From the Sector

• Order intake of CHF 869.4 million, order backlog of more than CHF 2 100 million
• Sales of CHF 620.6 million, preproduced deliveries in the three-digit million range had to be postponed until the second half of 2022
• EBIT of CHF -10.2 million, net result of CHF -25.2 million due to significant cost increases, additional costs, and acquisition-related expenses
• Action plan to increase sales and profitability
• Rieter site Winterthur
• Outlook

Rieter continued to be successful in the market in the first half of 2022. Based on the company’s technology leadership, innovative product portfolio and the completion of the ring- and compact-spinning system, a high order intake and a significant increase in sales were generated. The increase in sales was achieved even though preproduced deliveries in the three-digit million range had to be postponed until the second half of 2022. The order backlog is at a record level. Despite higher sales, the significant increase in material and logistics costs, additional costs for compensation of the material shortages and the expenditure incurred for the acquisition in the years 2021/2022 resulted in a loss. Rieter is implementing an action plan to increase sales and profitability. The sales process for the remaining land owned by Rieter was initiated.

Order Intake and Order Backlog
Rieter posted an order intake of CHF 869.4 million, which included CHF 176.6 million from the businesses acquired in the years 2021/2022. As expected, demand has thus returned to normal compared with the exceptionally high figure for the prior-year period, but remains well above the average figure for the last five years of around CHF 570 million (first half 2021: CHF 975.3 million, first half 2022 excluding acquisition effect CHF 692.8 million).

The regional shift in demand with investments in additional spinning capacity outside China along with investments in the competitiveness of Chinese spinning mills continues. Rieter benefits from its technology leadership, the innovative product portfolio and the completion of the ring- and compact-spinning system through the acquisition of the automatic winding machine business. The largest order intakes came from India, Turkey, China, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan.

On June 30, 2022, the company had an order backlog of more than CHF 2 100 million (June 30, 2021: CHF 1 135 million). Cancellations in the reporting period amounted to around 5% of the order backlog.

Sales
The Rieter Group posted sales of CHF 620.6 million, which included CHF 68.9 million from the businesses acquired in the years 2021/2022 (first half 2021: CHF 400.5 million).

As a result, sales were significantly higher than in the prior-year period, although preproduced deliveries, which mainly affected the Business Group Machines & Systems, in the three-digit million range had to be postponed until the second half of 2022. The reasons for the postponements were the COVID lockdown in China and supply chain bottlenecks.

EBIT, Net Result and Free Cash Flow
Rieter posted a loss of CHF -10.2 million at the EBIT level in the first half of 2022.

Earnings were impacted by significantly higher material and logistics costs. The price increases already implemented are having a delayed effect, mainly in the Business Group Machines & Systems, and were therefore unable to compensate for the high increase in costs. In addition, costs in connection with material shortages negatively impacted profitability. The result also includes acquisition-related expenses of CHF -11.2 million.

The loss at the net result level was CHF -25.2 million, of which CHF -17.6 million was due to the acquisition.

Free cash flow was CHF -57.1 million, attributable to the build-up of inventories in connection with the high order backlog and postponed deliveries.

Action Plan to Increase Sales and Profitability
Rieter is implementing a comprehensive package of measures with the aim of increasing sales and profitability in the second half of 2022.

The package focuses on two main priorities: Firstly, Rieter is continuing to systematically implement price increases while working to improve the quality of margins of the order backlog, so as to compensate for cost increases in materials and logistics.
Secondly, Rieter is working closely with key suppliers and is developing alternative solutions to eliminate material bottlenecks, as far as possible, in order to safeguard deliveries.

Rieter Site Winterthur
The Board of Directors has decided to begin the process for the sale of the remaining land at the Rieter site in Winterthur (Switzerland). In total, around 75 000 m2 of land will be sold.

Outlook
As already reported, Rieter expects demand for new systems to normalize further in the coming months. Due to the capacity utilization at spinning mills, the company anticipates that demand for consumables, wear & tear and spare parts will remain at a good level.

