WashTec AG: Start into 2018: Business performance as expected in the first quarter of 2018

Press Release
Start into 2018: Business performance as expected in the first quarter of 2018

- Revenue EUR 91.5m (prior year: EUR 101.2m); EBIT EUR 5.4m (prior year: ?EUR 12.1m)

- Revenue and EBIT decrease in comparison to atypically strong Q1 2017 with 32% revenue growth

- Guidance for 2018 confirmed: Full-year revenue growth of about three percent with significant improvement in EBIT

- Dividend of EUR 2.45 per share adopted at Annual General Meeting

- Dr. Günter Blaschke and Ulrich Bellgardt re-elected as Supervisory Board members by Annual General Meeting and serve again Chairman and Deputy Chairman

Augsburg, April 30, 2018 - Revenue of WashTec Group - the leading supplier of innovative solutions for the carwash business worldwide - through to March 2018, at EUR 91.5m (prior year: EUR 101.2m) was 9.6% down on the prior year, adjusted for exchange rate effects 6.9%. It must be noted in this connection that business performance in the first quarter of 2017 was particularly strong due to orders from major customers. Growth was 32% compared with 2016. This resulted in lower revenue in Equipment and Service compared with the prior year. In Chemicals, lower numbers of car washes due to weather conditions caused a decrease in revenue during the first two months of the year, whereas March saw a return to double-digit growth.

Mainly as a result of the revenue performance, EBIT decreased in the first quarter of 2018 by EUR 6.7m to EUR 5.4m (prior year: EUR 12.1m).
Adjusted for currency effects, the shortfall on the order backlog was almost fully made up by the end of the first quarter, with the order backlog still only slightly below its prior-year level. New orders from direct sales showed double-digit growth in the first quarter compared with the prior year.

Annual General Meeting: dividend of EUR2.45 adopted and Dr. Günter Blaschke and Ulrich Bellgardt re-elected as Supervisory Board members

On today's Annual General Meeting approximately 63% of the registered shared capital were present. The Annual General Meeting approved the proposals of the administration with a high majority and adopted a dividend of EUR 2.45 per share. With this dividend increase shareholders participate in the successful business development. 36.9% of the distribution is expected to be made out of the tax contribution account. Dr. Günter Blaschke and Ulrich Bellgardt were re-elected as Supervisory Board members. Dr. Blaschke continues to serve as Chairman and Mr. Bellgardt as Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board. All other proposed resolutions were also adopted with vast majority.

Guidance for 2018 confirmed: Full-year revenue growth of about three percent with significant improvement in EBIT

The Company confirms that it aims for revenue growth of around three percent for the full year 2018 with a significant increase in EBIT and free cash flow.

General risk information
Any outlook is subject to uncertainties that could have a material effect on forecast revenue and earnings performance.

The Q1 financial statement and further information about WashTec can be found on: www.washtec.de.

About WashTec:
WashTec Group with its registered office in Augsburg, Germany, is the leading provider of innovative car wash solutions worldwide. The company has more than 1,800 employees and is represented with subsidiaries in the major markets of Europe, North America and Asia/Pacific. Moreover, WashTec has an extensive network of independent marketing partners through which it is present in around 70 countries worldwide.

Key figures:

1) Basis: on average 13,382,324 shares
2) Trade receivables + inventories -trade payables - prepayments on orders