The publicly listed Semperit Group once again recorded outstanding results up to September 30, 2021 amid difficult market conditions worldwide. “Continuing the trend seen this year to date, we are posting excellent revenue and earnings figures for the first nine months and are on track to achieve an all-time record result for the full year 2021. Despite the risk factors, which we have been keeping an eye on for months and which are now gradually coming to fruition, EBITDA will only be slightly below the aforementioned figure of EUR 395 million”, said Petra Preining, CFO of the Semperit Group.
COO Kristian Brok: “Encouragingly, we are seeing a strong recovery in the order book, particularly in our Industrial Sector, which is our main focus of attention, and look set to exceed pre-crisis 2019 levels. In contrast, the specific effects on glove prices in the medical business attributable to the pandemic have clearly passed the plateau, and we are increasingly faced with falling average prices since the second quarter. This makes us appreciate all the more Semperit’s continued strong performance amid the supply chain issues and logistical challenges that can be observed in all industries worldwide.”
Further strong increase in revenue in both sectors
The Semperit Group successfully defied the increasingly challenging market environment with consistently high revenue growth of 40.9% to EUR 962.1 million compared to the same period of the previous year. The 11.0% increase in revenue to EUR 409.4 million in the Industrial Sector was fuelled in particular by higher sales volumes in Semperflex and Semperseal, which more than compensated for the decline in sales volumes in the Sempertrans segment. Semperflex posted global market share gains in hydraulic and industrial hoses, while sales volumes at Semperseal increased, due mainly to the economic recovery of the European markets.
In contrast, production and sales volumes were down in the Medical Sector due to regulatory restrictions from the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) in Malaysia in July and to limited availability of containers. Nevertheless, significantly higher sales prices attributable to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the resulting increase in demand boosted revenue in the Medical Sector by 79.3% to EUR 516.7 million.
Operating profit up despite rising inflation
The sustained high revenue growth in both sectors also led to a significant improvement in operating profit in spite of exponentially increasing raw materials and logistics prices. Consolidated EBITDA nearly tripled, rising from
EUR 118.5 million to EUR 324.3 million, with the EBITDA margin almost doubling to 35% compared with the first nine months of the previous year (Q1–3 2020: 18%). At EUR 290.0 million, consolidated EBIT also showed a marked improvement year-on-year (Q1–3 2020: EUR 159.5 million). Compared with adjusted EBIT for Q1–3 for the previous year, EBIT more than tripled (Q1–3 2020: EUR 92.6 million). The EBIT margin was significantly increased to 31.3% (Q1–3 2020: 24.3%, adjusted 14.1%).
At EUR 31.2 million, cash expenditures on intangible assets and property, plant and equipment in the reporting period were up on the previous year’s level of EUR 17.4 million. Going forward Semperit will continue to focus on growth-driven investment.
Free cash flow adjusted for USD term deposits more than doubled in Q1–3 2021 to EUR 208.3 million (Q1–3 2020:
EUR 98.8 million); even in an increasingly challenging market environment the Semperit Group is on a very sound financial footing and has created a solid cushion for growth opportunities.
Outlook
Based on current figures, the Executive Board of Semperit AG Holding continues to assume that the Group’s EBITDA for the full year 2021 will be significantly above the EBITDA for 2020. However, in view of the risk factors already communicated in the first quarter, which progressively materialised as the year went on and continue to exist, the Group is expected to fall short of the figure of EUR 395 million forecast in March by a single-digit percentage.
The earnings forecast for the full year continues to depend in particular on the availability of the required raw materials and their prices, the sales prices for medical protective gloves until year end, as well as sufficient container availability for the delivery of the Semperit Group’s products. In addition, trends in raw material and container prices are significant factors influencing the company’s results. What is more, it is difficult to forecast the effects in connection with the further development of the coronavirus pandemic and vaccination rates, particularly due to the strongly divergent regional trends and their influence on the international production sites.
The ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic will continue to have a positive impact on the price of medical products, with a downward trend. In addition, the coronavirus-related production restrictions in Malaysia in summer 2021 had an unplanned negative effect on earnings.
A noticeable recovery of the markets in the Industrial Sector continues to be expected for 2021 overall – with these showing different patterns of development depending on their cyclicality.
Contact:
Monika Riedel
Director Group Brand Management, Corporate Spokesperson
+43 676 8715 8620
monika.riedel@semperitgroup.com
Judit Helenyi
Director Investor Relations
+43 676 8715 8310
judit.helenyi@semperitgroup.com
www.semperitgroup.com
www.linkedin.com/company/semperit-ag
About Semperit:
The publicly listed company Semperit AG Holding is an internationally oriented group that develops and produces highly specialised rubber products for the industrial and medical sectors, selling them in over 100 countries around the world: hydraulic and industrial hoses, conveyor belts, escalator handrails, construction profiles, cable car rings, products for railway superstructures, and examination and surgical gloves. Founded in 1824, this long-standing Austrian company has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The Semperit Group employs around 7,000 people worldwide, including some 3,800 in Asia and approximately 900 in Austria (Vienna and production site Wimpassing, Lower Austria). The Group has 15 manufacturing facilities worldwide and numerous sales offices in Europe, Asia, Australia, and America. In 2020, the Group generated revenue of EUR 927.6 million and an EBITDA of EUR 208.6 million.