Press release

va-Q-tec plans continued growth for 2020

• 2019 revenue up by a significant 28% to EUR 64.7 million
• EBITDA more than triples to around EUR 10 million; EBITDA margin on total income grows to 13% and on revenue to 15%
• Raised revenue forecast for 2019 exceeded and EBITDA forecast at upper end reached
• High-margin Services business strongest division in terms of revenue; business with customers from the Healthcare & Logistics area contributes around 70% of revenue
• Management Board expects to benefit disproportionately from trends such as energy efficiency, cold chain regulation, and supply security for temperature-sensitive products
• Despite COVID-19 effects, moderate to medium revenue growth with unchanged profitability expected for 2020

Würzburg, 27 March 2020. va-Q-tec AG (ISIN DE0006636681 / WKN 663668), a pioneer in highly efficient products and solutions in the area of thermal insulation and TempChain logistics, has today published its 2019 annual report. The company confirms its positive performance on the basis of its final audited results. The main reasons for this success lie in the dynamic growth of the Services business and the positive effects of the "Power 20+" performance program. Thanks to its good positioning in the less crisis-prone healthcare sector, the Management Board considers va-Q-tec to be well equipped to continue on its adopted course in 2020 despite the macroeconomic uncertainties caused by the global spread of coronavirus.

Revenue was up by a significant 28% to EUR 64.7 million in 2019 (previous year EUR 50.7 million). The performance in the high-margin Services business was particularly pleasing, which at EUR 29.8 million (+62% year-on-year) became the highest-revenue business area. va-Q-tec's Services business comprises the container and box rental business for the transportation of temperature-sensitive goods, predominantly products from the pharmaceuticals and biotech areas. The expansion of the Services segment will continue in the future and is considered a key growth factor for va-Q-tec. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) tripled in 2019 to around EUR 10 million. The EBITDA margin rose to represent 13% of total income (previous year: 5%) and 15% of revenue (previous year: 6%). The progress made thanks to the "Power 20+" program to further enhance efficiency also contributed to this significant improvement.

In view of fundamental trends such as environmental protection and energy efficiency, regulation of temperature chains, and globalization of value chains, Dr. Joachim Kuhn, CEO and founder of va-Q-tec AG, believes that the company is very well positioned for the future: "As a pioneer in the area of energy efficiency through vacuum insulation, we can address customers from a wide range of industries with our products. We see particularly great potential in the coming years in the TempChain logistics area - in other words, safe transportation solutions for temperature-sensitive products such as medicines. Globally functioning, temperature-controlled logistics chains are crucial for fast and reliable supply, as impressively demonstrated by the coronavirus crisis. Our TempChain portfolio enables us to address precisely this area, and make a significant contribution to product safety and quality. We already generate about 70% of our revenues in the healthcare sector."

In order to be able to benefit to an above average extent from these trends, va-Q-tec is already investing today in the technologies and applications of tomorrow. Technological progress, digitalization, the IoT and the use of artificial intelligence will significantly change the healthcare of the future. Given this, va-Q-tec is already working on future topics such as "TempChain 4.0" - the innovative combination of hardware, IoT and IT solutions in the temperature-controlled logistics area. Intelligent boxes, fleet data management and predictive analysis form the cornerstones in this context. However, thermal solutions for other areas, such as future mobility, also form part of research and development: thanks to their thin and flexible structure, va-Q-tec vacuum insulation panels are finding completely new applications in the automotive and aviation industries.

Although the actual macroeconomic consequences of the spread of the coronavirus are still uncertain, va-Q-tec expects for 2020 a continuation of its adopted course. The very high revenue share from the healthcare sector also contributes in this context: according to current estimates, the industry is likely to be one of the less affected sectors worldwide. After revenues reported very strong growth over the past five years at an average of 25% per year, and again at a very strong rate of 28% in 2019, va-Q-tec would expect, under normalized economic conditions, medium to strong revenue growth overall for the 2020 financial year. Given the current economic uncertainties, va-Q-tec is budgeting more conservatively. The company currently expects moderate to medium growth for 2020. For EBITDA in 2020, the company plans to achieve a stable margin on its total revenue compared to 2019.

The complete 2019 annual report is available from today on the website at
ir.va-q-tec.com.


2019 financials compared with the previous year

IR contact
va-Q-tec AG
Felix Rau
Tel.: 2973
Email:

cometis AG
Claudius Krause
Tel.: 5 5-28
Email:

About va-Q-tec
va-Q-tec is a pioneer in highly efficient products and solutions in the area of thermal insulation and TempChain logistics. The company develops, produces and markets highly efficient and consequently thin vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) as well as phase change materials (PCMs) for reliable and energy-efficient temperature controlling. In addition, va-Q-tec produces passive thermal packaging systems (containers and boxes) through optimally integrating VIPs and PCMs, which can maintain constant temperatures, depending on type, up to 200 hours without external energy input. To implement temperature-sensitive logistics chains, va-Q-tec - within a global partner network - operates a fleet of rental containers and boxes meeting demanding thermal protection standards. Along with Healthcare & Logistics as the main market, va-Q-tec addresses the following further markets: Appliances & Food, Technics & Industry, Building and Mobility. The high-growth company, which was founded in 2001, is based in Würzburg, Germany.

Further information: -q-tec.com