For the full year 2022, due to the high order backlog and the consolidation of the businesses acquired from Saurer, Rieter expects sales of around CHF 1 400 million (2021: CHF 969.2 million). The reduced sales forecast compared to early 2022 (March 2022: CHF 1 500 million) reflects the impact of global supply bottlenecks. The realization of sales revenue from the order backlog continues to be associated with risks in relation to the well-known challenges.

Despite significantly higher sales, Rieter expects EBIT and net result for 2022 to be below the previous year’s level. This is due to the considerable increases in the cost of materials and logistics, additional costs for compensation of material shortages as well expenses in connection with the acquisition in the years 2021/2022. Despite the price increases already implemented, global cost increases continue to pose a risk to the growth of profitability.

AkzoNobel has updated its Q2 outlook based on the impact of the evolving business environment, including the effect of China lockdowns and the slower start to the EMEA DIY season.

Overall demand signs for paints and coatings remain robust, with North America still constrained in raw material availability and logistics, but sequentially improving. In Europe in particular, macro-economic uncertainty related to consumer confidence has increased.

Consumer demand in the Deco DIY channels in Europe – which represent 40% of total Deco EMEA revenue – got off to a slow start in Q2, subsequently impacted by inventory reductions in the DIY channel. In June, Deco DIY channel demand improved back to 2019 levels. Despite share gains and our Deco Professional business performing as anticipated, the total Q2 operating income for our Decorative Paints segment is expected to be down by approximately €50 million versus expectations entering the second quarter.

COVID-19 lockdowns in China during Q2 impact both paints and coatings. This impact was mainly on our coatings business, while paints was able to almost offset by progressing with its geographical expansion initiatives. The re-opening in June is showing a positive rebound, but not enough to catch up on all the missed revenue in the quarter, resulting in a negative operating income impact of approximately €40 million for the quarter, versus expectations entering Q2.

AkzoNobel continues to focus on achieving its €2 billion adjusted EBITDA target for 2023, despite the volatile market environment having a material impact on the company’s Q2 2022 financials.

Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) announces the release of its 2021 Annual Report. Even with the continued constraints of COVID-19, 2021 was a year of significant developments for GOTS. An increased interest in sustainability in the textile industry led to greater awareness of GOTS certification from businesses as well as consumers.

The 31-page report details the record growth experienced in 2021, which included an increase of 19 percent in GOTS certified facilities around the world, with Certification Bodies (CBs) reporting 12.338 facilities in 79 countries (+11 percent). Three new GOTS-approved Certification Bodies brought the total to 18, nine of which have chemical input approval in their scopes. The additional CBs are helping meet an ever-increasing demand for certification. The rise in certifications also allowed GOTS to expand internally, adding Representatives as well as colleagues with expertise in Standard Development and Implementation, Quality Assurance, Communication, and IT. GOTS representatives worldwide offered training and education to thousands of participants, including businesses, governmental representatives, certification bodies, and other stakeholders. Visits to the GOTS website jumped 43 percent from 2020 and GOTS’s following on social media expanded significantly, gaining 57 percent across platforms.

“Despite ongoing difficulties and uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, decision-makers continue to pursue their sustainability goals and value GOTS as a tool to accomplish them. We will continue to strive toward our vision of a future in which organic textiles are a significant part of everyday life, enhancing people’s lives and the environment,” says GOTS Managing Director Claudia Kersten.

Additional highlights covered in the report include chronicling the implementation of the most recent update to the standard document, GOTS version 6.0, and the release of ‘Conditions for the Use of GOTS Signs (CUGS)’, which outlines the rules for using the GOTS logo and labeling and updates to GOTS Scope and Transaction Certification policies which are a crucial part of the certification process.

• Low impact of Ukraine war on business performance in 1st quarter
• 12.2% increase in sales to €270.9 million based on growth in all four business units
• Adjusted EBITDA improves by 11.5% to €36.8 million

SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of €270.9 million in Q1 2022 (Q1 2021: €241.5 million). This corresponds to an increase of €29.4 million or 12.2% compared to the same period of the prior year. All four business units contributed to the pleasing increase in sales. In parallel, adjusted EBITDA improved by 11.5% to €36.8 million in the reporting period.

