Stabilus : S.A. raises full-year guidance for adjusted EBIT margin following release of figures for Q2 FY2017

CORPORATE NEWS

Stabilus S.A. raises full-year guidance for adjusted EBIT margin following release of figures for Q2 FY2017

- Revenue in Q2 FY2017 +35.4 per cent to EUR 244.9 million / First-half FY2017 +30.8 per cent to EUR 455.5 million

- Adjusted EBIT Q2 +53.6 per cent to EUR 38.4 million / H1 +48.4 per cent to EUR 67.8 million

- Q2 earnings EUR 14.6 million (Q2 FY2016: EUR 10.8 million) / H1 earnings 44.4m (First-half FY2016: EUR 24.4 million)

- Operating revenue forecast confirmed, guidance for adjusted EBIT margin in FY2017 raised to 14-15 per cent (previously: 13-14 per cent)

Luxemburg/Koblenz, May 15, 2017 - Stabilus S.A. (ISIN: LU1066226637), one of the world's leader suppliers of gas springs, damping solutions and electromechanical drives for motion control, performed successfully in both the second quarter and first half of fiscal 2017 (full year ending on September 30, 2017), reporting significant growth.

In the second quarter of the 2017 fiscal year, Group sales revenues rose year-on-year from EUR 180.9 million to EUR 244.9 million, an increase of 34.5 per cent. The companies acquired in fiscal 2016 - ACE, Hahn Gasfedern, Fabreeka and Tech Products - contributed a total of EUR 31.6 million to this revenue increase. When measured in terms of figures for the first half-year of the current fiscal year, Stabilus S.A. thus posted revenues of EUR 455.5 million, up from EUR 348.2 million in the first half-year of fiscal 2016 (+30.8 per cent).

The Group performed positively across all geographies. In Europe, revenues in the past quarter advanced by 35.4 per cent, rising from EUR 93.1 million to EUR 126.1 million. The newly acquired entities accounted for EUR 20.9 million of total sales revenues in Europe. Another principal driver was the Powerise division, whose revenues in Europe have advanced by 26.3 per cent in the second quarter of fiscal 2017. In NAFTA, revenues grew from EUR 68.1 million to EUR 93,7 million (+37.6 per cent). In addition to revenue contributions from the new acquisitions, it was once again demand for Powerise that proved to be the most decisive factor here. In the Asia / Pacific and RoW (Rest of World) region, revenues advanced by 26.9 per cent from EUR 19.7 million to EUR 25.0 million. This rise was largely down to new clients and the expansion of production capacities in China.

A comparison with the same quarter in the 2016 fiscal year shows that the Industrial division posted the strongest revenue growth. Bolstered by the contribution from the companies acquired in summer of 2016, this division reported a rise in revenues of 69.3 per cent, the total figure climbing from EUR 51.8 million to EUR 87.7 million. Accounting for the largest share - EUR 55.1 million - was the Capital Goods business (equivalent quarter in previous year: EUR 44.0 million), followed by the new Vibration & Velocity Control (EUR 25.2 million, prior year: - ) unit, a division formed following the acquisition of the companies ACE, Fabreeka and Tech Products; revenues in the Commercial Furniture (formerly known as 'Swivel Chair') division, remained, at EUR 7.5 million, roughly in line with the figure reported for the same quarter in the previous year,
EUR 7.8 million.

The automotive business also grew strongly in the second quarter of 2017, revenues rising by 21.7 per cent from EUR 129.1 million to EUR 157.1 million. Once again, the Powerise technology was the most significant sales driver in this segment, revenues moving ahead in the second quarter of fiscal 2017 by +36.1 per cent. The main factor fueling this growth is newly acquired OEM platforms, most notably for vehicles in the midsized and compact class, which made first-time contributions to revenues.

At EUR 38.4 million, adjusted EBIT in the quarter under review was 53.6 per cent higher than the equivalent figure for the previous year. This increase is chiefly attributable to the higher share of revenues deriving from the Industrial division (36 per cent Q2 FY2017, compared with 29 per cent in Q2 FY2016). In the first half-year of fiscal 2017, the company therefore posted adjusted EBIT of EUR 67.8 million, up from EUR 45.7 million in the prior-year period (+48.4 per cent).

Net income for Q2 FY2017 stood at EUR 14.6 million, rising from EUR 10.8 million in the same quarter of the previous year. For the first-half of fiscal 2017, the company thus reported net income of EUR 44.4 million, up from EUR 24.4 million in the equivalent period of the previous year.

Dietmar Siemssen, CEO von Stabilus, said: 'Figures for the past quarter show that we have continued to perform strongly. Contributing to this in equal measure were both organic growth and the companies we acquired in 2016. The new acquisitions have clearly strengthened our industrial business, and their integration has been a source of major impetus for the Group as a whole. Our comprehensive global footprint allows us to win new clients across all geographies. We maintain our objective of once again reporting double-digit growth in fiscal 2017. Furthermore, the strong set of second-quarter figures gives us the confidence to raise our guidance for the adjusted EBIT margin in the 2017 fiscal year.'

The adjusted EBIT margin is now expected to come in at 14 to 15 per cent, up from the earlier forecast of 13 to 14 per cent. The operating sale revenues forecast, originally published together with the 2016 Annual Report, remains unchanged: Assuming an average dollar exchange rate of 1.15 US$ / EUR, Stabilus is anticipating revenues of EUR 865 million for the 2017 fiscal year. In the event that the US dollar remains strong against the euro in the remaining period of the current fiscal year, revenues for fiscal 2017 could be higher on the back of exchange rate gains. Were the average US dollar exchange rate to come out at 1.10 US$/EUR over the entire 2017 fiscal year, for example, revenues would be expected to stand at approx. EUR 880 million.

An English-language version of the full report for the second quarter of fiscal 2017 can be downloaded in our Investor Relations area at www.ir.stabilus.com.

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. In the 2016 fiscal year, Stabilus reported sales revenues of EUR 737.5m. 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.