expand its export volume for mobile phones. The target for 2006

is said to be 400 million units. With its local production within the reach

of the leading mobile phone manufacturers, Balda has strongly enhanced its

global competitiveness.

Top marks in technology

Besides the production sites in Asia’s growing econo-mies, technology is

another essential strength of the Balda group. It occupies a leading

position within the mobile phone supplier industry. Balda is the only

com-pany to offer all current surface technologies from one source,

including painting, galvanizing and PVD. In customer audits, the Balda

companies keep getting excellent marks. ‘When it comes to innovations for

the product and the processes or to new technologies, you can find Balda at

the very top’, Joachim Gut says. The CEO, however, also plans to grow the

company out-side of its Infocom core business. ‘We will diversify and

produce new products to increase our added value in current markets as well

as to enter new markets. We are planning to do this also by buying into

strategi-cally well-positioned companies. Our target of reve-nues is one

billion euro in the year 2010’, Joachim Gut explains. When asked about the

further development of the Balda share, Joachim Gut explains: ‘When it

comes to share targets of various analysts, the poten-tial of Balda’s

shares is revealed.’ Anyway, Balda will try hard to exploit the strategic

potential especially of its position in the fast growing Asian markets.

Balda AG

Cersten Hellmich

(Investor Relations)

Bergkirchener Straße 228

32549 Bad Oeynhausen

Phone: (05734) 922-2706

Fax: (05734) 922-2691

E-Mail: chellmich@balda.de

Internet: www.balda.de

26.04.2006 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP –

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Language: English

Company: Balda AG

Bergkirchener Str. 228

32549 Bad Oeynhausen

Germany

Phone: +49 (0) 57 34 / 9 22-0

Fax: +49 (0) 57 34 / 9 22-2604

E-mail: info@Balda.de

Internet: www.balda.de

ISIN: DE0005215107

WKN: 521510

Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr

in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München, Stuttgart

End of Announcement DGAP News-Service

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