EQS-Ad hoc: Kardex AG

Media information - Half Year Results 2017

Zurich, 10 August 2017

Positive business performance in the first half of 2017

The Kardex Group is continuing on the road to success. Both divisions are benefiting from favorable market conditions and their strong position in the intralogistics market. The Group is reporting good bookings, generating higher revenue and margins and investing in the future.

At EUR 209.1 million, the Group's bookings are up 2.1% for the same period in the previous year. While, as expected, Kardex Mlog posted fewer new orders, as the last year was positively influenced by a huge order, Kardex Remstar made double-digit gains. The Kardex Group generated revenue of EUR 178.6 million, up 4.8% on the first half of 2016.

Thanks to the revenue mix, which included enhanced service business and stronger service margins, the gross margin improved further, reaching a value of 36.0% (35.5%) at Group level. Operational costs increased at a disproportionately lower pace, rising by 4.2%. This resulted in an operating income (EBIT) of EUR 20.0 million, 11.1% higher than the result obtained during the same period last year and equating to a return on sales of 11.2%. With a comparable financial result and an almost normalized tax rate of 25.9%, net profit increased by 7.7% to EUR 14.0 million (EUR 13.0 million).

Robust development at Kardex Remstar
Kardex Remstar reported an improvement in bookings in almost all regions. The total figure increased by 10.7% to EUR 164.2 million. North America returned to growth by the middle of the year and the company acquired a service company in the USA in May. The Middle East region and Africa are also showing the first signs of recovery.

Due to the order mix, revenue in the first half of the year rose only by 4.7% compared to bookings, reaching a figure of EUR 140.9 million. The order backlog therefore increased significantly by 15.1% to EUR 113.7 million. The service business made gains of approximately 12%, contributing 31.7% to the division's revenue.

Kardex Remstar invested more in the first half of the year in process digitalization and consequently in the associated IT costs. Conversely, administration costs were reduced. Development costs continue to account for more than 3% of revenue. The operating income increased by 10.1% to EUR 19.7 million (EUR 17.9 million), corresponding to an EBIT margin of 14.0% (13.3%).

Kardex Mlog invests in profitable growth
Kardex Mlog is benefiting from the sustained high investment activity of its clients, which enables focused sales activities. Following the previous year's extraordinary item (a major project with a low level of own contribution), bookings to the value of EUR 45.0 million were lower than during the same period in the previous year (EUR 56.6 million) but remain on target. The order backlog of EUR 54.7 million as of the end of June (EUR 58.4 million) and the revenue of EUR 37.8 million (EUR 36.1 million) generated in the first half of the year establish a positive basis for the second half of the year.

Operating costs increased by 13.0% due to deliberately higher investments in expanding product sales and in development. Accordingly, the operating income that was generated increased only slightly by 7.1% to EUR 1.5 million in the first half of the year; the EBIT margin of 3.9% achieved during the same period in the previous year increased to 4.0%.

The joint market activities with Kardex Remstar and the cross-divisional solutions presented for the first time at the LogiMAT 2017 trade fair generates great interest among customers.

Solid balance sheet and good free cash flow
The Kardex Group continues to enjoy a solid balance sheet. The balance sheet total increased to EUR 247.1 million at the end of the period (12/31/2016: EUR 232.0 million); the equity ratio amounted to 59.7%. The generated free cash flow almost doubled to EUR 19.1 million (EUR 10.7 million) compared to the same period in the previous year and when viewed over both years is once again at a normalized level. Net cash at the Group amounted to EUR 123.5 million at the end of the period. It should be noted here that the nominal value reduction of CHF 3.30/share (CHF 25.5 million) only occurred on July 7, 2017.

Continued positive outlook
The Board of Directors and the Group Management are looking at the current 2017 financial year with confidence. At a global level, demand within the intralogistics market remains unabated, even if all regions are not equally dynamic. The Kardex Group is well positioned and offers its customers an attractive solution portfolio and outstanding services. Sustained investment in the expertise of our staff and the further development of products are, however, the key to sustained profitable growth. There are no signs of any significant change in the current trend, leading the Board of Directors and the Group Management to assume that the communicated financial targets can be achieved.

Today, 10 August 2017 at 02.00 p.m. (CET), an analyst and media conference call will be held with CEO Jens Fankhänel, CFO Thomas Reist as well as Investor Relations Contact Officer Edwin van der Geest to discuss the half-year results. The conference call will be held in English. The corresponding presentation is available on http://www.kardex.com/presentation.
Please dial in approx. 5 minutes prior to the conference and kindly hold the presentation ready.
To take part, dial: +41 (0)44 580 72 06
Conference-ID: 2092092

Alternatively you can also participate via audio webcast on www.audio-webcast.com/kardex. Please note that questions can only be placed via the conference call.
Please log in approx. 5 minutes prior to the audio webcast.

Interim Report
The Interim Report is available on our website at
http://www.kardex.com/nc/en/investor-relations/financial-reports/interim-report.html.

Kardex Group - Corporate Profile
The Kardex Group is a global industry partner for intra-logistic solutions and a leading supplier of automated storage solutions and material handling systems. The Group consists of two entrepreneurially managed divisions, Kardex Remstar and Kardex Mlog. Kardex Remstar develops, produces and maintains shuttles and dynamic storage and retrieval systems and Kardex Mlog offers integrated materials handling systems and automated high-bay warehouses. The two divisions are partners for their customers over the entire lifecycle of a product or solution. This begins with an assessment of customer requirements and continues via the planning, realization and implementation of customer-specific systems through to ensuring a high level of availability and low lifecycle costs by means of customer-oriented lifecycle management. Around 1 600 employees in over 30 countries work for the Kardex Group.

Disclaimer
This communication contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements". In this communication, such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to our financial condition, results of operations and business and certain of our strategic plans and objectives. Because these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual future results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors which are beyond Kardex's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behavior of other market participants, the actions of governmental regulators and other risk factors detailed in Kardex's past and future filings and reports and in past and future filings, press releases, reports and other information posted on Kardex Group companies' websites. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only of the date of this communication. Kardex disclaims any intention or obligation to update and revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.