R. STAHL reports exceptionally positive third quarter despite ongoing difficult market conditions – Further increases in order intake (+26.7%) and sales (+18.8%) – EBITDA pre exceptionals improves to € 9.7 million – Forecast for full year 2022 confirmed

• Order intake with further strong growth of 26.7% to € 80.1 million
• Sales up 18.8% in third quarter to € 73.8 million
• EBITDA pre exceptionals up € 4.6 million to € 9.7 million,
  EBITDA margin pre exceptionals reaches 13.1 percent
• Net profit again clearly positive at € 5.2 million
• Forecast for full year confirmed with sales corridor of € 270 - € 275
  million and EBITDA pre exceptionals between € 18 - € 21 million

 Waldenburg, 27 October 2022 – R. STAHL today publishes its financial statements for the third quarter of 2022. The business recovery, which was already noticeable in the second quarter, showed continued strong momentum in the third quarter. While the effects of the Corona pandemic had an impact on business development in the previous year, the third quarter was also characterized by further interrupted supply chains, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and increasing inflation. Despite difficult underlying conditions, the explosion protection specialist achieved year-on-year sales growth of 18.8% or € 11.7 million to € 73.8 million in the reporting quarter (Q3 2021: € 62.1 million). R. STAHL recorded an even stronger increase in order intake, which climbed by 26.7% to € 80.1 million (Q3 2021: € 63.2 million).

The encouraging sales development is also reflected in EBITDA pre exceptionals, which increased by € 4.6 million or 89.7% to € 9.7 million (Q3 2021: € 5.1 million). The EBITDA margin pre exceptionals is thus 13.1% after 8.2% in the same quarter of the previous year. Net profit increased to € 5.2 million in the third quarter, compared to € ‑0.1 million in the previous year. This corresponds to earnings per share of € 0.80. 

The forecast for the full year 2022, which was first issued with the publication of the annual financial statements 2021 and subsequently substantiated in each of the following quarters, is confirmed. Dr. Mathias Hallmann, Chairman of the Executive Board of R. STAHL AG, is extremely confident that the Group will generate sales of between € 270 and € 275 million by the end of the year, with EBITDA pre exceptionals in the € 18 to € 21 million corridor. "The encouraging development in the quarter just ended, as was already the case in the second quarter, is clear evidence for us that the consistent pursuit of our corporate strategy is now bearing fruit. We continue to see restrictions due to disrupted supply chains, but these are having a diminishing impact on our business”, said Dr. Mathias Hallmann.

Business development in the third quarter
Positive sales development spanned all regions where R. STAHL operates. In the home market in Germany, sales grew by 10.1% to € 19.9 million (Q3 2021: € 18.1 million). In the Central region - Africa and Europe excluding Germany - the chemical industry, the pharmaceutical as well as the gas industry were the main drivers of sales, which increased by 21.0% to € 29.8 million (Q3 2021: € 24.6 million). In the Americas region, market recovery continued significantly in the third quarter, with sales increasing by 43.5% to € 8.7 million (Q3 2021: € 6.1 million). It was especially the ongoing upturn in investment from the oil and gas industry that contributed to this development. In the Asia/Pacific region, the year-on-year increase was 15.3% with sales reaching € 15.4 million (Q3 2021: € 13.4 million).

A sustained upturn in demand throughout all sectors and regions led to a significant year-on-year increase in order intake of 26.7%; Group order intake in the third quarter was thus € 80.1 million, compared with € 63.2 million in the third quarter of 2021.

Development of financial position and performance in the quarter
The year-on-year increase in inventories of finished and unfinished goods of € 1.0 million (Q3 2021: € 0.0 million), with own work capitalized remaining virtually constant, led to a 19.9% rise in total operating performance to € 76.0 million in the third quarter. Price increases for raw materials were largely offset by corresponding sales price adjustments, which meant that the cost of materials increased more or less in line with sales – by 22.6% to € ‑26.9 million (Q3 2021: € -21.9 million). The cost of materials ratio was 35.4% of total operating performance (Q3 2021: 34.6%). Personnel expenses increased by 8.7% to € ‑30.4 million in the third quarter (Q3 2021: € -28.0 million) due to salary adjustments and selective recruitment.

