- Preliminary business figures 2021 confirmed
- Earnings per share increased to € 2.48 (previous year € 0.54)
- Outlook:

- Sales: € 565 - 585 million
- Net profit (after minority interests) of € 28.0 - 30.5 million

- Financial results press conferenceis broadcast live on the GESCO website

GESCO AG, an industrial group of medium-sized market and technology leading companies listed in the Prime Standard, summarises the past financial year 2021 and explains the outlook for the current financial year 2022 at its annual press and analyst conference.

With the Annual Report published today, GESCO AG confirms its preliminary figures for the financial year 2021 published on 9 March 2022.

Despite a difficult market environment, Group sales in 2021 increased by 23% to € 488 million (previous year: € 397 million). The consolidated annual result rose disproportionately to sales to a record level of € 26.9 million (previous year: €5.8 million). This results in earnings per share of € 2.48 (2020 from continuing operations: € 0.54).

GESCO pursues a dividend strategy according to which between 20 and 60 % of the net profit for the year is to be distributed as a dividend. In the dividend proposal for the upcoming Annual General Meeting, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board have taken into account the shareholders' interest in paying a substantial dividend as well as the need for liquid funds for acquisitions. In order to do justice to both aspects, the dividend proposal lies in the middle of the communicated range. At € 0.98 per share, the highest dividend in the Company's history will be proposed to the upcoming Annual General Meeting.

GESCO Group has made a very good start to the financial year 2022. According to preliminary calculations, sales increased by 23% to € 138 million in a quarterly comparison, while the consolidated result (after minority interests) more than doubled to € 8.8 million (previous year: € 4.0 million). It is therefore only logical that the outlook for the current financial year is confident: the Executive Board expects sales in a range of € 565 - 585 million (2021: € 488 million) and a consolidated result (after minority interests) of € 28.0 - 30.5 million (2021: € 26.9 million).

The forecast includes foreseeable negative effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. However, many effects are difficult to forecast; this applies in particular to the development of material and energy prices as well as supply chain problems. The direct economic impact on GESCO Group as a whole is manageable, as Russia, Belarus and Ukraine accounted for less than 2 % of Group sales in 2021.

Ralph Rumberg, CEO of GESCO AG: "We can look back on a very successful year. The Excellence Programmes as part of our NEXT LEVEL strategy are increasingly developing their positive impact in the subsidiaries. We have reached important milestones with the further development of our portfolio architecture and the implementation of our Excellence Programmes. However, there is still a lot to do before we reach our medium-term goals, which we have formulated in the further developed NEXT LEVEL 25 strategy: with 3 anchor participations and 12 basic participations, we want to achieve sales of around € 1 billion and generate an EBIT margin of 10% in the process."

The annual report 2021 is available at www.gesco.de/en/investor-relations/financial-reports.

The annual press conference can be followed live on the GESCO website from 10:00 a.m. today, 21 April 2022. A video recording of the annual press conference will be available on the GESCO website at www.gesco.de/en/investor-relations/financial-reports shortly after the event.

1) as at the balance sheet date
2) Dividend proposal to the Annual General Meeting 2022

About GESCO:

GESCO AG is an industrial group with market and technology leading companies in the capital goods industry with a focus on process technology, resource technology as well as healthcare and infrastructure technology. As a company listed in the Prime Standard, GESCO AG gives private and institutional investors access to a portfolio of hidden champions of the German industrial SME sector.

Contact:

Peter Alex
Head of Investor Relations & Communications

Phone +49 (0) 202 24820-18
Fax +49 (0) 202 24820-49
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.gesco.de