Announcements

Dettingen/Erms, Illmensee (Germany) +++ ElringKlinger AG has nominated Langer GmbH & Co. KG as Supplier of the Year 2019 within the components segment. Following a win in the previous year, Langer was thus able to secure the award for the second time in succession. The award ceremony took place at Langer's headquarters in Illmensee.

Langer has been supplying plastic injection molded parts to ElringKlinger since 2012, which are used in the production of lightweight components at the automotive supplier based in Dettingen/Erms. Over the past few years, ElringKlinger has developed into one of the most important customers of the Illmensee based company. In the meantime, ten sites of the ElringKlinger Group worldwide are supplied with components made by Langer.

ElringKlinger works with a total of over 2,000 suppliers. In order to ensure a systematic evaluation of its suppliers, the Group defined various criteria and weighted them appropriately in a scoring model. "Outstanding characteristics with regard to quality, adherence to deadlines, technology and service are among the most important requirements we place on our suppliers. And, of course, price always plays a role," said Bernd Weckenmann, Vice President Purchasing at ElringKlinger AG.

First-class performance
The performance of the overall winner was once again convincing: Overall, Langer was able to achieve a supplier rating of 90 %. "We took a close look at our suppliers, their reliability and quality. We came to the conclusion that Langer deserved to take first place again," added Weckenmann at the presentation of the award. He also drew the attention of those present to the fact that this was the first time that ElringKlinger had presented one of its supplier awards to the same company for two consecutive years.

Ralf Doll, Managing Director of Langer GmbH & Co. KG, was all the more pleased and thanked the staff for their work: "This award demonstrates the commitment of each individual and the entire team. At the same time, he also thanked ElringKlinger for the confidence placed in the company. "We take this prize as an incentive to strive for a third time in a row," continued Doll.

Dettingen/Erms (Deutschland) +++ ElringKlinger AG has named Samsung C&T Deutschland GmbH its Supplier of the Year 2019 within the area of raw materials. The supplier, based in Schwalbach/Taunus, received the award in conjunction with its Chinese sister company Samsung Precision Stainless Steel (Pinghu) Co., Ltd. The award ceremony took place at ElringKlinger's headquarters in Dettingen/Erms.

ElringKlinger was first supplied with stainless steel by Samsung in 2002. At ElringKlinger, stainless steel is used primarily in the production of cylinder-head and specialty gaskets. Over the years, the business relationship between the two companies has steadily intensified. Samsung now supplies ten sites of the ElringKlinger Group worldwide with raw materials from its production plants in Romania and China.

ElringKlinger works with a total of over 2,000 suppliers. In order to ensure a systematic evaluation of its suppliers, the Group defined various criteria and weighted them appropriately in a scoring model. "Outstanding characteristics with regard to quality, adherence to deadlines, technology and service are among the most important requirements we place on our suppliers. And, of course, price always plays a role," says Bernd Weckenmann, Vice President Purchasing at ElringKlinger AG.

First-class performance
The performance of the overall winner was convincing: as a combined achievement of Samsung C&T Deutschland GmbH and Samsung Precision Stainless Steel (Pinghu) Co., Ltd., a supplier rating of 98% was achieved. "Samsung has achieved an excellent result, which should also serve as motivation for the future. Our express thanks go to all the employees who were involved in making this rating possible," added Weckenmann at the award ceremony.

"The award for Supplier of the Year is a real highlight that confirms our work," said Frank Geile, General Sales Manager of Samsung C&T Deutschland GmbH. "At the same time, it also represents an obligation for the future. ElringKlinger is one of our top key customers, with whom we intend to achieve a great deal in the coming years," Geile continues.

• Around 60 % of voting share capital was represented at first virtual AGM
• CEO Dr. Stefan Wolf: "We took important steps in 2019 - in a very challenging environment."
• All proposed resolutions approved by significant majority
• Helmut P. Merch new member of the Supervisory Board

Dettingen/Erms (Germany), July 7, 2020 +++ A total of 60.4 % of the company's voting share capital was represented at the first virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) hosted by ElringKlinger AG. Against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic and as a consequence of associated regulations, ElringKlinger had decided against a physical meeting. Instead, the 115th AGM was to be convened as a virtual meeting.

