Schaltbau Holding AG makes good start to fiscal year 2021 with significantly improved profitability

Munich, 29 April 2021 - Schaltbau Holding AG [ISIN DE000A2NBTL2] has made a good start to fiscal year 2021 and significantly boosted its profitability. Although order intake at EUR 136.5 million was slightly below the previous year's figure (3M 2020: EUR 143.2 million) due to typical fluctuations in project-related business, Group revenue grew by 4% to EUR 124.2 million (3M 2020: EUR 119.6 million). Moreover, the focus on financial performance is paying off, as EBIT improved significantly by 59% to EUR 6.1 million (3M 2020: EUR 3.9 million). The EBIT margin increased by 1.7 percentage points to 4.9% (3M 2020: 3.2%). Group net profit more than doubled to EUR 3.8 million (3M 2020: EUR 1.7 million). The expansion of business with direct current (DC) components and applications into new, high-growth markets such as New Energy / New Industry is also gaining momentum. Order intake in this area rose by 32%. In view of the good start to the new fiscal year, Schaltbau confirms its guidance for 2021 with order intake of EUR 550-580 million, revenue of EUR 520-540 million and an EBIT margin of approx. 5%.

"We have now defined both the targets and the key measures for implementing our Strategy 2023," explained Dr Jürgen Brandes, CEO of Schaltbau Holding AG. "For example, we are already seeing the first sustainable improvements in earnings with boarding systems for Rolling Stock. We are also making good progress both in developing our service business in the rail sector and expanding our components and applications business into new high-growth markets such as New Energy /New Industry."

Rail core market shows robust revenue performance and improved profitability

Results in the Pintsch segment displayed the usual seasonal fluctuations during the first three months of 2021. Driven primarily by demand for components for level crossings and axle counting systems, order intake increased significantly by 29.2% from EUR 19.5 million to EUR 25.1 million, while at EUR 16.2 million, revenue was down 16.4% year-on-year (3M 2020: EUR 19.4 million). EBIT totalled EUR 0.2 million (3M 2020: EUR 0.7 million); the EBIT margin came in at 0.9% (3M 2020: 3.4%). In previous year's period, revenue and EBIT were positively impacted by exceptional items with regard to the completion of the Platform Screen Doors project in Brazil. The pilot project for the groundbreaking "Zwieseler Spinne" digital interlocking system is progressing on schedule. The project plan has been approved by Deutsche Bahn AG and the relevant authorities.

The Bode segment began the new fiscal year with significantly higher profitability. Due to typical fluctuations in project-related business, order intake totalled EUR 57.1 million, i.e. 21.6% down year-on-year (3M 2020: EUR 72.8 million). At EUR 61.0 million, revenue was robust and only marginally below the level recorded in previous year's period (3M 2020: EUR 62.6 million). The focus on financial performance is beginning to bear fruit in the form of substantial growth in segment profitability. First-quarter EBIT improved from EUR 0.8 million to EUR 2.2 million year-on-year, significantly increasing the EBIT margin by 2.2 percentage points to 3.5% (3M 2020: 1.3%) through a variety of measures, including expanding the segment's service business (+29%), boosting shopfloor productivity and reducing overhead.

Expansion in new growth markets New Energy/New Industry and e-Mobility gaining pace

Order intake for the Schaltbau segment totalled EUR 42.0 million (3M 2020: EUR 41.1 million) and was therefore slightly up on the preceding year's first-quarter figure. The components business in the rail sector was still well below the previous year's level due to production backlogs amongst rolling stock manufacturers. The COVID-19 pandemic had frequently caused the relevant supply chains to be interrupted, thus delaying production processes. In contrast, business with DC components and applications gained a great deal of momentum in the new markets, especially New Energy / New Industry, leading to a 32% increase in order intake. Schaltbau segment revenue amounted to EUR 35.9 million and was therefore 6.7% up year-on-year (3M 2020: EUR 33.6 million), despite the impact of COVID-19 on rail sector business. EBIT also improved by 13.9% to EUR 5.7 million (3M 2020: EUR 5.0 million), causing the EBIT margin to rise by one percentage point to 15.8% (3M 2020: 14.8%). Moreover, the construction of the NExT Factory is proceeding according to schedule and the ground work is almost completed. The new factory is due to commence production in autumn 2022.

The strong growth in new markets is also evident in the SBRS segment. Although order intake of EUR 12.2 million already showed a considerable increase by 25.4% (3M 2020: EUR 9.8 million), revenue grew at a far more dynamic rate, almost tripling year-on-year to EUR 11.0 million (3M 2020: EUR 3.9 million). Segment EBIT increased to EUR 0.4 million (3M 2020: EUR 0.1 million); the EBIT margin came in at 3.6% (3M 2020: 3.2%). The strong revenue growth in the SBRS segment is being driven primarily by demand for fast-charging solutions in the e-Mobility (Charging) business.

Growth financing secured, guidance for 2021 confirmed

"The COVID-19 pandemic continues to influence our supply chains and also causes project delays in isolated cases, which led to a temporary rise in our working capital in the first few months. Nevertheless, it's 'all systems go' for Schaltbau in the 2021 fiscal year," said Steffen Munz, CFO of Schaltbau Holding AG. "In the first three months of the fiscal year, we have already significantly improved our profitability, slightly increased our return on capital employed (ROCE) and secured our growth financing with the full placement of the Mandatory Convertible Bond for EUR 60 million. We confirm our guidance for the fiscal year 2021."

This year, the Schaltbau Group expects order intake in the region of EUR 550-580 million, revenue of EUR 520-540 million and an EBIT margin of approx. 5%.

About the Schaltbau Group
Schaltbau Holding AG (ISIN: DE000A2NBTL2) is listed in the Prime Standard segment of the regulated market of Deutsche Börse AG in Frankfurt am Main. With annual Group revenue in the region of EUR 500 million and around 3,000 employees, Schaltbau is an internationally leading supplier of systems and components in the field of transportation technology and the capital goods industry. With Pintsch, Bode, Schaltbau and SBRS as their core brands, Schaltbau Group companies develop a wide range of high-quality technologies and customer-specific technological solutions for rolling stock, rail infrastructure, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. As one of the few specialists for smart DC energy concepts, the Schaltbau Group is also a driver of innovation for the fast-growing markets of tomorrow such as new mobility, new energy and new industry.

To find out more about the Schaltbau Group, go to: https://schaltbaugroup.com