Ringmetall can only partially compensate for declining demand for clamping rings in the first quarter of 2023 via other product areas

Ringmetall can only partially compensate for declining demand for clamping rings in the first quarter of 2023 via other product areas

• Group revenue down 9.3 percent to EUR 51.7 million
• EBITDA declines disproportionately by 15.6 percent to EUR 6.3 million
• Forecast reaffirmed despite challenging environment

Munich, 4 May 2023 - Ringmetall SE (ISIN: DE000A3E5E55), a leading international specialty supplier in the packaging industry, is facing declining demand in the Rings product area in the first quarter of 2023. Increasing demand in the other product areas could only partially compensate for the noticeable drop in revenue.

At EUR 51.7 million, Group revenue was down 9.3 percent on the previous year (Q1 2022: EUR 57.1 million). In addition to revenue-reducing effects due to declining steel prices, inventory reduction effects and, above all, declining demand from the chemical industry had a negative impact on revenue development in the Rings product area. Furthermore, the US subsidiary Protective Lining, acquired in January, was consolidated for the first time from January 2023. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) decreased by 15.6 percent to EUR 6.3 million (Q1 2022: EUR 7.5 million). The disproportionate decline compared to revenue is mainly attributable to a change in the product mix with a higher weighting of the Inliners product area, as well as the exceptionally high margin level in the previous year by long-term comparison. The EBITDA margin - based on total operating performance - was 12.0 percent (Q1 2022: 12.8 percent).

The key figures for business development in the reporting period are as follows:

IFRS, in EUR ´000 Q1 2023 Q1 2022 ∆ [abs.] ∆ [%] Revenue 51,738 57,055 -5,317 -9.3% Total output (TO) 52,747 58,590 -5,843 -10.0% Gross profit 24,434 24,685 -251 -1.0% Gross profit margin (on TO) 46.3% 42.1%     EBITDA 6,318 7,485 -1,167 -15.6% EBITDA margin (on TO) 12.0% 12.8%     EBIT 4,405 5,685 -1,280 -22.5% EBIT margin (on TO) 8.4% 9.7%    

"According to the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), the German chemical and pharmaceutical industries are also expecting significant production losses in 2023 due to energy prices. This has a direct impact on the demand for industrial packaging and thus also on the demand for clamping rings," explains Christoph Petri, CEO of Ringmetall SE. "Even though the decline in revenue in the first quarter is significant, we anticipated such a development as part of our forecast. Considering the generally difficult situation in large parts of the industry, we are still coping comparatively well with the situation overall."

Separate analysis of the effects of raw material price developments, inorganic growth and organic growth showed the following effects on Group revenue:

• Effect of raw material price development: -4.8 percent
• Effect of corporate acquisitions: +3.6 percent
• Effect of organic business development: -8.1 percent

In the Industrial Packaging segment, revenue decreased by 10.5 percent to EUR 47.8 million (Q1 2022: EUR 53.4 million). The decline in revenue in the Rings product area was more pronounced than in the segment as a whole. In the Inliners product area, demand continued to rise, above all for packaging for the beverage and food industries. Overall, the company expects the positive trend in demand for inliners to continue in the further course of the year, even though the effects of the revenue decline in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are also perceptible in the specialty inliner sector. Due to the change in the product mix, segment EBITDA declined at a significantly disproportionate rate of 15.9 percent to EUR 7.1 million (Q1 2022: EUR 8.5 million).

The Industrial Handling segment increased its revenue by 8.2 percent to EUR 3.9 million (Q1 2022: EUR 3.6 million). However, segment EBITDA remained unchanged at EUR 0.2 million (Q1 2022: EUR 0.2 million). As before, the segment's earnings trend is negatively impacted by quality issues due to the shortage of skilled workers in the Ingolstadt region.

In detail, segment performance in the reporting period was as follows:

IFRS, in EUR ´000 Q1 2023 Q1 2022 ∆ [abs.] ∆ [%] Industrial Packaging         Revenue 47,794 53,410 -5,616 -10.5% Total output (TO) 48,639 54,877 -6,238 -11.4% Gross profit 22,546 22,788 -242 -1.1% Gross profit margin (on TO) 46.4% 41.5%     EBITDA 7,124 8,471 -1,347 -15.9% EBITDA margin (on TO) 14.6% 15.4%     Industrial Handling         Revenue 3,944 3,645 299 8.2% Total output (TO) 4,107 3,713 394 10.6% Gross profit 1,888 1,897 -9 -0.5% Gross profit margin (on TO) 46.0% 51.1%     EBITDA 169 169   0.0% EBITDA margin (on TO) 4.1% 4.6%    

Against the background of the company's development in the first quarter, which was in line with expectations, the Management Board confirms the forecast for business development in the full year 2023. Accordingly, the company expects Group revenue in the range of EUR 195 to 220 million with EBITDA in the range of EUR 22 to 28 million. The forecast is based on unchanged raw material prices and exchange rates compared to year-end 2022. It also does not include the effects of acquisitions planned for 2023, including the resulting transaction costs.

Details on the business development in the first quarter of 2023 will be discussed by the Management Board today at 11:00 a.m. CET during a conference call for analysts, institutional investors and journalists. To register for this, please contact Ms. Anja Brabec by e-mail (brabec@ringmetall.de).

For more information on the Ringmetall Group and its subsidiaries, please visit www.ringmetall.de.

Contact:
Ingo Middelmenne
Investor Relations
Ringmetall SE
Phone: +49 (0 )89 45 220 98 12
Mobile: +49 (0 )174 90 911 90
Email: middelmenne@ringmetall.de

About Ringmetall Group
Ringmetall is a leading international specialty supplier in the packaging industry. The Industrial Packaging business unit offers high-security closure systems and inner sleeves for industrial drums for the chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and food processing industries. The Industrial Handling Business Unit develops application-optimized vehicle attachments for handling and transporting packaging units. In addition to the Group headquarters in Munich, Ringmetall is represented by worldwide production and sales subsidiaries in Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands as well as China and the USA. Worldwide, Ringmetall generates sales of around EUR 210 million per year.