08/18/2011

Schuler once again increases guidance – new orders after nine months at all-time high of € 1.1 billion

Sales up to € 659.2 million - EBITDA almost quintupled at € 57.4 million - Increased guidance 2010/11: sales over € 930 million, EBITDA over 8%

Schuler AG emphatically confirmed its upward trend in the third quarter (ending June 30, 2011) of its fiscal year 2010/11. With consolidated sales of € 659.2 (prior year: € 447.1) million, the Göppingen-based global market leader in metalforming technology almost quintupled consolidated earnings (EBITDA) to € 57.4 (€ 11.9) million. As a result, Schuler has once again upgraded its guidance for the current fiscal year.

New orders received by the Schuler Group in the first nine months reached a record level of € 1.1 billion (prior year: € 491.8 million). Order backlog as of June 30, 2011, also amounted to € 1.1 billion, compared to € 551.8 million in the previous year. This also marks an all-time high for the company.

EBITDA almost quintupled from € 11.9 million last year to € 57.4 million. The EBITDA margin is thus 8.7% (prior year: 2.7%). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) also made strong progress, reaching € 40.4 million for the first three quarters of the current fiscal year (prior year: € -3.6 million). This results in an EBIT margin of 6.1% (prior year: -0.8%). Earnings before taxes (EBT) amounted to € 17.3 million, compared to € -28.1 million in the previous year.

“Together with the healthy economic climate in our strategic customer segments, Schuler’s sales and earnings are also benefiting increasingly from the Group’s new streamlined structure,” stated CEO Stefan Klebert. “This means we are also upbeat about the company’s prospects beyond the current 2010/11 fiscal year.”

Guidance upgraded

Against the backdrop of its healthy business situation, Schuler has raised its guidance for the second time in the current fiscal year. The company now expects consolidated sales of over € 930 million and an EBITDA margin of over 8%. Schuler had previously anticipated sales of over € 900 million and an EBITDA margin of over 7%.

Headcount virtually unchanged

Group headcount grew moderately by around 2% to 5,067 as of June 30, 2011 (prior year: 4,970). Of this total, 3,952 people were employed in Germany and 1,115 at the Group’s facilities outside Germany.

The regional breakdown of consolidated sales in the first nine months of fiscal year 2010/11 was as follows: 31.0 percent of revenues were generated in Germany (prior year: 36.1 percent), 14.4 percent in Europe excluding Germany (prior year: 16.0 percent), 20.9 percent in North and South America (prior year: 21.8 percent) and 33.7 percent in Asia and other regions (prior year: 26.1 percent).

Strong decline in net financial liabilities

Net financial liabilities as of June 30, 2011, were reduced from € 125.5 million to € 15.1 million. This was largely due to the strong increase in customer prepayments, which also led to an increase in cash and cash equivalents to € 154.2 million at the end of the period (prior year: € 84.9 PRESS RELEASE / Page 3 Schuler AG, Company Spokesperson, Hans Obermeier POB 12 22, 73012 Goeppingen, Germany Tel. +49 71 61/66-201, Fax: 66-907 http://www.schulergroup.com – e-mail: pr@schulergroup.com million). Proceeds from the recently conducted capital increase are not considered, as the latter was only completed after the end of the reporting period in early July. Schuler placed 6.5 million new common bearer shares at a price of € 10.50 and received gross proceeds of € 68.25 million. The issue was heavily over-subscribed by institutional and private investors.

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