EANS-News: Semperit AG Holding Significant improvement in operating earnings
in 2018 ? particularly due to Industrial sector ? downward trend stopped
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Financial Figures/Balance Sheet
Vienna, Austria -
* Total revenue of EUR 878.5 million slightly increased compared with the
previous year
* Strong performance in Industrial Sector resulted in revenue increase of 5.6%
to EUR 567.0 million, whereas revenue in Medical Sector declined by 7.6%
* EBITDA adjusted for negative one-off effects increased by 40.6% to EUR 50.3
million; adjusted EBITDA margin rose from 4.1% to 5.7%
* EBIT adjusted for negative one-off effects significantly increased to EUR 15.4
million and was positive compared with the previous year; adjusted EBIT margin
rose from -0.1% to 1.7%
* Net loss for the year caused primarily by impairment in the Sempermed segment
and one-off effects as part of the restructuring
Vienna/Austria, 22 March 2019 - With slightly increasing revenues, the operating
result (adjusted EBITDA) of the publicly listed Semperit Group was significantly
increased in 2018: "We have bottomed out: our intensified restructuring and
transformation course has led to a significant improvement in operating earnings
in the Industrial Sector," emphasises Dr Martin Füllenbach, Chairman of the
Management Board of Semperit AG Holding. "The negative development in the
Medical Sector remains a drop of bitterness, for the restructuring of which we
deliberately set a period of 36 months. We are working on the urgently needed
turnaround of Sempermed with utmost concentration."
Significant improvement in operating earnings in industrial segments
The positive development of the Industrial Sector was mainly driven by an
increase in the Sempertrans and Semperflex segments. At the same time, the
Semperit Management Board consistently intensified and accelerated the ongoing
restructuring measures at Group level, which led to an improvement in operating
performance. Until the end of 2018, the initiatives for efficiency enhancement
within the scope of SemperMOVE10 included a total of more than 700 cross-
functional and cross-segment initiatives in the areas of World Class
Manufacturing, quality, pricing, and focused market development. The
contribution to increasing profitability is measured by means of ongoing
monitoring.
"We see numerous positive signals in the industrial segments and are well on the
way. While our results for the past two years were frequently burdened by one-
off effects throughout the Group, we can rule out restructuring-related one-off
effects for the Industrial Sector in the next two years," says Füllenbach. Since
the beginning of the restructuring and transformation phase, the complexity in
the Industrial Sector has been significantly reduced due to the shutdown of the
production sites in France and China as well as the sale of the production site
in Italy. This has led to high non-recurring charges. From today's perspective,
no further significant expenses from the further optimisation of the production
footprint (in the Industrial Sector) are to be expected in 2019.
Burdens by Sempermed impairment
In the Medical Sector, there was not only a decrease in volumes sold, but at the
end of the first half of the year an impairment of EUR 55.2 million had to be
recognised in context of an impairment test, which affected the reported Group
earnings accordingly.
Against the background of the particular problem complexity in the Medical
Sector, the transformation project was consciously and carefully designed for a
total duration of 36 months: the structural challenges in business processes
(operations), in IT as well as in the product and market approach require that
time.
In 2018, the Group's revenue increased slightly to EUR 878.5 million, whereas
the Industrial Sector achieved an increase in revenue of 5.6%. In contrast to
this, revenue in the Medical Sector declined by 7.6%. Adjusted for the negative
one-off effects of EUR 3.9 million from the shutdown of the Sempertrans site in
China, EBITDA increased from EUR 35.8 million to EUR 50.3 million, while the
adjusted EBITDA margin rose from 4.1% to 5.7%. The reported EBITDA was EUR 46.4
million in 2018 after EUR 100.2 million in 2017.
Accordingly, adjusted EBIT also developed very positively, increasing from EUR -
0.8 million in 2017 to EUR 15.4 million in 2018, while the adjusted EBITDA
margin rose from -0.1% to 1.7%. The reported EBIT amounted to EUR -47.7 million
in 2018 after EUR 37.6 million in 2017 (including one-off effects from the joint
venture transaction in Thailand).
Adjusted earnings after tax totalled EUR -17.3 million in 2018 compared with the
adjusted value of EUR -43.3 million a year earlier. The reported value for
earnings after tax was EUR -80.4 million for 2018 compared with EUR -26.3
million for 2017 and was significantly burdened by the impairment in the
Sempermed segment (EUR 55.2 million) as well as the expenses for the shutdown of
the Sempertrans site in China (EUR 7.8 million). The adjusted earnings per share
amounted to EUR -1.07 in 2018 after EUR -2.11 in 2017 (adjusted). The reported
values were EUR -4.13 after EUR -1.25.
At EUR 80.8 million, cash-relevant investments in tangible and intangible assets
were higher in 2018 than in the previous year at EUR 74.5 million. The
investment priorities were on expansion and improvement investments in the
Semperflex (expansion of hydraulic hose production at the Odry site, Czech
Republic) and Sempertrans segments (primarily for the expansion of Mixing).
