After a challenging year 2020, R. STAHL sees first signs of a market recovery

- Sales 2020 at €246.5 million, down 10.3% or €28 million year-on-year

- Cost control significantly limits impact of lower sales on profitability: EBITDA pre exceptionals declines by €11 million to €19 million, margin decreases from 11.0% to 7.7%

- Net profit falls by €4.9 million to €-3.5 million compared to previous year

- Ongoing strong financial position: robust free cash flow keeps net debt at persistently low level of €5.8 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 €246.5 million (2019: €274.8 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 €28.3 million resulted in a comparatively low decline of EBITDA pre exceptionals by €11.4 million to €19.0 million (2019: €30.4 million). Consequently, the EBITDA margin pre exceptionals fell rather moderately by 330 basis points to 7.7% (2019: 11.0%). Net profit dropped by €4.9 million to €-3.5 million (2019: €1.3 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 €248.0 million (2019: € 271.4 million). The resulted in a drop in sales to € 246.5 million in the year under review, down more than 10% on the previous year (2019: € 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 €6.4 million to €115.6 million in the reporting year (2019: €122.0 million). Lower net other operating income and other operating expenses of around €1.6 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 €12 million year-on-year to €217 million in the financial year (2019: €229 million). Consolidated net profit decreased by €4.9 million to € -3.5 million (2019: € 1.3 million) or €-0.54 per share (2019: €0.21 per share). Despite the challenging market environment, free cash flow was clearly positive at €5.7 million in 2020 (2019: €8.5 million). As of 31 December 2020, net debt (excl. lease liabilities was €5.8 million and thus still at the very low level seen at the end of the previous year (31 December 2019: €4.2 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 €79 million in Q1 to €53 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 €64 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 €58 million and EBITDA pre exceptionals at €2.7 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

€ million	2020	2019	Change 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 €)	-0.54	0.21	n/a
Dividend per share (in €)	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

€ million	Q1 2021 1)	Q1 2020	Change 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

Percentages and figures may include rounding differences. The signs used to indicate rates of change are based on economic aspects: improvements are indicated by a "+" sign, deteriorations by a "-" sign. Rates of change >+100% are shown as >+100%, rates of change < 100% as "n/a" (not applicable).

Investors' and analysts' conference call of R. STAHL AG for FY 2020 and preliminary figures for Q1 2021

The Executive Board of R. STAHL AG, Dr. Mathias Hallmann, will explain the results of FY 2020 and the preliminary results of Q1 2021 in a conference call today

at 10:00 CET

and will be available for questions afterwards. The conference call will be held in English language.

Please dial one of the following numbers to join the call and provide the PIN as well as your full name and company when prompted:

DE: +49 69 201 744 220
UK: +44 20 300 924 70
US: +1 877 423 083 0

PIN: 95888804#

Along with the conference call, we will provide an online presentation via the internet. Please log on as a participant on the following website (no password required):

https://www.webcast-eqs.com/rstahl20210416/no-audio

A replay of the audio webcast will be available shortly after the conference call has ended on the company's website under the following link:

https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/investor-relations/ir-news-and-publications/events-and-presentations

Financial calendar 2021

11 May Interim Report Q1 2021
15 July 28th Annual General Meeting
12 August Report on the first half year 2021
10 November Interim Report Q3 2021

About R. STAHL - www.r-stahl.com
R. STAHL is the world's leading supplier of electrical and electronic products and systems for explosion protection. These products and systems prevent explosions in hazardous areas and contribute to the safety of people, machines and the environment. The portfolio ranges from products used in switching/distributing, installing, operating/monitoring, lighting and signalling/alarming up to automation. Typical customers are the oil & gas industry, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry and the food industry. In 2020, global sales amounting to €246.5 million were generated by 1,690 employees. The shares of R. STAHL AG are traded on the Regulated Market/Prime Standard of Deutsche Boerse (ISIN DE000A1PHBB5).

Forward-looking statements
This release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates of R. STAHL's management. Although we assume that the expectations of these forward-looking statements are realistic, we cannot guarantee that these expectations will prove to be correct. The assumptions may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such discrepancies include: changes in the macroeconomic and business environment, exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations, the roll-out of competing products, a lack of acceptance of new products or services, and changes in business strategy. R. STAHL does not plan to update these forward-looking statements nor does it accept any obligation to do so.

Contact:
R. STAHL AG
Dr. Thomas Kornek
Senior Vice President Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Am Bahnhof 30
74638 Waldenburg (Württ.)
Germany

Tel. +49 7942 943-1395
[email protected]