EQS-News: SFC Energy delivers strong half-year financials – further improved net cash position of around EUR 66 million – international expansion and capacity build up according to plan

SFC Energy delivers strong half-year financials – further improved net cash position of around EUR 66 million – international expansion and capacity build up according to plan

• Group sales up 24.2% to EUR 70,856 thousand (H1/2023: EUR 57,053 thousand)
• Increase of 71.1% in adjusted EBITDA to EUR 12,526 thousand (H1/2023: EUR 7,321 thousand); wider adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.7% (H1/2023: 12.8%)
• Adjusted EBIT more than doubled to EUR 9,558 thousand (H1/2023: EUR 4,355 thousand); adjusted EBIT margin of 13.5% (H1/2023: 7.6%)
• Net cash position of EUR 65,621 thousand (31 December 2023: EUR 56,056 thousand)
• Ramp-up of MEA production in the UK and expansion of production capacities in Germany, Romania and India on schedule
• Increase in order backlog to EUR 89,024 thousand as of 30 June 2024 (31 December 2023: EUR 81,300 thousand)
• Outlook for 2024 confirmed

Brunnthal/Munich, Germany, 20 August 2024 – SFC Energy AG (“SFC”, F3C:DE, ISIN: DE0007568578), a leading supplier of hydrogen and methanol fuel cells for stationary and mobile hybrid power solutions, published its figures for the first half of 2024 today.

Report by the Management Board

Dr Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Energy AG: “After a record year in 2023 and a strong first quarter in 2024, we can look back on a favourable first half of 2024 and report further progress in the implementation of our growth strategy. The growing global demand for our environmentally friendly and efficient fuel cell technologies is making a significant contribution to this gratifying performance and is also reflected in a further increase in the order backlog. In the first half of the year, we gained the largest single contract in the company’s history to date with a follow-up order worth over EUR 27.8 million. Long-standing customers such as Oneberry Technologies from Singapore and Fuel Cell Systems Ltd. from UK continue to rely on our solutions. We also acquired numerous new customers, such as ConnectCom from Luxembourg, for our hydrogen products in the first half of the year. This vindicates our strategy of developing durable, reliable and user-friendly energy production solutions for a better carbon footprint.

In addition to the very good figures achieved in all main performance indicators in the first half of the year, a further highlight was the strong operating cash flow before changes in working capital (H1/2024: EUR 12.6 million vs. H1/2023: EUR 7.3 million), which increased significantly thanks to the very strong business performance. SFC Energy’s profitable growth is not a matter of course in the hydrogen and fuel cell sector and, in our view, constitutes an important differentiating factor.

In the second quarter of 2024, sales and earnings growth slowed slightly despite strong market demand following a very strong first quarter of 2024. As already stated when the results for the first quarter were announced, the main reason for this was a temporary shortfall in the availability of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) and, resulting from this, production constraints for methanol fuel cells in connection with the construction of our production site in Swindon, UK. As things currently stand, however, we assume that these capacity restrictions will be eliminated in the course of the third quarter with the ramp-up of our membrane production in the United Kingdom and that we will be able to scale up deliveries substantially again in the second half of the year. The important progress that we have made in expanding our international footprint – including the opening of a subsidiary in Utah and a new production facility in Romania – has allowed us to pass key milestones for further growth.”

Orders and sales

Order intake increased to EUR 79,180 thousand in the first half of the year (H1/2023: EUR 68,871 thousand). Reflecting this, the Group’s order backlog rose to EUR 89,024 thousand as of 30 June 2024 (31 December 2023: EUR 81,300 thousand).

In the period from 1 January to 30 June 2024, the SFC Energy Group achieved substantial growth of 24.2% in sales, which climbed to EUR 70,856 thousand (H1/2023: EUR 57,053 thousand). This favourable performance is the result of strong organic growth in both the Clean Energy and the Clean Power Management segments. Regionally, Asia delivered the strongest sales growth with an increase of 131.8%. The proportion of sales accounted for by Asia widened again in the first half of the year to 18.8% (H1/2023: 10.1%).

Segment performance

Sales in the Clean Energy segment increased significantly by 31.8% to EUR 50,860 thousand in the first half of the year, up from EUR 38,590 thousand in the previous year. Sales of fuel cell solutions for industrial applications, which, accounting for two thirds of the total, made the greatest contribution to segment sales, climbed again significantly in the first half of the year. The segment also benefited from the significant growth in project business and greater demand in the core public safety markets. Thus, sales of fuel cell solutions to customers in these markets more than doubled. The Clean Energy segment, whose share of Group sales widened appreciably to 71.8% in the first half of the year (H1/2023: 67.6%), remained the segment with the highest sales. The Clean Power Management segment’s share of Group sales fell accordingly to 28.2% (H1/2023: 32.4%). However, sales in this segment increased by 8.3% to EUR 19,997 thousand in the first half of the year, up from EUR 18,463 thousand in the previous year.

Earnings

The substantial 35.0% increase in gross profit to EUR 29,542 thousand (H1/2023: EUR 21,876 thousand) is mainly the result of the strong organic sales growth accompanied by wider margins, also due to a very advantageous product mix favouring products with attractive margins together with a sizeable increase in capacity utilization in the Clean Energy segment. At 41.7% in the first half of the year (H1/2023: 38.3%), the resulting gross profit margin for the Group (gross profit as a percentage of sales) also widened appreciably over the previous year.

