Corporate News from 30 June 2022

HMS Bergbau AG: Record results for financial year 2021 

• Total output FY 2021: + EUR 160.6 million to EUR 427.7 million
• EBITDA FY 2021: EUR 5,582 thousand  
• Equity ratio of 21.4 per cent as of 31 December 2021
• 2021: HMS Bergbau AG once again certified as CO2-friendly company
• Dividend to be proposed for the first time at Annual General Meeting on 23 August 2022
• Positive overall outlook

Berlin, 30 June 2022: HMS Bergbau AG, one of the leading independent raw materials trading and marketing companies in Germany, today published its 2021 Annual Report.

In a challenging but steadily improving economic environment in the 2021 financial year, the robust global economic recovery led to strong demand for raw materials. In combination with supply chain bottlenecks, this demand has led to high inflation rates internationally, which started in mid-2021 and continue today. This has resulted, in part, from the raw materials markets, which have recorded steady price increases since the middle of 2020 due to the positive economic outlook accompanied by high demand at the same time. Coal prices, for example, rose by more than 75 per cent per tonne in the course of 2021 and continued to increase at an accelerated pace until June 2022 due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

HMS Bergbau AG, as an international raw materials trader, was able to seize the opportunities arising from these global market developments. In conjunction with our internationalisation strategy, we also traded other raw materials in addition to coal and realised record sales and earnings in the 2021 financial year. This included an increase of more than 60 per cent in the Group's total output in the period of January to December of 2021 to EUR 427.7 million compared to the same period of the previous year. The rise in sales of EUR 160.6 million also led to significantly better operating earnings. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to EUR 5,582 thousand in the 2021 reporting period, compared to EUR 5,494 thousand in the same period of 2020, which had included a significant contribution to EBITDA from the sale of shares amounting to EUR 1,954 thousand. Net profit in the 2021 financial year amounted to EUR 3,201 thousand, compared to EUR 2,810 thousand in the 2020 financial year. The equity ratio as of 31 December 2021 was a solid 21.4 per cent.

Based on the positive operating performance, the Management Board and Supervisory Board will propose for the first time the distribution of a dividend to shareholders for resolution at the 2022 Annual General Meeting.

In addition to the solid results, HMS Bergbau AG also achieved further important milestones in the 2021 financial year. For example, as part of its strategy to develop into a vertically integrated, international raw materials trading group, HMS Bergbau agreed to acquire a 51 per cent stake in Maatla Resources (Pty.) Ltd, a project company in Botswana, in April 2021. In addition to deepening the value chain by mining its own raw material deposits amounting to 1.2 million tonnes of coal per year, HMS Bergbau AG also secured the global marketing rights.

The HMS Bergbau AG Group continued to pursue sustainable and responsible corporate actions in 2021. As in the previous year, the entire HMS Group offset its administrative and internal CO2 emissions by investing in international climate protection projects. In doing so, HMS Bergbau AG not only takes the Paris Climate Agreement into consideration in its operational activities, but also continues to make an active contribution to climate protection by supporting international climate protection projects.

The HMS Group believes through its worldwide activities and local presence it is well positioned in a market characterised by steadily increasing global energy consumption – especially in light of the current geopolitical upheavals. Particularly Asia, where we realise over 90 per cent of our coal trading activities, will continue to be a significant consumer of coal.

With respect to the short- and medium-term effects of the developments in Ukraine that have occurred after the reporting date and the sanctions decided by Western-oriented countries against Russia, further, and possibly significant, changes in energy and raw material prices as well as in global supply chains should be expected. As a result, the Company's management is not yet able to make any reliable forecasts for its short-term business performance. 

The management sees the medium-term business outlook for HMS Bergbau AG however as promising. Thanks to its international positioning and continuously expanding range of services, the Group is expected to generate stronger results and higher sales volumes in the future.

The Management Board

About HMS Bergbau AG:

HMS Bergbau AG, Berlin, is one of the leading independent commodity trading and marketing companies in Germany. Its core business is the international buying and selling of coal and raw materials such as ores, fertilizers and cement products. Customers include renowned international power producers and industrial consumers, to whom raw materials are delivered in-time worldwide. HMS Bergbau AG, which is primarily active in Asia, Africa and Europe, also develops first-class commodity reserves. Furthermore, the Company provides complex transport solutions for its customers. Founded in 1995, HMS Bergbau AG is listed on the Basic Board of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

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