At the end of February, SIG paid EUR167 million to OIG, representing the cash component of the consideration for OIG's 50% share in the Middle East joint ventures. The Company also assumed EUR36 million of net indebtedness (excluding lease liabilities) from the Middle East joint ventures. Notwithstanding these movements, net leverage at end-March 2021 was unchanged compared with end-December 2020. 


                                                    As of    As of 
                                                   31 March 31 Dec. 
(In EUR million)                                       2021    2020 
Gross total debt                                    1,831.5 1,697.0 
Cash and cash equivalents^1                           255.0   355.1 
Net total debt                                      1,576.5 1,341.9 
Total net leverage ratio (last twelve months)^2        2.7x    2.7x ^2 Net total debt divided by LTM adjusted EBITDA. LTM adjusted EBITDA for 2021 includes the LTM adjusted EBITDA of the acquired joint ventures and SIG and deducts the dividend SIG received from the joint ventures in the LTM period. ^

Production plants

In April the Company announced that it will construct a new plant in Queretaro, Mexico to serve North American markets. The plant will further expand SIG's global production network and will enable the Company to build on its strong track record of growth in North America. SIG will invest around EUR40 million in the new plant over the period 2021-2023, with the land and buildings financed through a long-term lease with a net present value currently estimated at approximately EUR20 million. The investment will cover state-of-the-art production capacity for the printing, cutting and finishing of carton packs.

The Company has reviewed its APAC production assets in the light of the recent opening of its new plant in China. The decision has been taken to close the production plant in Melbourne, Australia which was part of the Visy Cartons acquisition in 2019. A consultation process with employees regarding the proposed closure has commenced. The Australia and New Zealand markets can be efficiently supplied from the plants in China and Thailand. Production is expected to finish by the end of 2021 with the site vacated during 2022.

Full year outlook

The factors driving strong revenue growth in the first quarter of 2021, notably re-stocking in APAC and the Americas, are not expected to continue for the rest of the year. In Europe and the Americas, where the business has benefited from high at-home consumption, performance from the second quarter onwards will be measured against a high base in 2020. COVID-19 restrictions and economic uncertainty in South East Asia continue to affect on-the-go consumption in this region.

Full year guidance is therefore unchanged. On a like-for-like basis the combined business, including the MEA business from March onwards, is expected to achieve core revenue growth at constant currency in the lower half of the 4-6% range. Assuming no major deterioration in exchange rates, the adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be in the 27-28% range. Net capital expenditure is forecast to be within the targeted 8-10% of revenue range in 2020 and mid-term.

Investor contact:

Jennifer Gough +41 52 543 1229 Director Investor Relations SIG Combibloc Group AG Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland jennifer.gough@sig.biz

Media contact:

Lemongrass Communications Andreas Hildenbrand +41 44 202 5238 andreas.hildenbrand@lemongrass.agency

About SIG SIG is a leading systems and solutions provider for aseptic carton packaging. We work in partnership with our customers to bring food and beverage products to consumers around the world in a safe, sustainable and affordable way. Our unique technology and outstanding innovation capacity enable us to provide our customers with end-to-end solutions for differentiated products, smarter factories and connected packs, all to address the ever-changing needs of consumers. Sustainability is integral to our business and we are going Way Beyond Good to create a net positive food packaging system.

Founded in 1853, SIG is headquartered in Neuhausen, Switzerland. The skills and experience of our more than 5,500 employees worldwide enable us to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of our customers in over 60 countries. In 2020, SIG produced 38 billion carton packs and generated EUR1.8 billion in revenue. SIG has an AA ESG rating by MSCI, an 18.8 (low risk) score by Sustainalytics and a Platinum CSR rating by EcoVadis. For more information, visit www.sig.biz.

Disclaimer & cautionary statement

The information contained in this media release and in any link to our website indicated herein is not for use within any country or jurisdiction or by any persons where such use would constitute a violation of law. If this applies to you, you are not authorised to access or use any such information.

This media release contains "forward-looking statements" that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about us and our industry. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "project", "plan", "will likely continue", "will likely result", or words or phrases with similar meaning. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors outside of the control of SIG Combibloc Group AG ("SIG", the "Company" or the "Group"), that may cause SIG's business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements (or from past results). For any factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this media release, please see our offering circular for the issue of notes in June 2020. SIG undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. It should further be noted that past performance is not a guide to future performance. Please also note that quarterly results are not necessarily indicative of the full-year results. Persons requiring advice should consult an independent adviser

The declaration and payment by the Company of any future dividends and the amounts of any such dividends will depend upon SIG's ability to maintain its credit rating, its investments, results, financial condition, future prospects, profits being available for distribution, consideration of certain covenants under the terms of outstanding indebtedness and any other factors deemed by the Directors to be relevant at the time, subject always to the requirements of applicable laws.

Some financial information in this media release has been rounded and, as a result, the figures shown as totals in this media release may vary slightly from the exact arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them.

In this media release, we utilise certain alternative performance measures, including but not limited to core revenue, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, net capex, adjusted net income, free cash flow and net leverage ratio that in each case are not defined in International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). These measures are presented as we believe that they and similar measures are widely used in the markets in which we operate as a means of evaluating a company's operating performance and financing structure. Our definition of and method of calculating the alternative performance measures stated above may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies and are not measurements under IFRS or other generally accepted accounting principles, are not measures of financial condition, liquidity or profitability and should not be considered as an alternative to profit from operations for the period or operating cash flows determined in accordance with IFRS, nor should they be considered as substitutes for the information contained in our consolidated financial statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any alternative performance measures and ratios not defined in IFRS included in this media release. For definitions of alternative performance measures and their related reconciliations that are not included in this media release, please refer to the following link

https://reports.sig.biz/annual-report-2020/services/glossary.html

The following table reconciles profit or loss to EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. 


                                                             Three    Three 
                                                             months   months 
                                                             ended    ended 
                                                            31 March 31 March 
(In EUR million)                                                2021     2020 
Profit / (loss) for the period                                   2.9   (25.5) 
Net finance expense                                              8.4     19.7 
Income tax expense                                              10.0      1.9 
Depreciation and amortisation                                   71.8     71.1 
EBITDA                                                          93.1     67.2 
Adjustments to EBITDA: 
Replacement of share of profit of joint ventures with 
cash dividends received from joint ventures                      1.9    (0.9) 
Restructuring costs, net of reversals                           28.2      0.3 
Unrealised gain on derivatives                                (13.1)     15.3 
Transaction- and acquisition-related costs                       6.0      0.8 
Impairment losses                                                0.6        -

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