Gross profit for the individual segments compared to the previous year is as follows:

EBITDA adjusted for special effects improved significantly to EUR 12,526 thousand in the first half of 2024 compared to the previous year (H1/2023: EUR 7,321 thousand). The adjusted EBITDA margin also widened substantially over the previous year to 17.7% (H1/2023: 12.8%). The increase in adjusted EBITDA was mainly attributable to the strong growth in sales in tandem with a relatively lower increase in functional costs and the marked improvement in the gross margin.

The Group’s EBIT adjusted for special effects more than doubled to EUR 9,558 thousand in the first half of the year (H1/2023: EUR 4,355 thousand), resulting in a significantly higher adjusted EBIT margin of 13.5% compared to the previous year (H1/2023: 7.6%). Consolidated net result increased significantly in the first half of the year to EUR 6,421 thousand (H1/2023: EUR 3,327 thousand) due to the good operating performance and lower burdens from special effects. Basic earnings per share in accordance with IFRS improved considerably to EUR 0.37 in the first half of the year (H1/2023: EUR 0.19). Diluted earnings per share stood at EUR 0.36 (H1/2023: EUR 0.19).

Balance sheet

At 72.6% as of 30 June 2024, the equity ratio remained at the same level as at the end of 2023 (31 December 2023: 72.6%). The net financial position (freely available cash and cash equivalents less liabilities to banks) increased to EUR 65,621 thousand as of 30 June 2024 (31 December 2023: EUR 56,056 thousand). As of 30 June 2024, the SFC Energy Group had 421 permanent employees (31 December 2023: 403).

Forecast for 2024

On the strength of the very good operating performance in the first half of 2024, the Management Board expects business to remain favourable in the second half of the year.

Given stable demand and the ramp-up of MEA production in Swindon, UK, as well as the expansion of production capacities in Germany, Romania and India and, resulting from this, increased deliveries, the Management Board generally expects a further increase in sales in the second half of 2024 and is confident of achieving its full-year targets.

Despite the macroeconomic, geopolitical and industry-specific conditions, the Management Board assumes that the strong momentum in demand will continue. It expects Inflation to slowly return to normal.

In view of the company’s performance in the first half of the year and the current status of MEA production, the Management Board confirms the full-year forecast for SFC Energy AG for 2024 and expects consolidated sales of EUR 141.7 million to EUR 153.5 million (2023: EUR 118.1 million), adjusted EBITDA in a range of EUR 17.5 million to EUR 22.4 million (2023: EUR 15.2 million) and adjusted EBIT of EUR 9.8 million to EUR 14.7 million (2023: EUR 9.7 million). The forecast assumes that sales will grow in both segments, MEA production quality will remain consistent and operating costs will be relatively stable.

Key figures H1 2024/H1 2023

* As of 30 June 2024/31 December 2023

Detailed financial information and conference call today, 20 August 2024

SFC Energy AG’s interim financial report on the first half of 2024 is available at www.sfc.com.

SFC Energy AG will be holding a conference call in English for interested investors and members of the press at 9.00 a.m. today, 20 August 2024.

To register, please send an e-mail message to susan.hoffmeister@sfc.com.

In addition, the Management Board of SFC Energy will be giving a presentation at 1.00 p.m. on 21 August 2024 during the Hamburg Investor Days. To register, please use the following link:

SFC Energy AG_Registration link for group presentation at the 12th Hamburg Investor Days

Further information on SFC Energy’s Clean Energy and Clean Power Management solutions can be found at sfc.com.

About SFC Energy AG

SFC Energy AG (www.sfc.com) is a leading supplier of hydrogen and methanol fuel cells for stationary, portable and mobile hybrid power supply solutions. With its Clean Energy and Clean Power Management business segments, SFC Energy AG is a fuel cell producer characterised by sustained profitability. The company distributes its award-winning products worldwide and has sold more than 65,000 fuel cells to date. The company is headquartered in Brunnthal/Munich, Germany, and has operating subsidiaries in India, Canada, the Netherlands, Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. SFC Energy AG is listed in the Prime Standard of the German Stock Exchange and has been included in the SDAX selection index since 2022 (GSIN: 756857, ISIN: DE0007568578).

SFC Energy Investor Relations and Press Contact:
CROSS ALLIANCE communication GmbH
Susan Hoffmeister
Phone +49 89 125 09 03-33
Email: susan.hoffmeister@sfc.com
Web: sfc.com
 

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This corporate news may contain certain forward-looking statements, estimates, opinions and projections regarding the future development of the company (“forward-looking statements”). Forward-looking statements can be recognised by terms such as “assume”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “intend”, “will” or “should” as well as their negation and similar variants or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements include all matters that are not based on historical facts. They are based on the current opinions, forecasts and assumptions of the Management Board of SFC Energy AG and involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and are not necessarily reliable indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. All forward-looking statements contained in this corporate news apply only as of the date of this release. The company will not update or revise the information, forward-looking statements or conclusions contained in this corporate news to reflect any subsequent events, circumstances or inaccuracies that may arise after the date of this corporate news as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, and assumes no obligation to do so. We provide no guarantee whatsoever that the forward-looking statements or assumptions contained herein will materialise.