DGAP-News: Grammer achieves full-year goals in 2018

Grammer achieves full-year goals in 2018

- Roughly 4 percent increase in Group revenue to EUR 1.86 billion

- Operating EBIT of approx. EUR 76 million and operating EBIT margin of 4.1 percent virtually unchanged over the previous year

- Record order intake for new projects in the Automotive Division

Amberg, February 18, 2019 - In accordance with its preliminary figures, the Grammer Group performed successfully in 2018 in what were generally difficult conditions for automotive OEMs and the automotive components industry. An international supplier of components for passenger vehicle interiors and commercial vehicle seats, Grammer achieved record revenue of EUR 1.86 billion, an increase of around 4 percent over the previous year.

With revenue rising by 11 percent to a total of EUR 0.6 billion (2017: 0.54), the Commercial Vehicles Division in particular continued to expand. As in the previous quarters, the Automotive Division recorded slower growth of 1.7 percent to just under EUR 1.3 billion in 2018 as a whole (2017: 1.29) due to protracted muted market conditions in Europe in line with expectations.

At approx. EUR 76 million, operating profit before currency-translation effects and other non-recurring or exceptional effects (operating EBIT) came close to the previous year (2017: 80 million) despite the difficult underlying conditions. The operating EBIT margin reached 4.1 percent and was thus also almost unchanged (2017: 4.5).

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in accordance with IFRS came to around EUR 49 million (2017: 66.5), having come under strain from high exceptional and currency-translation effects.

Grammer's new subsidiary Toledo Molding & Die Inc. was included in Group revenue in the fourth quarter for the first time.

"Last year, we achieved our full-year targets despite difficult conditions in the automotive market. We were also able to stabilize our shareholder structure as planned. As our customers acknowledged this with larger orders, order intake reached a new record in 2018. We were able to boost Group revenue again, underpinned by both Divisions. Following the significant exceptional effects arising in the previous year and the traces that they left on earnings, we are now able to concentrate on increasing our profitability," says Manfred Pretscher, who has been Chief Executive Officer of Grammer AG since the beginning of January.

Grammer AG will be publishing its full annual financial statements and its annual report for 2018 on March 18, 2019.

Company profile
Located in Amberg, Germany, Grammer AG specializes in the development and production of components and systems for automotive interiors as well as suspended driver and passenger seats for onroad and offroad vehicles.
In the Automotive Division, we supply headrests, armrests, center console systems, high-quality interior components, operating systems and innovative thermo-plastic solutions to premium automakers and automotive system suppliers.
The Commercial Vehicles Division comprises seats for the truck and offroad seat segments (tractors, construction machinery, forklifts) as well as train and bus seats. With round about 15,000 employees, Grammer operates in 19 countries around the world. Grammer shares are listed in the Prime Standard and traded on the Frankfurt and Munich stock exchanges via the electronic trading system Xetra.