Sales development
In the first three months of fiscal 2022, the sales increase of €29.4 million was driven by all four operating business units: Graphite Solutions (+€11.3 million), Carbon Fibers (+€6.6 million), Composite Solutions (+€7.2 million) and Process Technology (+€6.0 million).
In particular, sales to customers in the automotive and semiconductor industries and a significant recovery in the industrial applications segment were key factors in the increase in sales. Sales of the Process Technology business unit to customers in the chemical industry also developed pleasingly. The effects of the war in Ukraine, which has been ongoing since the end of February 2022, had only a little impact on SGL Carbon's sales performance in the 1st quarter.

Earnings development
Despite the increasingly difficult market environment in the course of Q1 2022, associated with temporary supply and production bottlenecks at their customers, temporarily interrupted transport routes, and significantly higher energy prices, SGL Carbon was able to keep the adjusted EBITDA margin almost stable year-on-year at 13.6%.  
Adjusted EBITDA increased by 11.5% to €36.8 million in the reporting period. Higher capacity utilization in the business units and product mix effects contributed to the improvement in earnings, together with the cost savings achieved as a result of the transformation. By contrast, higher raw material, energy and logistics costs as of end of February 2022 had a negative impact on earnings. The Carbon Fibers business unit was particularly affected by the energy price increases. One-time expenses of €9.2 million in conjunction with energy transactions burdened the Carbon Fibers business unit in the 1st quarter of 2022.  
To secure our production and delivery capabilities, around 85% of the energy requirements of the entire SGL Carbon for 2022 are price-hedged.
Adjusted EBITDA and EBIT do not include in total positive one-time effects and special items of €8.5 million, among other things from the termination of a heritable building right to a site no longer in use. Taking into account the one-time effects and special items presented as well as depreciation and amortization of €14.1 million, reported EBIT increased by 83.5% to €31.2 million (Q1 2021: €17.0 million). The net profit for the period developed correspondingly and more than tripled from €6.1 million to €21.4 million in a quarter-on-quarter comparison.

Outlook
The sales and earnings figures for the 1st quarter 2022 confirm the stable demand from different market segments. Price increases and volatility in the availability of raw materials, transportation services and energy were largely offset by savings from the transformation program and pricing initiatives at the customers.
For 2022, SGL Carbon continues to expect volatile raw material and energy prices, which were included in their forecast for 2022 at the time of planning. However, there are uncertainties about the extent and duration to which SGL Carbon and the customers will be affected by the impact of the war in Ukraine or temporary supply chain disruptions due to the lockdowns in China. Therefore, SGL Carbon's outlook for fiscal 2022 does not include supply and/or production interruptions at customers or the impact of a possible energy embargo that cannot be estimated at this time.  
SGL Carbon's forecast also implies that factor cost increases can be at least partially passed on to the customers through pricing initiatives. SGL Carbon has also included the revenue and earnings impact from the expiry of a supply contract with a major automobile manufacturer at the end of June 2022 in our forecast.

• Hundreds of designers, brands, creators, e-com platforms, manufacturers, and virtual fashion pioneers expected to attend VIP events at Kornit’s headquarters, R&D and production centers, and in major venues of Tel Aviv     
• Kornit will unveil future technologies and solutions, including the revolutionary Kornit Apollo fully-digital mass production direct-to-garment (DTG) platform – considered a future game-changer for the mainstream mass production of fashion and apparel, a multi-billion-dollar market opportunity – constrained today by antiquated, analog, and polluting methods of production
• Mass production of textile, traditionally off-shored, is going through an accelerated shift to near-shore production, significantly shorter production runs, lean-to-no inventory risk, and unlimited creativity and flexibility for designers and creators – all possible with Kornit’s new solution for mass production
• Kornit will also unveil its Kornit Atlas MAX Poly – predicted to transform the multi-billion-dollar professional and recreational sports apparel and teamwear markets, suffering today from major limitations with mass customization of polyester

Kornit Digital Ltd. (NASDAQ: KRNT) (“Kornit”), a worldwide market leader in sustainable, on-demand digital fashionx and textile production, announced today the Company will present the convergence of design, technology, and sustainable fashion at Kornit Fashion Week Tel Aviv 2022, April 3rd – 6th. Rewriting the rules for fashion and textiles, the transformative event will unveil vibrant runway collections together with game-changing industry-first product and technology introductions that bring digital production to the mainstream.

