DGAP-News: KATEK SE: KATEK achieves strongest quarter in company history with more than EUR 158 million in sales and maintains targets for 2022

KATEK achieves strongest quarter in company history with more than EUR 158 million in sales and maintains targets for 2022

- Sales increased by 15.2% to EUR 158.4 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same quarter of the previous year

- Operating result (EBITDA adjusted) increased from EUR 7.1 million to EUR 9.7 million

- Reported EBITDA of EUR 5.5 million compared to EUR 16.4 million in Q1 2021 (includes positive special effect from the acquisition of Leesys Leipzig Assets, now KATEK Leipzig)

- M&A activities and continued momentum in the M&A market: acquisition of Canadian SigmaPoint in an advanced stage; Pipeline still well filled

- High order backlog and book-to-bill ratio very positive for the rest of the year; targets for 2022 unchanged at least until better visibility for the full year

Munich, May 11, 2022 - Following a successful fiscal year 2021, KATEK SE has started the fiscal year 2022 with the strongest quarter in its corporate history in operational terms: Group sales increased to EUR 158.4 million in Q1 2022 (+15.2%; Q1 2021: EUR 137.5 million) and the operating result (EBITDA adjusted) to EUR 9.7 million (+36.6%; Q1 2021: EUR 7.1 million). KATEK was once again able to take advantage of the challenging situation for the entire industry in terms of ongoing supply bottlenecks, logistics difficulties and material price increases to gain market share and strengthen its position as number three among European electronics service providers. The highest growth was seen in the high-value electronics areas, for example in renewables/solar (+92%) and tele-care/healthcare, where sales more than doubled.

"In our business in the renewables/solar market, we are experiencing the full development of the long-awaited potential in connection with the energy transition in these months. Together with our partners, we are already working on the next product generations and are also structurally well prepared for the coming demands," says Rainer Koppitz, CEO & Co-Founder of KATEK SE.

Further important growth impulses can be seen in the future market eMobility/charging, although the business in the first quarter was at the previous year's level due to supply bottlenecks in the further supply chain of the customers, which indirectly affected KATEK. We are also very well positioned with our technologies in the rapidly developing area of eMobility/charging. As part of the INTERSOLAR trade fair, the KATEK subsidiary eSystems presented its innovative GhostONE wallbox live for the first time this week and received very positive feedback. The whitelabel wallbox is mature, produced in our Czech KATEK factory and from 2023 it will serve the top end of the fastest growing market for charging stations: Intelligent charging boxes according to ISO 15118 with full connectivity for the private and semi-public area, covering 80% of the market will cover, says Koppitz.

At EUR 5.5 million, the KATEK Group's EBITDA in the first quarter of 2022 was below the comparable figure for the previous year of EUR 16.4 million, which was significantly influenced by a positive special effect from the preliminary purchase price allocation of the assets acquired from Leesys (Leipzig Electronic Systems GmbH, now KATEK Leipzig GmbH). At the same time, however, the ongoing supply, logistics and materials bottlenecks and the associated additional costs are having a temporary impact on the Group's earnings and the significant increase in inventories for safety reasons. KATEK is successfully countering this with price increases and inventory optimization measures.

Operating EBITDA (adjusted) without special effects of EUR 9.6 million in the first quarter of 2022 is significantly higher than the previous year of EUR 7.1 million. The EBITDA margin (adjusted) improved from 5.2% to 5.9%.

"Almost exactly one year after the successful IPO, we are now in a strong position to master the persistently difficult market situation with our teams and partners - and at the same time to further expand our position as one of the European market leaders," summarizes Rainer Koppitz.

Acquisition of SigmaPoint to open further markets for high-value electronics well on track

In April 2022, KATEK SE announced the planned acquisition of SigmaPoint, one of Canada's leading suppliers of high-value electronics. This will expand KATEK's industry presence to include Homeland Security & Defense and strengthen KATEK's offering to European customers in North America as well. KATEK CEO Rainer Koppitz said, "As Europe's number three electronics service provider, this will deliver on the promise to our European customers of a presence on the North American continent." Simultaneously with the opening of the first Asian location in Malaysia, the gap in North America can also be closed and the local-for-local approach can be offered on a further continent. Negotiation of the associated share purchase agreement is expected to be completed shortly, with closing planned for the end of Q2 at the latest. The transaction is subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, such as those from the competition authorities.

Management sticks to targets for 2022

After the pleasing start to the current year, the KATEK Management Board is sticking to its targets for 2022. The pleasing run rate in Q1, the high order backlog and the high book-to-bill ratio of over 1.25 would allow the targets to be raised. However, uncertainties in the supply chains and sales markets remain high and difficult to predict, so that KATEK is sticking to the forecast for fiscal 2022 communicated as part of the annual report 2021 until it has better visibility and estimates for the full year.

This publication contains preliminary information. The full interim announcement as of March 31, 2022 will be published on May 13, 2022 on the website of KATEK SE in the Investor Relations section.

Contact

KATEK Investor Relations
Ramona Kasper
Group Head Marketing & Communications
ir@katek-group.com
+ 49 160 970 88 676

About KATEK
The KATEK Group is a leading European electronics company offering hardware and software development, prototyping and manufacturing, and related services in the market for high-end electronics or electronics services. The KATEK Group currently employs over 2,800 employees* in Germany and Eastern Europe. CEO is Rainer Koppitz and CFO is Dr. Johannes Fues. For more information about KATEK, please visit https://katek-group.com/.

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