Stabilus : Figures for Q1 FY2018 show Stabilus S.A. continuing to benefit from strong industrial business and ongoing shift towards SUVs

CORPORATE NEWS

Figures for Q1 FY2018 show Stabilus S.A. continuing to benefit from strong industrial business and ongoing shift towards SUVs

- Revenues in Q1 FY2018 +9.4 percent to EUR 230.6 million

- Adjusted EBIT^[1] Q1 +15.3 percent to EUR 33.9 million

- Q1 profit EUR 21.7 million (Q1 FY2017: EUR 29.8 million); free cash flow (FCF^[1]) EUR 14.7 million (Q1 FY2017: EUR 6.8 million)

- Revenue and adjusted EBIT margin forecasts for FY2018 confirmed

Luxembourg/Koblenz, February 5, 2018 - Stabilus S.A. (ISIN: LU1066226637), one of the world's leading suppliers of gas springs, damping solutions and electromechanical drives for motion control, successfully closed the first quarter of its fiscal year ending on September 30, 2018, reporting significant revenue growth across all operational segments (regions). The company continues to reap the benefits of its strong industrial business and the unbroken trend towards SUVs and large-tailgate vehicles.

In the first quarter of 2018, group revenues were 9.4 percent higher than during the same period in the previous year, rising to EUR 230.6 million (Q1 FY2017: EUR 210.7 million), with Stabilus reporting quarter-on-quarter growth across all regions. Excluding currency translation effect, group revenues grew by 13.1 percent. In Europe, revenues advanced by 13.5 percent to EUR 116.0 million as part of a consistently upward trend fueled primarily by the strong automotive business in gas springs and Powerise drives. In the NAFTA region, revenues grew by 2.5 percent to EUR 83.6 million, with the weak dollar being largely responsible for the relatively low revenue growth seen in this past quarter (average exchange rate of 1.18$/EUR in Q1 FY18 vs. 1.08$/EUR in Q1 FY17). Excluding currency translation effect, growth rates in NAFTA stood at 11.8 percent. The solid operational growth in this region is particularly due to the positive performance of the Vibration & Velocity Control division (+14.9 percent or +25.3 percent excluding currency effect) and Powerise revenues (+8.1 percent or +17.9 percent excluding currency effect). In Asia / Pacific and RoW (Rest of World), the company performed notably well in the automotive business, reporting a corresponding 15.7 percent improvement in revenues to EUR 31.0 million.

A breakdown by markets shows that first-quarter 2018 revenues grew especially strongly in the industrial division, where the figure climbed by 12.0 percent, rising from EUR 74.1 million in the equivalent quarter of FY2017 to reach EUR 83.0 million. Once currency translation effect is stripped out, growth stood at 15.1 percent. Stabilus reported particularly strong growth in the segments independent aftermarket, busses, trucks & transport, agricultural machinery and solar. Strong growth of 15.9 percent in the Vibration & Velocity Control division testifies to the successful integration of ACE, Fabreeka and Tech Products, three of the four companies acquired in June 2016 that make up this division.

Industrial business thus accounted for 36 percent of all revenues in the period under review. The remaining 64 percent is generated by the automotive division, whose revenues rose by 8.1 percent to EUR 147.6 million (Q1 FY2017: EUR 136.5 million). Excluding currency translation effect, revenue growth rose by 12.0 percent. The automotive division continued to benefit notably from the ongoing shift towards SUVs and large-tailgate vehicles, and from correspondingly solid demand for comfort solutions featuring gas springs, dampers as well as Powerise^(R) drives.

Strong revenue growth, especially at the industrial division, also contributed to an improvement in key operational performance indicators at Stabilus S.A. Adjusted Q1 FY2018 profit from operating activities (adjusted EBIT^[1]) climbed by 15.3 percent to EUR 33.9 million. This is equivalent to an adjusted EBIT margin of 14.7 percent, up from 14.0 percent in the same period twelve months previously (Q1 FY2017).

Profit for Q1 FY2018 stood at EUR 21.7 million, against EUR 29.8 million in the same prior-year period. It is to be noted here that Q1 results in the previous fiscal year FY2017 included non-cash net foreign exchange gains amounting to some EUR 20.2 million or EUR 14.1 million after taxes, while the Q1 FY2018 figure includes non-cash net foreign exchange losses totaling EUR 0.3 million. Free cash flow ("FCF" ^[1]) in Q1 FY2018 stood at EUR 14.7 million, up from EUR 6.8 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

Dietmar Siemssen, CEO of Stabilus, stated: "We look back on a solid first quarter. The strengthening of the industrial business and the sustained, innovation-driven growth in the automotive division are helping our business to perform at a consistently high level. Furthermore, by focussing on innovations and investing in the necessary R&D resources, we are laying the groundwork for future successes. The double-digit growth rates in Vibration & Velocity Control are a reflection of the successful integration of the companies we acquired in 2016 - and a pointer to the further growth opportunities for this division as part of the wider Stabilus group. And in Asia, too, demand for our products - most notably the Powerise drives - continues to grow. We continue to see significant growth potential for Stabilus in this region."

For fiscal 2018 (ending on September 30, 2018), Stabilus is expecting organic growth of some 7 percent to EUR 975 million assuming a constant average year-on-year $/EUR exchange rate of 1.10, a revenue increase of some 5.5 percent to EUR 960 million in the event of an average $/EUR exchange rate of 1.15 and a revenue increase of some 3.8 percent to EUR 945 million in the event of an average $/EUR exchange rate of 1.20. An adjusted EBIT margin of around 15.5 percent is expected.

An English-language quarterly statement for Q1 FY2018 can be downloaded from the Investor Relations section at www.ir.stabilus.com.

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^[1] Cf. definition/calculation of the KPIs "adjusted EBIT" and "free cash flow" ("FCF") in the quarterly statement for Q1 FY2018, pages 5 and 10, which can be accessed through the following link http://ir.stabilus.com/websites/stabilus/English/4006/financial-reports-_amp_-presentations-2018.html.

About Stabilus

As one of the world's leading suppliers of gas springs, damping solutions and electromechanical drives, Stabilus has for eight decades been demonstrating its expertise in the automotive industry and a variety of other sectors. Gas springs, dampers and electromechanical POWERISE drives from Stabilus optimize opening, closing, lifting, lowering and adjusting operations, and also protect against vibrations. Employing a workforce of more than six thousand worldwide, the company has its operational headquarters in Koblenz. Stabilus has reported sales revenues of EUR 910.0 million in the 2017 fiscal year. Stabilus has a global production network encompassing plants in nine countries. Additionally, the Group maintains regional offices and relations to sales partners in over fifty countries in Europe, North, Central and South America, and in Asia Pacific. Stabilus is listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and included in the SDAX index.

Important Notice

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Stabilus Group management and other information currently available to Stabilus. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here.