2019 financial year
In his speech, which, as in previous years, could be followed on the Internet by all interested parties, CEO Dr. Stefan Wolf outlined key developments relating to the financial year just ended: "2019 was not an easy year, but we took important steps - and in a very challenging environment. As regards sales revenue, ElringKlinger managed to grow by 1.6% to EUR 1.727 billion despite a global market downturn of 5.6%. In the trendsetting areas of E-Mobility and Lightweighting/Elastomer Technology, we increased our revenues by more than 9% in each case. This clearly illustrates the demand for our products."

In terms of earnings performance in 2019, Dr. Wolf went on to explain that the Management Board's program to raise efficiency levels within the Group had been successful. The Group's EBIT margin had gradually improved over the course of the year. In addition, significant progress had been made in optimizing net working capital and operating free cash flow, so that financial liabilities had been scaled back by a significant margin.

Looking ahead to the current year, Dr. Wolf highlighted the inconsistent performance due to the coronavirus pandemic: while demand in Europe was still sluggish at present, production in China had returned to pre-crisis levels several weeks ago. Nevertheless, the market slump would also have an impact on ElringKlinger's revenues and earnings, particularly in the second quarter. However, the Group was in a sufficiently robust financial position to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.

The CEO also emphasized how well positioned ElringKlinger was in fundamental terms: "With its strong market position, its extensive product and process expertise, and its promising portfolio within the field of battery and fuel cell technology, ElringKlinger is one of those companies that is capable of seizing opportunities despite all - even significant - challenges.

In each case, the proposals for resolutions put to the vote were accepted by the shareholders with a large majority. The AGM approved the actions of the Management Board and Supervisory Board with 97% of the votes. Ernst & Young GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Stuttgart, was appointed as auditor. The Group had already announced in March that the dividend for the 2019 financial year would be suspended in view of the earnings situation and the COVID-19 crisis.

Elections to the Supervisory Board
The AGM also included the scheduled election of new Supervisory Board members appointed by the shareholders. In this context, Helmut P. Merch succeeds Prof. Hans Ulrich Sachs, who left the Supervisory Board. Mr. Merch has been a member of Rheinmetall AG's Management Board since 2013. All other shareholder representatives were re-elected by a clear majority.

The company's shareholders also approved the Supervisory Board's new remuneration system, which conforms to the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code. All other proposed resolutions on amendments to the Articles of Association and the renewed authorization to repurchase treasury shares were also approved by a clear majority.

A detailed overview of the individual voting results as well as the speech by the CEO for viewing and reading can be found on the homepage of ElringKlinger AG (www.elringklinger.com) - in the Investor Relations section under the heading "Annual General Meeting."

The contract of Management Board member Reiner Drews has been extended earlier than scheduled by the Supervisory Board by five years until the end of March 2026. Reiner Drews has been part of the Management Board of ElringKlinger AG since April 1, 2018, and has overall responsibility for the area of production.

Dettingen/Erms (Germany), June 15, 2020 +++ At its meeting in May 2020, the Supervisory Board of ElringKlinger AG extended the contract of Management Board member Reiner Drews earlier than originally scheduled - by five years to March 31, 2026. His current mandate runs until March 31, 2021.

"We look forward to continuing our excellent and successful cooperation with Reiner Drews," commented Supervisory Board Chairman Klaus Eberhardt on the board's decision. "His entrepreneurial expertise and many years of experience in the field of production are of great benefit to ElringKlinger and help to strengthen trust and confidence in the Group among employees, suppliers, and customers."

Reiner Drews has been a member of the Management Board of ElringKlinger AG since April 1, 2018. In this role, he is responsible for manufacturing operations, the German plants, and the area of quality assurance. Prior to this, he worked for the Group for 12 years in a senior position as a business unit manager.

• Group revenue falls by 10.2% between January and March to EUR 396.2 million due to economic slowdown in Europe and effects of coronavirus in Asia
• Global automobile production down by 23% in first quarter
• Measures aimed at raising efficiency levels take effect: EBIT up from EUR 6.4 million to EUR 16.0 million
• Net debt scaled back by almost EUR 200 million within twelve months
• Guidance for 2020 amid persistently poor visibility

Dettingen/Erms (Germany), May 7, 2020 +++ ElringKlinger AG felt the effects of economic cooling and the initial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic in its revenues over the course of the first quarter of 2020, which fell by 10.2% to EUR 396 million. The organic change in revenue, i.e., adjusted for currency effects and M&A activities, amounted to -9.8%. This was far better than the performance of the global vehicle industry as a whole, which saw production output fall by 23% during the same period. On the back of strong growth recorded during fiscal 2019, the Group managed to expand its revenue by a further 4.1% in North America in the period from January to March 2020, whereas Europe saw revenue fall by EUR 30 million or 12.4% year on year as a result of a more lethargic economy. Revenue generated from sales in Asia-Pacific, where the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic were already palpable during the first quarter, contracted by 21.7%.

