JOST publishes preliminary interim results and adjusts forecast for fiscal year 2019

- Sales in 9M 2019 grew by 1.9 % to EUR 579.1 million

- Adjusted EBIT in 9M 2019 increased by 0.4% to EUR 65.5 million

- Operating cash flow in 9M 2019 doubled to EUR 56.4 million

- Forecast for fiscal year 2019 adjusted

Neu-Isenburg, November 7, 2019. JOST Werke AG ("JOST"), a leading global producer and supplier of safety-critical systems for commercial vehicles, announced its preliminary interim results for the first nine months of 2019 and adjusted its forecast for fiscal year 2019.

Solid profitability and strong operating cash flow

According to preliminary figures, JOST increased group sales in the first nine months of 2019 by 1.9 % to EUR 579.1 million (9M 2018: EUR 568.1 million). Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased in the first nine months of 2019 by 0.4 % to EUR 65.5 million (9M 2018: EUR 65.3 million). As in the first half of the year, higher personnel costs particularly in Europe continued to put pressure on the operating result. As a result of the efficiency measures introduced, group adjusted EBIT margin was almost stable at 11.3 % (9M 2018: 11.5 %).

The financial result improved in the first nine months of 2019 by EUR 3.8 million to EUR -4.5 million (9M 2018: EUR -8.3 million), mainly due to the refinancing conducted in June 2018. Accordingly, earnings before taxes rose by 12.9% to EUR 41.2 million (9M 2018: EUR 36.5 million).

In the first nine months of 2019, operating cash flow doubled to EUR 56.4 million (9M 2018: EUR 27.0 million). This development was largely attributable to improvements in working capital compared to the previous year. The ratio of net working capital to last twelve months sales improved by 2.5 percentage points to 19.5 % (9M 2018: 22.0 %). Since beginning of the year, cash and cash equivalents increased by EUR 25.5 million to EUR 91.6 million as of September 30, 2019 (December 31, 2018: EUR 66.1 million).

European market continues to slow down

In Europe, the typical seasonality of the summer months was much more pronounced than in the prior year. Although JOST was still able to cushion the trailer market downturn somewhat by increasing sales to customers in the special trailer segment, overall European sales in the first nine months of 2019 were down by 2.3 % totaling EUR 343.0 million (9M 2018: EUR 351.0 million). Alongside the decline in sales, an increase in personnel costs led to a reduction in adjusted EBIT by EUR 1.7 million to EUR 35.5 million (9M 2018: EUR 37.2 million). The efficiency measures introduced could compensate part of the increase in costs but have not yet reached their full potential. As a result, the adjusted EBIT margin in Europe declined slightly by 0.2 percentage points to 10.4 % (9M 2018: 10.6 %).

North America continues to grow

In contrast to Europe, activity levels in North America remained at a record high. JOST could further exceed the already high volume of the prior year. In the first nine months of 2019, North American sales rose by 20.9 % to EUR 129.3 million (9M 2018: EUR 106.9 million). Adjusted for currency effects, this corresponds to an increase of 13.8 %. JOST was also able to boost its operating performance compared to the previous year and further improve profitability. In the first nine months of 2019, adjusted EBIT grew by EUR 2.4 million to EUR 12.1 million (9M 2018: EUR 9.7 million) and the adjusted EBIT margin improved by 0.3 percentage points to 9.4 % (9M 2018: 9.1 %). In the third quarter of 2019, JOST achieved an adjusted EBIT margin of 10.0 % in North America for the second consecutive quarter.

Indian market burdens APA region

The strong decline in the Indian market affected sales in the Asia-Pacific-Africa region (APA) and could not be offset by higher sales in China and other countries of the region. As a result, APA sales were down by 3.1 % to EUR 106.8 million in the first nine months of 2019 (9M 2018: EUR 110.2 million). Despite the negative development in India, JOST was able to minimize the decline of operating earnings in APA due to the rapid implementation of cost-cutting measures. Thus, adjusted EBIT decreased by only 0.8 million EUR to 15.2 million EUR in the first nine months of 2019 (9M 2018: 16.0 million EUR) and the adjusted EBIT margin declined just by 0.3 percentage points totaling 14.2 % (9M 2018: 14.5 %).

Outlook for fiscal year 2019 adjusted

In the current quarter, JOST is witnessing an increasing deterioration of the commercial vehicles market environment in all its regions, which will presumably go beyond the typical seasonal weakness of a fourth quarter. Especially, the pronounced slowdown of the European truck market is becoming increasingly noticeable in the fourth quarter of 2019, which will be accompanied by longer year-end production shutdowns by several OEM customers.

Against this backdrop, the company is adjusting its outlook for fiscal year 2019 and now expects a slight decline in sales in the low single-digit percentage range compared to 2018 (before: low single-digit percentage growth). As before, adjusted EBIT in 2019 is expected to develop in line with sales. Accordingly, the EBIT margin in 2019 should remain almost stable compared to the previous year.

The final results for the first nine months of 2019 will be published with the Interim Report 9M 2019 on November 21, 2019. JOST will offer a conference call for analysts and investors tomorrow, November 8, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. (CET).

Contact:

JOST Werke AG
Romy Acosta
Senior Manager Investor Relations
T: +49 (0)6102 295-379
[email protected]