DGAP-News: R. Stahl AG / Key word(s): Annual Report/Quarter Results 
After a challenging year 2020, R. STAHL sees first signs of a market recovery 
2021-04-16 / 07:00 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
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After a challenging year 2020, R. STAHL sees first signs of a market recovery 
- Sales 2020 at EUR246.5 million, down 10.3% or EUR28 million year-on-year 
- Cost control significantly limits impact of lower sales on profitability: EBITDA pre exceptionals declines by EUR11 
million to EUR19 million, margin decreases from 11.0% to 7.7% 
- Net profit falls by EUR4.9 million to EUR-3.5 million compared to previous year 
- Ongoing strong financial position: robust free cash flow keeps net debt at persistently low level of EUR5.8 million 
- Order intake in Q1 2021 improves by 13% compared to the average of the past three quarters 
- Outlook 2021: Sales to grow low single-digit, EBITDA pre exceptionals still slightly below last year 
Waldenburg, 16 April 2021 - R. STAHL today publishes audited figures for FY 2020. As already reported, sales declined 
10.3% to EUR246.5 million (2019: EUR274.8 million) driven by an unparalleled demand drop in major key markets caused by the 
coronavirus pandemic. Early taken cost adaptions limited the impact on R. STAHL's earnings and financial position 
significantly. As a result, the sales drop of EUR28.3 million resulted in a comparatively low decline of EBITDA pre 
exceptionals by EUR11.4 million to EUR19.0 million (2019: EUR30.4 million). Consequently, the EBITDA margin pre exceptionals 
fell rather moderately by 330 basis points to 7.7% (2019: 11.0%). Net profit dropped by EUR4.9 million to EUR-3.5 million 
(2019: EUR1.3 million). 
"2020 was a year of great challenges for R. STAHL. The coronavirus pandemic not only made it necessary for us to 
navigate through considerable global economic upheaval, but also meant that we had to undertake special efforts to 
safeguard the health of our employees and customers. We succeeded in both respects in the past financial year", said 
Dr. Mathias Hallmann, CEO of R. STAHL. "Despite the demand drop, our margin decline was quite moderate while our 
financial position remained ongoingly solid, indicating R. STAHL's significantly strengthened resilience, which is the 
result of a disciplined and consequent execution of our Group strategy in the past years. We will continue to 
consistently pursue this path", Dr. Hallmann added. 
Sales development in 2020 
The weak demand affected both day-to-day business for 
replacement and expansion investments as well as a large number of major projects worldwide. The decline was most 
pronounced in the oil and gas sector, which experienced a significant slump in demand in March and April and 
subsequently an unprecedented drop in prices. Overall, R. STAHL's order intake in 2020 was down 8.6% on the previous 
year at EUR248.0 million (2019: EUR 271.4 million). The resulted in a drop in sales to EUR 246.5 million in the year under 
review, down more than 10% on the previous year (2019: EUR 274.8 million). Also reflected in these figures are some 
delays in transport and receipt of goods on our customers' end who were unable to accept products ready for delivery 
due to pandemic-related disruptions to their operational processes. This led to an increase in inventories of finished 
and unfinished goods in the course of the year. There were significant regional differences in the development of sales 
in the reporting year. In Germany, R. STAHL's strong market position and high proportion of business in the chemical 
industry, which weathered the fallout from the recession comparatively well, led to sales at previous year's level. By 
contrast, regions with a typically high proportion of sales in the oil and gas sector suffered considerable losses, 
first and foremost the USA with a drop of 31%, Asia with a decline of 15% and the Central Region (consisting of Africa 
and Europe excluding Germany) with a drop of 8%. 
Development of earnings, financial and asset position in 2020 
Measures implemented at an early stage to adjust costs and secure liquidity significantly limited the impact of 
declining sales on R. STAHL's earnings and financial position. With the cost of materials ratio at a healthy level of 
33.7%, similar to last year, the moderate decline in earnings was mainly attributable to reduced working hours and 
lower variable compensation components in response to weak demand, which reduced personnel expenses by EUR6.4 million to 
EUR115.6 million in the reporting year (2019: EUR122.0 million). Lower net other operating income and other operating 
expenses of around EUR1.6 million also had a positive impact on earnings. As a result, the break-even based on EBITDA pre 
exceptionals (calculated on the basis of the cost of materials ratio and constant fixed costs) improved by around EUR12 
million year-on-year to EUR217 million in the financial year (2019: EUR229 million). Consolidated net profit decreased by 
EUR4.9 million to EUR -3.5 million (2019: EUR 1.3 million) or EUR-0.54 per share (2019: EUR0.21 per share). Despite the 
challenging market environment, free cash flow was clearly positive at EUR5.7 million in 2020 (2019: EUR8.5 million). As of 
31 December 2020, net debt (excl. lease liabilities was EUR5.8 million and thus still at the very low level seen at the 
end of the previous year (31 December 2019: EUR4.2 million). The equity ratio declined, falling to 18.8% at the end of 
the reporting period (31 December 2019: 22.5%), mainly as a result of the negative net profit and increased provisions 
for pension obligations. 
Business development in Q1 2021 
While the quarterly order intake in 2020 declined continuously from EUR79 million in Q1 to EUR53 million in Q4, the first 
three months in 2021 showed clear signs of revitalizing demand. Compared to the last three quarters' average, order 
intake improved by 13% to EUR64 million. This will become visible in sales in the upcoming quarters. Due to the low order 
backlog at the beginning of the year and based on preliminary figures, sales in Q1 2021 came in at EUR58 million and 
EBITDA pre exceptionals at EUR2.7 million, still below prior quarters. 
Outlook for FY 2021 
Supported by a significant recovery in all relevant key markets, we expect year-on-year sales growth in the low 
single-digit percentage range in 2021 - a development that should gain momentum in the second half of the year. The 
continued systematic implementation of our strategic agenda will still result in a slight year-on-year decline in 
EBITDA pre exceptionals. We do not, however, expect any significant changes in the current strong liquidity position. 
Key figures of the R. STAHL Group for FY 2020 pursuant to IFRS 
                                                    Change 
EUR million                                2020  2019   in % 
Sales                                   246.5 274.8  -10.3 
EBITDA pre exceptionals^ 1)              19.0  30.4  -37.4 
in % of sales                            7.7%  11.0 
EBITDA                                   17.2  25.3  -32.0 
EBIT                                      0.5   6.3  -92.2 
Net profit                               -3.5   1.3    n/a 
Earnings per share (in EUR)               -0.54  0.21    n/a 
Dividend per share (in EUR)                   0     0      0 
Cash flow from operating activities      17.9  19.6   -9.0 
Depreciation and amortization            16.7  18.9  -11.9 
Capital expenditures^ 2)                 12.7  11.3  +12.8 
Balance sheet total as of 31 December   256.2 259.4   -1.2 
Shareholders' equity as of 31 December   48.1  58.4  -17.6 
Equity ratio as of 31 December          18.8% 22.5% 
Net debt as of 31 December^ 3)            5.8   4.2  -39.6 
Employees as of 31 December^ 4)         1,690 1,669   -1.3

