Gelsenkirchen, 7 August 2017 – The manufacturer of high-tech hoses and connection systems successfully continued its growth path in the first half of 2017. Revenue grew by 13.1% to € 38.8 million. Around eight percent of this increase was attributable to the fluoropolymer specialist APT, which was acquired at the start of the year, while organic growth accounted for a good five percent. After adjustment of non-recurring effects – transaction costs in connection with the acquisition of APT acquisition and the capital increase - operational EBIT largely kept pace with this development, rising by 10.7% to € 3.8 million. The resulting operational EBIT margin of 9.9% means the Group has already almost reached its full-year target of a margin in the low double digits.
The CEO of the Masterflex Group, Dr. Andreas Bastin, enthused: "Following a good start to the financial year, we have succeeded in largely repeating our Q1 performance even though the second quarter of 2017 included numerous public holidays. This is very pleasing – and gives us great motivation to continue our path of long-term profitable growth. The integration of the newly acquired APT is also right on track."
Innovation again proved to be one of the Masterflex Group's strengths. Two series-ready innovations were launched on the market: a special hose for the paint industry and a twin hose for medical technology. The announcement of a dedicated product range for smart hoses under the brand name AMPIUS also met with great interest on the hose market in the first half of the year.
In the first half of 2017, the financial result improved by 34.7% year-on-year to € -0.5 million. The improvement is primarily due to the non-recurring effects in connection with the new syndicated loan concluded in the previous year.
Earnings before taxes and non-operating expenses (EBT) increased by 11.5% year-on-year, from € 2.7 million to € 3.0 million. Earnings from discontinued operations improved substantially to € -0.04 million (previous year: € -0.6 million). This was attributable solely to the non-recurring effects in the previous year (necessary additions to provisions due to an unexpected court decision).
Considering extraordinary expenses and the 10% capital increase to 9,752,460 shares that was implemented in March, earnings per share amounted to € 0.20, up 25.0% on the previous year (€ 0.16).
The number of employees calculated as an average for the first two quarters increased by 3.3% year-on-year to 629. This was due almost exclusively to the acquisition of APT.
The Group also refined its strategy in the first half of 2017. To secure its profitability for the long term, the Executive Board has added two new principles to the existing growth strategy: The targets of Internationalisation and continuous Innovation, which have been pursued since 2011, have now been supplemented by Operational Excellence and Digital Transformation. "Our aim is to make the Masterflex Group fit for the future in the face of the challenges arising from a market that is becoming increasingly transparent because of digitalisation," Bastin explained. The Executive Board presented the amended strategy to shareholders in detail at the 2017 Annual General Meeting. It is now being implemented, starting with the German locations.
The key figures for the first six months of 2017 can be found in the table below. The half-year report as of 30 June 2017 can be found online at <link http: masterflexgroup.com en investor-relations financial-reports financial-reports-2017.html>
masterflexgroup.com/en/investor-relations/financial-reports/financial-reports-2017.html
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