EQS-News: R. STAHL, with significantly improved sales and profitability in 2023, forecasts further sales growth for 2024

R. STAHL, with significantly improved sales and profitability in 2023, forecasts further sales growth for 2024

• R. STAHL published its Annual Report 2023 today and confirmed the preliminary figures: order intake increased to € 342.5 million (+9.3%), Group sales to € 330.6 million (+20.5%) and EBITDA pre exceptionals to € 38.6 million (+73.0%)
• Full impairment of the investment in ZAVOD Goreltex results in a decline in net income to € 0.2 million (previous year: € 1.9 million)
• R. STAHL sales and order intake at a good level in the first quarter of 2024 – EBITDA pre exceptionals below previous year
• For full year 2024, the Executive Board expects sales to increase to between € 335 million and € 350 million and EBITDA pre exceptionals to between € 35 million and € 45 million

Waldenburg, 17 April 2023 – R. STAHL today published its Annual Report 2023 and confirms the preliminary figures published in February. In financial year 2023, uncertainties those markets that are relevant for the company slowly eased as the year progressed and demand from key sectors remained at a high level. Because strategic measures are taking effect, the specialist for explosion protection solutions looks back on a successful financial year 2023 and has issued a positive outlook for 2024.

Strong customer demand and recovery in the procurement markets ensure record figures for order intake and sales
R. STAHL kicked off 2023 with a strong order intake and managed to maintain this level of momentum over the course of the year. The company recorded strong demand from the LNG and gas industry as well as from the pharmaceutical sector. In the chemical industry, there was a drop in demand towards the middle of the year, particularly in Germany and Europe. But the specialist for explosion protection solutions increased order intake by 9.3% to € 342.5 million in 2023 compared to the already high figure in the previous year (€ 313.5 million).

The recovery on the procurement markets and forward-looking inventory build-up resulted in strong sales growth in 2023. The recovery helped R. STAHL increase sales for full-year 2023 by 20.5% to € 330.6 million (previous year:  € 274.3 million). The forecast corridor was between € 305 million and € 320 million. Because order volume once again exceeded sales in the past financial year, order backlog increased to € 115.1 million at the end of 2023 (previous year: € 109.4 million).

All sales markets contributed to sales growth in 2023
In Germany, sales improved by 16.3% to € 83.5 million in the past financial year due to the strong market position in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Sales in the Central region (Africa and Europe excluding Germany) climbed by 24.8 % to € 146.8 million. In addition to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, the main sales driver was stronger demand from the oil and gas sector, particularly LNG. Markets in America continued to benefit from the ongoing strong order situation in the oil and gas sector. Sales improved by 8.6% to € 34.3 million, despite the strong increase in the previous year. In the Asia/Pacific region, sales were up 23.7% to € 65.9 million. Higher demand from wholesalers for shipbuilding and module engineering contributed to the increase in sales.

Significant improvement in profitability – EBITDA pre exceptionals up 73.0%
In addition to the high demand, good utilization of production capacities and targeted cost management, particularly in the areas of personnel and purchasing, had a positive impact on the company’s profitability. Price increases imposed on the customer side also compensated for higher procurement prices. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) pre exceptionals rose by 73.0% from € 22.3 million in the previous year to € 38.6 million and were thus at the upper end of the forecast range that was raised in November 2023 (€ 35 million to € 40 million). The company increased its profitability as measured by the EBITDA margin from 8.1% in the previous year to 11.7%.

Full impairment of ZAVOD Goreltex burdens net profit
Because the Executive Board at the end of February 2024 no longer assumed that R. STAHL AG’s investment in the Russian company ZAVOD Goreltex Co. LTD., St. Petersburg, was recoverable due to various developments, the 25% stake in ZAVOD Goreltex was fully impaired. In financial year 2023, this led to a non-cash charge of € 15.4 million on the R. STAHL Group’s net profit. The bottom line was a net profit of € 0.2 million (previous year: € 1.9 million). This corresponds to earnings per share of € 0.03 (previous year: € 0.30).

