SFC Energy AG publishes preliminary consolidated figures for 2019 and guidance for 2020 - Dynamic development in civilian fuel cell business and in hydrogen products sets the basis for growth and profitability
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DGAP-News: SFC Energy AG
/ Key word(s): Preliminary Results/Forecast
SFC Energy AG - Corporate News SFC Energy AG publishes preliminary consolidated figures for 2019 and guidance for 2020 - Dynamic development in civilian fuel cell business and in hydrogen products sets the basis for growth and profitability - Revised guidance for 2019 achieved - Preliminary consolidated sales of €58.5 million (2018: €61.7 million) - Preliminary underlying EBITDA at €3.6 million (2018: €3.7 million) - Guidance for 2020: Consolidated sales between €64 million and €71 million, underlying EBITDA between €3.6 million and €6.6 million, and underlying EBIT between €0.1 million and €3.1 million - Growth driven by new hydrogen application and civil and international defense business Brunnthal, Munich, Germany, February 11, 2020 - For 2019 as a whole, SFC Energy AG (F3C:DE, ISIN: DE0007568578) has met its revised sales and profitability targets from November 2019. After preliminary consolidation, the Group generated consolidated sales of €58.5 million in the 2019 financial year (2018: €61.7 million; revised guidance for 2019: €58 million to €62 million). Reason for the revised guidance and the downturn in sales and earnings compared with the previous year was a significant reluctance to invest in the Oil & Gas segment and the fact that the Company was not awarded a procurement project in the defense sector in Germany. According to preliminary calculations, underlying EBITDA was €3.6 million in the reporting year (2018: €3.7 million). Preliminary calculations put underlying EBIT at €0.3 million in 2019 compared with €2.6 million in 2018. Both earnings figures (underlying EBITDA and underlying EBIT) include effects from the first-time application of IFRS 16. Excluding the application of IFRS 16 standards gives an underlying EBITDA figure of €1.3 million and an underlying EBIT figure of €0.1 million, which is in line with the Company's revised annual guidance in terms of earnings (underlying EBITDA of between €0.5 million and €2.5 million and underlying EBIT of between €-0.5 million and €1.5 million). Preliminary figures indicate that sales in the Oil & Gas segment were down 15.6% on the previous year's figure in the reporting year. This was due to a lack of pipeline capacity for oil and gas in western Canada, which led to a significant reluctance to invest. This investment backlog is currently beginning to clear as a result of initial positive decisions regarding new pipeline capacities. SFC Energy started the first quarter of 2020 with a resurgent order backlog. The strategic focus for the current financial year is on expanding the US business in order to further reduce the Company's reliance on Canadian oil and gas business in the long term. In the reporting year, the Company continued its efforts to internationalize business in the Defense & Security segment. Preliminary calculations show that the international share of sales has grown by 84.5% for the year as a whole (international share: 70.5%; national share: 29.5%). The 24.2% decline in sales year-on-year is still based on the high comparative figure from the same period of the previous year, which included a high-volume order from the German armed forces. The significant diversification of the customer base underscores the high level of confidence inspired by SFC Energy solutions and underpins the Group's leading position as a supplier of reliable fuel cell systems in the international defense industry. In the reporting year, the Industry segment achieved solid growth of 5.7% with an almost static margin. The principal reason for the positive performance is an increase in demand for the modular product platform that PBF developed for customers in the laser industry, which more than offset the weaker demand from customers in the semiconductor industry. Civilian fuel cell business in the Clean Energy & Mobility segment reported the strongest growth year-on-year in percentage terms (25.7%) with a turnaround in the end-consumer business (6%) and above-average growth in the industrial customer segment (36%). This positive performance was driven by a high level of demand from security technology and wind energy markets in the European core markets and especially in Asia. The strong industrial contribution also brought the gross margin up to over 43%. Dr. Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Energy AG, gave the following statement: "Although the continued positive sales performance in the Clean Energy & Mobility and Industry segments in the 2019 financial year did not compensate for the decline in the Oil & Gas segment and the delay of an order in the German defense sector, our core business has continued to gain momentum. In the consumer segment we have reached a significant turnaround. The industrial fuel cell business grew by over 35% in 2019, and the international defense business almost doubled. We reorganized our financing structure and ended the reporting year with a solid net cash position. With hydrogen fuel cells we have added a higher power product range to our product portfolio and opened up new areas of application and additional growth opportunities in dynamic markets. The first hydrogen fuel cell order was already reflected in sales in the fourth quarter of 2019. The award of the contract in the first federal states for a program to equip up to 1,500 radio locations in Germany underlines the increasing importance of hydrogen fuel cells as a sustainable clean and reliable alternative to conventional diesel generators for providing a back-up power source to critical infrastructures and telecommunications. We are on track with our plans and are well positioned to mitigate the setback in late 2019." Guidance for 2020 For the current 2020 financial year, the Management Board is anticipating organic growth and consolidated sales of between €64 million and €71 million. It is aiming to increase profitability with underlying EBITDA of between €3.6 million and €6.6 million and underlying EBIT of between €0.1 million and €3.1 million. The lower end of the range does not include new orders from the national defense business. The medium-term outlook remains completely unaffected. The Management Board reaffirms its medium-term planning, with sales of over €100 million and an EBITDA margin underlying clearly above 10% in the next three to four years. When calculating sales revenue and earnings of the Canadian subsidiary Simark, the Management Board assumes an exchange rate of 1.50 between the Canadian dollar and the euro. Detailed financial information The figures given in this announcement are preliminary and have not been audited. SFC Energy AG will publish the final figures for the 2019 financial year along with the 2019 Annual Report on March 26, 2020. SFC Energy AG will hold a conference call in English for interested investors, analysts and members of the media at 9:00 a.m. today, February 11, 2020. About SFC Energy Group CROSS ALLIANCE communication GmbH
11.02.2020 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. |