Kirn, 28 October 2020. To date, the SIMONA Group has succeeded in weathering the global economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline in revenue was contained within a narrow band, while the Group's performance at an operating level was satisfactory. SIMONA generated revenue of €292.2 million in the first nine months of the financial year. This represents a year-on-year decline of 12.4 per cent (prev. year: €333.5 million). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell by just 5.5 per cent and total €21.4 million (prev. year: €22.7 million). The EBIT margin increased from 6.8 per cent to 7.3 per cent. Sales revenue totalled €92.8 million in the third quarter, down 12.4 per cent on the figure posted for the same period a year ago (€106.0 million). EBIT generated in the third quarter rose markedly year on year to €6.9 million (prev. year: €4.6 million), despite the decline in revenue. The EBIT margin in the third quarter stood at 7.4 per cent, compared to 4.3 per cent for the same period a year ago.

SIMONA performed well in Europe over the first three quarters, buoyed to some extent by an exceptional boost from business relating to transparent sheets used in downstream products for the protection against infection. Business in the United States was adversely affected by the dramatic slump in the market for aircraft interior fittings. By contrast, the downturn experienced in the industrial products segment was modest, while business centred around thermoformed parts for the construction and leisure industry saw substantial growth in the last few months. In the region encompassing Asia-Pacific, meanwhile, revenue from the sale of pipes and fittings used in industrial applications was up substantially. Contrary to this, the recovery in business activity relating to semi-finished products has been slow.

"We are satisfied with our performance in these turbulent and challenging times. Thanks to our global positioning and broad diversification in various industries, we have been able to prevent a more substantial downturn in revenue. Our focus is on safeguarding our bottom line and avidly pursuing our strategic projects aimed at improving our competitiveness in Europe. The fast-track integration of our recently acquired company SIMONA Stadpipe, operating within the fish farming market, has almost been completed. Benefiting from good price management, intensive market cultivation and strict cost discipline, we were able to achieve a solid operating result. We have made progress with regard to our strategic projects and are feeling the effects of the improvements in third-quarter earnings.

Our sales prospects for the final quarter are less favourable. The rising number of infections worldwide and the fear of further lockdowns are unsettling, as a result of which companies have become even more cautious in their investments. We will not achieve our original target of Group revenue of €430-440 million. However, given our earnings performance in the first nine months, we are confident that we can achieve our target of an EBIT margin of 6-8 per cent, provided that the economy is not severely impacted by far-reaching measures to combat the pandemic," says Matthias Schönberg, CEO of SIMONA.