Carlo Lazzarini (CEO): “At the start of the current fiscal year, we achieved all of our main targets and further strengthened the competitiveness of the PWO Group.”

• Encouraging revenue growth
• High level of new business
• Forecast for fiscal 2023 fully confirmed
• Financing secured
• New management structure gives the Group even more clout

Oberkirch / Valašské Meziříčí / Kitchener / Puebla / Suzhou / May 12, 2023 – The PWO Group’s high level of new business in recent years is being reflected increasingly clearly in its revenue. The Group thus grew significantly in the first quarter of 2023, even exceeding the pace of growth planned for the year as a whole.

We started off the current fiscal year with a realistic forecast, anticipating a decline in EBIT before currency effects overall in fiscal 2023. The fact that this key performance indicator was down year-on-year in the first quarter despite increased revenue is in line with our expectations, as the huge cost increases are now noticeably reflected in earnings and the intensive negotiations with our customers that are consequently necessary have not yet been wrapped up.

We systematically continued our profitable growth trajectory at the start of the new year, too. This is also underscored by the high level of new business in the first quarter of the year, in which we already achieved almost half of the lower end of the target range for the year as a whole.

The following key figures were achieved in the PWO Group in the first quarter of 2023:

• Revenue: EUR 140.9 million (previous year: EUR 130.8 million)
• EBIT before currency effects: EUR 6.8 million (previous year: EUR 7.8 million)
• EBIT including currency effects: EUR 6.1 million (previous year: EUR 7.8 million) 
• Net income for the period: EUR 3.1 million (previous year: EUR 5.2 million)
• Capital expenditure: EUR 2.6 million (previous year: EUR 2.6 million)
• Free cash flow: EUR 6.7 million (previous year: EUR 8.3 million)
• Equity ratio: 37.7% (December 31, 2022: 37.8%)
• Lifetime volume of new business: Around EUR 185 million (previous year: around EUR 210 million)
   

Based on the performance in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, we are fully confirming our forecasts for the current fiscal year that were published on March 7, 2023. These are based on the assumptions that in 2023 there will be no major disruptions to supply chains, for example due to pandemic-related restrictions or economic sanctions, that energy will be available in sufficient quantities, and that there will be no significant deviations from the anticipated price developments.

As already communicated, the new financing agreements were concluded early. Financing has been secured for the Group’s growth trajectory while also creating scope to take advantage of additional future opportunities in a decisive manner.

The PWO Group’s new management structure published on April 25, 2023, with a reduction of the Executive Board from 3 to 2 members, will help further simplify and speed up decision-making processes and give the Group an even more agile presence on the market.

The report on the first quarter will be published on the PWO website at https://www.pwo-group.com/en/investors-press/news-publications/reports/.

Progress-Werk Oberkirch AG

The Executive Board

Contact:

Charlotte Frenzel

Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

+49 179 / 6904 237

charlotte.frenzel.ext.ma@progress-werk.de