With an equity ratio of 42.9% (year-end 2017: 32.6%) at the balance sheet date,
Semperit continued to have a solid capital base, which had previously been
strengthened by the agreement of a hybrid capital line with the core shareholder
in December 2017. Under IFRS accounting rules, hybrid capital has to be
classified as equity. In March 2018, EUR 130.0 million were drawn from the
hybrid capital line. Cash and cash equivalents amounted to EUR 121.5 million at
the end of December 2018 and were therefore below the level of the end of 2017
(EUR 165.5 million).
Industrial Sector: strong operating performance
The Industrial Sector comprises the segments Semperflex, Sempertrans and
Semperform and developed in a differentiated way: Above all, Semperflex
increased its revenue, followed by Semperform, while Sempertrans recorded a
decline. In total, the sector's revenue increased by 5.6% from EUR 537.0 million
to EUR 567.0 million. Due to the positive development in the segments, overall
profitability in the Industrial Sector increased. EBITDA rose by 66.1% to EUR
71.3 million and EBIT by 98.7% to EUR 44.6 million. The EBITDA margin improved
from 8.0% to 12.6% and the EBIT margin from 4.2% to 7.9%. In addition to the
initiatives from the restructuring and transformation programme, successful
market innovations including the development of a new LPG hose for the
automotive industry as well as new conveyor belts for underground mining in
Australia, the USA and Canada contributed to this. There are no further one-time
charges to be expected in the Industrial Sector.
Medical Sector: decline in volumes and impairment
The development of the Sempermed segment was characterised by increasing
competitive and price pressures, above all in North America, as well as a change
of strategy in the sale of gloves (shifting the focus to own production instead
of trade items) and the unsatisfactory operating performance. This resulted in a
declining sales and revenue development. In 2018, revenue fell by 7.6% to EUR
311.5 million. EBITDA was EUR -3.9 million (no adjustment for EBITDA in 2018)
compared with the adjusted value for 2017 totalling EUR 1.8 million. EBIT,
adjusted for the impairment of EUR 55.2 million in the first half of 2018, was
EUR -14.3 million for 2018 compared with EUR -12.1 million in the previous year.
Outlook 2019
The Management Board of Semperit will continue the restructuring and
transformation process that has been started with all its consequences.
Continuous and potentially new measures to increase profitability and reduce
complexity remain at the top of the Management Board's agenda.
The focus of the restructuring measures will clearly be on the Sempermed
segment, continuing the hard work on its turnaround. Progress is clearly visible
in the Industrial Sector, where ongoing and further initiatives are being
implemented. Semperit will initially focus on organic growth, particularly in
the Industrial Sector, and will also gradually focus on inorganic growth
considerations over the course of the year.
Since Semperit currently has sufficient capacities in production and in Mixing,
capital expenditures (CAPEX, including maintenance) of only around EUR 40
million are planned for 2019. In 2018, this figure was at EUR 81 million, twice
as high due to extensive expansion investments initiated in previous years. This
should also bring us closer to the goal of a balanced or positive free cash flow
in 2019.
Increased financial discipline is enforced through step-by-step cost
optimisation and reduced net debt, with our focus on value management and free
cash flow as a key performance indicator in our financial planning.
Since the beginning of the restructuring and transformation process, the
Management Board has identified significant potentials for earnings improvement
and initiated appropriate implementation measures. The conclusion of the
transformation of the Semperit Group is scheduled for the end of 2020. From this
point of time, the Semperit Group aims to achieve an EBITDA margin of around 10%
(run rate 2021) as central key performance indicator.
The Annual Report 2018 is available at www.semperitgroup.com/en/ir [http://
www.semperitgroup.com/en/ir].
The Sustainability Report 2018 is available at www.semperitgroup.com/en/
sustainability [http://www.semperitgroup.com/en/sustainability].
About Semperit
The publicly listed company Semperit AG Holding is an internationally-oriented
group that develops, produces, and sells in more than 100 countries highly
specialised rubber products for the medical and industrial sectors: examination
and surgical gloves, hydraulic and industrial hoses, conveyor belts, escalator
handrails, construction profiles, cable car rings, and products for railway
superstructures. The headquarters of this long-standing Austrian company, which
was founded in 1824, are located in Vienna. The Semperit Group employs around
6,800 people worldwide, including about 3,500 in Asia and more than 900 in
Austria (Vienna and production site in Wimpassing, Lower Austria). The Group has
14 manufacturing facilities worldwide and numerous sales offices in Europe,
Asia, Australia, and America. In 2018, the group generated revenue of EUR 878.5
million and an adjusted EBITDA (without one-off effects) of EUR 50.3 million.
Further inquiry note:
Monika Riedel
Director Group Communications & Sustainability
+43 676 8715 8620
monika.riedel@semperitgroup.com
Stefan Marin
Head of Investor Relations
Tel.: +43 676 8715 8210
stefan.marin@semperitgroup.comwww.semperitgroup.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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issuer: Semperit AG Holding
Modecenterstrasse 22
A-1030 Wien
phone: +43 1 79 777-210
FAX: +43 1 79 777-602
mail: stefan.marin@semperitgroup.com
WWW: www.semperitgroup.com
ISIN: AT0000785555
indexes: ATX PRIME, WBI, ATX GP
stockmarkets: Wien
language: English