DGAP-News: UNIWHEELS AG: UNIWHEELS AG Q1 2015 financial

DGAP-News: UNIWHEELS AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results/IPO UNIWHEELS AG: UNIWHEELS AG Q1 2015 financial results with significant growth after successful listing debut (news with additional features) 13.05.2015 / 08:00 --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Very strong start into 2015 - 1.9 million wheels sold (+8.4%) despite capacity constraints * Record sales to OEM in March 2015 * Double-digit increase of revenues to EUR 104.8 million (+22.3%) * Significant improvement of earnings: EBITDA amounted to EUR 13.2 mln (+31.2%) * Successful IPO - EUR 62.7 million proceeds for investment in the new production plant in Stalowa Wola * Outlook FY 2015: revenues with single-digit growth and EBITDA margin at least at previous year's level Bad Dürkheim, 13th May 2015: Germany-based alloy wheels manufacturer UNIWHEELS AG, who recently successfully conducted its initial public offering and debuted on Warsaw Stock Exchange presented its financial results for the first quarter of 2015. In the period of January-March 2015 UNIWHEELS Group sold 1.9 million wheels in both segments: OEM and Accessory (in total an increase of 8.4% over the previous year). Only in March 2015 the Company sold 577.333 wheels to its OEM customers, which is a new sales record of sales to car manufacturers in one single month. During the first quarter 2015 UNIWHEELS generated EUR 104.8 million of revenues, an increase of 18.3% compared to Q1 2014. Thanks to stable material and personnel costs EBITDA increased to EUR 13.2 million (+31.3%) and net profit rose by 209% to EUR 13.4 million. Net profit includes non-recurring income from currency derivative valuation amounting EUR 4.8 m. "We are very satisfied with market situation and our Group's performance in the first quarter of 2015. Despite capacity constraints, we achieved record sales volume to OEM business in March. This is a clear signal of good market condition, as well as our strong position as technology and development partner of European premium car manufacturers. Basing on our performance in 2014 and Q1 2015, we assume that positive business development will continue in 2015. For the Fiscal Year 2015, we expect a sales and revenue increase within a single-digit percentage range. In consequence of our stringent cost management, EBITDA margin should be at least at FY 2014 level." - says Ralf Schmid, UNIWHEELS AG CEO. UNIWHEELS AG recently successfully conducted an initial public offering and debuted on Warsaw Stock Exchange. From the issue of new shares, the Company received the amount of approx. EUR 62.7 mln gross. Proceeds from the offering will be used to finance the construction of a new production plant in Stalowa Wola, Poland, which will allow to increase the Group's production capacity by approx. 2 mln wheels (to almost 10 mln in total) by 2018. "Achieved sales volume in 2014 and in the first quarter of 2015 also confirm a need for capacity increase, therefore the upcoming implementation of the new capacity expansion in Stalowa Wola will allow us to improve our market position in the coming years" - says Ralf Schmid. "Once again we would like to thank all the investors, who decided to invest in UNIWHEELS AG shares during the IPO and took part in our success. Our offer met with a very high interest from investors. At the issue price of PLN 105 we had a substantial oversubscription and what is important - the price was fully in line with our internal expectations. Gained proceeds of EUR 62.7 million will allow us to continue with investment in line with the schedule" - says Ralf Schmid. "We wanted to have diversified shareholding structure. Therefore we have decided to make a balanced allotment of our shares between Polish pension funds (OFE), polish investment funds (TFI), international institutions and private Polish investors, and we have reached that target - adds Dr. Karsten Obenaus, UNIWHEELS AG CFO. "On May 8th a historic milestone in UNIWHEELS Group history was reached. I am convinced that UNIWHEELS AG is ready to be a public company, which means full professionalization and readiness for further growth" - concludes Mr. Schmid. About UNIWHEELS: The UNIWHEELS Group is one of Europe's largest OEM wheel suppliers to the automotive industry and the leading European manufacturer of aftermarket alloy wheels (well-known brands ATS, RIAL, ALUTEC and ANZIO). Currently, the Group has three production plants, two of them are based in Poland (Stalowa Wola), and one in Germany (Werdohl). The UNIWHEELS Group is one of the leading suppliers of alloy wheels for passenger cars in Europe and one of the few technology leaders in the aluminium wheels business. The Company believes that in 2014 the Group was the third largest alloy wheel producer in Europe in terms of revenues with a market share of approximately 11% and the leading manufacturer in the European aftermarket sector with a market share of approximately 13% in terms of volumes sold. The Company believes that in 2013 the UNIWHEELS Group was the third largest market player in the European OEM sector in terms of revenues from sale to light weight car manufacturers in Europe. In 2014, the UNIWHEELS Group sold 7.2 million wheels (an increase of 5.2% over the previous year). The sales of wheels increased substantially both in the automotive industry segment and in the accessory market segment. In 2014, the UNIWHEELS Group delivered 5.8 million wheels to the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) customers - renowned car manufacturers like Audi, BMW/MINI, Mercedes/AMG, Jaguar/Land Rover, PSA, Volvo and others and 1.4 million of wheels to the aftermarket customers under the brands ATS, RIAL, ALUTEC and ANZIO. Two UNIWHEELS Group factories based in Stalowa Wola are responsible for approx. 83% of the total Group production. In 2014 over 6 million wheels were sold from Poland-based factories. UNIWHEELS Group employs over 1800 employees in Poland. The Group's German plant in Werdohl has approx. 370 employees and had an output of approx. 1.2 million high-end wheels sold in 2014. In 2014 UNIWHEELS AG had EUR 362.6 million of revenues, EBITDA of EUR 46.8 million and net profit of EUR 22.8 million. On May 8th, 2015 UNIWHEELS AG went public on Main Market of Warsaw Stock Exchange (IPO). The UNIWHEELS stock is floated under security identification number A13STW, ISIN DE000A13STW4 and ticker symbol UNW. Free Float is at 38.7%. For more information please contact: Oliver Madsen Head of Investor Relations o.madsen@de.uniwheels.com UNIWHEELS AG Gustav-Kirchhoff-Str. 10 67098 Bad Dürkheim Germany www.uniwheels.com +++++ Additional features: Document: http://n.equitystory.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=WDSNSKJQXA Document title: UNIWHEELS PR Q1 2015 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.05.2015 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------- 356845 13.05.2015