EQS-News: Stabilus SE makes a solid start to fiscal 2024 and confirms forecast

CORPORATE NEWS

Stabilus SE makes a solid start to fiscal 2024 and confirms forecast

• Revenue increases by 5.1% to €305.4 million in Q1 FY2024: APAC and EMEA regions drive growth

• Adjusted EBIT^[1] in Q1 at €33.3 million compared to €32.6 million in Q1 FY2023, corresponding to a margin of 10.9% (Q1 FY2023: 11.2%)

• Q1 result at €12.2 million (Q1 FY2023: €15.5 million) and adjusted FCF^[1] of €36.2 million (Q1 FY2023: €32.7 million)

• DESTACO acquisition is still expected to close by the end of February 2024

• Forecast confirmed for fiscal 2024 with revenue of €1.4 billion to €1.5 billion and an adjusted EBIT^[1] margin in the range of 13% to 14%

Koblenz, January 29, 2024 – Stabilus SE (WKN: STAB1L, ISIN: DE000STAB1L8), one of the world's leading suppliers of motion control solutions for a wide range of industries, benefited from a strong performance in the Asia-Pacific and EMEA regions, which was reflected in strong revenue growth in the Automotive, Health, Recreation & Furniture (HRF), Aerospace, Marine & Rail (AMR) and Commercial Vehicles (CV) segments, in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 ended December 31, 2023 and recorded significant revenue growth.

Group revenue increased to €305.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 from €290.7 million in the same period last year, corresponding to year-on-year revenue growth of 5.1%.

Dr. Michael Büchsner, CEO of Stabilus, said: "The imminent completion of the acquisition of DESTACO will further strengthen our Industrial business and will make 2024, which is off to a solid start, a milestone for Stabilus on its way to becoming one of the world’s leading suppliers of motion control solutions. In the first quarter, we again recorded strong growth in APAC and also made significant gains in EMEA. A challenging environment in the Americas and exogenous one-off effects - such as the impact of the strike by production employees at some major automotive manufacturers in the USA - somewhat impeded our start to the year in this region, but we expect this market to recover in the coming quarters. With our strong and agile team, we continue to see ourselves in an excellent position to continue to benefit from the megatrends of convenience, safety, demographic change and automation."

Stefan Bauerreis, CFO of Stabilus, added: "On the financial side, we were able to further reduce our net working capital and net leverage ratio in the first quarter and increase our adjusted free cash flow by nearly 11%. Innovation remains at the core of our growth strategy, which is why we will continue to invest in development. For example, we are working on the implementation of radar technologies into our motion control systems, which will expand our offering for a wide range of applications and provide high added value for our customers. Similar to the development in previous financial years, we expect a stronger development in subsequent quarters in view of the slightly weaker adjusted EBIT margin in the first quarter, which is why we are also confirming our forecast for the year as a whole."

EMEA and APAC drive revenue growth in Q1 FY2024

In the EMEA region, revenue increased by 8.2% to €118.2 million in Q1 FY2024 (Q1 FY2023: €109.2 million). The main revenue drivers were the segments Automotive – with Powerise and Gas Spring to equal degrees – as well as Health, Recreation & Furniture (HRF), Aerospace, Marine & Rail (AMR) and Commercial Vehicles (CV). In the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, the company recorded a year-on-year revenue increase of 21.9% to €88.1 million (Q1 FY2023: €72.3 million), driven by excellent performance in all market segments. Stabilus once again achieved particularly strong growth in the automotive business in the region. On the other hand, Stabilus recorded a decline in revenue of 9.2% to € 99.1 million (Q1 FY2023: € 109.2 million) in Q1 FY2024 in the Americas region, which was attributable, among other things, to lower demand in Automotive Powerise as a result of strikes in production at some OEMs in the USA.

Broken down by market segment, Stabilus achieved particularly strong growth in Aerospace, Marine & Rail (+52% y/y), Health, Recreation & Furniture (+21% y/y), Automotive (+10%y/y), and Commercial Vehicles (+5% y/y).

Adjusted EBIT margin of 10.9% in first quarter 2024

Adjusted operating profit (adjusted EBIT^[1]) increased by 2.1% to €33.3 million in Q1 FY2024 (Q1 FY2023: €32.6 million). This corresponds to an adjusted EBIT margin of 10.9% compared to 11.2% in Q1 FY2023.

In Q1 FY2024, profit was €12.2 million (Q1 FY2023: €15.5 million) and adjusted free cash flow^[1] €36.2 million (Q1 FY2023: €32.7 million).

Forecast for fiscal 2024 confirmed

Stabilus confirms its forecast for the full fiscal year 2024 and continues to expect revenue of €1.4 billion to €1.5 billion as well as an adjusted EBIT^[1] margin in the range of 13% to 14%.

The quarterly statement for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 can be downloaded on the company’s website at ir.stabilus.com.

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^[1] Cf. definition/calculation of KPI’s adjusted EBIT and adjusted FCF in our Quarterly Statement Q1 FY2024, pages 15 and 18, that can be downloaded from the company’s website  at ir.stabilus.com.

Investor contact:
Andreas Schröder
Tel.: +49 261 8900 8198
E-Mail: anschroeder@stabilus.com
Web: ir.stabilus.com

Press contact:
Peter Steiner
Tel.: +49 69 794090 27
E-Mail: Peter.Steiner@charlesbarker.de
Charles Barker Corporate Communications

Über Stabilus

Stabilus is one of the world's leading providers of motion control solutions for customers across a broad spectrum of industries including mobility, health, recreation, furniture, energy, construction, industrial machinery and automation. With more than eight decades of demonstrated expertise, Stabilus offers reliable and innovative motion control solutions that enable, enhance and automate opening, closing, lifting, lowering and adjusting actions. The company's customized damping and vibration isolation technology protects against shocks, vibrations and noise. Employing a workforce of more than seven thousand worldwide, the company has its operational headquarters in Koblenz, Germany. In the 2023 fiscal year, Stabilus has reported revenues of €1.2 billion. Stabilus has a global production network encompassing plants in eleven countries. Additionally, the Group maintains regional offices and relations to sales partners in over fifty countries in Europe, North and South America, as well as in Asia-Pacific. Stabilus SE is listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and included in the MDAX index.

Important Notice

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Stabilus Group management and other information currently available to Stabilus. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here.