Paul Hartmann AG announced earnings results for the year ended December 31, 2014 . For the year, the company increased global sales revenues to EUR 1,862.0 million. This is an increase of 3.8% compared to previous year's record. With EBIT of EUR 122.4 million, the company increased the prior year's results by 20.0%. In addition to positive sales performance, the increased sales of higher-margin products and increased productivity contributed to the improvement in results. The consolidated net income was EUR 78.3 million, an increase of 25.4% compared to the previous year. Net debt of EUR 59.0 million at the end of 2013 was completely eliminated.

At the Annual General Meeting, the Management Board and the Supervisory Board will propose a dividend increase from EUR 5.70 to EUR 6.50 per share. With this proposal for the appropriation of net income, the dividend yield is 2.0% when related to the 2014 year-end rate.

For fiscal 2015, the company expects that the programs and measures will have a positive effect on sales and earnings. Considering all relevant factors, the company is cautiously optimistic for fiscal year 2015 that the company will have moderate increase in sales revenues and EBIT.