From a press release issued by KTM:

KTM – ONGOING STABILITY AND GROWTH:
MY1 2003/04

Mattighofen: In spite of difficult market conditions and the weakness of the dollar, the KTM GROUP was able to achieve a 5% increase in sales volume in comparison with the previous year’s excellent first mid-year.

Sales revenues in Europe were very favourable. An increase of 11% was noted here. The Australian market grew by 30% whereas in the USA/Canada, even allowing for the adjusted exchange rate, a decrease in sales revenues of 4% was noted.

In spite of the dollar’s decline (-18% compared to the previous year), the previous year’s result only slightly decreased by 0.9 million EURO, or 6% after taxes due to existing foreign exchange safeguards. With an operating margin of 7.2% KTM is one of the most profitable companies in the motorcycle industry.

The development of equity capital was also favourable, it showed an increase of +24% compared to the balance sheet cutoff date of 8/31/03. The number of company employees continues to grow and currently encompasses 1,575 (of these 1,154 are employed in Austria).