Manz AG achieves highest revenue volume in the company’s history for 2017 with a positive EBIT

08.03.2018 06:31:00 CET, Reutlingen Record revenue of 325 million euros, around 41 % above previous year – Positive EBIT improves by 37.5 million euros, incl. one-off effect in the Solar segment – Profitable operative fourth quarter of 2017 reinforces positive development

• Record revenue of 325 million euros, around 41 % above previous year
• Positive EBIT improves by 37.5 million euros, incl. one-off effect in the Solar segment
• Profitable operative fourth quarter of 2017 reinforces positive development

Manz AG, a globally active high-tech equipment manufacturer, has released its preliminary financial figures for 2017. During this transition year, that saw the introduction and implementation of numerous measures aimed at sustainable profitability of Manz AG, the company succeeded in significantly improving both revenue as well as earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in comparison to the previous financial year. Revenue climbed by 40.7 % to a record level of 325.0 million euros (previous year: 231.0 million euros) and the EBIT, including the special solar effect through the sale of Manz CIGS Technology GmbH, improved by 37.5 million euros to reach 1.6 million euros (previous year: -35.9 million euros). A revenue contribution of 132.3 million euros and the positive EBIT achieved in the fourth quarter of 2017 particularly reflect the company’s positive development.

Eckhard Hörner-Marass, Chief Executive Officer of Manz AG, notes that “2017 was a demanding year during which we got numerous things off the ground in order to achieve sustained profitability once again. By focusing on organizational, process and workflow improvements, we have been able to continually raise our competitiveness and profitability. One important contribution to this is represented by our optimization program ‘Manz 2.0’ that encompasses diverse measures aimed at boosting productivity, for instance through cost optimization and a leaner organization. Additionally, we have significantly expanded our product portfolio since mid-2017 with standardized stand-alone machines and modules. This will contribute to broaden our customer base and to further stabilizing the business model. The impacts of the related investments have already emerged in the past weeks through a continuous increase in orders.” The standardized stand-alone machines and modules can be intelligently linked to complete, customized system solutions. This allows significant reductions in development cost and duration while also flexibly satisfying the varying customer requirements.

Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Voss von Dahlen adds: “The developments in 2017 have shown that we are on the right track to solid business development in many areas. But, of course, such a far-reaching optimization process does not happen on its own. We still have many tasks ahead that we will solve in 2018 in order to ensure profitability continues to grow as planned.”

When considering the company’s segments, operational development in 2017 took shape in different ways. The implementation of the major CIGS orders made a significant impact on the Solar segment. Since the project start in mid-2017, Manz AG has kept within the planned schedule and successfully reached all of the milestones. As project implementation started at a later date than expected due to regulatory formalities, a portion of the revenue and earnings contributions foreseen in the planning had to be moved into financial year 2018. In the segment Electronics, the classic display business underwent stable development in accordance with the plans. On the other hand, the market for equipment used in the manufacture of end devices, such as smartphones and tablet computers, remained below the initial expectations. Revenue trend in the segment Energy Storage were unable to fulfill the guidance made by Manz AG. The reason for this was the fact that specific projects laid out in the original planning could either not be acquired or they were not implemented by the customers. The segment Contract Manufacturing experienced very dynamic growth. A high level of demand on the market allowed for the business activities of Talus Manufacturing, in particular, to expand in accordance with the planning. The service business also developed in line with the expectations of the Management Board, despite a decrease in revenue compared to the previous year caused by shifts in the project mix.

Chief Financial Officer Voss von Dahlen is confident about the company’s future: “Our company-wide measures for sustainably increasing competitiveness and profitability are taking effect, which has been proven by our corporate development. Following two years marked by losses in 2015 and 2016, we managed to achieve the turn-around in 2017 – we are now showing positive operational results including the special effect of the Solar segment.”

Manz AG will publish its final figures for financial year 2017 along with a detailed prognosis for the current financial year on March 29, 2018 in the company’s complete 2017 Annual Report.