Claas farming equipment comes out of the crisis

Europe's largest farm equipment manufacturer Claas has switched after
heavy losses in the crisis on growth. In the current 2010/2011 fiscal
year (September 30), the market has clearly turned.

"We expect double-digit sales growth and a corresponding improvement
in earnings before tax," said the CEO, Theo Freye, today at the
presentation of financial statements for the fiscal year in
Düsseldorf.

Proliferate, the agricultural machinery company, which ranks among the
world's leading manufacturers in the industry, with its liquid assets
of € 900 million. These should be used for investment on the sites,
but also to repay debt, said Chief Financial Officer Hans Lampert.

In the last fiscal year, the nearly 100 year old family business from
the East Westphalian Harsewinkel near Gütersloh in sales losses of
nearly 15 percent to 2.5 billion euros was recorded. Profit before tax
slumped 31 percent to 77 million €. Decline was mainly the business on
the established markets in Europe. In combines it was even a drop of
37 percent.

In its previous peak year of 2008, the manufacturer who is well known
for combine harvesters, balers, forage harvesters and tractors and
forage harvesters, generated almost four times earnings.

Be driven increasingly by the business at Claas expansion of biogas
plants for the production of renewable energies. The machines demand
was shifting accordingly to the hacking technology, large tractors and
telescopic handlers for silo compressors

Currently the company on whose board peak since early October, the
granddaughter of the founder, Cathrina Claas-Mühlhäuser stands,
three-quarters of its sales abroad. The importance of the German
market will pick up again in the medium term. End of September,
employs nearly 9,000 people at Claas, about 500 less than a year
earlier. In the current year the level of employment and held one
additional requirement be mitigated by temporary workers.