DGAP-News: Klöckner & Co (KlöCo)

- Operating income (EBITDA) improved in first nine months from EUR159 million to EUR187 million

- Continued increase in digital share of sales to most recently 16% in third quarter of 2017 (Q3 2016: 11%)

- Full-year targets confirmed: 10%-plus increase in EBITDA and substantial improvement in net income

- Extended "Klöckner & Co 2022" strategy adopted with EBITDA margin target of above 5%

Duisburg, Germany, October 25, 2017 - Klöckner & Co raised sales by 10.9% to EUR4.8 billion in the first nine months of 2017, largely thanks to a significant improvement in the price level. Operating income (EBITDA) improved even more strongly by 17.5% to EUR187 million. This increase was partly a result of optimization measures as well as of the positive trend in prices and demand. Net income went up from EUR50 million to EUR72 million. Earnings per share rose from EUR0.49 to EUR0.71.

The Group has confirmed its full-year targets of an increase in EBITDA by more than 10% and a substantial improvement in net income.

End of September saw the announcement of the "Klöckner & Co 2022" strategy, which is an extension of "Klöckner & Co 2020". The most important ongoing focus at Klöckner & Co is on digitalization, as borne out by growth in the share of sales generated via digital channels to 16% in the third quarter of 2017.

Overall, Klöckner & Co plans to boost the digital share of sales from 16% today to 60% by 2022. This will go hand in hand with large volumes of new business and substantial efficiency gains. Digitalization will consequently also be a major factor in the planned increase in the EBITDA margin to over 5% by 2022.

Further pillars of the "Klöckner & Co 2022" strategy are the ongoing expansion of higher value-added business to 60% of sales (2016: 46%) as well as efficiency improvements. The latter include two optimization programs - "One Europe" and the newly launched "One US" program. These programs are targeted to deliver a total annual EBITDA contribution of over EUR40 million by 2020.

Gisbert Rühl, CEO of Klöckner & Co SE: "With 'Klöckner & Co 2022', we will systematically increase our profitability further in the next five years. The central role is played here by digitalization, from which we already secure a major competitive advantage as pioneers in our industry."

About Klöckner & Co:
Klöckner & Co is one of the largest producer-independent distributors of steel and metal products and one of the leading steel service center companies worldwide. Based on its distribution and service network of around 170 locations in 12 countries, the Group supplies more than 130,000 customers. As a pioneer of the digital transformation in the steel industry, Klöckner & Co's target is to fully digitalize its supply and service chain and to support the launch of an independent open industry platform, which shall become the dominant vertical platform of the steel and metals industry. Currently Klöckner & Co has around 8,800 employees. The Group had sales of around EUR5.7 billion in fiscal 2016.

The shares of Klöckner & Co SE are admitted to trading on the regulated market segment (Regulierter Markt) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) with further post-admission obligations (Prime Standard). Klöckner & Co shares are listed in the SDAX^(R)-Index of Deutsche Börse.

ISIN: DE000KC01000; WKN: KC0100; Common Code: 025808576.

Contact person Klöckner & Co SE:

Press
Christian Pokropp - Press Spokesperson
Head of Corporate Communications
Phone: +49 203 3072050
Email: christian.pokropp@kloeckner.com

Investors
Christina Kolbeck
Head of Investor Relations & Sustainability
Phone: +49 203 3072122
Email: christina.kolbeck@kloeckner.com