GERMANY - Surteco Group SE, holding company for leading national and international brands of surface technology, once again succeeded in significantly increasing its sales revenues year on year in the third quarter of 2021.

Accumulated over the first three quarters, Group sales climbed by 23 % to € 566.1 million compared with the previous year. Sustained high cost of raw materials, which could only be partly passed on and with a delay, is increasingly exerting a negative impact on the cost of materials ratio. Nevertheless, earnings before financial result and income tax (EBIT) rose by 105 % to € 59.1 million compared with the year-earlier value of € 28.8 million.

This success was essentially due to improved Group structures in the context of restructuring launched at the end of 2019. Consolidated net profit went up by 112% to € 39.4 million (2020: € 18.6 million).

All segments of the Group contributed to the positive results. Decoratives, the biggest segment in the Group, increased sales from € 331.0 million in the previous year to € 410.8 million.  This segment includes decorative papers and plastic edge bands among others.

"In view of the good business performance during the first three quarters, we are targeting sales between € 725 million and 750 million and EBIT between € 63 million and € 68 million for the year 2021 overall. This is subject to the provision that the already tense situation in the raw materials markets does not deteriorate further." according to Wolfgang Moyses, Chairman of the Management Board of Surteco Group SE.