DGAP-News: R. Stahl AG / Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement Following a soft first quarter, R. STAHL expects to return to sales growth again in 2021 2021-05-11 / 07:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. =---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Following a soft first quarter, R. STAHL expects to return to sales growth again in 2021 - Sales of EUR58.2 million in Q1 2021, still down 10.6% or EUR6.9 million year-on-year (Q1 2020: EUR65.1 million) - EBITDA pre exceptionals declines by EUR2.1 million to EUR2.7 million (Q1 2020: EUR4.7 million) - ongoing cost adjustments continue to noticeably cushion impact of weak sales development - Net profit decreases by EUR1.9 million to EUR-2.5 million (Q1 2020: EUR-0.6 million) and earnings per share to EUR-0.39 (Q1 2020: EUR-0.10) - Negative net profit and ongoing strategy implementation lead to temporary slight increase in net financial debt to EUR11.6 million - First signs of market recovery: Demand up by about 13% to EUR63.9 million in Q1 2021 compared with the average of the three prior quarters - Forecast for 2021 detailed: Sales between EUR250 million and EUR256 million, EBITDA pre exceptionals between EUR17 million and EUR19 million Waldenburg, 11 May 2021 - R. STAHL today publishes full figures for Q1 2021. As already reported, sales declined 10.6% to EUR58.2 million (Q1 2020: EUR65.1 million). Still, the business performance was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting low order backlog at the beginning of the year. The sales decline of EUR6.9 million led to a decrease of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) pre exceptionals, which, due to targeted measures that included labor capacity adjustments, was limited to a decline of EUR2.1 million to EUR2.7 million (Q1 2020: EUR4.7 million). This resulted in an EBITDA margin pre exceptionals of 4.6% (Q1 2020: 7.3%). Net profit fell EUR1.9 million to EUR-2.5 million (Q1 2020: EUR-0.6 million), equivalent to earnings per share of EUR-0.39 (Q1 2020: EUR-0.10). Development of sales and order intake in Q1 2021 Sales declined in all regions in the first quarter 2021. In Germany, sales of EUR14.6 million were generated (Q1 2020: EUR16.9 million), a drop of 13.4%. This development mainly reflected the decline in international investment projects, which was also evident in weaker business in the German machinery sector. By contrast, sales in the Central region - which consists of Africa and Europe excluding Germany - fell by a moderate 3.3% year-on-year to EUR28.2 million in the reporting quarter (Q1 2020: EUR29.2 million). The comparatively high share of sales in customer industries not directly affected by the decline in demand in the oil and gas sector had a stabilizing effect. By contrast, there was an entirely different trend in the Americas region, where the reluctance to invest in the oil and gas sector resulted in a 33.8% year-on-year drop in sales to EUR4.8 million (Q1 2020: EUR7.2 million). This also impacted the Asia/Pacific region. In addition, the postponement of major projects had a negative impact on the development of sales in this region, which resulted in an overall decline in sales of 10.6% to EUR10.5 million (Q1 2020: EUR11.8 million). In contrast, order intake in the first quarter of 2021 was significantly higher than sales. In fact, orders declined by 18.8% to EUR63.9 million compared to the very strong previous year (Q1 2020: EUR78.8 million). Compared to the previous quarter, however, this represents an increase of 20% (Q4 2020: EUR53.3 million). This encouraging performance was driven in particular by follow-up material requirements from major projects, catch-up effects from postponed procurement activities as well as maintenance and repair orders for production equipment in operation. As a result, order backlog increased to EUR68.9 million compared with the level at the beginning of the year (31 December 2020: EUR64.5 million). Development of earnings, financial and asset position in Q1 2021 The EUR6.9 million drop in sales also led to a decline in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) pre exceptionals in Q1 2021 which, due to targeted measures that included labor capacity adjustments, was limited to a decline of EUR2.1 million to EUR2.7 million (Q1 2020: EUR4.7 million). This resulted in an EBITDA margin pre exceptionals of 4.6% (Q1 2020: 7.3%). At+100% are shown as >+100%, rates of change <-100% as "n/a" (not applicable). Key figures R. STAHL Group Change In EUR million Q1 2021 Q1 2020 in % Sales 58.2 65.1 -10.6 Germany 14.6 16.9 -13.4 Central region^ 1) 28.2 29.2 -3.3 Americas 4.8 7.2 -33.8 Asia/Pacific 10.5 11.8 -10.6
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May 11, 2021 01:01 ET (05:01 GMT)