The four-day event is attended by some of the top designers, retailers, brands, fulfillers, and ecommerce players, in addition to global investors and press – and will include exclusive VIP experiences demonstrating the confluence of the design, technology, and fashion worlds. Together, these three elements are central to Kornit’s 4.0 strategy, bringing sustainable, on-demand fashion to the mainstream with end-to-end workflow solutions.

Kornit Fashion Week Tel Aviv 2022

Kornit Fashion Week features an immersive runway showcase produced by worldwide fashion icon, producer, director, and entrepreneur Motty Reif. The week follows successful Kornit events in 2021 across Los Angeles, New York, Milan, and Tel Aviv – displaying the creative freedom associated with sustainable, on-demand fashion fulfillment. Attendees will experience runway events showcasing designer creativity across a broad array of collections. These fascinating collections were created in just a few weeks, unlike typical fashion and textile production processes that take over six months.

Industry-First Introductions

Looking behind the scenes at Kornit Fashion Week, attendees will witness Kornit’s disruptive mass production technology in action. Unveiled for the first time, the Kornit Apollo direct-to-garment (DTG) system addresses accelerated post-pandemic market trends for streamlined supply chains and production nearshoring. Demonstrated at an exclusive VIP event, Kornit Apollo features the Company’s proven MAX technology offering the highest retail quality combined with full automation control and integrated smart curing processes, utilizing functionality from Lichtenau, Germany-based Tesoma (Kornit’s recently announced acquisition). The solution is the most comprehensive digital, single-step end-to-end system for nearshore short-and-medium-runs mass production and offers optimal TCO and highest output per operator. The result far surpasses performance of screen printing and analog techniques. With early customer engagements in the second half of 2022, the system will be available mid-2023.

Physical and Virtual Worlds

Kornit enables customers to exchange supply chain headaches and materials waste for unsurpassed creativity and a frictionless pixel-to-parcel-to-doorstep production experience. Supported by the KornitX workflow solution, customers have access to a scalable and modular ecosystem for on-demand decorated apparel and textiles. Supporting diverse supply chain models, the infrastructure-agnostic system enables on-demand, automated production, end-to-end from initial order to package delivery.

Shawmut Corporation hosted Deputy United States Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi at the company’s headquarters and state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in West Bridgewater, Mass., as part of the ambassador’s inaugural visit to textile manufacturing facilities in the New England area.

Ambassador Bianchi’s visit comes at a pivotal time for the U.S. textile supply chain, which produced $64 billion in output in 2020 and employed nearly 530,000 workers. Shawmut Corporation is part of the broader U.S. textile industry that has been at the forefront of a domestic production chain that has collectively manufactured over one billion personal protective equipment (PPE) items during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ambassador’s visit to Shawmut included a tour of the company’s manufacturing facility and a roundtable discussion highlighting the critical need for policies supporting a domestic supply chain and the innovative nature of the modern textile industry and its important contribution to the U.S. economy. Shawmut, a fourth-generation, family-run global advanced materials and textile manufacturer, is a global leader in automotive textile composites, innovative technical fabrics and custom laminating services, employing more than 700 employees worldwide with 10 global manufacturing plants and seven commercial offices. The company has also contributed greatly to U.S. PPE efforts, investing $20 million in a new state-of-the-art facility, which can produce up to 180 million NIOSH-approved N95 respirators and other PPE annually and created hundreds of new local jobs.

Ambassador Bianchi said, “Today’s tour of Shawmut’s manufacturing facilities and the roundtable discussion with textile industry executives was an invaluable opportunity for me to see innovative U.S. textile manufacturing first-hand, to learn more about the challenges that U.S. textile manufacturing faces, and to explore ways in which the Administration and industry can cooperate to support a worker-centric trade policy.”

