Masterflex SE returns to its growth path in first quarter of 2021 – operational EBIT +7.5%

Gelsenkirchen, May 12, 2021 – The Masterflex Group posted a solid business performance in the first quarter of 2021 despite the effects of the corona pandemic that are still being felt in certain customer industries. Revenue was EUR 19.5 million and thus 4.9% below the same quarter of the previous year (EUR 20.5 million). Here, it is important to consider that the first quarter of 2020 in the core market of Europe was still hardly affected by the negative impact of the corona pandemic. 

The positive trend of the second half of 2020 continued in the first quarter of 2021. While demand remained stagnant at a low level, particularly in the area of aerospace products, the Group again recorded growth with customers from most customer industries – medical technology, life science, renewable energies, the process industry & robotics. In fact, some companies were even at or above the level of the previous year. The slow progress of imports and the increasing shortage of raw materials still dampened the growth potential in the reporting period and the outlook for the months ahead. 

The consistent implementation of the “Back to Double Digit” (B2DD) optimization program had an impact in the first quarter of 2021 in the form of increased profitability compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At EUR 2.2 million, consolidated operational EBIT was up 7.5% on the same period of the previous year (3M/2020: EUR 2.1 million), despite the decline in sales. This equates to an EBIT margin of 11.3%, compared to 10.0% for the same period last year. Consolidated EBITDA reached EUR 3.4 million in the three-month period (3M/2020: EUR 3.3 million) and consolidated net income EUR 1.5 million (3M/2020: EUR 1.3 million). 

“We achieved the primary goal of our optimization program of substantially increasing personnel productivity on the way to what we call operational excellence. This can already be seen in how earnings developed in the first quarter, which was still challenging in some industries. We can see that the economy is picking up, however, a lot depends on the progress that is being made with the vaccination program. We are slowly emerging from the pandemic as an extreme situation and assume that all sectors will tend to grow over the next few years. We see 2021 as the starting year for a continuation of our long-term growth path with significantly higher profitability,” said Dr. Andreas Bastin, CEO of the Masterflex Group.

Considering the solid development in the first quarter, management confirms the guidance for 2021, which foresees an increase in revenue of 2% to 5%. At the same time, operational EBIT is expected to be above the previous year in absolute and percentage terms. These expectations are contingent on no further hard COVID-19 lockdowns. At the same time, management confirms its medium-term goal of seeing the operational EBIT margin return to double-digit figures on a sustainable basis by 2022 through significantly higher personnel productivity and significantly improved efficiency and return on capital employed. 

Conference call
A conference call for members of the press, analysts and institutional investors will be held at 10:00 a.m. on May 12, 2021. The quarterly statement as well as an up-to-date company presentation on the financial figures for the first quarter of 2021 are also published on www.masterflexgroup.com in the Investor Relations section.