Kirn, 4 August 2021. Taking advantage of the global recovery in industrial production, the SIMONA Group achieved a significant increase in revenue and earnings over the course of the first half of the financial year. In the first six months of 2021, revenue totalled €259.9 million, which was 30.3 per cent more than in the previous year (€199.4 million). The second quarter in particular saw a visible recovery in the global economy against the backdrop of a higher rate of covid-19 vaccination, as a result of which revenues surged to €138.4 million, up 50.9 per cent on the figure recorded in the second quarter of 2020 (€91.7 million). Growth in the first half of the financial year was driven by all regions and virtually all areas of application. Buoyant global demand for plastics led to a considerable increase in the cost of raw materials, which SIMONA AG was able to offset to some extent by raising its prices. Part of the increase in revenue can also be attributed to the boom in commodity prices. On the back of the substantial growth in the volume of business, earnings almost doubled. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose from €14.6 million a year ago to €27.0 million at the end of the reporting period. In view of this positive performance, SIMONA has raised its revenue guidance for the year as a whole to €495-505 million.

Growth was driven mainly by dynamic global sales relating to industrial products, especially in the second quarter. The first-time inclusion of revenue generated by recent acquirees SIMONA Stadpipe, Norway, in the aquaculture area of application, and SIMONA PLASTECH, Turkey, in the market for digital printing and construction applications, also provided forward momentum. Overall, sales revenue in Europe rose by a disproportionately large rate of 33.5 per cent, taking the figure to €174.9 million (previous year: €131.0 million). In North America, meanwhile, the recovery in the classic field of industrial business and strong demand for products used in recreational vehicles and within the area of bath/sanitary ware, coupled with a slight upturn in the aviation business, were the main factors that drove revenue forward by 18.4 per cent to €65.9 million (previous year: €55.7 million). Revenue growth in the Asia-Pacific region, up to €19.1 million (previous year: €12.7 million) was attributable primarily to strong business centred around equipment used in semiconductor fabrication plants.

The application-oriented structure based on business lines was introduced effective from 1 January 2021; it will be included in reporting in the form of a secondary segment in future. In the first six months, the Industry business line succeeded in expanding its sales revenue significantly from €73.5 million in the previous year to €120.4 million, an increase of 63.8 per cent. In this context, growth was fuelled by strong global demand in the chemical process and semiconductor industries. The Advertisement & Building Industry business line achieved revenue of €35.8 million (previous year: €23.7 million).

The increase of 51.1 per cent is attributable in part to the first-time consolidation of revenue generated by the acquired entity SIMONA PLASTECH, Turkey. The Infrastructure business line mainly provides pipes and fittings for waste water supply and energy transport; it saw its revenue expand to €34.9 million (previous year: €28.2 million; +24.1 per cent). The Mobility business line generated revenue of €25.2 million (previous year: €22.2 million; +13.0 per cent). The remaining revenues from various other fields of application and trade are summarised under "Other" and amounted to €43.6 million (previous year: EUR 51.8 million).

Group earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the first half almost doubled from €14.6 million in the previous year to €27.0 million in 2021. The EBIT margin rose from 7.3 per cent a year ago to 10.4 per cent in the first half of the current financial year. All three reporting regions made a positive contribution to the bottom-line result and achieved significant improvements in earnings. Economies of scale due to the marked increase in volumes as well as efficiency improvements, particularly at the European plants, more than compensated for the substantial increase in raw material costs.

"SIMONA emerged from the covid-19 pandemic in good shape and got off to a flying start in the first half of the year. With global industrial production surpassing its pre-crisis level again, we achieved record revenues. Not only did we manage to expand revenue by over 30 per cent, we also moved well ahead of revenues and earnings posted in the pre-pandemic annual periods of 2019 and 2018. Our products are in high demand within the construction industry, in addition to being used in the expansion of chemical plants and semiconductor factories worldwide. At the same time, we made gains in the areas of Infrastructure, Aquaculture and Advertisement & Building Industry," says Matthias Schönberg, CEO of the SIMONA Group. "We are very satisfied with our earnings performance. EBIT almost doubled, which was partly due to our global strategic projects aimed at raising efficiency levels and embracing the concept of end-user orientation. We are confident with regard to the financial year as a whole and are raising our revenue guidance to €495-505 million. We will be looking to achieve our targeted EBIT margin of 6-8 per cent at the upper end of the range," says Schönberg.