PRESS RELEASE: R. STAHL publishes preliminary results for financial year 2012: Revenue growth of 20% - Earnings before taxes up 62% - Results surpassed raise...

R. STAHL AG / R. STAHL publishes preliminary results for financial year 2012: Revenue growth of 20% - Earnings before taxes up 62% - Results surpassed raised guidance . Processed and transmitted by Thomson Reuters ONE. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Waldenburg, 21 February 2013 - R. STAHL today publishes its preliminary results for financial year 2012:

* Order intake increased by 14.5% to EUR 297.1 million (previous year: EUR 259.4 million). * Revenues grew by 19.7% to EUR 290.9 million (EUR 242.9 million). * Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased by 48.1% to EUR 24.9 million (EUR 16.8 million), EBIT margin improved from 6.9% to 8.6%. * Earnings before taxes (EBT) increased by 61.8% to EUR 21.1 million (EUR 13.1 million), EBT margin improved from 5.4% to 7.3%.

Revenues and earnings surpassed guidance, which had been raised during the year, due largely to a very strong final month of the year. Continued growth of the contribution from non-European regions, resulted in a substantially better December than in previous years.

The start of the new financial year has been positive. As a result, Management anticipates further growth for the current financial year. Order backlog, as at 31 December 2012, stood at EUR 70.7 million, up 7.8% compared to EUR 65.6 million as at 31 December 2011.

R. STAHL's CEO, Martin Schomaker, commented: "We are very pleased with the results for the past financial year. Our international expansion strategy yielded strong growth. While revenue development in Europe, due to the economic environment, was modest, we benefited from the expansion of our activities in Asia Pacific, as well as North and South America.

We continue to see good prospects in these regions for further demand growth for our explosion protection products and solutions. Important target markets, such as the oil and gas sector, as well as the chemical industry, benefit from the strong economic development in emerging markets. On the profit side, we are seeing the results from the optimization of the production process at our Waldenburg plant and the resulting improvement in productivity. Furthermore, consolidation of the acquired international subsidiaries is nearly complete, resulting in falling costs."

Full results for Financial Year 2012 will be published on 10 April 2013.

About R. STAHL - www.stahl.de R. STAHL is one of the world's leading suppliers of electrical and electronic products and systems for explosion protection. These products and systems prevent explosions in risk 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 signalling/alarming, up to automation. Typical customers operate in growth industries, such as the oil & gas industry, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and the food industry. In 2012, global revenues of EUR 290 million were generated with over 1,500 employees.

R. STAHL AG is a public company and is traded on the Regulated Market/Prime Standard of Deutsche Boerse (ISIN DE000A1PHBB5).

For more information: R. STAHL AG Am Bahnhof 30, 74638 Waldenburg (Württ.)

Bernd Marx (CFO) Fon: +49 7942 943-1271, e-mail: investornews@stahl.de

Frank Schwarz (Investor Relations) Fon: +49 611 1745-39 811, e-mail: frank.schwarz@stahl.de

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Source: R. STAHL AG via Thomson Reuters ONE [HUG#1679984]

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R. STAHL AG Am Bahnhof 30 Waldenburg Germany

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   February 21, 2013 06:37 ET (11:37 GMT)- - 06 37 AM EST 02-21-13