During the visit, U.S. textile executives spanning the fiber, yarn, fabric, and finished product textile and apparel industries participated in a roundtable with the ambassador at which they discussed the innovative achievements and competitiveness of the domestic industry and outlined priority issues in Washington, such as the importance of Buy American and Berry Amendment government procurement policies, maintaining strong rules of origins in free trade agreements and the need to address larger systemic trade issues with China.

Premium Group, important trade fair organiser in the German fashion industry and biggest player for advanced contemporary fashion in Europe, is returning to the capital and, in July 2022, is set to present a completely new live event concept around the Berlin Radio Tower and summer garden.
 
Interactive live event concept for B2B and D2C and redefines the future of fashion fairs
After decades of everything being the same, the constantly changing market environment forces brands, retailers, consumers and trade fair organisers alike to continuously develop and reposition themselves. Two years after the start of the pandemic, the Berlin-based company is now reacting with a surprising step: Anita Tillmann, Jörg Arntz and the team are bringing their passion for people, fashion, innovation and entertainment back home and setting new standards for live fashion events.
 
The creators of PREMIUM, SEEK, FASHIONTECH and THE GROUND are redesigning the sustainability of future-proof fashion fairs with the commitment of the Berlin government, and launching a completely new event concept in which the B2B and D2C sectors merge. In the new Premium Group cosmos, brands can present themselves emotionally and interactively to retailers and consumers. All realities are represented: the new kids in the industry, such as D2C brands, e-com and influencers, are given their place in the Premium Group cosmos in the form of the new fashion festival THE GROUND. But also long-standing partners of established brands and representatives from traditional stationary retail will profit from further developed B2B spaces.

Taking into account the different needs of all visitors, the events will take place from Thursday to Saturday for the first time: from 7 to 9 July 2022.
 
Classic trade fair formats are no longer up to date
'Classic trade fair formats are no longer up to date', sums up Anita Tillmann, Managing Partner of the Premium Group. 'We have to reinvent ourselves and look to the future – to a new stage in the life of the fashion industry post pandemic, which has changed everything. Digitisation, climate change, pandemic, changing values, new industry cycles and new players, as well as topics around gender equality, diversity, metaverse, gaming and NFTs, are just a few areas we are dealing with. We aim to set new standards for the future of trade events and merge B2B and D2C with our new event concept.'
 
Move to Frankfurt am Main fell victim to the coronavirus
The planned kick-off of the Premium Group Events in Frankfurt am Main could not take place because of the coronavirus, and the plan to establish the events at the new location has fallen victim to the pandemic.
 
'It's a shame that the move to Frankfurt didn't work out', says Jörg Arntz, Managing Director of the Premium Group. 'We all tried very hard and did our best. As an entrepreneur, you always have to remain capable of acting and questioning decisions that have been made. In order to do justice to our customers and the market environment, we have decided – after intensive discussions with the city of Berlin – to hold our events in our home city again. We are Berliners at heart and are confident that the new government will anchor Berlin as Europe's creative metropolis in a sustainable and economic way.'

New government brings Premium Group power back to Berlin
“Berlin is THE metropolis for the cultural and creative industries and Europe's largest start-up scene. As the new state government, we are committed to an economically strong Berlin. Trade fairs and events are an important economic factor and a centre of attraction for Berliners and guests from all over the world. We are therefore delighted that we have succeeded in bringing the events of the Premium Group back home”, says Franziska Giffey, Mayor of Berlin.
 
“The Premium Group events strengthen Berlin as a fashion and trade fair location, attract tens of thousands of trade visitors and fashion enthusiasts, create additional economic effects in hotels, gastronomy, retail and the service industry, multiply the global appeal of the city as a location and will open the summer of creativity brilliantly in July. The fact that the fair organiser is returning to its home venue with a new concept is a special opportunity for Berlin and will give the city an additional boost. Opening up the events to end consumers ideally rounds off the trade fair concept. With the Premium Group, Berlin will sustainably strengthen the core themes of fashion and digital transformation”, says Stephan Schwarz, Senator for Economics, Energy and Operations.

Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel Europe started construction work on its competence center for finishing and coating base material for the apparel industry at its site in Sant´Omero (Italy) as scheduled in December. Further processing of base material is to begin in Italy in early 2023. The Weinheim site will then become the competence center for interlining base material.

