Corporate news

Corporate News
Februar 1^st, 2019

First Sensor closes 2018 with further improvement in profitability

Provisional figures indicate that the First Sensor Group closed fiscal year 2018 in line with its planning (sales of EUR 150-160 million, EBIT margin of 7-9%). Sales are expected to amount to EUR 155.1 million, up around 5.2% on the previous year. These sales were generated with a further improvement in profitability. EBIT is thus expected to reach EUR 12.2 million, corresponding to an increase of 16%. The EBIT margin for the year as a whole will therefore come to 7.9%.

In 2019, the company anticipates continued sales growth, which will particularly be driven by sensors and sensor solutions in the photonics and pressure product groups. First Sensor also sees further potential with regard to margins, as many of the measures initiated and the start-up of new, higher-margin products are already gradually affecting profitability.

"The provisional figures for fiscal year 2018 show that we have achieved further success in implementing our strategy for profitable growth. We are now gradually seeing additional effects from our clear focus on volumes and economies of scale," says Dr. Dirk Rothweiler, CEO of First Sensor AG. "By focusing on our three target markets, key customers and key products, forward integration, and our sales regions DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein), Europa, North America, and Asia, we will keep on to further increase the Group's growth and profitability in the coming years."

In addition to economies of scale, a further improvement in profitability will be achieved by means of further integration of the Group and targeted programs to improve operational excellence. "Small-scale orders, contribution margins, lead times, and yield loss are just a few of the topics on which we are working systematically to take our profitability up to a new level. By 2020, we expect to be generating a consistent EBIT margin of 10% already," emphasizes CFO Dr. Mathias Gollwitzer.

The profitable growth in the past fiscal year was driven by customer-specific solutions and standard sensors for the Industrial (+7%) and Medical (+23%) target markets and for the sales regions of North America (+11%) and Asia (+30%). Sales in the Mobility target market (-10%) reflect the volatile geopolitical developments that impacted the automotive industry over the past year.

"Sensor technology is and remains a key technology for industry, medical technology, and the automotive sector. In this context, we particularly advanced the development of our LiDAR technology. We are perfectly positioned here with our avalanche photodiodes (APD) and arrays, as shown by the recently published Global APD Report," says Rothweiler. The Mobility target market therefore remains an important growth market for First Sensor and is gaining additional impetus from trends such as automated driving and green mobility. "In the medium term, we are aiming to grow by 10% per year."

The full consolidated financial statements for 2018 will be published on March 21, 2019.

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.

Upcoming events
The full consolidated financial statements for 2018 will be published on March 21, 2019.

Printable images

First Sensor AG Executive Board: CEO Dr. Dirk Rothweiler (right) und CFO Dr. Mathias Gollwitzer (left)

(c)First Sensor AG

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