Rational AG: Sales revenues up 25 percent after nine months – EBIT margin at 22 percent

• Sales revenues rise by 25 percent in the first nine months of 2022 to a new all-time high of 732 million euros
• Sales revenues for the iVario expand by 63 percent
• Third quarter sees the highest sales revenues and EBIT in the company’s history
• Despite persistent cost pressure, EBIT margin at 26 percent in the third quarter and at 22 percent in the first nine months
• Forecast for 2022: sales revenue growth of 23 percent to 28 percent and EBIT margin of 21.5 percent to 22.5 percent

Landsberg am Lech, 3 November 2022     “The order backlog, which had risen to record levels in the preceding quarters, and the long delivery times declined again for the first time in the third quarter. This was attributable to improvements in the supply situation of electronic components and the resulting higher number of cooking systems produced and sold”, says a pleased Dr Peter Stadelmann, CEO of Rational AG. Rational’s order book declined from 400 million euros to 330 million euros, a first step towards normalisation.

According to Stadelmann, the number of Combi steamers sold in the first nine months increased slightly compared with the prior-year period. Based on information provided by the company, the volume of iVario cooking systems sold continued its very encouraging growth, exceeding the first nine months of the previous year by almost 50 percent.

Sales revenues up 33 percent to new all-time high in the third quarter of 2022

At 274.2 million euros (2021: 206.9 million euros), Rational’s third-quarter sales revenues were at a new all-time high, up 33 percent on the prior-year quarter. “In addition to improved components availability, factors contributing to the good business performance were the strong after-sales business and the price increases, which had taken effect”, says CFO Jörg Walter, explaining the encouraging figures. Positive currency movements accounted for a rise in sales revenues of five percentage points.

A similar picture emerged for the first nine months of 2022. After three quarters, the company’s accumulated sales revenues stood at 731.9 million euros, 25 percent more than in the previous year (2021: 586.3 million euros). Adjusted for changes in exchange rates, the growth in sales revenues was 21 percent compared with the previous year:

Sales revenue growth was particularly encouraging in North America, where a year-on-year increase of 46 percent was recorded. Latin America was also significantly up on the previous year, expanding by 65 percent. Germany and the rest of Europe also ended the first nine months of 2022 on a positive note, up 21 percent and 23 percent respectively. Only in Asia did sales revenues decline slightly compared with the prior-year period. “The main reason was subdued sales revenues in China due to coronavirus-related lockdowns in many cities. China’s contribution to sales revenues in Asia is around 40 percent”, reports Stadelmann.

Gross margin of 54.3 percent in the first nine months of 2022

Cost of sales increased faster than sales revenues in the first nine months, up 30 percent to 334.6 million euros (2021: 258.1 million euros). As a result, the company’s gross margin contracted to 54.3 percent in this period (2021: 56 percent). This is attributable to the higher purchase prices for components, commodities, and logistics. Rational’s gross margin improved compared with the second quarter of 2022. In addition to the higher sales volume, this was primarily due to price increases coming into effect, positive currency effects, as well as initial signs that the commodities and components markets are stabilising. The third quarter’s gross margin was 54.7 percent (2021: 55.3 percent).

EBIT margin at 22.3 percent

EBIT (earnings before financial result and taxes) in the first nine months of the current fiscal year was 163.4 million euros, up around 22 percent on the previous year (2021: 134.1 million euros). The EBIT margin was 22.3 percent in this period (2021: 22.9 percent). The fact that operating costs rose more slowly than sales revenues helped Rational achieve record earnings. “The EBIT of 70.3 million euros generated in the third quarter of 2022 (2021: 49.7 million euros) was the highest for a quarter in the company’s history”, says CFO Walter. The EBIT margin of the third quarter stood at 25.6 percent (2021: 24.0 percent).

Employees

According to Rational, the U.i.U. (entrepreneur in the company) principle boosts employee satisfaction, making it an important pillar of the company’s success. This was again confirmed by an employee survey conducted in 2022. In these turbulent and unprecedentedly challenging times, 87 percent of U.i.U. are proud to work for Rational. However, employees also indicated to a greater extent that work and stress levels had increased. At the end of September 2022, the Rational Group employed 2,356 people worldwide. Of this total, around 1,370 were employed in Germany.

Forecast 2022

More stable availability of materials, the increasing effect of the price rises, and the beneficial impact of currency movements have driven the Rational Group’s sales revenues to an all-time high in each of this year’s quarters.

The company’s further performance in the current fiscal year will essentially depend on the following factors. First, the situation as regards materials procurement and logistics is still strained. On the supplier side, there are not only the lockdowns due to the coronavirus, such as in China in the spring of 2022, but also the risk that production at suppliers will be impacted by rising energy costs or staff shortages. “Moreover, it is currently difficult to predict how the economy as a whole will perform”, states CEO Stadelmann, looking ahead to the future.

The Rational boss thinks sales revenues of 23 percent to 28 percent are realistic in 2022, if the supply situation and business performance remain stable. Assuming a similar cost base, the increase in sales revenues will also have a positive impact on the EBIT margin. In this scenario, it is expected to be between 21.5 percent and 22.5 percent at the end of the year.

Contact:

Rational Aktiengesellschaft

Stefan Arnold / Head of Investor Relations

Tel. +49 (0)8191 327-2209

Fax +49 (0)8191 327-72 2209

E-mail: ir@rational-online.com

rational-online.com

Editorial note:

The Rational Group is the global market and technology leader for thermal preparation of food in professional kitchens. Founded in 1973, the company employs more than 2,300 people, around 1,370 of whom are in Germany. Rational was floated in the Prime Standard of the German stock market in 2000 and is currently represented in the MDAX.

The company’s principal objective is to offer maximum customer benefit at all times. Rational is committed to the principle of sustainability, which is expressed in its corporate policies on environmental protection, leadership, job security and social responsibility. Numerous international awards bear witness to the high quality of the work done by Rational’s employees year for year.