Financial Overview

(in million euros)

	FY2008	FY2007	Rate of Change(%)	Factors
Net Sales	2,055	2,249	(8.6)	-Sales for the full 12 months were chiefly hit by the Q4 plunge of 149 million euros(down by 26.8 percent) attributable both to ongoing US production shrinkage and the dramatic production cutbacks by European OEMs. -Apart from the aftermarket operations, all the Automotive divisions were hurt by the business decline. -Order intake for FY2008 dropped from 2,236 million euros in 2007 to 2,057 million euros. -At year-end the order backlog amounted to 376 million euros.
EBIT	62	120	(48.3)	-EBIT in 2008 added up to 62 million euro, a drop of 58 million euros (including 42 million euros in Q4 alone). -The nine-month shortfall of 16 million euros in 2008 was chiefly due to lower sales, especially in the USA. -Other 3-quarter burdens were the Pistons location restructuring plan completed in June 2008 and accounting for a net total 4 million euros

Performance by Divisions
Pierburg
-Slumping Q4/2008 demand at Pierburg meant that this division generated appreciably reduced sales from all its product groups, except air management.

Pierburg Pump Technology
-The only product group at the Pierburg Pump Technology division to show sales growth was water circulating pumps. Electric water pump sales were stable while vacuum and oil pump business wilted.

Pistons(KS Kolbenschmidt)
-The Pistons division generated double-digit growth rates with its large-bore pistons yet without offsetting the weaker demand for the smaller variety.

Plain Bearings(KS Gleitlager)
-The Plain Bearings division reported lower sales of metallic and Permaglide bearings as well as continuous castings. The latter decline was chiefly due to falling raw material prices and a remixed product range.

Aluminum Technology
-The Aluminum Technology division encountered shrinking sales in all product groups.


License Agreement
-In India, a license agreement was signed with Jaya Hind Industries Ltd., Pune, on the development and production of cylinder heads, engine blocks, bedplates, and other castings destined for (inter)national OEMs and their vendors.

R&D Expenditure

(in million euros)

	FY2008	FY2007	FY2006
Total	138	126	115
% of Sales	67	5.6	5.3

R&D Activities
-R&D activities in 2008 centered on long-term auto industry trends: curbing of CO2 emissions, the introduction of tighter exhaust gas standards, such as Euro 5 and Euro 6, reduction of component costs through state-of-the-art manufacturing methods and optimized products, and extended environmental requirements such as zero-lead bearings.


New Technical Center
-In April 2008, the Company opened the North American Technical Center in Auburn Hills, Michigan, which will be used by five of the six Automotive sector divisions. A staff of over 70 are engaged in application engineering as well as the development and production of prototypes and the testing of products for customers worldwide.


Technological Alliance
-In Jan. 2009, the Company and Metaldyne Corporation, an Asahi Tec company, have signed an agreement to jointly develop and market power cylinder systems. Under the agreement, no equity is being exchanged and both parties will remain equal and independent operations. (From a press release on Jan 29, 2009)


Product Development
New Piston - LiteKS2
-The newest generation of pistons is developed. Compared with conventional gasoline engine pistons, the LiteKS2 weighs up to 20 percent less and, with NanofriKS coating, represents another valuable contribution toward emission and fuel reduction. EGR System
In view of the Euro 6 emissions standard to take effect on September 1, 2014, the engineers worked on EGR systems with upgraded efficiency. A determining factor within this context is the conceptual analysis of low-pressure EGR systems.

Secondary Air Pump and Valve Product
-The Company has a series of further developed secondary air pump and valve product lines designed to address rising demands for more effective systems that meet future US emission requirements in the form of SULEV (Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle) and PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle). Vehicles engineered to such standards discharge up to 90 percent less emissions than average new vehicles. In response to the trend toward electronically controlled exhaust gas flaps, the Company has its next-generation actuators with less costly but more functional electronics.

Variable Vane Oil Pump
-Pierburg Pump Technology's R&D efforts centered on a variable vane oil pump for both cars and commercial vehicles and able to cut fuel consumption by up to 4 percent. Patterned on an existing electric coolant pump, a small version for auxiliary coolant circuits was readied for series production. Among the possible functions of this innovative pump is to cool electric output stages on fuelcell or hybrid vehicles.

New 2-stage Magneticcoupling Water Pump
-A new 2-stage magneticcoupling water pump was developed that satisfies Euro 5 emissions standards for commercial vehicles. Series production is scheduled for the start of 2009. Vacuum pump research addressed, in addition to ongoing applications, further refinements to the pump mechanisms with the aim of arriving at a marked reduction in power and hence fuel consumption.

Zero-Lead Piston Pin Bushings
-At the start of 2008, Plain Bearings division developed its zero-lead piston pin bushings which even now satisfy the requirements of the EU scrap car regulation coming into force as from 2011. The new substitute will also cope with more punishing working conditions and thus allows new applications to be tapped.

Capital Investment

(in million euros)

	FY2008	FY2007	FY2006
Total	146	148	142

-The Company invested 146 million euros (down from 148 million euros), with emphasis on the setting-up and expansion of facilities in the best-cost countries of India, Mexico and the Czech Republic.


Domestic Investment by Division (in Germany)
Pistons division (KS Kolbenschmidt)
-At its German locations, the Pistons division allocated most of its outlays to additional large-bore and steel piston capacities and extended product features specified by customers.

Plain Bearings division (KS Gleitlager)
-Expenditures at Plain Bearings division were assigned to the setting-up of capacities for zero-lead products and to additional diesel engine plain bearing capacity at Papenburg.

Aluminum Technology
-Aluminum Technology division's spending in 2008 was aimed at setting up capacity at Neckarsulm for new products destined for a premium carmaker.


Overseas Investment by Division (non-German locations)
Pierburg Pump Technology
-At Pune in India, an infrastructure investment project for setting up an industrial park is almost completed. This will be used in unison by the Company's divisions including Pierburg Pump Technology division for water, oil and vacuum pumps.

Pierburg
-Pierburg division invested in a second production shop at its Czech location.

Pistons division (KS Kolbenschmidt)
-In the Czech Republic, the outlays of Pistons division targeted extra production capacities to fill the needs of a German OEM.