Westag & Getalit : Ad-hoc - Oktober 31, 2018

Sales revenues below previous year at nine-month stage 2018; consolidated earnings below previous year due to cost increases and material one-time effects

In the first nine months of the fiscal year 2018, Westag & Getalit AG generated consolidated revenues of € 176.2 million. Revenues thus fell short of the previous year's € 177.5 million. Domestic revenues again declined during the nine-month period, whereas the Group's export revenues rose by 8.1% to € 44.1 million (previous year: € 40.8 million). Consequently, the export share increased from 23.0% to 25.1%.

Sales revenues of the Doors/Frames Division amounted to € 95.0 million in the first nine months of 2018 (previous year: € 96.1 million). The Surfaces/Elements Division generated revenues of € 78.1 million (previous year: € 75.9 million). The Central Division's revenues dropped sharply from € 5.5 million to € 3.1 million due to the major overhaul of the cogeneration unit which started in June 2018.

Consolidated earnings before taxes in the amount of € 3.5 million (previous year: € 7.0 million) have again been influenced by different factors in the current fiscal year to date. At the operational level, increased material prices and higher forwarding expenses resulting from a shortage of freight capacities resulted in lower profit contributions from our own products in the past months. Moreover, the major overhaul of the cogeneration unit, which commenced in early June 2018 and could not be completed before mid-October 2018 because of unplanned high repair requirements, had an adverse effect worth € 3.0 million on the bottom line. The scheduled overhaul had revealed that an unexpectedly comprehensive repair of the generator was required. Due to the extended downtime, this led to a shortfall in revenues as well as to higher expenses for alternative energy sources and for repairs. Another extraordinary effect related to consulting expenses in the amount of € 0.6 million that became necessary in conjunction with the public takeover bid for the company's shares announced on June 11, 2018.

Consequently, the Group's net profit for the period also declined sharply to € 2.4 million (previous year: € 4.9 million). Net profit per share amounted to € 0.43 for the ordinary shares (previous year: € 0.89) and to € 0.49 for the preference shares (previous year: € 0.95).

Outlook
The company projects a generally positive market trend for the remaining course of 2018. On the condition that revenues in the Surfaces/Elements Division will stay above the prior year level and that the cogeneration unit will run smoothly after completion of the overhaul, the Management Board now projects total sales revenues to be on a par with the previous year.

In the long term, the company expects to generate growing revenues again also in the domestic market. The fact that the product portfolios are precisely tailored to the individual markets makes the Management Board optimistic that the company will be able to further expand its export activities assuming a benign economic environment.

The overhaul of the cogeneration unit completed in mid-October 2018 will continue to weigh on the bottom line in the fourth quarter of 2018. Against the background of the one-time effects described above, the Management Board expects earnings for the full year 2018 to be considerably lower than in the previous year.

Redemption of own shares and capital reduction
The Management Board of Westag & Getalit AG today decided, with the consent of the Supervisory Board, to redeem all preference shares (365,066 shares) held by the company, which have been acquired over the past years on the basis of various repurchase authorisations, and to reduce the subscribed capital by the corresponding amount of € 934,586.96. This is equivalent to 6.38% of the share capital. The redemption will be made on the basis of the authorisation granted by the Annual General Meeting of Westag & Getalit AG on August 18, 2015.

The above release and further information on Westag & Getalit are available on the Internet at www.westag-getalit.com.

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