DGAP-News: GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft: GEA significantly improves preliminary earnings for the second quarter and raises part of its full-year 2020 guidance

GEA significantly improves preliminary earnings for the second quarter and raises part of its full-year 2020 guidance

• Order intake in the second quarter down 9.8% to EUR 1,034 million (previous year: EUR 1,147 million)
• Revenue down 6.6% to EUR 1,165 million (previous year: EUR 1,247 million)
• EBITDA before restructuring measures up 26.2% to EUR 140.4 million (previous year: EUR 111.2 million)
• ROCE climbs to 14.8% (previous year: 10.5%)
• Full-year 2020 guidance raised in part

Düsseldorf (Germany), July 30, 2020 - Based on preliminary figures, GEA achieved order intake of EUR 1,034 million in the second quarter of 2020. Despite the COVID-19 crisis, this is only 9.8 percent below the prior-year figure (EUR 1,147 million). In the same period, revenue declined by just 6.6 percent to EUR 1,165 million (previous year: 1,247 million). Here it should be noted that the prior-year value was a record for a second quarter for the company. To the contrary, EBITDA before restructuring measures was increased by 26.2 percent to EUR 140.4 million (previous year: EUR 111.2 million). In addition to significant improvements in margins and rapid implementation of the various restructuring measures, lower travel expenses and reduced special items compared with the previous year also contributed to this positive development. Earnings per share are expected to be EUR 0.25 (previous year: EUR 0.14). The company also substantially improved the ROCE (return on capital employed) for first six months achieved a value of 14.8 percent (previous year: 10.5 percent).


In the first half of the year, GEA's order intake rose by 3.3 percent to EUR 2,411 million (previous year: EUR 2,333 million). Revenue declined slightly by 2.0 percent to EUR 2,258 million (previous year: EUR 2,305 million), while the preliminary figure for EBITDA before restructuring measures is 32.0 percent higher at EUR 245 million (previous year: EUR 186 million).


"We have achieved a very good first-half result in an extremely challenging environment. This shows that the restructuring measures we introduced last year are now bearing fruit and that our new organization has got off to a successful start. This solid performance enables us to raise part of our guidance for the 2020 fiscal year. However, due to COVID-19 the overall economic situation will remain challenging in the second half of the year and difficult to predict," commented Stefan Klebert, CEO of GEA Group AG.


For the 2020 fiscal year, GEA continues to expect a slight decrease in revenue from the prior-year figure of EUR 4,880 million. For EBITDA before restructuring measures, the company is now forecasting at minimum a figure at the upper end of the previous range of EUR 430 to 480 million (previous year: EUR 479 million). For ROCE, GEA now expects an increase to a range between 12.0 percent and 14.0 percent, up from the previous 9.0 percent to 11.0 percent (previous year: 10.6 percent).


GEA will be releasing the company's financial report on the first half of 2020 on August 12, 2020.

Corporate Media and Press:

Marc Pönitz

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Phone +49 (0)211 9136-1500

[email protected]

About GEA

"Engineering for a better world" is the driving and energizing principle connecting GEA's total workforce of approximately 18,500 employees. As one of the largest systems suppliers, generating group revenues in the amount of 4.9 billion euros in 2019, GEA makes an important contribution to a sustainable future with its solutions and services, particularly in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical sectors. Across the globe, GEA's plants, processes and components contribute significantly to the reduction of CO₂ emissions, plastic use as well as food waste in production. GEA is listed on the German MDAX and the STOXX^(R) Europe 600 Index and also included in the DAX 50 ESG and MSCI Global Sustainability indexes. More information can be found online at gea.com.

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