DGAP-News: UNIWHEELS AG

DGAP-News: UNIWHEELS AG: UNIWHEELS AG presents 2015 financial results - best year in Company's history

DGAP-News: UNIWHEELS AG / Key word(s): Final Results/Forecast UNIWHEELS AG: UNIWHEELS AG presents 2015 financial results - best year in Company's history

24.03.2016 / 07:30 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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UNIWHEELS AG presents 2015 financial results - best year in Company's history

- Double-digit increase of revenues yoy to EUR 436.5 million

- EBITDA +27.9% to EUR 58.7 million

- Net profit up by 78.7% to EUR 40.7 million

- Proposed dividend of EUR 1.65 per share

- Construction works in Stalowa Wola near completion, additional capacity of 500 thousand wheels available in 2016

Bad Dürkheim, 24th March 2016: Germany-based alloy wheels manufacturer UNIWHEELS AG, listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange from May 2015, presented its financial results for financial year 2015. In 2015 UNIWHEELS Group sold 7.8 million wheels in both segments: Automotive and Accessory (in total an increase of 8.2% over 2014), marking a new annual sales record in the Company's history. In financial year 2015 UNIWHEELS generated EUR 436.5 million in revenues, an increase of 20.4% compared to 2014. EBITDA increased to EUR 58.7 million (+27.9% yoy) and the EBITDA margin improved to 13.4% (from 12.7% for 2014). Net profit rose by almost 79% to EUR 40.7 million. The Management Board is proposing a dividend of EUR 1.65 per share (which translates into a 50% dividend payout as previously announced).

"2015 was not only the most successful year in the history of UNIWHEELS AG, but also a significant milestone. The IPO in May, the largest in Poland over the last two years, was a tremendous success and lifted our company to the next level" - says Dr. Thomas Buchholz, UNIWHEELS AG CEO.

"Business also developed to our complete satisfaction in 2015. In the automotive segment, we generated record unit sales over the entire year. Record volume of 7.8m units sold is a product of our hard work in terms of efficiency gains and elimination of bottlenecks in the production process. Market conditions are continuously favourable - car sales in Europe are increasing and demand from customers and our order book keep growing. We are therefore very positive about our new plant soon coming on-line. The start of operation is scheduled for this summer and the first phase will add capacity of 500,000 wheels this year. In total, new plant will increase our total production capacity by 25% or 2 million wheels in a number of steps lasting through to the beginning of 2017. Our estimations regarding growth and wheel demand and the implications on our order book have motivated us to advance the 2nd full capacity by roughly one year." - adds Dr. Thomas Buchholz. "Our success in manufacturing and selling top-quality wheels is also reflected in the excellent health of our key financials. Thanks to a beneficial product mix - with a greater share of larger wheels and more complex surfaces used - both revenues and earnings rose significantly over the year" - says Dr. Karsten Obenaus, UNIWHEELS AG CFO. "Sound financials, an equity ratio of over 60% and a very low level of net debt provide a solid foundation for further expansion and reaching our strategic objective of growing faster than the market. We are anticipating a further increase in unit sales in 2016, which should grow by a high single-digit percentage. We are expecting consolidated EBITDA to grow by a single digit figure, after considering ramp-up costs of the new plant" - he adds.

"We would like to warmly thank our shareholders for the trust they have shown in our company. To allow them to participate in our success we will propose a dividend of EUR 1.65 EUR at our Annual General Meeting. This corresponds to a payout ratio of 50%, well above the average for European automotive stocks" - adds Dr. Karsten Obenaus.

Key financial figures of UNIWHEELS Group for 2015*:

(in EUR thousand unless otherwise stated) 2015 2014 +/- Revenue 436,482 362,585 +20.4% Sales volume (thousand units) 7,822 7,228 +8.2% EBITDA 58,674 45,874 +27.9% EBITDA margin (% of revenue) 13.4% 12.7% +0.7PP EBIT 40,737 22,324 +82.5% EBIT margin (% of revenue) 10.1% 8.7% +1.4PP Net profit 40,686 22,770 +78.7% Capital expenditures and investments 42,280 16,400 +157.8%





as of 31 Dec 2015 as of 31 Dec 2014 +/- Equity ratio* 61.6% 31.7% +29.9PP Net debt* 10.6 90.1 -88.3% Personnel (headcount) 2,539 2,366 +7.3%



*The financial position improved significantly as an effect of the successful IPO, a capital increase and conversion of a shareholder loan into equity

Financial highlights 2015: - Revenues increased by 20.4%, driven by:

- unit sales of wheels up 8.2%

- higher value-added from better product and wheel mix with more complex surfaces

- aluminum price adjustments

- Material costs in line with revenue growth

- Personnel costs (higher headcount for new plant) and other operating expenses rising at a slower pace

- Consequently EBITDA increased 27.9% yoy to EUR 58.7 million, and EBITDA margin improved by 0.7 p.p. to 13.4%

- Successful IPO and capital increase, coupled with a conversion of a shareholder loan have significantly rearranged UNIWHEELS financing structure

- Interest expenses more than halved due to new financing structure

- Net debt/EBITDA ratio significantly decreased from 2.0x at the end of 2014 to 0.2x at the end of 2015

- Dividend proposal: EUR 1.65 per share (payout ratio of 50% of net profit)

Outlook 2016 UNIWHEELS expects 2016 to be influenced by ongoing growth in wheel demand from European car manufacturers, especially in the premium segment. The company plans to put phase 1 of plant 4 into operation in summer, allowing the production of an additional 500,000 wheels this year. An average LME aluminium price of EUR 1,550 for 2016 is estimated. Under these assumptions, growth in group sales and group revenues in the upper single-digit range is targeted for the fiscal year 2016. Stringent cost management but also ramp-up costs for plant 4 are expected to show their effects. Consequently, UNIWHEELS expects consolidated EBITDA to grow by a single digit figure.

About UNIWHEELS:

The UNIWHEELS Group is one of the leading manufacturers of aluminum wheels for cars in Europe and is one of the few technology leaders worldwide in the aluminum wheel industry.

UNIWHEELS is the third largest European supplier of OEM wheels for the automotive industry as well as the market-leading manufacturer of alloy wheels for the accessories market (AM) in Europe. Well-known Group brands include ATS, RIAL, ALUTEC and ANZIO. The Group currently has three production plants, two of which are in Poland (Stalowa Wola) and one in Germany (Werdohl).

UNIWHEELS sees itself as one of the leading partners of the automotive industry for the optimum reduction of CO2 emissions by reducing the weight of alloy wheels. As well as weight-optimized construction methods, the following procedures are primarily used: Flow Forming, Lightforming, undercutting and forging.

Since 2015, UNIWHEELS AG is publicly listed on Main Market of Warsaw Stock Exchange. The UNIWHEELS stock is floated under security identification number A13STW, ISIN DE000A13STW4 and ticker symbol UNW.

For more information please contact:

Oliver Madsen Head of Investor Relations Email: o.madsen@de.uniwheels.com UNIWHEELS AG Gustav-Kirchhoff-Str. 10 67098 Bad Dürkheim Germany

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24.03.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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