The balance of other operating income and other operating expenses increased by € 1.1 million to € -9.6 million in the reporting quarter (Q3 2021: € -8.5 million). Due primarily to higher exchange rate losses and increased travel expenses, other operating expenses were € 5.4 million higher than in the previous year at € -15.5 million. Meanwhile, other operating income increased by € 4.3 million to € 5.9 million (Q3 2021: € 1.6 million), mainly due to higher exchange rate gains.

Amortization of intangible assets and depreciation of property, plant and equipment in the third quarter of 2022 was at the level of the prior-year period at € -4.1 million (Q3 2021: € ‑4.1 million).

EBIT climbed € 4.2 million to € 5.0 million in the reporting period (Q3 2021: € 0.8 million).

Compared with the end of the previous year, equity improved by € 21.5 million to € 71.3 million (31 December 2021: € 49.8 million). The positive equity effect from lower provisions for pension obligations compensated for the negative net profit. This resulted in an equity ratio of 26.6% compared with 20.2% as of 31 December 2021.

Net debt (not including pension provisions and lease liabilities) increased by € 15.5 million to € 33.7 million as of 30 September 2022 compared to the beginning of the year (31 December 2021: € 18.3 million), mainly due to higher working capital.

Business and earnings development in the first nine months of 2022
The company’s positive development, which started in the second quarter, is also reflected when looking at the nine-month period. R. STAHL generated sales of € 202.5 million, which corresponds to year-on-year growth of 9.6 % (9M 2021: € 184.8 million). Order intake was up 20.6% over the previous year and amounted to € 232.0 million at the end of September (9M 2021: € 192.4 million). Order backlog rose significantly to € 100.7 million (30 September 2021: € 68.1 million).

In the first nine months of 2022, EBITDA pre exceptionals increased 35.3% to € 16.6 million (9M 2021: € 12.3 million), resulting in an EBITDA margin pre exceptionals of 8.2% (9M 2021: 6.6%). At € -1.1 million, exceptionals were higher than in the previous year, resulting in EBITDA of € 15.5 million (9M 2021: € 11.5 million). Net profit for the period amounted to € -1.1 million, compared with € -3.8 million in the same period of the previous year.

Forecast for the 2022 financial year
The forecast, which was first presented with the annual financial statements for 2021 and has since been substantiated on a quarterly basis, is confirmed. Based on the assumption of secure gas supplies in Europe, further easing of supply chain constraints and the ability to pass on further cost increases in a consistent manner, the Executive Board expects sales for full-year 2022 to increase to between € 270 million and € 275 million, with EBITDA pre exceptionals of between € 18 million and € 21 million. Furthermore, the company expects a significantly improved equity ratio compared to 2021 and a continuing high liquidity requirement.

Key figures of the R. STAHL Group for the third quarter of 2022 in accordance with IFRS

Note
The interim report Q3 2022 is available for download under the following link: https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/investor-relations/ir-news-and-publications/financial-reports

Investors’ and analysts’ conference call of R. STAHL AG for Q2 2022

On October 27, 2022 at 10:00 CET Chief Executive Officer of R. STAHL AG, Dr. Mathias Hallmann, will explain the results of Q3 2022, will present an outlook for the current year and will be available for questions afterwards. 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:
http://services.choruscall.it/DiamondPassRegistration/register?confirmationNumber=2424903&linkSecurityString=2d82b7542

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/rstahl20221027/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).

We look forward to talking to you.

Financial calendar
28/29 November  German Equity Forum, Frankfurt/Main
16 February 2023  Preliminary figures for FY 2022
27 April 2023  Annual Report FY 2022
10 May 2023  Interim Report Q1 2023
29 June 2023  30^th Annual General Meeting
9 August 2023  Interim Report H1 2023
9 November 2023  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 2021 global sales amounting to around €248 million were generated by 1,672 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.