Niederweningen, 25 October 2007

In the first 9 months of 2007, Bucher Industries grew sales by 20% to CHF 1 790 million. Order intake reached CHF 1 915 million, up 22% year on year. The positive full-year outlook for 2007 is confirmed.

Underpinned by high capacity utilisation and persistent demand in its markets, the Group grew sales by 20.0% to CHF 1 790.3 million, up 16.4% adjusted for currency effects and 20.6% adjusted for acquisitions and disposals. Order intake rose by 22.3% over the same period last year to CHF 1 914.7 million, up 22.5% excluding the impact of acquisitions and disposals. Compared with the end of June 2007, the order book increased again to CHF 749.5 million, topping the year-ago period by 24.3%. All the divisions contributed to the solid performance.

Market conditions were enhanced by rising agricultural prices, firming demand for dairy and meat products and growing needs for biofuels. In this good market environment, Kuhn Group increased sales by 17.0% or currency-adjusted 13.9% to CHF 676.4 million during the reporting period. Order intake reached CHF 717.4 million, up 19.0% on the year-ago figure. All regions contributed to the solid business performance, with North America and Eastern Europe showing above-average growth rates.

Enjoying overall brisk demand, Bucher Municipal continued to grow organically at a rate of 11.0%. The division's sales of municipal vehicles and winter maintenance equipment reached CHF 394.3 million, up 5.4% or currency-adjusted 1.8% on the same period last year. Order intake rose by 8.5% to CHF 434.9 million, an increase of 12.4% excluding acquisitions and disposals.

In France, demand for wine making equipment continued the recovery that set in early in the reporting year. The division won an order worth CHF 21 million from the world's largest apple juice concentrate producer in China. The other regions also performed better than last year. Supported by the favourable market conditions, Bucher Process grew sales at a high rate of 27.3% or currency-adjusted 23.8% to CHF 138.1 million. Order intake rose by 36.1% to CHF 137.6 million, a currency-adjusted increase of 32.8% over the same period last year. Boosted especially by the major order for fruit juice processing equipment, the order book grew by 95.6% to CHF 40.3 million.

During the reporting period, growth continued at a fast pace in all market segments. Particularly good growth rates were achieved in applications for agricultural, construction and materials handling equipment. With its high flexibility, Bucher Hydraulics was able to capitalise on the good demand situation, expanding sales of customised hydraulic solutions by 27.0% to CHF 288.0 million, up 24.2% excluding currency effects. Order intake grew by 30.6% or currency-adjusted 27.6% to CHF 301.1 million. With the order book swelling by 45.1% to CHF 77.5 million, the division is operating to its capacity limits in some cases.

Glass container manufacturers were not always able to keep pace with the soaring worldwide demand for glass containers. This led to a significant rise in glass container prices and spurred capital spending to expand manufacturing capacities. As the world's market leader, Emhart Glass benefited especially from this healthy market trend and grew sales to CHF 298.2 million, an increase of 41.2% or currency-adjusted 35.3% over the same period last year. Order intake rose by 40.8% to CHF 323.5 million.

Bucher Industries expects the positive business performance to continue over the remaining months of 2007 and anticipates a marked increase in sales, operating and net results for the full year 2007.


Contact
Philip Mosimann, CEO
Roger Baillod, CFO
Phone +41 44 857 22 07

In 2007, Bucher Industries is celebrating its 200th anniversary commemorating its successful evolution from a blacksmith's shop to a global technology group with leading market positions in speciality areas of mechanical and vehicle engineering. The company's operations currently include specialised agricultural machinery, municipal vehicles, wine and fruit juice production equipment, hydraulic components, and manufacturing equipment for the glass container industry. Bucher Industries' shares are traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange (SWX: BUCN).