MAX Automation SE improves operating profitability in the 2019 financial year; Core Business areas with good earnings - Non-Core Business places again significant burden on total results
DGAP-News: MAX Automation SE
/ Key word(s): Annual Results
PRESS RELEASE MAX Automation SE improves operating profitability in the 2019 financial year; Core Business areas with good earnings - Non-Core Business places again significant burden on total results - Sales growth is strong in the core business, up 21.5% to mEUR 339.3 - EBITDA in the core business increases by 133.7% to mEUR 36.0 - EBITDA in the non-core business of mEUR -36.6 (12m 2018: mEUR -36.0) has a significant negative impact on the Group as a whole - Consolidated operating loss improves by 95.6% to a consolidated EBITDA of mEUR -0.9 (previous year: mEUR -20.3) - Consolidated annual result of mEUR -35.5 (previous year: mEUR -43.6) Dusseldorf, 17 March 2020 - MAX Automation SE (ISIN DE000A2DA58), which is listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, made significant progress in the past financial year 2019 with the restructuring of the Group. The specialist for industrial automation solutions confirms the preliminary results announced on 22 February 2020 and achieves the increased sales and earnings forecast for the core business for the 2019 financial year. With a clear focus on the growth areas of Process Technologies, Evolving Technologies and Environmental Technologies, MAX Automation successfully set itself apart from the downward economic trend in machinery and plant engineering and was able to report significant growth in its core business in 2019. In the 12-month period of 2019, sales of mEUR 339.3 in the three core business areas were 21.5% higher than in the previous year's period (12m 2018: mEUR 279.2). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased in the core business by 133.7% to mEUR 36.0 (12m 2018: mEUR 15.4). Expertise in forward-looking technologies triggers demand In its core business, MAX Automation SE benefits in particular from its good positioning and its strong expertise in areas of forward-looking technologies and megatrends such as e-mobility, medical technology, automation and sustainability. Accordingly, order intake in 2019 grew dynamically by 8.2% - though this was adjusted for a major order in the previous year in the area of medical technology amounting to mEUR 33.0. Without this adjustment, order entry declined slightly in line with expectations, by 2.8% to mEUR 316.3 (12m 2018: mEUR 325.4). As a result, the order backlog fell as of the 2019 reporting date by 11.9% to mEUR 152.9 (31 December 2018: mEUR 173.6) but remained at a high level. Non-Core Business again negatively affects Group earnings in the 2019 financial year Concurrent with the progress and positive developments in the core business, the non-core business continued to burden the Group as a whole. In the non-core business, operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of mEUR -36.6 in the reporting year (previous year: mEUR -36.0) were particularly affected by costs for the companies designated for closure and the completion of projects with negative returns. Nevertheless, at the Group level MAX Automation improved its operating loss by 95.6% to a consolidated EBITDA of mEUR -0.9 (previous year: mEUR -20.3). Write-downs, which fell by 47.0% to mEUR -14.9 (previous year: mEUR -21.9), include extraordinary goodwill impairments related to the non-core company IWM Automation GmbH, while the financial result of mEUR -18.1 (previous year: mEUR -4.0) is burdened in particular by valuation adjustments for a loan and expenses from the use of a bank guarantee for the equity-accounted investment in MAX Automation (Asia Pacific) Co. Ltd., as well as for a payment claim against the former Group company NSM Packtec GmbH. The MAX Group closed the 2019 year with an annual result of mEUR -35.5 (previous year: mEUR -43.6), representing an improvement of 21.3% from the previous year. This results in earnings per share of EUR -1.18 (previous year: EUR -1.32). Positive outlook for the Group due to operational alignment with the Core Business "The results of the 2019 financial year demonstrate that we at MAX Automation are making very good progress in our realignment. It was right for us to focus completely on the strong core business and to get rid of loss-generating units quickly. We have implemented this policy systematically and expeditiously. Our core business areas have improved considerably - all core business areas have achieved very good results. The separation from companies that were no longer profitable or no longer fit in with the core business was painful, but, as a result, these loss-generating units will no longer burden our Group in the future. We are convinced that we will successfully overcome the remaining challenges arising from the settlement of the non-core business in the near term," says Andreas Krause, Chairman of the Management Board and CFO of MAX Automation SE. After the transition year of 2019, MAX Automation will continue to pursue its path toward more stability, less risk, and greater growth momentum and profitability. At the same time, the impact of the increasing spread of the new Corona virus disease COVID-19 on economic development - and therefore on the operational business of MAX Automation - cannot be reliably quantified at present. As of now, Management is assuming there will be little adverse effects on business development. The assessment of conditions is based on management's current data. In view of the dynamic spread of the corona pandemic, individual delays in order placement and commissioning, or as a result of bottlenecks in logistics, cannot be ruled out. If increased supply bottlenecks and additional impacts should arise on the demand side, MAX Automation Group companies would not be able to avoid these negative developments. Based on currently available information, the management of MAX Automation anticipates sales of mEUR 380 - 410 and EBITDA of mEUR 16 - 20 for the 2020 financial year. Detailed Financial Information
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About MAX Automation SE
17.03.2020 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. |
Language: | English |
Company: | MAX Automation SE |
Breite Straße 29-31 | |
40213 Düsseldorf | |
Germany | |
Phone: | +49 (0)211 90991-0 |
Fax: | +49 (0)211 90991-11 |
E-mail: | investor.relations@maxautomation.com |
Internet: | www.maxautomation.com |
ISIN: | DE000A2DA588 |
WKN: | A2DA58 |
Listed: | Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange; BX |
EQS News ID: | 998405 |
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