Quarterly figures of Ringmetall AG characterized by generally subdued sentiment in the market

Quarterly figures of Ringmetall AG characterized by generally subdued sentiment in the market

- Consolidated revenues increase by 5.6 percent to EUR 29.9 million, but on a comparable basis slight decline in sales
- EBITDA falls accordingly by 8.4 percent to EUR 2.5 million
- Revenue and earnings forecast for the full year 2019 unchanged

Munich, 7 May 2019 - Ringmetall AG (ISIN: DE0006001902), a leading international specialist supplier in the packaging industry, has started the 2019 financial year with headwinds against the background of a generally subdued mood in the economy and especially in parts of the customer industries. After a promising start to the year, the second half of the quarter was marked by a noticeable restraint on customer side. However, with the beginning of the second quarter, the situation eased again.

Consolidated revenues increased by 5.3 percent year-on-year to EUR 29.9 million (Q1 2018: EUR 28.4 million). This also includes the revenues of Nittel Halle GmbH, which has been consolidated since 1 January 2019. Adjusted for the acquisition, revenues fell by 3.7 percent. At EUR 2.5 million, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were 8.4 percent down on the previous year (Q1 2018: EUR 2.7 million). The main reasons for the decline, apart from lower sales volumes, are the higher steel price level, which can only be passed on through price adjustments with a certain delay, as well as the planned costs for the integration of Nittel. In addition, an increased proportion of temporary workers had a negative impact on earnings. The adjustment of the previous year's value (Q1 2018) is due to a change in the reporting of other taxes against the background of the conversion of the accounting to IFRS. The EBITDA margin was correspondingly lower at 8.3 percent (Q1 2018: 9.6 percent).

The key performance indicators for the first quarter of 2019 are as follows:

"After a good start into the year, there was a significant drop in sales within a few days in the second half of the quarter," explains Christoph Petri, Spokesperson of the Management Board of Ringmetall AG. "And although we can generally respond adequately to fluctuations in turnover due to a high proportion of temporary workers, this was not possible within such a short timeframe, which had a negative impact on our margins. However, the situation improved noticeably with the beginning of the second quarter. "

Revenues in the Industrial Packaging division increased by 8.4 percent to EUR 26.9 million (Q1 2018: EUR 24.9 million). Revenues development was characterized by 10.9 percentage points or EUR 2.7 million of acquisition effects, 1.2 percentage points or EUR 0.3 million of the effects of steel price development and -3.7 percentage points or EUR -0.9 million respectively from the organic development of the business segment. At EUR 2.8 million, EBITDA was 5.5 percent lower (Q1 2018: EUR 2.9 million). This was mainly due to the fact that too high personnel costs in relation to the revenue development in the second half of the quarter had a negative impact on earnings.

The changed economic conditions had a significantly higher impact on the Industrial Handling business segment. Here revenues fell by 15.7 percent to EUR 3.0 million (Q1 2018: EUR 3.6 million), which is largely attributable to the shift in call orders for forklift accessories in the fourth quarter. Accordingly, the development of revenues is almost completely influenced by the organic business development. At EUR 0.3 million, EBITDA was much lower than in the previous year (Q1 2018: EUR 0.4 million), as the product mix was significantly less affected by higher-margin proprietary products and significantly more by low-margin OEM products.

Details of the business development in the first quarter of 2019 will be discussed by the Management Board today at 17:00 CET in a conference call for analysts, institutional investors and journalists. The registration for this is done via E-Mail via Mrs. Anja Brabec (brabec@ringmetall.de). Further information on the Ringmetall Group and its affiliated subsidiaries can be found at www.ringmetall.de.

Contact:
Ingo Middelmenne
Investor Relations
Ringmetall AG
Phone: +49 (0 )89 45 220 98 12
Mobile: +49 (0 )174 90 911 90
Email: middelmenne@ringmetall.de

About Ringmetall Group

Ringmetall is a leading international specialist in the packaging industry. The Industrial Packaging business offers high-security closure systems and inliners for industrial drums for the chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and food processing industries. The Industrial Handling business unit develops application-optimized vehicle components for the handling and the transport of packaging units. In addition to the group headquarters in Munich, Ringmetall has worldwide production and sales offices in Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, China and the USA. Ringmetall generates over EUR 120 million in revenues worldwide.