11/24/2011

Bright prospects for 2012 following record year – Schuler AG accepted into SDax

2011/12 guidance: growth in sales to € 1.1 billion, EBITDA margin to reach 9 percent - Record (preliminary) figures for fiscal year 2010/11: new orders exceed € 1.3 billion, sales around € 950 million, EBITDA margin a good 8.5 percent - Schuler AG listed in SDax as of November 28, 2011

The Schuler Group is targeting further growth in both sales and earnings. “All signs are set for profitable growth,” states Stefan Klebert, the CEO of Schuler AG, in his forecast for the company’s fiscal year 2011/12. He is also delighted that the company has been accepted into the SDax share index of Deutsche Börse AG: “After joining the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s Prime Standard segment on October 1, 2011, Schuler’s future SDax listing represents a further key step in our efforts to raise the share’s visibility and profile on the capital market.”

Schuler continues sales growth in 2011/12

The press manufacturer expects consolidated sales to grow by around 15 percent to € 1.1 billion in its recently commenced 2011/12 fiscal year. Last year’s record order backlog of around € 1 billion and further promising projects provide a solid basis. Schuler does not currently expect demand to tail off and will be focusing in particular on the emerging markets of Asia.

Increased operating profit, interest savings improve overall result

In its operating business, the company expects to post earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of around € 100 million. This corresponds to an EBITDA margin of 9 percent. The growth in pre-tax earnings and net income is likely to be even stronger than the rise in EBITDA. This is due to interest savings of over € 10 million per year which Schuler achieved with the improved terms of a loan agreement signed in November 2011.

Boost in sales and earnings in 2010/11

In its past fiscal year 2010/11, Schuler succeeded in almost tripling EBITDA to over € 80 million. According to preliminary company figures, the EBITDA margin rose to a good 8.5 percent. Following a strong rise in demand, new orders reached a new all-time high of over € 1.3 billion. Last year, new orders totaled € 814.4 million. Sales leapt by 45 percent to around € 950 million. “In the past fiscal year, we were able to exceed our own targets. In addition to the tailwind from Europe and Asia in particular, we benefited from efficiency gains resulting from our ‘GrowingTogether’ growth program,” explains Klebert. The company will release its final figures for fiscal year 2010/11 on January 25, 2012.

Investment program launched

Schuler plans to invest around € 35 million in its fiscal year 2011/12. The total investment volume is expected to be twice as large as in the previous year. One area of focus will be to enhance productivity by modernizing machinery and purchasing new production lines. The company’s IT equipment is also to be expanded. At the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2011, the Group had 5,166 employees around the world. This represents a year-on-year increase of almost 4 percent.

SDax listing confirmed for Schuler AG

Deutsche Börse AG has announced that Schuler AG will be listed in the SDax index as of November 28, 2011. Schuler will replace Derby Cycle in Germany’s selection index for so-called small cap shares. A key factor for the listing was the successful placement of a capital increase in July 2011 which expanded the company’s free float portion to 41.9 percent. Schuler expects its SDax listing to make the stock more attractive for investors while raising its profile on the capital market.

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