The company improved free cash flow by € 4.7 million to € 0.3 million (previous year: € -4.4 million). The equity ratio fell from 27.5% in the previous year to 25.0% as of the balance sheet date, mainly due to the lower interest rate for the valuation of pension provisions.

First quarter of 2024 – order intake and sales at a high level, profitability declining
Demand for R. STAHL’s products and services gained steam again in the first quarter of 2024 after a subdued fourth quarter of 2023. Based on preliminary figures, the company improved its order intake in the first quarter of 2024 by 8.5% to € 84.7 million (previous year: € 78.1 million). At € 92.3 million, order intake recovered significantly compared to the previous quarter (Q4 2023: € 74.5 million) and was only slightly below the very high prior-year figure of € 96.7 million.

EBITDA pre exceptionals decreased from € 10.4 million in the previous year to € 8.4 million in the period from January to March 2024. This is primarily attributable to the implementation of the EXcelerate strategy program and higher personnel costs resulting mainly from collective bargaining agreements.

R. STAHL forecasts further sales growth with stable earnings for 2024
For 2024, the company expects further growth in the relevant key markets based on the overall economic and industry-specific forecasts. There are still uncertainties in the forecast, primarily due to the unpredictable developments and consequences of geopolitical tension, which could have an impact on supply chains and commodity prices.

The high order backlog that R. STAHL started 2024 with, as well as the good demand in the first quarter of 2024, mean that the company can look ahead to full-year 2024 with careful optimism. The Executive Board expects Group sales to grow to between € 335 million and € 350 million.

Profitability in the current financial year should stabilize at around the high level of the previous year. A high level of investment, increasing competitive pressure and price sensitivity on the part of customers as well as rising personnel costs are likely to have a temporary negative impact on earnings development. The Executive Board expects EBITDA pre exceptionals to be between € 35 million and € 45 million in 2024 (2023: € 38.6 million). In terms of free cash flow, R. STAHL expects a medium single-digit positive million euro amount in 2024 (2023: € 0.3 million).

“The very good business performance in 2023 shows that our Group strategy is working. It makes it possible for the company to make sustainable progress in terms of sales and profitability. From a current perspective, our business will not develop as dynamically in 2024 as it did in 2023. In the current year, we will once again make significant investments in the optimization of our processes, particularly in the areas of finance and IT, thus laying the groundwork for further efficiency gains in the coming years. The company is well-positioned to take advantage of the growth opportunities that are presented by our longstanding attractive markets”, says Dr. Mathias Hallmann, CEO of R. STAHL.

Key figures of R. STAHL Group for FY 2023 pursuant to IFRS

¹⁾ Exceptionals: restructuring charges, unscheduled depreciation and amortization, charges for designing and implementing IT projects, M&A costs, profit and loss from deconsolidation as well as profit and loss from the disposal of assets no longer required for business operations
²⁾ Payments for investments in intangible assets and property, plant & equipment
³⁾ Cash and cash equivalents less interest-bearing loans
⁴⁾ excl. apprentices

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

Note
The Annual Report 2023 as well as the magazine for the Annual Report 2023 ‘Successful. Together. Safely.’ are available for download under the following link (Corporate – Investor Relations – IR News and Publications – Financial Reports): https://r-stahl.com/en/global/corporate/investor-relations/ir-news-and-publications/financial-reports.

The quarterly statement for Q1 2024 will be disclosed on 08 May 2024.

Investors’ and analysts’ conference call of R. STAHL AG for FY 2023

Chief Executive Officer of R. STAHL AG, Dr. Mathias Hallmann, will explain the results of FY 2023 and will present an outlook for the current year

today 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=6969699&linkSecurityString=e1dcb6711

Along with the conference call, we will provide the 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-fy-2023/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)

Financial calendar 2024
08 May Quarterly Statement Q1 2024
27 June 31st Annual General Meeting
08 August Interim Report H1 2024
06 November Quarterly Statement Q3 2024

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 signaling/alarming up to automation.

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.