DGAP-News: va-Q-tec: Successful Annual General Meeting for the first time at the new Würzburg site

va-Q-tec: Successful Annual General Meeting for the first time at the new Würzburg site

- Over 350 visitors attend the 2019 AGM

- All agenda items accepted by large majorities

- Growth investments largely completed; market trend intact

- Management Board sees va-Q-tec as ready for its next growth step

- Founders and major shareholders underline their commitment with pooling agreement

Würzburg, 29 May 2019. va-Q-tec AG (ISIN DE0006636681 / WKN 663668), a pioneer in highly efficient products and solutions in the thermal insulation and TempChain logistics area, held its 2019 Annual General Meeting on 24 May 2019. For the first time the company presented itself to more than 350 participants at its new location in Würzburg. As in the previous year, va-Q-tec again welcomed numerous shareholders from Würzburg and the surrounding region. A very high presence of shareholders also attended this year, representing 66% of the share capital. All items on the agenda were accepted with significant approval by the shareholders present.

At the AGM, the Management Board reported in detail on the 2018 financial year and the first quarter of 2019. Accordingly, 2018 was significantly marked by the completion of a large part of the growth investments, which also formed the basis for further business expansion. As a high-tech manufacturing company, va-Q-tec has invested around EUR 70 million in business expansion and internationalization since its IPO. For example, the five Würzburg locations were merged to form a new technology and logistics center, with va-Q-tec thereby enhancing its operational efficiency and significantly expanding its production and logistics capacities. The new location comprises around 52,000 m² of land and a total of approximately 24,000 m² of production, storage and office space, with further expansion options available. In addition, va-Q-tec invested in additional marketing, IT and sales resources. The internationalization of business activities - which forms an integral element of the growth strategy - was successfully advanced further. Together with the two new subsidiaries founded in 2018 in Uruguay and Singapore, the Group now consists of eight companies. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the management launched the "Power 20+" program in order to focus on profitable revenue growth and continuous cost efficiency.

The company continued to grow during the first quarter of 2019. Especially in the high-margin Services business, the upward trend observed since the second half of 2018 continued at the beginning of the year, with an increase of 76% over Q1 2018. Together with the efficiency gains achieved from the "Power 20+" program, EBITDA increased to EUR 2.2 million in Q1 2019, and thereby more than tripled. In line with its growth strategy, va-Q-tec will continue to push ahead with the internationalization of its business activities. After the company had started to lease small thermal transport boxes to a major US pharmaceutical industry customer in Q4 2018, the planned run rate was already reached in Q1 2019.

Dr. Joachim Kuhn, CEO and founder of va-Q-tec AG, comments: "We are delighted that so many shareholders have once again come to Würzburg to find out more about va-Q-tec. The medium- to long-term market trend towards rental solutions for our high-performance packaging systems is unbroken. In the last three financial years since 2015, we have more than doubled our revenues from EUR 22.5 million to around EUR 51 million, and in some areas even almost tripled them. And the outlook for the future is also good - which is also evident in the significant pickup in demand, and in our many discussions with both new and existing customers and partners. "The two founders and main shareholders of va-Q-tec AG, Dr. Joachim Kuhn and Dr. Roland Caps (Head of Innovation and Quality), and their families recently emphasized their long-term commitment with a pooling agreement for the majority of their shares. Under the agreement, the partners will bundle over 25% of the shares of va-Q-tec AG.

The detailed voting results of the 2019 Ordinary AGM are available for downloading from the corporate website of va-Q-tec within the Investor Relations/Annual General Meeting area.
IR contact
va-Q-tec AG
Felix Rau
Telephone: +49 931 35942 - 2973
Email: Felix.Rau@va-Q-tec.com

cometis AG
Claudius Krause
Telephone: +49 611 - 20 585 5-28
Email: krause@cometis.de

About va-Q-tec
va-Q-tec is a pioneer in highly efficient products and solutions in the thermal insulation and TempChain logistics area. The company develops, produces and markets highly efficient and consequently thin vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) as well as phase change materials (PCMs) for reliable and energy-efficient temperature controlling. In addition, va-Q-tec produces passive thermal packaging systems (containers and boxes) through optimally integrating VIPs and PCMs, which can maintain constant temperatures, depending on type, for up to 200 hours without external energy input. To implement temperature-sensitive logistics chains, va-Q-tec - within a global partner network - operates a fleet of rental containers and boxes meeting demanding thermal protection standards. Along with Healthcare & Logistics as the main market, va-Q-tec addresses the following further markets: Appliances & Food, Technics & Industry, Building and Mobility. The high-growth company, which was founded in 2001, is based in Würzburg, Germany. Further information: www.va-q-tec.com