R. STAHL with significant increase in sales and earnings in the first nine months of 2023 – Earnings forecast for full-year 2023 raised
 

• R. STAHL increases sales from January to September by 18.9% to € 240.7 million. Order intake up 15.5% to € 268.0 million.
• Profitability improves significantly in the first three quarters. EBITDA pre exceptionals increases from € 16.6 million to € 32.5 million. EBITDA margin pre exceptionals improves from 8.2% in the previous year to 13.5%.
• R. STAHL expects sales for full-year 2023 to increase to the upper range of the target corridor of € 305 million to € 320 million. The company is raising its forecast for EBITDA pre exceptionals to between € 35 million and € 40 million (previously: € 30 million to € 36 million).
   

Waldenburg, 7 November 2023 - R. STAHL with very successful conclusion to the first three quarters of 2023. There were improvements in all key financial indicators. Demand for the company’s products and services remained high in nearly all regions and industries once again in the third quarter of 2023. The continued easing of supply chain issues is also having a positive impact on business.

Order intake up 15.5% after nine months – high order backlog of € 132.4 million
As a result of the willingness on the part of customers to invest combined with R. STAHL’s attractive range of products and services, order intake from January to September 2023 climbed 15.5% year-on-year to € 268.0 million. Following an extremely strong first quarter of 2023, order intake stabilized at a healthy level in the second and third quarters of 2023.

The increase in order volumes was mainly buoyed by the international markets. With order intake exceeding sales in the first nine months, the order backlog as of 30 September increased by 21.0% to € 132.4 million (31 December 2022: € 109.4 million).

All regions contribute to the 18.9% increase in sales to € 240.7 million
With the help of increasingly better material availability as well as efficient production control, R. STAHL was able to more efficiently utilize production capacities in the first three quarters of 2023. The company consequently increased its sales by 18.9% year-on-year to € 240.7 million in the period from January to September 2023. With sales of € 86.0 million, the third quarter developed significantly better than the second (€ 76.7 million) and first quarter (€ 78.0 million). All regions made a contribution to growth, supported by favorable business with the chemical and pharmaceutical industries as well as the oil and gas sector (including LNG). Price increases implemented with customers at the beginning of the year also bolstered the increase in sales.

Profitability improves sharply – EBITDA pre exceptionals up € 15.9 million to € 32.5 million
Higher capacity utilization in particular led to a sharp increase in profitability. EBITDA pre exceptionals rose from € 16.6 million in the previous year to € 32.5 million. The company improved its profitability, measured by the EBITDA margin pre exceptionals, from 8.2% to 13.5%. Net profit also increased significantly, climbing € 13.0 million to € 11.9 million (previous year: € ‑1.1 million). This corresponds to earnings per share of € 1.85 (previous year: € ‑0.17).

From January to September 2023, R. STAHL substantially reduced working capital by € 28.8 million (9M 2022: € 17.9 million). In addition to higher business volume, this was mainly due to the significant increase in inventories to secure delivery capability and higher trade accounts receivable. The significant increase in working capital had a negative impact on free cash flow. Although this figure improved slightly to € ‑10.4 million (previous year: € ‑11.6 million), it was still clearly negative. The equity ratio improved to 29.0% as of 30 September 2023 (31 December 2022: 27.5%).

Management Board raises earnings forecast for 2023
The positive nine-month figures, the high order backlog and the easing of supply chain issues mean R. STAHL can look ahead to full-year 2023 with confidence. There are, however, still uncertainties in the forecast, mainly due to ongoing procurement bottlenecks, especially for electrical components. High interest and inflation rates as well as the unpredictable developments and consequences of conflicts in Russia-Ukraine and the Middle East also remain factors of uncertainty.

Based on the current macroeconomic, sector-specific and company-specific situation, the Executive Board is raising its earnings forecast for full-year 2023. The company now expects EBITDA pre exceptionals to be between € 35 million and € 40 million (previously: € 30 million to € 36 million). Group sales are expected to be in the upper range of the target corridor of € 305 million to € 320 million. Free cash flow expected to be in the low single-digit negative million euro range for full-year 2023.

“R. STAHL again significantly increased sales and profitability in the third quarter. The increase in the forecast for 2023 underscored the fact that we are very well positioned with the strategy we have adopted to grow profitably in the medium and long term”, says Dr. Mathias Hallmann, CEO of R. STAHL.

 Key figures of R. STAHL group for Q3 and 9M 2023 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, profit and loss from deconsolidation as well as profit and loss from the disposal of assets no longer required for business operations
³⁾ excl. pension provisions and without lease liabilities
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 interim report Q3 2023/half-year is available for download under the following link:

Financial Calendar 2024
15 February  Preliminary Figures for FY 2023
17 April  Annual Report FY 2023
08 May  Interim Report Q1 2024
27 June  31^st Annual General Meeting
08 August  Interim Report H1 2024
06 November  Interim Report Q3 2024

Investors‘ and analysts‘ conference call of R. STAHL for Q3/2023

Chief Executive Officer of R. STAHL AG, Dr. Mathias Hallmann, will explain the results of Q3 2023, will present an outlook for the current year

today, November 7, 2023 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:

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:

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 ()

We look forward to talking to you.

About R. STAHL – -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 signalling/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 2022 global sales amounting to around €274 million were generated by 1,676 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.