Corporate news

Corporate News
February 16, 2018

First Sensor closes 2017 successfully

- According to provisional figures, sales of EUR147.5 million and EBIT margin up to 7.1% exceed planning (EUR140-145 million, 5-6%)

- The course for profitable growth and operational excellence shows initial results

According to provisional figures, the First Sensor Group closed fiscal year 2017 very successfully. Sales amounts to EUR147.5 million, almost 2% above the planned range of EUR140 million and EUR145 million. Due to a more dynamic second half of the year, the operating result (EBIT margin) comes up to 7.1%. It thus considerably exceeds the originally planned level of 5% to 6%. The full consolidated financial statements will be published on March 22, 2018.

"Compared to the first half of the year, sales and profitability developed much more positively in the second half," says Dr. Dirk Rothweiler, CEO of First Sensor AG. "The success of the past fiscal year thus shows tangible results from the course for profitable growth and operational excellence."

"The progress made so far in improving profitability is very encouraging; it is based on a fundamental change in the company," adds Dr. Mathias Gollwitzer, CFO of First Sensor AG. This was partly attributable to changes in the structural organization with a focus on standard products on the one hand and product development for customer-specific requirements on the other hand. "Our management approach is based on operational proximity, professionalism and the goal of 'leading from the front'," says Gollwitzer. This understanding of operational management also resulted in the management structure being slimmed down and half of the Group's top positions being refilled with qualified managers, preferably from within the Group.

The Executive Board also expects a further increase in efficiency within the Group as a result of the standardization of core processes based on uniform ERP software as a replacement for four different ERP systems. Gollwitzer is convinced that the changes made over the past three years are among the most sustainable in the company's history.

With the strategy for profitable growth, the Executive Board has geared the First Sensor Group toward a successful future. "By focusing on our three target markets, on key customers and key products, on forward integration and dynamic sales regions, we will achieve the Group's growth combined with appropriate profitability," says Dr. Dirk Rothweiler. In the medium term, sales are expected to grow by 10% per year with a sustainable EBIT margin of about 10%. Trends such as Industry 4.0, miniaturization of medical technology and autonomous driving are increasingly leaving the research stage and more and more concrete series products are being launched. "Sensor systems are a key technology that is constantly gaining in importance. We are focusing on growing with our customers from niche business to volume business," says Rothweiler.

About the Executive Board members:
Dr. Dirk Rothweiler (54) has been the CEO of First Sensor AG since 2017. He was appointed for three years. After studying physics at RWTH Aachen and working at Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Carl Zeiss AG, SÜSS MicroTec and the Cymer/Zeiss joint venture TCZ, Dr. Rothweiler managed the Jenoptik Group's global optics activities for several years. Since June 2017, Dr. Rothweiler has been a member of the Supervisory Board of LPKF Laser & Electronics AG.

Dr. Mathias Gollwitzer (56) was appointed as CFO of First Sensor AG for three years in 2015. With a doctorate in business administration, he began his professional career at Deutsche Aerospace AG in 1992, followed by positions at Telefunken Systemtechnik GmbH in Ulm, Daimler AG, and Mercedes-Benz France SAS in Paris. After a total of ten years at the Daimler Group in a wide variety of management roles, Gollwitzer moved to EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG in Karlsruhe in 2012, where he was in charge of corporate controlling and the energy company's transformation program.

About First Sensor AG
In the growth market of sensor systems, First Sensor develops and produces standard products and customer-specific solutions for the ever-increasing number of applications in the industrial, medical, and mobility target markets. Based on innovative technology platforms, we develop products such as chips, components, sensors, and entire sensor systems. Trends such as Industry 4.0, autonomous driving, and the miniaturization of medical technology will drive our growth extremely rapidly in the future. First Sensor was founded in Berlin in 1991 and has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (SIS) since 1999 [Prime Standard Ι WKN: 720190 Ι ISIN: DE0007201907 Ι SIS]. For more details on First Sensor, please visit www.first-sensor.com.

Disclaimer
Statements in this Corporate News relating to future developments are based on a prudent estimate of future events. Actual events may deviate from planned events, as they depend on a large number of market and economic factors, some of which are outside of the company's control.

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