EQS-News: R. STAHL significantly increases sales in the first nine months of 2024 and specifies earnings forecast

R. STAHL significantly increases sales in the first nine months of 2024 and specifies earnings forecast

• R. STAHL records 8.6% improvement in sales to € 261.4 million between January and September. At € 255.2 million, order intake did not reach the strong level of the previous year (€ 268.0 million).
• Profitability below the very good figure of the previous year due to high one-time items. EBITDA pre exceptionals decreased from € 32.5 million in the previous year to € 28.1 million in the first nine months of 2024. This resulted in an EBITDA margin pre exceptionals of 10.7% (previous year: 13.5%).
• For full-year 2024, R. STAHL continues to expect an increase in sales to between € 335 million and € 350 million. The company has specified its forecast for EBITDA pre exceptionals at between € 35 million and € 40 million (previously: € 35 million and € 45 million). 

Waldenburg, 6 November 2024 – R. STAHL closed out the first three quarters of 2024 on a generally positive note. The company’s sales performance remained stable in the third quarter. Demand for R. STAHL’s products and services has, however, weakened considerably due to increasing economic uncertainty.

Sales up 8.6% to € 261.4 million – growth boosted by international regions
In the third quarter, R. STAHL’s sales growth (+1.7%) weakened compared to the two previous quarters due to increasingly difficult market conditions. Overall, the company increased its sales from January to September 2024 by 8.6% year-on-year, from € 240.7 million to € 261.4 million. The Americas region contributed to sales growth with an increase of 27.3%, the Central region (Africa, Europe excluding Germany) with an increase of 11.8% and Asia/Pacific with an increase of 4.7%. In Germany, however, sales declined slightly (-1.5%).

At € 255.2 million after nine months, order intake below high level of the previous year (€ 268.0 million)
The willingness to invest on the part of customers, which was still high until the middle of the year, weakened significantly in the third quarter of 2024 due to political and economic uncertainty. At € 255.2 million, order intake remained at a good level overall, although it was below the previous year’s very high figure of € 268.0 million. Order volumes from Germany and the Central region (Africa, Europe excluding Germany) were stable in the period from January to September 2024 compared to the previous year. Order intake declined in the Americas region and in the Asia/Pacific region. The order backlog as of 30 September decreased to € 107.9 million (31 December 2023: € 115.1 million).

Profitability down after nine months due to high one-time items – free cash flow significantly improved
R. STAHL’s profitability, measured by the EBITDA margin pre exceptionals, weakened in the third quarter to 10.0% compared to the second quarter of 2024 (12.2%). EBITDA pre exceptionals decreased from € 4.7 million in the previous year to € 8.8 million in the period from January to September 2024. This was triggered by lower total operating performance (-3.4%) and higher other operating expenses, primarily caused by costs for temporary employees as well as for service and consulting incurred in connection with the EXcelerate strategy program.

In the first nine months of 2024, EBITDA pre exceptionals decreased by € 4.5 million to € 28.1 million (previous year: € 32.5 million). This was mainly due to one-time items resulting from the implementation of the EXcelerate strategy program combined with higher personnel costs. The EBITDA margin pre exceptionals fell from 13.5% in the previous year to 10.7% between January and September.

Net profit fell to € 7.7 million in the first three quarters (previous year: € 11.9 million). This corresponds to earnings per share of € 1.18 (previous year: € 1.85).

R. STAHL significantly improved its free cash flow from January to September by € 9.4 million to € -1.0 million (previous year: € -10.4 million). This was mainly attributable to a lower increase in working capital of € 13.4 million compared to the previous year (9M 2023: € 28.8 million). The company improved its equity ratio to 26.7% as of 30 September 2024 (31 December 2023: 25.0%).

Executive Board confirms sales forecast and specifies earnings expectations for full-year 2024
The generally sound nine-month figures and demand that remains stable at a good level mean that R. STAHL has a positive outlook for the fourth quarter and full-year 2024. For the current financial year, the Executive Board continues to forecast growth in Group sales to between € 335 million and € 350 million (2023: € 330.6 million).

Earnings development in the current financial year should stabilize at around the good level of the previous year. A high level of investment for additional growth, increasing price sensitivity on the part of customers as well as rising personnel costs and one-time items are likely to have a temporary negative impact on profitability. After nine months, the company has specified its forecast for EBITDA pre exceptionals for full-year 2024 at between € 35 million and € 40 million, compared to € 35 million and € 45 million previously (2023: € 38.6 million). In terms of free cash flow, R. STAHL continues to expect a medium single-digit positive million euro amount in 2024 (2023: € 0.3 million).

“R. STAHL performed well in the first three quarters of 2024 despite difficult market conditions. We will continue to make substantial investments and consistently implement the strategy we have initiated in order to successfully position the company for the future”, says Dr. Mathias Hallmann, CEO of R. STAHL.

Key figures of R. STAHL Group for Q3 and 9M 2024 pursuant to IFRS

¹⁾ Africa and Europe without Germany
²⁾ Exceptionals: restructuring charges, unscheduled depreciation and amortization, charges for designing and implementing IT projects, M&A costs, gains and losses from deconsolidation transactions as well as profit and loss from the disposal of assets no longer required for business operations
³⁾  Payments for investments in intangible assets and property, plant & equipment
⁴⁾ excl. pension provisions and without lease liabilities
⁵⁾ excl. apprentices

Percentages and figures in may include rounding differences. The signs used to indicate rates of changes are based on mathematical aspects: Increases are marked with a “+”, decreases with a “-“.  Rates of changes > +100% are shown as >+100%, rates of change <-100% as “n/a” (not applicable)

Note
The quarterly statement Q3 2024 is available for download under the following link: https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/investor-relations/ir-news-and-publications/financial-reports

Financial calendar 2025

5 February Hamburg Investors Day HIT
18 February  Preliminary Figures for FY 2024
25 March Solventis Aktienforum, Frankfurt M.
10 April  Annual Report FY 2024
8 May  Quarterly Statement Q1 2025
3 June  32^nd Annual General Meeting
7 August  Interim Report H1 2025
6 November Quarterly Statement Q2 2025

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Investors‘, analysts‘ and press conference call of R. STAHL for Q3/2024
 

Chief Executive Officer of R. STAHL AG, Dr. Mathias Hallmann, will explain the results of Q3 and 9M 2024 and will present an outlook for the current year

today, November 6, 2024 at 10:00 CET.

Afterwards he will be available for questions. The conference call will be held in English language.

To participate (acoustically) in the conference call, please use the link below. After registration, that you may do at any time, you will receive dedicated dial-in details to easily and quickly access the call at the specified time: https://services.choruscall.it/DiamondPassRegistration/register?confirmationNumber=3310547&linkSecurityString=78254878a

Along with the conference call, we will provide a presentation (visually only) through an online webinar. Please log on as a participant on the following website (no password required); this link is provided to you again with the dial-in details for the conference call: https://www.webcast-eqs.com/rstahl-q3-2024/no-audio  

A replay of the audio webcast will be available shortly after the conference call has ended on the company’s website in the section corporate > investor relations > IR news and publications (https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/investor-relations/ir-news-and-publications/events-and-presentations)

We look forward to talking to you.

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 portfolio 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 € 330.6 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.