Kirn, 24 April 2023. The SIMONA Group posted record-breaking revenue and its highest earnings in company history in the 2022 financial year just ended. Sales revenue totalled €712.1 million (previous year: €544.5 million). The Group's growth in revenue of 30.8 per cent was fuelled primarily by higher sales prices as well as the first-time inclusion of the acquired entity SIMONA PEAK Pipe Systems, United Kingdom. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to €54.1 million (previous year: €50.9 million). The EBIT margin stood at 7.6 per cent, the year-on-year decline (previous year: 9.3 per cent) being attributable to the disproportionately large increase in revenue. SIMONA also put in a solid performance in the first quarter of the current financial year. For 2023 as a whole, the SIMONA Group anticipates a decline in revenue due to a significant slowdown in the global economy and lower sales prices, but will continue to pursue its target of an EBIT margin of 6-8 per cent.

While the competitive environment remained intense, SIMONA succeeded in expanding sales revenue in all three reporting regions; growth was driven by prices and the overall product mix. In the EMEA region, sales revenue rose by 29.6 per cent to €456.9 million. In this context, the Group achieved significant growth in Western Europe, in particular, as well as in the United Kingdom, benefiting from the inclusion of recently acquired SIMONA PEAK Pipe Systems. SIMONA discontinued its business dealings in Russia in March 2022. However, the resulting decline in revenue was offset by other regions in Eastern Europe. In the Americas, revenue increased by 37.3 per cent to €207.1 million, buoyed by the encouraging performance again seen within the field of industrial products. Underpinned by solid industrial and automotive business, the Asia-Pacific region also contributed to growth, with revenue increasing by 16.7 per cent year on year to €48.1 million.

Revenue by business line

The Industry business line benefited from strong global demand for products used to equip semiconductor and photovoltaic factories, while business relating to the chemical process industry in Europe declined. In total, the Industry business line increased its sales revenue by 16.3 per cent, taking the figure to €266.0 million (previous year: €228.7 million). The Infrastructure business line recorded a significant increase in revenue of 75.2 per cent to €122.3 million (previous year: €69.8 million) on the back of sustained growth in demand for infrastructure applications such as water utilities and cable protection for power lines, as well as the inclusion of acquiree SIMONA PEAK Pipe Systems.

The Advertising & Building business line, which primarily supplies sheet products for digital printing, construction and leisure applications, saw revenue expand by 41.9 per cent to €111.3 million (previous year: €78.4 million). The Mobility business line managed to increase its revenue by 28.8 per cent to €70.6 million (previous year: €54.8 million), mainly due to an upturn within the aircraft interiors market and solid automotive business in the Asia-Pacific region. SIMONA aggregates revenue generated from other fields of application, such as aquaculture, as well as from retail trade in the business line referred to as "Others". It posted revenue of €141.8 million (previous year: €112.7 million).

The SIMONA Group delivered a very solid performance with regard to earnings in the financial year just ended. At €54.1 million, it posted the highest earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in the company's history. In a year-on-year comparison, it should be noted that the previous year's EBIT figure of €50.9 million included grants of €4.2 million from the "Payroll Protection Program" as part of the US government's covid support initiative.

The EBIT margin was 7.6 per cent, the year-on-year decline (previous year: 9.3 per cent) being attributable to the much more pronounced price-induced growth in revenue.

The dividend to be proposed to the shareholders of SIMONA AG at the Annual General Meeting on 2 June 2023 stands at €1.85 per no-par-value share, up from €1.70 (including a bonus of €0.10).

The number of employees within the SIMONA Group increased markedly to 1,734 (previous year: 1,549). This was primarily due to the acquisition of the UK-based company SIMONA PEAK Pipe Systems as well as new hires at production sites around the globe in connection with capacity expansion. A case in point is production capacity in Jiangmen, China, which was more than doubled in the period under review by extending the plant.

The SIMONA Group performed well in the first quarter of 2023. Despite difficult economic conditions, it recorded sales revenue of €165.0 million, which corresponds to a year-on-year decline of 4.7 per cent (previous year: €173.2 million). At 8.0 per cent, the EBIT margin remained unchanged on the solid margin posted in the previous year. In absolute terms, EBIT fell slightly by 4.6 per cent to €13.2 million (previous year: €13.8 million).

For the 2023 financial year as a whole, SIMONA anticipates Group revenue of €650 to 675 million and an EBIT margin of between 6 and 8 per cent. The revenue forecast takes into account a reduction in sales prices in response to a downward trend in material costs as well as lower demand in the EMEA region. The effects of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the more pronounced geopolitical tensions between the Unites States and China may pose a further risk to business development.

"SIMONA was once again able to generate record revenue and its highest earnings in company history in 2022. The year was dominated by significant market distortions. Over the course of the year, the substantial order backlogs recorded at the beginning of the period were scaled back to the healthy levels seen in previous years. We managed to offset spiralling costs associated with energy and raw materials by raising sales prices. As a result, we were able to increase Group revenue by more than 30 per cent and EBIT by more than 6 per cent. In pursuing the continuous expansion of the Group's global manufacturing capacity and focusing explicitly on customer applications, we have laid the foundations for future growth," says Matthias Schönberg, CEO of SIMONA.