- Sales decline by 3.6% to €65.1 million (Q1 2019: €67.5 million) – coronavirus pandemic delays deliveries
- EBITDA pre exceptionals falls to €4.7 million (Q1 2019: €7.7 million
- Earnings per share decline to €-0.10 (Q1 2019: €0.02)
- Strong order intake drives order backlog to €79.9 million as of 31 March 2020
- Outlook unchanged despite persisting uncertainties: sales 2020 to decline 5% year-on-year at most, EBITDA pre in the low double-digit million Euro range
Waldenburg, 14 May 2020 – R. STAHL, leading supplier of products and systems for explosion protection, today publishes final figures for Q1 2020. As already reported, sales declined slightly by 3.6% to €65.1 million (Q1 2019: €67.5 million). EBITDA pre exceptionals fell by €3.0 million to €4.7 million (Q1 2019: €7.7 million). Since no material exceptionals were recorded in the period under review, decline in net profit was significantly lower, falling by €0.7 million to €-0.6 million or €-0.10 per share (Q1 2019: €0.1 million or €0.02 per share)
“Given the current situation of the global economy, we can be satisfied with our performance in Q1 2020, despite softer sales. With the early measures we have taken to prevent the health of our employees and our operational readiness, our operations largerly remained uninterrupted amid the unexpectedly dynamic development of the coronavirus pandemic. With regard to order intake, we recorded the strongest quarter since four years”, said Dr Mathias Hallmann, CEO of R. STAHL. “However, we expect the pandemic to show a delayed impact on our business. We therefore expect sequentially declining order intakes for the next two quarters”, Hallmann added.
Key driver of the sales decline were the worldwide restrictions on public life relating to the unexpectedly rapid global spread of the coronavirus as from February 2020, which also caused delays in transport and goods acceptance at several of R. STAHL’s customers. As a result, some finished products could not be shipped yet. Thus, the impact on the operational performance was significantly lower, coming in at €70.2 million almost at prior year’s level (Q1 2019: €70.7 million). This includes an increase in finished and unfinished products by €2.1 million compared to the previous year (Q1 2019: €2.1 million).
While material costs and personnel costs remained largely unchanged year-on-year, other operating expenses rose by €1.7 million to €13.1 million (Q1 2019: €11.5 million). Here, the organizational measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic led to an increased need for temporary staff. Moreover, costs were incurred for the prefinancing of the replacement of the light fittings that were recalled in June 2019. These costs will only be refunded by the insurance company at a later date. In sum, EBITDA was €1.6 million below last year, coming in at €4.7 million (Q1 2019: €6.3 million).
The financial result improved by €0.5 million to €-0.4 million (Q1 2019: €-0.9 million) in the quarter under review. Apart from the higher income from the ZAVOD Goreltex investment, lower interest expenses as a result of a year-on-year decrease of the pension provisions contributed to this.
Earnings before income taxes of €0.1 million remained on par with previous year in the quarter under review. Income taxes of €0.7 million were incurred (Q1 2019: €0.0 million) leading to net profit of €-0.6 million (Q1 2019: €0.1 million). This corresponds to earnings per share of €-0.10 (Q1 2019: €0.02).
As of the reporting date 31 March 2020, the balance sheet total of R. STAHL Group increased slightly to €261.1 million compared to previous year’s end (31 December 2019: €259.4 million), particularly due to the above-mentioned increase in finished and unfinished products. Despite negative net profit, equity increased to €59.9 million as of the end of the reporting period (31 December 2019: €58.4 million). This was primarily dri-ven by lower pension provisions which declined to €92.0 million (31 December 2019: €98.7 million). As a result, the equity ratio improved to 22.9% (31 December 2019: 22.5%).
Lower earnings led to a decline in cash flow to €4.1 million in Q1 2020 (Q1 2019: €5.2 million). Thanks to the buildup of finished and unfinished products, working capital increased by €3.2 million compared to the start of the reporting period (Q1 2019: decline by €1.7 million), whereby the cash flow from operating activities fell in total by €6.0 million to €0.9 million.
