DGAP-News: Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG: PWO reports results for the first quarter of 2019

- Business development in line with planning
- All international locations make positive contributions to EBIT
- Market environment expected to remain challenging

Oberkirch, May 8, 2019 - The currently very challenging market environment shaped the business development of the PWO Group in the first quarter of 2019, and particularly our German location. All the more important and gratifying is the fact that all of our international locations are now operating profitably. The Czech location continues to operate successfully, generating high margins, and the locations in China and Mexico are meanwhile also making clearly positive EBIT contributions. Only the Canadian site is temporarily below the prior year, as anticipated.

In the first three months of 2019, Group revenue amounted to EUR 118.0 million (p/y: EUR 122.8 million) and total output equaled EUR 123.8 million (p/y: EUR 124.7 million). EBIT before currency effects totaled EUR 6.1 million (p/y: EUR 7.4 million) and EUR 5.9 million (p/y: EUR 7.5 million) including currency effects. Net income for the period and earnings per share decreased to EUR 3.2 million (p/y: EUR 4.0 million) and EUR 1.03 (p/y: EUR 1.29), respectively. The year-on-year decline in EBIT and net income for the period in the first three months of 2019 is overstated as the first quarter of 2018 was by far the most profitable period of the past fiscal year.

Given the development of the sector and taking into account the strength of the comparative first quarter in 2018, the development of revenue and EBIT before currency effects in the first three months of 2019 was in line with our planning. The next few quarters, however, will remain challenging. We have therefore made adjustments to our cost-cutting measures and will continue to do so during the year. The positive effects of these efforts should lead us to reaching our revenue and EBIT targets for the current 2019 fiscal year. We therefore confirm our forecast of a stabilization in revenue at the level of the 2018 fiscal year of EUR 480 - 490 million, and EBIT before currency effects in the range of EUR 18 - 19 million.

Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG
The Management Board

PWO company profile
PWO is a partner to the global automotive industry for the development and production of advanced metal components and subsystems using lightweight construction. The Group has developed a unique knowledge in the forming and joining of metals over the course of its 100-year history since it was founded in 1919. With our expertise in cost-efficient lightweight construction, we contribute to environmentally friendly driving and greater distances.

All of the Group's more than 1,000 products contribute to automotive comfort and safety. More than 90 percent of revenue is independent of the vehicle's type of drivetrain. Approximately 3,400 employees on three continents at five production sites and four assembly plants ensure the highest level of delivery reliability and quality.