DGAP-News: Stabilus S.A. confirms preliminary figures for FY2021 and proposes dividend of €1.25 per share

CORPORATE NEWS

Stabilus S.A. confirms preliminary figures for FY2021 and proposes dividend of €1.25 per share

- Revenue in FY2021 at €937.7 million (FY2020: €822.1 million) and adjusted EBIT^[1] margin at 14.4% (FY2020: 11.8%)

- FY2021 profit at €73.8 million (FY2020: €30.0 million) and free cash flow before acquisitions^[1] at €88.6 million (FY2020: €62.3 million)

- Dividend of €1.25 per share proposed (FY2020 dividend: €0.50)

- Revenue of €940 million to €990 million expected for FY2022 with an adjusted EBIT^[1] margin of between 14% and 15%

Luxembourg/Koblenz, December 10, 2021 - Stabilus S.A. (ISIN: LU1066226637), one of the world's leading suppliers of motion control solutions for a wide range of industries, today confirmed its preliminary figures released on November 12, 2021 for the fiscal year 2021 and published its 2021 annual report. The company was thus able to achieve significant revenue and earnings growth in the past fiscal year.

The Management Board and the Supervisory Board of Stabilus S.A. will therefore propose to the Annual General Meeting taking place on February 16, 2022 that a dividend of €1.25 per share will be paid (FY2020: €0.50, FY2019: €1.10). This represents a total dividend payout of €30.9 million (previous year: €12.4 million) and a pay-out ratio of 42% (previous year: 39%).

Dr. Michael Büchsner, CEO of Stabilus, said: "Following a fiscal year 2020 that was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are more than satisfied with the development of the past fiscal year. We would also like our shareholders to share in this positive earnings development and will therefore propose a dividend of €1.25 per share to the annual general meeting. Pending approval of the Annual General Meeting, this would represent the highest dividend payment since our IPO in 2014. We are also cautiously optimistic about the 2022 fiscal year and expect further growth in revenue and adjusted EBIT."

Preliminary revenue figures for fiscal year 2021 confirmed

In the full FY2021, the Group recorded revenue of €937.7 million, compared with €822.1 million in the previous year (+14.1%, organic^[1] +16,4% year-on-year).

In the EMEA region, revenue in FY2021 increased by 12.9% to €464.0 million (FY2020: €411.1 million). Adjusted for currency effects, revenue growth in EMEA in FY2021 was 13.9%. In the Americas region, revenue increased by 8.0% year-on-year to €323.5 million (FY2020: €299.6 million). Organic revenue growth in this region was 13.1% in FY2021. In the APAC region, the company recorded a 34.8% increase in revenue compared to the previous year to €150.2 million (FY2020: €111.4 million). Adjusted for currency effects, revenue growth in the APAC region increased by 34.3% in FY2021. The strong development in all of these regions was mainly due to the increase in vehicle production compared to the 2020 fiscal year, higher installation rates for Stabilus products and the recovery of the Industrial business.

In fiscal year 2021, Stabilus achieved double-digit growth rates in all three business units. Revenue in the Automotive Gas Spring segment increased by 11.0% to €297.4 million (FY2020: €268.0 million) and in the Automotive Powerise division by 21.3% to €263.3 million (FY2020: €217.0 million). In organic^[1] terms, revenue was thus 23.1% higher in the Powerise sector and 12.9% higher in the Gas Spring area than in the previous year. The development in the Powerise segment is due, among other things, to a disproportionately strong development in the APAC region, which was driven by higher installation rates for Powerise drives and increased production figures at a large number of OEMs.

In FY2021, the Industrial business recorded a year-on-year increase in revenue of 11.8% to €377.0 million (FY2020: €337.1 million). Adjusted for currency effects, revenue growth amounted to 14.7%. Stabilus recorded strong growth in particular in the Distributors, Independent Aftermarket, E-Commerce (DIAMEC) and Mobility subsegments.

Adjusted EBIT margin of 14.4%

The adjusted EBIT^[1] margin in fiscal year 2021 was 14.4% (FY2020: 11.8%), an improvement of 260 basis points over the previous year.

Net profit for the fiscal year increased by 146.0% to €73.8 million (FY2020: €30.0 million). The previous year's profit was burdened by non-cash impairments of intangible assets with a net effect of around - €18 million. Free cash flow before acquisitions (adj. FCF^[1]) was €88.6 million, compared to €62.3 million in the previous year. Stabilus significantly reduced its factoring activities in the 2021 fiscal year, which had an adverse effect on FCF in the amount of €11.2 million. Adjusted for this base effect, free cash flow before acquisitions for FY2021 would have amounted to €99.8 million.

Forecast for fiscal year 2022 anticipates further growth; medium-term forecast confirmed

For fiscal year 2022, Stabilus expects revenue of €940 million to €990 million and an adjusted EBIT^[1] margin in the range of 14% to 15%. In addition, Stabilus reaffirms its medium-term forecast for 2025, which aims to achieve average revenue growth of 6% per year and a return to an adjusted EBIT^[1] margin of 15%.

The planned change of the legal form and the transfer of the registered office to be implemented in 2022

As reported on March 8, 2021, the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of Stabilus S.A. have resolved to prepare the change of the legal form of the company from a Société Anonyme (S.A.) under Luxembourg law into a European Company (Societas Europaea) and a subsequent transfer of the company's registered office from Luxembourg to Germany. The terms of conversion, including the Articles of Association of the future Stabilus SE and the required increase in the company's share capital from own funds will be submitted for approval to an Extraordinary General Meeting. Another Extraordinary General Meeting is to resolve on the plan to transfer the registered office from Luxembourg to Germany, including the Articles of Association of Stabilus SE. Both the planned change of the legal form and the transfer of the registered office are to be implemented in 2022.

The 2021 annual report can be downloaded from the company's website at Investors / Financial Reports & Presentations / 2021.

________________________

^[1] Cf. the definition/calculation of KPI's 'organic growth', 'adjusted EBIT' and 'free cash flow before acquisitions (adj. FCF)' provided in our current financial reports and earnings presentations, e.g., in our 2021 annual report, p. 17ff, which can be downloaded from the company's website at Investors / Financial Reports & Presentations / 2021.

Investor contact:
Andreas Schröder
Tel.: +352 286 770 21
E-Mail: anschroeder@stabilus.com

Press contact:
Peter Steiner
Tel.: +49 69 794090 27
E-Mail: Peter.Steiner@charlesbarker.de
Charles Barker Corporate Communications

About Stabilus

Stabilus is one of the world's leading suppliers of motion control solutions for a wide range of industries such as mobility, healthcare, leisure, furniture, energy, construction, industrial machinery and automation. Based on more than eight decades of experience, Stabilus offers reliable and innovative solutions that enable, improve or automate opening, closing, lifting, lowering and adjusting operations. The damping and vibration isolation technologies developed by Stabilus can be individually tailored to the needs of customers and offer protection against shocks, vibrations and noise. Headquartered in Koblenz, Germany, the group has an international network of production facilities in eleven countries with more than six thousand employees worldwide and reported revenue of €937.7 million in the 2021 fiscal year. Additionally, the Group maintains regional offices and relations to sales partners in over fifty countries in Europe, North, Central and South America, and in Asia Pacific. Stabilus S.A. is listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and included in the SDAX index.

Important Notice

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Stabilus Group management and other information currently available to Stabilus. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here.