EQS-News: R. STAHL shareholders approve all agenda items at the Annual General Meeting with a clear majority

R. STAHL shareholders approve all agenda items at the Annual General Meeting with a clear majority

• 31st Annual General Meeting held in Pfedelbach as an in-person event
• 151 shareholders were on hand
• Attendance was 79.82% after 64.10% in the previous year
• CEO Dr. Mathias Hallmann spoke in detail about the Group’s EXcellence 2030 strategy and confirmed forecasts for full-year 2024

Waldenburg, 27 June 2024 - At R. STAHL’s 31st Annual General Meeting held today, all agenda items submitted to a vote were approved by a clear majority. 151 shareholders were present in the Nobelgusch community and festival centre in Pfedelbach, Hohenlohe. They represented 5.14 million shares in the explosion protection specialist, corresponding to 79.82% of the share capital (previous year: 64.10%). Including votes submitted by post, 80.34% of the share capital was represented (previous year: 78.68%).

The actions of the Executive Board and Supervisory Board were ratified by a clear majority for financial year 2023. BDO AG, Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Hamburg, was appointed as auditor of the annual and consolidated financial statements as well as auditor of the sustainability report, which R. STAHL has prepared annually since 2017. Following the implementation of the CSRD Directive (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) into German law, it is expected that the sustainability report will be subject to an external audit requirement beginning in financial year 2024. Shareholders also approved the Executive Board compensation report for the previous year and the compensation system for the Executive Board, which has been expanded to include a sustainability component.

Executive Board reflects on positive financial year 2023 and discusses strategy

CEO Dr. Mathias Hallmann first presented the very positive overall business figures for 2023. He then provided examples in his presentation to explain in detail the sustainable and successful implementation of the EXcellence 2030 Group strategy. In addition to innovative digital products such as the digital twin, the Chairman of the Executive Board also presented the opportunities in the hydrogen and nuclear growth markets. Alongside extensive investments at the German sites in Waldenburg and Weimar, the company will continue to press ahead with its internationalization and significantly increase capacity with the expansion of the Indian plant in Chennai. “We are making excellent progress with the implementation of our strategy. The successes we have already achieved are an incentive for the entire R. STAHL team to continue along the path we have chosen and to take advantage of the growth opportunities that present themselves”, says Dr. Hallmann.

Outlook for 2024 confirmed

The CEO remains optimistic for 2024 as a whole and has confirmed the forecasts. R. STAHL expects Group sales to grow to between € 335 million and € 350 million (2023: € 330.6 million). EBITDA pre exceptionals will be between € 35 million and € 45 million (2023: € 38.6 million). In terms of free cash flow, the company expects a mid single-digit positive million euro amount in 2024 (2023: € 0.3 million).

The detailed voting results of today’s Annual General Meeting and the presentation from the AGM will be available shortly on the company’s website under Investor Relations (https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/investor-relations/annual-general-meeting/).

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 covers the product segments Electrical, Automation as well as Lighting and is completed by the cross-divisional function Customer Solutions. 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 2023, global sales amounting to around € 331 million were generated by 1,721 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.