Operating profit with strong start to year
Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to EUR 45.8 million in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 2019: EUR 34.8 million), which was up markedly on the prior-year figure. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) also improved, expanding by EUR 9.6 million to EUR 16.0 million. Successful optimization measures at the North American site, which had been adversely affected by capacity bottlenecks in the previous year, had a strong bearing on earnings performance. In addition, the Group-wide program implemented by the Management Board for the purpose of raising efficiency levels had a positive impact on the cost of sales as well as selling and general and administrative expenses. This more than compensated for the negative effects on earnings that were attributable to restrictions to production in Asia during the first quarter as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The Group's Aftermarket business benefited from an increase in volumes requested by customers as part of their production scheduling, which was due to the demand-side optimization of inventories in response to the imminent crisis. Thus, in particular, earnings relating to the Aftermarket segment rose by EUR 5.5 million in total year on year.

Net finance costs, which increased by EUR 8.8 million to EUR -9.8 million, were impacted primarily by the direction taken by the Mexican peso during the first quarter of 2020. By contrast, income tax expenses fell by EUR 2.0 million to EUR 4.5 million. Having deducted this item, net income for the period from January to March 2020 stood at EUR 1.6 million (Q1 2019: EUR -1.1 million). This corresponds to earnings per share of EUR 0.03, compared with EUR -0.02 in the previous year.

Continued focus on cash flow optimization
ElringKlinger maintained its disciplined approach to capital expenditure between January and March 2020, as a result of which the ratio of investments in property, plant, and equipment and investment property totaled 3.1% of Group revenue - well below the prior-year figure (6.5%). With the help of targeted optimization measures, net working capital was also scaled back substantially year on year by EUR 154.3 million. As a result, operating free cash flow improved from EUR -19.3 million in the first quarter of 2019 to EUR -2.2 million in the quarter under review. The direction taken by cash flow in recent quarters had a positive impact on the Group's financial situation. Net debt, for instance, was reined back by almost EUR 200 million in just twelve months, taking the figure to EUR 603.1 million as of March 31, 2020.

Order intake and order backlog down markedly
The interruptions to production, first in Asia and later in Europe as well as North and South America and South Africa, were reflected in the order situation in the first quarter, as was the slowdown in the economy as a whole. Order intake fell by 28.8% compared to the same quarter a year ago, while order backlog dipped by 8.2%.

Guidance for 2020
Having adjusted output at its plants in line with demand at the end of March, the ElringKlinger Group began to ramp up production again step by step in Germany and at its other European sites towards the end of April. North America and Brazil will follow with a time lag. With the exception of India, the Asian plants continued to stabilize and put in a positive performance.

"The true scale of the economic impact caused by the coronavirus pandemic is impossible to predict in concrete terms. It will be seen primarily in the second and probably also in the third quarter of 2020. What is crucial is how quickly economic activity in the key industrial nations will resume and how sustainable demand will be in the coming quarters," says Dr. Stefan Wolf, CEO of ElringKlinger AG. "We responded swiftly to the downturn in demand by embracing greater cost discipline, and yet we still have to assume that the anticipated shortfalls in revenue will also have an impact on earnings."

Operating against this backdrop and emphasizing the many uncertainties that exist, the Group anticipates a change in organic revenue that will be slightly more favorable compared to that relating to global automobile production (currently expected to be -22%). Despite the measures implemented to streamline costs, it can be assumed from the current perspective that it will not be possible to fully offset the expected revenue shortfalls. Therefore, the Group anticipates that its EBIT margin will be visibly lower compared to the previous year. As a result, the net debt/EBITDA ratio is likely to be above the prior-year figure at the end of 2020. ElringKlinger remains committed to its disciplined approach to capital expenditure and will continue to optimize net working capital, on the basis of which the Group expects to achieve positive operating free cash flow in 2020 as a whole.

Key financials for Q1 2020

* Less current time deposits and securities totaling EUR 10.2 million