Bertrandt AG: Report on the 1st half 2018/2019 - Targeted investment in the future - Bertrandt increases total revenues by 4.8 percent

Report on the 1st half 2018/2019
Targeted investment in the future - Bertrandt increases total revenues by 4.8 percent

(Ehningen, 6 June 2019) Bertrandt has continued to focus on the future in the first half of the fiscal year 2018/2019. The Group responds to the increasingly complex industry environment by investing in infrastructure and know-how and linking up disciplines in the individual industries.

The change and the transformation process currently taking place in the automotive industry are palpable and are reflected in the development of the technology trends of autonomous driving, connectivity, electromobility and the internet of things. New concepts and the optimisation of the entire value added process will be needed to master new technologies. The breadth and depth of topics offers opportunities to engineering service providers. "With its comprehensive solution, control and project management capabilities Bertrandt is taking on more and more responsibility in the development process in all the disciplines for which there is demand. New topics, products and services are emerging alongside established fields of business which Bertrandt is exploiting, especially in the field of growing interconnection of mobility and data," says Markus Ruf, Member of the Management Board, Finance of Bertrandt AG. The Group's response to this dynamic environment is to invest specifically in infrastructure and know-how, but also to produce innovative solutions and take on greater project responsibility.

At the Capital Market Day, the Company presented its first-half figures. The Bertrandt Group's business performance in the first six months of fiscal 2018/2019 was positive, in accordance with expectations. Compared to the same period in the previous year, the first half of fiscal 2018/2019 was one working day longer. Total revenues were EUR 525.0 million in the period under review, equivalent to a 4.8 percent increase. EBIT amounted to EUR 35.8 million, which is equal to a margin of 6.8 percent. Post-tax earnings came to EUR 23.4 million. In the first six months of the current fiscal year, the Company made the necessary investment of EUR 39.5 million in buildings and technical equipment, especially in test facilities for electromobility applications and equipment for mobile emissions testing. The equity ratio reached 52.2 percent. In the period under review, 13,400 employees worked for Bertrandt.

Assuming that economic conditions do not deteriorate, that OEMs make sustained investments in research and development for new technologies and models, engineering work continues to be contracted out and qualified human resources are available, Bertrandt expects the Company to develop positively in fiscal 2018/2019. The key market trends promoting Bertrandt's business success are environmentally friendly individual mobility, connected and autonomous driving, and the increasing variety of models and variants. These trends are intact and offer business opportunities for the future. As a result, Bertrandt will continue to focus its investment activities in building up and expanding its infrastructure with the aim of continually optimising its range of services, e.g. by building the high-voltage battery test centre in Ehningen, which was officially opened at the Capital Market Day. Bertrandt's investment in the future of electromobility exceeded EUR 15 million. The Company will now be able to conduct functional validation tests of high-voltage batteries under various climate and load conditions, covering the range from battery modules through to hybrid storage systems and batteries for electric-only vehicles. Thus, Bertrandt merges extensive existing know-how with state-of-the-art technology in the field of electromobility.

Bertrandt will also be investing in agile startup-type units and focusing on industries and customers in the fields of medical technology, virtual and augmented reality, cloud solutions, machine learning or big data.

Additional information is available from:

Bertrandt AG
Birkensee 1
71139 Ehningen
Internet: www.bertrandt.com

Agnes Schanz Julia Nonnenmacher
Investor Relations Spokeswoman
Tel.: +49 7034/656-4029 Tel.: +49 7034/656-4037
Fax: +49 7034/656-4488 Fax: +49 7034/656-4242
Email: investor.relations@bertrandt.com Email: julia.nonnenmacher@de.bertrandt.com