SURTECO GROUP SE: Sales of € 205.7 million in the first quarter. EBIT at € 7.6 million down 62 % on previous year owing to one-off acquisition costs and temporarily higher expenses.

Buttenwiesen, 28 April 2023 – In the first quarter of 2023, sales of the SURTECO Group at € 205.7 million were 3 % below the year-earlier value of € 213.0 million. Since the acquired divisions of Omnova only contributed to the business for one month in the first quarter, this was not yet able to compensate for the significant drop in demand compared with the equivalent year-earlier quarter. Owing to the transaction costs arising from this acquisition, a higher personnel expenses ratio and a shortfall in capacity utilization, earnings before financial result and income tax (EBIT) came down by 62 % to € 7.6 million (2022: € 20.2 million). Consolidated net profit fell by 73 % to € 3.6 million (2022: € 13.6 million). Earnings per share amounted to € 0.23 after € 0.88 in the previous year.

Since the beginning of the business year 2023, the Group is managed for Europe and South America according to the segments Surfaces, Edgebands, Profiles and by the regional segments North America and Asia / Pacific. The divisions acquired from Omnova are allocated to the Segment North America. The data for the previous year related to pro-forma values. Hence, in the first quarter of 2023, sales in Surfaces dropped by 12 % to € 75.1 million after € 85.0 million in the previous year. EBIT fell back to € -0.3 million (2022: € 6.2 million). Edgebands generated sales of € 39.8 million after € 48.4 million in the previous year and EBIT of € 5.3 million after € 6.7 million. Sales in Profiles at € 39.1 million were 6 % below the previous year (€ 41.7 million). EBIT at € 4.6 million eased moderately compared with the year-earlier value of € 5.0 million. On the basis of the first sales generated by the Omnova divisions, business transactions in the Segment North America rose by 62 % to € 38.9 million (2022: € 24.0 million). As a result of one-off acquisition expenses, EBIT amounted to € 0.1 million (2022: € 2.1 million). In Asia / Pacific, sales fell by 9 % to € 12.7 million after € 13.9 million in the previous year, and EBIT amounted to € 2.1 million (2022: € 2.8 million).

Owing to the current macroeconomic uncertainties and the high level of inflation, restrained demand is anticipated at least until the middle of the year. To this extent, the forecast from the Annual Report 2022 is confirmed. Accordingly, Group sales are projected to be in the corridor between € 920 million and € 950 million for the business year 2023 and Group EBIT is expected in the range between € 45 million and € 55 million.

You will find the Quarterly Report Q1-2023 and other information about SURTECO GROUP SE on the Internet at www.surteco.com.

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Profile of SURTECO

SURTECO GROUP SE with registered office in Buttenwiesen is a mid-sized holding company with international operations. The company listed on the stock exchange combines leading national and international brands for surface technology under one roof. The comprehensive product portfolio includes papers printed with decor designs, impregnated materials, release papers, decorative flat foils and edgebandings based on specialist technical papers and plastics. This portfolio is complemented by skirtings made of plastics, technical extrusions (profiles) for industry, and roller shutter systems. With more than 3,000 employees at 22 production sites worldwide, the Group generates annual sales of around EUR 748 million in fiscal year 2022. 24 % of these sales are generated in Germany, 45 % in European countries outside Germany and a further 31 % in America, Asia and Australia. Customers of the SURTECO Group primarily come from the wood-based, flooring and furniture industries, as well as from interior design.

The shares in SURTECO GROUP SE are listed on the official market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt and Munich Stock Exchanges under the ticker symbol SUR and ISIN DE0005176903. They are also traded on the stock markets in Berlin, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

This press release may contain statements of future forecasts or expectations and other forward-looking statements and involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties. There is therefore no guarantee for the statements and expectations expressed herein. The actual results and developments may differ substantially. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein or to adapt such information to future results or developments.

 Important indicators of SURTECO GROUP SE (in € million)

* For 2022 Pro forma values for the segments

1. Difference to balance of segment earnings due to internal clearing
2. Based on a number of shares amounting to 15,505,731