R. STAHL improved all key financial performance indicators in 2022 and forecasts significant sales and earnings growth for 2023

• R. STAHL today published its Annual Report 2022 and has confirmed the preliminary figures: Order intake € 313.5 million (+20.0%), Group sales € 274.3 million (+10.6%), EBITDA pre exceptionals € 22.3 million (+24.5%)
• Strong growth and significant increase in profitability in the first quarter of 2023
• For full year 2023, the Executive Board expects sales to increase to between € 305 million and € 320 million and EBITDA pre exceptionals to improve to between € 30 million and € 36 million

Waldenburg, 27 April 2023 – R. STAHL today published its Annual Report 2022 and has confirmed the preliminary figures. Financial year 2022 was dominated by the aftermath of the Corona pandemic, the impact of geopolitical upheaval and rising inflation and inter­est rates around the world. The specialist for explosion protection solutions can never­the­less look back on a successful financial year 2022 and has issued a positive outlook for 2023.

Challenges mastered in 2022 – double-digit growth in order intake and sales
The demand situation, which remained sluggish at the beginning of 2022, began to improve as the year progressed. From the middle of the year onward, order intake picked up significantly and, with an increase of 20.0%, reached a record level of € 313.5 million for the full year 2022 (previous year: € 261.3 million).

Due to procurement market bottlenecks, in particular when it came to semiconductors, sales development was not quite as dynamic. Group sales were up 10.6% to € 274.3 million (previous year: € 248.1 million) and was thus within the upward adjusted forecast corridor of between € 273 million and € 278 million. Order intake increased by 51.7% to a record level of € 109.4 million at the end of 2022 (previous year: € 72.2 million).

Growth in all sales markets in 2022
In Germany, sales improved by 7.1% to € 71.8 million in the past financial year due to the strong market position in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Sales in the Central region (Africa and Europe excluding Germany) climbed by 9.3 % to € 117.6 million. The main sales drivers here too were the chemical and pharmaceutical industries combined with strong demand from the oil and gas sector, including LNG. Markets in America recorded a significant increase of 41.7% to € 31.6 million. In addition to the oil and gas industry, demand in general also picked up speed in this region. Given the COVID-19 restrictions in much of Asia in the first half of 2022, sales growth was lowest in the Asia/Pacific region with an increase of 4.2% to € 53.3 million.

Significant improvement in profitability – EBITDA pre exceptionals up 24.5%
Increasing demand in almost all industries and regions in the third and fourth quarters of 2022 strengthened R. STAHL’s profitability. Targeted cost management, particularly in terms of personnel, also had a positive effect on EBITDA pre exceptionals. At € 22.3 million, it was 24.5% higher than in the previous year (€ 17.9 million) and thus within the upwardly adjusted forecast range (€ 21 million to € 24 million). The company increased its profitability as measured by the EBITDA margin from 7.2% in the previous year to 8.1%. The bottom line is a net profit of € 1.9 million (previous year: € -4.9 million). This corresponds to earnings per share of € 0.30 (previous year: € -0.76).

The company improved free cash flow by € 1.8 million to € -4.4 million (previous year: € -6.3 million). The equity ratio jumped from 20.2% in the previous year to 27.5% as of the balance sheet date.

Strong first quarter 2023 – order intake, sales and EBITDA increase significantly
R. STAHL has had a dynamic start in financial year 2023. Demand for R. STAHL’s products and services was very high in all sales regions. Based on preliminary figures, the company improved its order intake in the first quarter by 28.7% to € 96.7 million (previous year: € 75.1 million). Sales also recorded a significant 28.0% jump to € 78.1 million (previous year: € 61.0 million). EBITDA pre exceptionals increased particularly sharply, up € 7.3 million to € 10.4 million (previous year: € 3.0 million). The EBITDA margin pre exceptionals thus improved from 5.0% in the previous year to 13.3%.

Forecast for 2023 – further growth and significant increase in profitability
For 2023, the company expects a further recovery in the relevant key markets based on the overall economic and industry-specific forecasts. Forecast uncertainties remain, mainly due to procurement bottlenecks – especially for semiconductor products – as well as continuing high inflation rates and unpredictable developments and consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The high order backlog that R. STAHL started 2023 with, as well as the positive first quarter of year, mean that the company can look ahead to full year 2023 with confidence. The Executive Board expects consolidated sales to grow in the low double-digit percentage range to between € 305 million and € 320 million.

Profitability is expected to improve significantly year-on-year on the basis of a general improvement in procurement markets and due to increased cost efficiency. Assuming that it remains possible to pass on price adjustments from 2021 and 2022, the materials ratio is expected to decline. EBITDA pre exceptionals should therefore increase significantly and be within a corridor of between € 30 million and € 36 million (2022: € 22.3 million). In terms of free cash flow, R. STAHL expects a low single-digit positive million euro amount in 2023.

“We have continued the momentum from the second half of 2022 and got off to a very good start in the new year. In addition to the strategy we are pursuing, which is starting to bear fruit, R. STAHL is also benefiting from economic and social megatrends. The company is perfectly-positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities, for example in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and electromobility," says Dr. Mathias Hallmann, CEO of R. STAHL. “The course has been set for a successful financial year 2023 and for sustainably profitable growth.”

Key figures of R. STAHL Group for FY 2022 pursuant to IFRS

¹⁾ Exceptionals: restructuring charges, unscheduled 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

Percentages and figures in may include rounding differences. The signs used to indicate rates of changes are based on mathematical aspects. Rates of changes > +100% are shown as >+100%, rates of change <-100% as „n.a.“ (not applicable).

Note

The Annual Report 2022 as well as the magazine for the Annual Report 2022 ‘Ready for the future’ are available for download under the following link (Corporate – Investor Relations – IR News and Publications – Financial Reports): https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/investor-relations/ir-news-and-publications/financial-reports.

The interim report for Q1 2023 will be disclosed on 10 May 2023.

Investors’ and analysts’ conference call of R. STAHL AG for FY 2022

Chief Executive Officer of R. STAHL AG, Dr. Mathias Hallmann, will explain the results of FY 2022, will give first key figures on Q1 2023 and will present an outlook for the current year

today at 10:00 CET.

Afterwards he will be available for questions. The conference call will be held in English language.

To participate in the conference call, please use the link below. After registration, you will receive dedicated dial-in details to easily and quickly access the call at the specified time:

https://services.choruscall.it/DiamondPassRegistration/register?confirmationNumber=3561534&linkSecurityString=4d37e2188
 

Along with the conference call, we will provide the presentation through an online webinar. Please log on as a participant on the following website (no password required); this link will be provided to you again with the dial-in details for the conference call:

https://www.webcast-eqs.com/rstahl-fy-2022/no-audio
 

A replay of the audio webcast will be available shortly after the conference call has ended on the company’s website in the section corporate > investor relations > IR news and publications (https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/investor-relations/ir-news-and-publications/events-and-presentations).

Financial calendar 2023
10 May Interim Report Q1 2023
29 June 30th Annual General Meeting
09 August Interim Report H1 2023
09 November Interim Report Q3 2023

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 chemical and pharmaceutical industry, the oil & gas industry - including LNG applications - as well as the food and beverage industry. Most of the R. STAHL products are also approved for use with hydrogen. In 2022 global sales amounting to around €274 million were generated by 1,676 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.