EQS-News: At paragon, the signs continue to point to growth

At paragon, the signs continue to point to growth

• Fiscal year 2022 ended with sales growth of 18.2% for continuing operations
• Successful start to 2023
• Focus in 2023 on debt reduction and earnings improvement
• Voluntary buyback program for CHF bond completed
• Voluntary buyback program for the EUR bond started
• paragon will accept BaFin's findings regarding the 2019 consolidated financial

Delbrück, 6 February 2023 - paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA [ISIN DE0005558696] has made a successful start to 2023 after a record sales year in 2022. Last year, sales revenues from continuing operations amounted to EUR 160.1 million, up 18.2% on the previous year. Including paragon semvox GmbH, which was sold to CARIAD SE, sales of EUR 172.9 million were achieved, which corresponds to a sales increase of 17.7% compared to 2021. paragon will publish the final figures on 26 April 2023. The pleasing sales development was also evident in January 2023; at EUR 14.6 million, an increase in sales of 29.2% was achieved in continuing operations compared to January 2022; January 2023 was thus the strongest January in terms of sales in paragon's history. At the same time, significant elements of the restructuring of the liabilities side were started or even already completed.

On 10 January 2023, paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA launched a voluntary repurchase offer limited to CHF 10 million in relation to the outstanding CHF 21 million bond (ISIN: CH0419041105, ticker: PAR19). The repurchase offer ended on 27 January 2023. At the end of the repurchase period, paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA repurchased CHF bonds in the total amount of CHF 8.4 million, leaving CHF 12.6 million bonds outstanding.

Following the successfully implemented repurchase offer in relation to the CHF bonds, paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA launched a buyback program for the EUR bond (ISIN: DE000A2GSB86 / WKN: A2GSB8) on 6 February 2023. The repurchase volume is limited to EUR 5 million, whereby paragon reserves the right to adjust the repurchase volume if necessary. The acceptance period for the offer ends on 3 March 2023.

"Both voluntary buyback programs are part of our strategy to reduce paragon's debt quickly and sustainably. We are pleased that the CHF bond offer was so well received. The next and final milestone will be implemented through the closing of the sale of our subsidiary paragon semvox GmbH to CARIAD SE, expected in Q2 2023," said paragon CEO Klaus Dieter Frers.

In December 2022, the management of paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA informed the capital market that the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) had identified errors in the consolidated financial statements of the former financial investment Voltabox AG as at the reporting date 31 December 2019 and in the associated management report for the 2019 financial year. paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA still held approximately 60% of the shares in Voltabox AG in the 2019 financial year. Due to the full consolidation of Voltabox AG that was required at that time, paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA consolidated the figures provided by Voltabox AG at that time in the consolidated financial statements of paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA's consolidated financial statements in 2019. As expected by the management of paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA's management, the BaFin's findings of errors at the former investment Voltabox AG are now having a knock-on effect on the consolidated financial statements of paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA in 2019.

BaFin has now notified paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA in writing about the error findings, which are identical in wording to the error findings at the former investment Voltabox AG, and has given paragon GmbH & Co KGaA the opportunity to comment on them. paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA will fully accept the BaFin's error findings regarding the consolidated financial statements for the 2019 fiscal year. In addition to the above-mentioned error findings, BaFin criticized the reporting of the CHF bond in the 2019 financial statements. paragon reported the CHF bond as a non-current liability; despite a covenant breach cured by a creditors' meeting, it would have been necessary to report it as a current liability in accordance with IAS 1.69(d).

"We regret the errors identified by BaFin in the consolidated financial statements as of 31 January 2019 and in the combined management report for the 2019 financial year," explains paragon CFO Dr Martin Esser. "Without putting this into perspective, I would like to point out that the findings relate to the financial statements for 2019 and have no effect on the net assets, financial position and results of operations of paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA in the years from 2020 onwards. Furthermore, as you know, we have already completely divested ourselves of the shares in Voltabox AG in 2021."

In addition to debt reduction, paragon will focus on the sustainable improvement in earnings in the current year. The further sales growth secured by the high order backlog in conjunction with numerous, targeted measures represents the basis for the company to achieve an adequate profit. For 2023, the management expects sales in continuing operations of EUR 170 million (+6.2% yoy) with an EBITDA margin of 12-15%.

About paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA

Listed on the Regulated Market (Prime Standard) of Deutsche Börse AG in Frankfurt a.M., paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE0005558696) develops, produces and distributes pioneering solutions in the fields of automotive electronics, body kinematics and electromobility. The portfolio of the market-leading direct supplier to the automotive industry includes innovative air quality management, modern display systems and connectivity solutions, as well as high-end acoustic systems in the electronics segment. In the mechanics segment, paragon develops and produces active mobile aerodynamic systems. In the fast-growing automotive market for battery systems, paragon now operates independently with its power business unit following the sale of the Voltabox investment.

In addition to its headquarters in Delbrück (North Rhine-Westphalia), paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA and its subsidiaries have sites in Suhl (Thuringia), Landsberg am Lech and Nuremberg (Bavaria), St. Georgen (Baden-Württemberg) and Limbach (Saarland), as well as in Kunshan (China), Bengaluru (India) and Oroslavje (Croatia).

For more information on paragon, visit www.paragon.ag.

Capital Market & Press Contact

paragon GmbH & Co. KGaA

Dr. Martin Esser

Bösendamm 11

33129 Delbrück, Germany

Phone: +49 (0) 52 50 - 97 62-200

Fax: +49 (0) 52 50 - 97 62-102

Email: investor@paragon.ag