GERMANY - Surteco Group SE, holding company of leading national and international brands for surface technology, continues to demonstrate positive development after six months of the year 2018. Consolidated sales rose by 9 % from € 334.0 million to € 365.2 million during the reporting period.

If exchange rates had remained at the year earlier level, the growth of the company would have been around € 10 million higher.

The Surteco Group improved EBIT (earnings before financial result and income tax) by 22 % to € 23.5 million (H1 2017: € 19.3million). Between January and June 2018, consolidated net profit grew by as much as 51 % from € 10.0 million to € 15.1 million thanks to an improved financial result and a lower tax rate. The Board of Management has adjusted the forecast for the full year 2018 against the background of increasingly difficult framework conditions. Now, EBIT is expected to be in the range of slightly to significantly below € 49 million.

Based on an assessment of the business development in July and August 2018, the planned sales target of € 725 to 750 million is also uncertain due to a volatile development of certain customer industries, but also due to continuing unfavorable exchange rates.

“Thanks to a good development in our plastics line, Surteco has generated robust sales and earnings growth in the first six months of 2018. However, we expect increasingly difficult framework conditions for the second half of the year due to global political tensions. We are countering the significant increase in raw material costs with strict cost discipline”, commented Dr. Herbert Müller, Chairman of the Board of Management of Surteco Group SE.

After six months, the plastics division has reported a dynamic increase in growth of 24 % to € 180.6 million (H1 2017: € 145.9 million). Growth was powered by the acquisition of the Probos Group in June of last year and by modest organic growth in skirtings, finish foils and technical extrusions (profiles). EBIT for this business line went up by 44 % from € 11.2 million to € 16.1 million. By contrast, ongoing high pressure on the raw materials side, negative currency effects and an unfavorable product mix, have dominated the picture in the paper segment after the first six months of 2018. As a consequence of this, a drop in sales of around 2 % was posted to € 184.6 million (H1 2017: € 188.1 million) accompanied by a drop in EBIT from € 13.0 million to € 10.9 million.