DGAP-News: STEMMER IMAGING again defies global supply shortages with record figures in the first quarter - mid-term guidance raised to an EBITDA target margin of 13-16%

Puchheim, May 11, 2022

STEMMER IMAGING again defies global supply shortages with record figures in the first quarter - mid-term guidance raised to an EBITDA target margin of 13-16%

• Order intake of EUR 43.4 million up 21.9% on the same quarter of the previous year (Q1 2021: EUR 35.6 million)
• Revenue increase by 14.9% to record figure of EUR 35.9 million (Q1 2021: EUR 31.2 million)
• Significant EBITDA increase of 47.5% to record result of EUR 5.5 million (Q1 2021: EUR 3.7 million) and record return on sales (ROS) of 15.2%
• Operating cash flow doubled to EUR 1.8 million (Q1 2021: EUR 0.9 million) despite increase in working capital
• Outlook: Full-year 2022 guidance confirmed and mid-term guidance raised to an EBITDA target margin of 13-16%

Puchheim, May 11, 2022 STEMMER IMAGING AG (ISIN DE000A2G9MZ9 / GSIN A2G9MZ) today publishes its figures for the first quarter of 2022 and raises its mid-term guidance on the EBITDA range.

STEMMER IMAGING has made a strong start to the 2022 fiscal year and was able to continue its successful performance from previous quarters in the first quarter.

Order intake rose by 21.9% year-on-year to EUR 43.4 million. The largest part of a major order received in the first quarter with a total volume of over EUR 12.0 million is not yet included in this order intake figure and will be successively booked in the following months in accordance with the booking method used. The good order situation led to an increase in order backlog as of March 31, 2022, to EUR 74.0 million (December 31, 2021: EUR 56.2 million). At the same time, the company posted record revenue with another strong book-to-bill ratio of 1.2 despite the ongoing global supply shortages.

STEMMER IMAGING generated revenue of EUR 35.9 million in the reporting period (Q1 2021: EUR 31.2 million), the highest quarterly revenue in the company's history. Compared to the first quarter of 2021, this corresponds to an increase of 14.9%.

STEMMER IMAGING recorded growth in both order intake and revenue that exceeded the industry figures reported by the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA). For the first quarter, the VDMA reported for the machine vision industry an increase in order intake of 19% and market growth of 6%.

Nearly all STEMMER IMAGING companies reported higher year-on-year revenue in the first quarter. Germany and France in particular were able to report above-average growth. As a result of a delay to the start of series production in the Sports and Entertainment segment, revenue of EUR 2.3 million will be shifted to the subsequent quarters of fiscal year 2022, which led to a drop in revenue in Sweden. This effect was offset in particular by strong growth in the industrial areas in the first quarter. Automation applications for strategic focus markets in the field of e-mobility with battery as well as sorting applications recorded another positive revenue performance. In the field of Artificial Vision, the medical segment in particular achieved significant revenue growth.

The difficult global supply situation continues to pose a challenge. However, the continuation of measures in procurement and warehousing made it possible to absorb negative effects comparatively well.

The development of gross margins proved to be particularly robust in view of higher material costs. STEMMER IMAGING was able to cushion a negative margin effect by the timely implementation of appropriate measures and reported a gross margin of 38.5% for the first quarter of 2022 (Q1 2021: 39.8%). The higher-margin solutions business again contributed positively to this effect.

The other cost level was EUR 0.6 million higher than in the same period of the previous year, mainly due to the company's increased activity level. For the comparison, the one-off expenses of EUR 1.0 million reported in the first quarter of 2021 were adjusted.

Significant increase in EBITDA
EBITDA increased by 47.5% to a record EUR 5.5 million in Q1 2022 (Q1 2021: EUR 3.7 million). Return on sales (ROS) was 15.2% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year compared to 11.9% in the same quarter of the previous year, again well above the target corridor of the mid-term guidance.

At EUR 1.8 million, operating cash flow in the first three months of 2022 was above the previous year's figure (Q1 2021: EUR 0.9 million), despite an increase in working capital due to strong growth.

Dividend proposal
Based on the successful business development and the improved earnings situation across all quarters of the past fiscal year, as well as the continued positive overall outlook, the company will propose a dividend of EUR 0.75 per share for the fiscal year 2021 (previous year: EUR 0.50 per share) at the Annual General Meeting on May 18, 2022.

Outlook
In view of the continuing market momentum and the visibility for the remainder of the year, the Executive Board of STEMMER IMAGING AG is confirming its current revenue and EBITDA forecast of EUR 143-156 million and EUR 19-24 million respectively. The company also confirms its mid-term revenue guidance of EUR 200 million by 2024. As a result of the sustained improvement in margins over the last few quarters, the company is raising the bandwidth for the EBITDA margin range from 12-14% to 13-16% for the medium term.

Arne Dehn, CEO STEMMER IMAGING AG:
"The trend towards machine vision solutions will continue in 2022 and we can again benefit significantly from the market dynamics. Based on the visibility from the first quarter of 2022, we confirm our annual forecast of double-digit growth and a significant increase in our earnings. With our continuously demonstrated earnings improvements, we see that our measures and further focus on the expansion of the Solution and Distribution Business are increasingly taking effect and therefore raise our mid-term guidance upwards to a target EBITDA margin in the corridor of 13-16% over the mid-term period."

STEMMER IMAGING AG's quarterly statement as of March 31, 2022, is available for download at www.stemmer-imaging.com in the Investors section.

About STEMMER IMAGING:
Stemmer Imaging is the leading international partner for machine vision technology. Our offering combines an extensive commercial range for industrial and non-industrial applications. With a high level of expertise and value-added services STEMMER IMAGING additionally offers pre-configured subsystems dedicated to specifc applications. For 35 years STEMMER IMAGING has been supporting its customers with experienced specialists in Europe and Latin America, to take a leading role in their markets.

Contact:

STEMMER IMAGING AG
Arne Dehn
Chief Executive Officer
Gutenbergstr. 9-13
82178 Puchheim
Phone: +49 89 80902-196
ir@stemmer-imaging.com
www.stemmer-imaging.com