^1) Exceptionals: restructuring charges, non-scheduled depreciation and amortization, charges for designing and implementing IT projects, M&A costs as well as profit and loss from the disposal of assets no longer required for business operations

^2) Payments for investments in intangible assets and property, plant & equipment

^3) excl. pension provisions and without lease liabilities

^4) excl. apprentices

Note The Annual Report 2020 is available for download under the following link: https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/ investor-relations/ir-news-and-publications/financial-reports. Preliminary Key Figures of the R. STAHL Group for Q1 2021 pursuant to IFRS 


                                                  Change 
EUR million                     Q1 2021 ^1) Q1 2020   in % 
Order intake                         63.9    78.8  -18.8 
Sales                                58.2    65.1  -10.6 
EBITDA pre exceptionals^ 1)           2.7     4.7  -44.0 
in % of sales                        4.6%    7.3% 
Exceptionals                         -0.0    -0.0      0 
EBIT                                 -1.5     0.5    n/a 
Net profit                           -2.5    -0.6  <-100 
Net debt as of 31 March^ 3)          11.7     7.7  -50.6 
Employees as of 31 March^ 4)        1,679   1,686   -0.4

^1) Preliminary figures; the final and full figure set as well as the Interim Report Q1 2021 will be released on 11 May 2021.

^3) Exceptionals: restructuring charges, non-scheduled depreciation and amortization, charges for design and implementation of IT projects, M&A costs as well as profit and loss from the disposal of non-current assets no longer required for business operations

^3) excl. pension provisions and lease liabilities

^4) excl. apprentices

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