In January 2021, Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel Europe (Freudenberg) announced plans to set up two competence centers. In future, the company will concentrate on manufacturing base material for interlinings at the Weinheim location. Base material finishing and coating is to be bundled at Sant´Omero. For this purpose, production plant will be relocated from Weinheim to Sant´Omero and recommissioned in a newly-built production hall.

The traditional groundbreaking ceremony with senior representatives from local authorities and Freudenberg management was cancelled due to the high number of coronavirus cases in the area.

The Premium Group events will take place in Frankfurt am Main in the third week of January 2022, taking into account the 2G+ regulation (all participants have to be vaccinated, recovered and additionally daily tested).
 
On the basis of the current regulations of the federal government and the Hessian state government, which did not announce any further restrictions for vaccinated people last week, the fashion fairs PREMIUM and SEEK, the FASHIONTECH talks and the showcase of the new format THE GROUND will comply with the official health and hygiene regulations from 18th to January 20, 2022 in Frankfurt am Main.
 
This decision is based on the representative feedback from many protagonists of the industry, expert opinions and a close observation of the situation as well as an assessment of all measures that can be taken in Europe to ensure a safe event.

Four formats - one large exhibition hall
The conceptual novelty is that the PREMIUM, SEEK, THE GROUND and FASHIONTECH events will - for the first time and once - take place all together in a spacious hall, which roughly corresponds to the entire area of Station Berlin, on a total area of approx. 20,000 square meters. The resulting simplified admission management serves the safety of everyone. In this way, visitors can quickly and comfortably experience all the inspiration and concentrated brand power at once.

In addition to the security aspect, the merger of the two flagship events PREMIUM and SEEK in one large exhibition hall will bring new features, above all, in terms of content and atmosphere. Apart from an unprecedentedly strong brand portfolio, completely new synergies and energies will arise, which will make the meeting in January a unique momentum in the history of the industry.

Numerous brands have already signed-up and despite some decisions for smaller pop-up presentations, instead of large stands, the willingness to start again together and to want to send positive signals prevails! In addition to established players, many new brands also want to show their collections now.

THE GROUND - new generation, new platform
THE GROUND will give an outlook on what can be expected in summer with an exclusive press and influencer event. The Fashion Festival ‘for a young and purpose driven generation’ is an innovative platform for brands to get in direct contact with Gen Z with interactive installations, campaigns and storytelling.

At the preview event in January, 15 curated brands and key partners will present their value-based projects and products. In keynotes and panel talks, THE GROUND is dedicated to the topics most relevant to GEN Z: diversity, inclusion & sustainability.

FASHIONTECH - innovation, inspiration, content
FASHIONTECH is the content platform for fashion, technology and lifestyle. This is where decision-makers, industry insiders, communication experts and innovative minds meet to exchange experiences, discuss potential and developments, generate new leads and promote exchange between the various industries.

In addition to the core events, the Premium Group will also organize its popular evening events - due to the conditions, of course, to a slightly different extent than usual.

From November 3-5, 2021, JEC Korea 2021 will be held at the COEX and online, via JEC Korea Connect, simultaneously with the first edition of Carbon Korea. Due to the COVID situation, for its 14th edition and 4th time in Seoul, JEC KOREA will bring together exhibitors and attendees in one single hall for both exhibiting companies and conferences, and in a hybrid format with JEC Korea Connect, including digital booths and conferences in livestreaming, to better network and share knowledge.

More than 50 domestic and foreign industry representatives will exhibit in Seoul and online during three days, among which: Hyosung, Toray Korea, Jeollabuk-do pavilion, Leresche, Pinette, MFtech of France, ZSK of Germany, HOS-TECHNIK of Austria. Through this, the entire value chain of composite materials, including large companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, gather in one place to showcase their latest technologies and innovations.

JEC KOREA Technical Conference + ICF International Carbon Festival will unite 20 global speakers
for 3 days at the core of the event, as well as online through JEC Korea Connect, improving the composites skills of all attendees. It will be an exchange of technical market trends and innovation under the themes of:

• New Energy / hydrogen and carbon
• Smart Manufacturing
• New mobility and aerospace