From the Sector

Autoneum significantly improved revenue in local currencies by 34.8% in 2023 compared to the previous year, supported by inorganic growth and a positive market environment. Consolidated in Swiss francs, revenue increased by 27.6% to CHF 2 302.3 million. The acquisition of Borgers Automotive already made a positive contribution to earnings and value in the first year and Business Group North America achieved a turnaround. EBIT adjusted for one-time effects more than doubled year-on-year to CHF 99.2 million and, with an EBIT margin of 4.3%, was at the upper end of the guidance. Net profit for the full year 2023 increased by an impressive CHF 50.2 million to CHF 61.1 million. Based on the positive net results, the Board of Directors is proposing a dividend of CHF 2.50 per share.

Outlook
According to forecasts, worldwide automobile production will be somewhat restrained in 2024 and may even decline slightly compared with 2023. Based on these market forecasts¹, Autoneum expects revenue in 2024 of CHF 2.3 billion to 2.5 billion. The Company anticipates an EBIT margin of 4.5–5.5% and free cash flow in the high upper double-digit million range for 2024.

¹ Source: S&P Global Light Vehicle Production Forecast of February 16, 2024.

Autoneum's consolidated revenue increased by 24.1% from CHF 888.7 million to CHF 1 102.6 million in the first half of 2023. The Group grew significantly both organically, thanks to a market recovery in Europe and North America, and inorganically, through the acquisition of the traditional German company Borgers. All business units improved their profitability compared to the prior-year period. EBIT adjusted for special effects increased by CHF 33.0 million to CHF 45.0 million and the EBIT margin rose from 1.4% to 4.1% compared to the prior-year period. EBIT rose by CHF 78.5 million to CHF 84.9 million in the same period, with an increase in EBIT margin of 7.0 percentage points to 7.7%. Autoneum achieved a solid net result of CHF 57.8 million. Business Group North America nearly reached break-even point before special effects. As planned, the Borgers units, consolidated for the first time in the second quarter, made a positive contribution to the overall result from day one.

Economic conditions in the automotive supply industry improved in the first half of 2023 compared to the prior-year period. There was a slight easing of supply chains and a rise in production volumes among vehicle manufacturers already in the first quarter of 2023. This was especially true in markets that had previously been heavily impacted by supply chain bottlenecks.

Global automobile production climbed by 11.8%* compared with the prior-year period, although consumer demand was somewhat dampened by high vehicle prices in some markets. In this improved market environment and supported by the acquisition of the automotive business from Borgers, a long-standing German company, as of April 1, 2023, Autoneum increased its revenue and net result substantially in the first six months compared with the same period of the previous year.

• Positive revenue development supported by inorganic growth
• Significant improvement of operational profitability and solid net profit
• Equity ratio influenced by the acquisition of Borgers Automotive
• Creation of a capital band
• Business Groups
• Integration of Borgers automotive business
• Working on behalf of electromobility with sustainable noise absorption in underbody
• shields
• Change to the Group Executive Board
• SBTi recognizes Autoneum’s science-based targets

Outlook unchanged
According to the current S&P market forecasts, it is expected that global automobile production will climb by 5.7%* in 2023 compared with 2022. Autoneum anticipates that production volumes in the various regions will develop in line with the forecasts. Customer negotiations are ongoing and Autoneum expects that the increase in costs for raw materials, energy, transportation and staff will be completely offset in the second half of the year. Based on the forecast market development and the renegotiated customer agreements, Autoneum confirms the outlook that it published in March 2023. The Company expects total revenue of CHF 2.4 to 2.5 billion at unchanged exchange rates for the financial year 2023, an EBIT margin of 3.5% to 4.5% excluding one-time effects and a free cash flow in the higher double-digit millions, excluding acquisition-related net cash outflows.

For more information, see attached document.

*Source: S&P market forecast – August 15, 2023

AVK, the Federation of Reinforced Plastics, has once again awarded its Innovation Awards to a range of companies, institutes and their partners in 2022. Three innovative composites from each of the three categories Products & Applications, Processes & Methods and Research & Science were honoured during the JEC Forum for Germany, Austria and Switzerland in Augsburg at an award ceremony on 29 November 2022. A professional jury, composed of engineers, scientists and trade journalists, presented the awards for 2022 in three categories.

List of award winners in the three categories:
Products & Applications category
First place: LAMILUX Composites GmbH, Rehau, Germany: Lamilux Sunsation® – the new standard under the sun
Second place: Carbo-Link AG, Fehraltorf, Switzerland: CL RESTRAP – Reinforcement of concrete girders using flexible, prestressed CRP tapes
Third place: Borgers SE & Co. KGaA, Bocholt, Germany: blue label by Borgers ®

Innovative Processes & Methods category
First place: BaltiCo GmbH, Hohen Luckow, Germany: Rod laying technology as an additive manufacturing process
Second place: Schmidt & Heinzmann GmbH & Co. KG, Bruchsal, Germany: Pole Position, a positioning system for polarisation imaging
Third place: NETZSCH Process Intelligence GmbH, Selb, Germany: SensXPERT, process optimisation driven by material data to increase the efficiency of thermosets and fibre composites

Research & Science category
First place: Institute for Textile Machinery and High Performance Textiles at the Technical University of Dresden: Spherically curved fibre-reinforced plastic composite components made from near-net-shape fabrics
Second place: Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH, Kaiserslautern, Germany: HyKoPerm – a measurement system for an industry-specific characterisation of textile impregnation behaviour
Third place: Technical University of Munich, Chair of Carbon Composites: Manufacturing processes for a tension-strut-supported pressure vessel that can be adapted to suit a given space