· Revenue up 12.7% at € 57.6 million
· EBIT margin of 10.1%
· Growth predominantly outside Europe
· Integration of APT still proceeding as planned
· EPS of € 0.32 – up 23.1%
Gelsenkirchen, 6th of November 2017 - The listed manufacturer of high-tech hoses and connection systems has continued its dynamic growth with a 12.7% increase in sales. Revenue in the first nine months of 2017 amounted to € 57.6 million (same period of previous year: € 51.1 million). This is partly attributable to the new acquisition APT GmbH. In addition, the Masterflex Group grew organically in nearly all of its markets, particularly in the US and China.
The high-tech hose manufacturer’s profitability kept pace well with its revenue growth. EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) before non-operating expenses (operating EBIT) climbed by 19.6% to € 5.8 million, corresponding to an EBIT margin of 10.1%. The Masterflex Group’s profitability has thus returned to double digits again after a rate of 9.2% in the 2016 financial year.
Both cost discipline and growth-related economies of scale contributed to this positive situation. While the cost of materials ratio (cost of materials of € 18.9 million in relation to gross revenue of € 57.7 million) rose to 32.7% (previous year: 31.3%) as a result of the more material-intensive business model of the newly acquired subsidiary APT and due to rising material prices, the increase in staff costs was kept below the business growth rate at 8.9% to a current total of € 21.4 million. Other expenses also increased at a lower than proportional rate, rising by 4.0% to € 9.7 million (previous year: € 9.4 million).
The CEO of the Masterflex Group, Dr Andreas Bastin, comments: “The trend from the first half of the year – double-digit growth – was continued at almost exactly the same level. In addition, we have now achieved an EBIT margin of a little over 10% again. This is very encouraging and demonstrates that our growth course is the right one. Our strategic development is also starting to have an impact. In expanding our strategy to include operational excellence – as well as digital transformation on the product and production side and innovation and internationalisation – we placed a focus on optimising our structures. And this is now beginning to pay off, as costs are increasing to a lesser extent than revenue. We must continue systematically moving forward on this path, as well as developing further innovations.”
The Executive Board is therefore also confirming its annual forecast for 2017 of revenue growth of between 6% and 10% and an operating EBIT margin of a little over 10%.
In the first nine months of 2017, the financial result also improved year-on-year by 12.9% to minus € 0.8 million (minus € 0.9 million). This is mainly because the prior-year figure included the reversal of capitalised transaction costs for the remaining term of the former syndicated loan.
The earnings before taxes (EBT) of € 4.7 million are thus 18.3% higher than in the previous year (€ 3.9 million). Included in this amount are already the non-operating expenses of € 0.3 million (same quarter of the previous year: 0) for all non-recurring costs for legal consulting, etc., due to the acquisition of APT and the subsequent capital increase. After income taxes and the expense from discontinued operations of € 0.05 million (interest accrual for the CAB ruling), consolidated net profit amounts to € 3.0 million, up 34.3% on the previous year’s figure of € 2.3 million. Thanks to this extraordinary increase, earnings per share were also increased by an impressive 23.1% to € 0.32 despite the expanded basis of 9.8 million shares following the capital increase in the spring.
The number of employees saw a slight year-on-year rise of 3.1% to an average of 628, primarily due to the acquisition of APT. In addition, a number of young employees had successfully completed their training at the Masterflex Group and were taken on as regular staff. In August, eight new young people also started their training as industrial managers, warehouse logistics specialists, machinery and equipment operators or process mechanics for plastic and rubber engineering at the Masterflex Group. In this way, the Masterflex Group is securing talented young employees on the labour market and training them for the challenges of the coming years.
The key figures for the first nine months of 2017 can be found in the table below. The balance sheet, the income statement, the comprehensive income statement as well as the cash flow statement as of 30 September 2017 can be found online at <link internal-link internen link im aktuellen>
masterflexgroup.com/en/investor-relations/financial-reports/financial-reports-2017.html
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