Cash outflow for investing activities registered a slight increase in the quarter under review to €-2.2 million (Q1 2019: €-2.0 million), however, the previous year’s figure included a cash inflow of €0.6 million from the disposal of a business no longer required from a strategic perspective. In total, free cash flow of €-1.3 million was generated in the quarter under review (Q1 2019: €4.9 million).
The increase in cash flow from financing activities to €3.8 million (Q1 2019: €-8.5 million) reflected the higher utilization of loans to finance the increase in working capital.
Net financial debt (excluding pension provisions and leasing liabilities) therefore rose to €7.7 million as of the end of the reporting period (31 December 2019: €4.2 million).
In contrast to sales, orders performed well in the quarter under review with a significant increase of 14.2% to €78.8 million (Q1 2019: €69.0 million), achieving the highest quarterly order intake for about four years. Compared to the seasonally weak previous quarter, this represents an increase of 19.7% (Q4 2019: €65.8 million). As a result, the order backlog increased significantly as at the end of the reporting period to €79.9 million (31 December 2019: €67.3 million).
Outlook for FY 2020 unchanged
We have presented our detailed estimate of the anticipated development of the R. STAHL Group in the current year in the 2019 Annual Report. We continue to adhere to this outlook. Thus, we anticipate a year-on-year sales decline of a maximum of 5% to a range between €260 million and €275 million in the year 2020, and an EBITDA pre exceptionals in the low double-digit million Euro range. Moreover, we continue to expect a positive free cash flow and a stable equity ratio compared with 2019.
Key Figures R. STAHL Group for Q1 2020 pursuant to IFRS
€ million | Q1 2020 | Q1 2019 | Change in % |
Sales | 65.1 | 67.5 | -3.6 |
Order backlog as of March 31 | 79.9 | 75.8 | +5.4 |
EBITDA pre exceptionals 1) | 4.7 | 7.7 | -38.6 |
EBITDA margin pre exceptionals 1) | 7.3 | 11.4 |
|
EBITDA | 4.7 | 6.3 | -25.7 |
EBIT | 0.5 | 1.0 | -48.6 |
Net profit | -0.6 | 0.1 | n/a |
Earnings per share (in €) | -0.10 | 0.02 | n/a |
Cashflow from operating activities | 0.9 | 6.9 | -86.6 |
Depreciation and amortization | 4.2 | 5.3 | -21.4 |
Capital expenditures 2) | 2.3 | 2.6 | -10.6 |
| 31 Mar. 2020 | 31. Dec. 2019 | Change in % |
Balance sheet total | 261.1 | 259.4 | +0.7 |
Equity | 59.9 | 58.4 | +2.5 |
Equity ratio | 22.9 % | 22.5 % |
|
Net financial debt 3) | 7.7 | 4.2 | +84.8 |
Employees 4) | 1,686 | 1,669 | +1.0 |
1) Exceptionals: restructuring charges, non-scheduled 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. Exceptionals were first disclosed in the reporting year 2016.
2) Payments for investments in intangible assets and property, plant & equipment
3) Without pension provisions and without lease liabilities
4) Without apprentices
Percentages and figures may include rounding differences. The signs used to indicate rates of change are based on economic aspects: improvements are indicated by a plus “+” sign, deteriorations by a “-” sign. Rates of change >+100% are shown as >+100%, rates of change <-100% as „n/a“ (not applicable).
Note
The preliminary figures for Q1 2020 have been released on 21 April 2020 and presented by the Executive Board in an investors‘ and analysts‘ conference call on the same day. A replay of this conference call is available on our website under https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/investor-relations/ir-news-and-publications/events-and-presentations.
Financial calendar 2020
to be Annual General Meeting
announced
6 August Interim Report Q2 2020
12 November Interim Report Q3 2020
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 oil & gas industry, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry and the food industry. In 2019, global sales amounting to about €275 million were generated by 1,669 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.
The contents of this press release are intended to address all genders. For the sake of readability and without any intent to discriminate, only the male form is used.
R. STAHL AG
Contact:
Dr. Thomas Kornek
Leiter Investor Relations &
Corporate Communications
Am Bahnhof 30
74638 Waldenburg (Württ.)
Deutschland
T: +49 7942 943-1395
E: investornews@r-stahl.com