_ Consolidated revenue improves to EUR 120.8 million
_ Sharp 75% increase in adjusted EBITDA to EUR 10.5 million
_ Net asset value slightly up on year-end 2020
_ Recent acquisition of the HY-LINE Group leads to forecast increase

Munich, 30 August 2021 Today, Blue Cap AG has published its figures for the first half of 2021. Despite a challenging environment, the Group managed to maintain its positive trend from the first quarter. Consolidated revenue increased 6% to EUR 120.8 million (previous year: EUR 113.9 million). Adjusted EBITDA increased 75% in the first six months to EUR 10.5 million (previous year: EUR 6 million), with a significantly improved adjusted EBITDA margin of 8.4% (previous year: 5%). Adjusted EBIT increased to EUR 5.3 million (previous year: EUR 1.3 million) and corresponds to a margin of 4.2% (previous year: 1.1%).

The Plastics Technology segment made a key contribution to the Group’s growth with the acquisition of the Hero Group and the currently positive order trend at con-pearl. Uniplast was able to pass a large part of the significant price increases in the plastics market to its customers. In Adhesive Technology, Planatol recorded positive development in the first half of the year despite the generally difficult conditions in the supply of raw materials and was able to significantly increase revenue and earnings. The opposite trend was seen in the Coating Technology segment, with Neschen continuing to be affected by lower order volumes, particularly for products for graphics applications. The Metal Technology segment recorded a decline in revenue and earnings due to reduced delivery volumes at Carl Schaefer compared to the previous year. The Group registered a decline in revenue in Production Technology, mainly due to further project delays at Nokra. Thanks to the positive effects of Gämmerler’s strategic realignment and the disposal of SMB-David, the segment was nevertheless able to record an improvement in earnings. The medical technology manufacturer Inheco contributed significantly to the increase in the adjusted EBIT margin with its earnings growth.

Group equity of EUR 82.5 million remained close to the previous year’s level at the end of the first half of the year. This corresponds to an equity ratio of 37% (previous year: 40.5%) of consolidated total assets. The net debt ratio of 1.7 of adjusted EBITDA (previous year: 2.3) is comfortably below the set maximum value of 2.75.

Net asset value (NAV) increased slightly in the first six months to EUR 155.2 million (EUR 38.82 per share). The calculation has barely changed overall compared to the end of 2020 (FY 2020: EUR 153.9 million), as the medium-term plans only had to be adjusted in exceptional cases at the end of the first half of the year and Hero is still included in the calculation at acquisition cost based on the guidelines for private equity valuations shortly after the acquisition. Major changes may occur at the end of 2021 based on the actual figures for the full year and the new corporate planning at that time.

Matthias Kosch, CFO of Blue Cap AG, is optimistic about the coming months: “Despite the ongoing uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and on the procurement markets, we expect Blue Cap to achieve further significant growth. Our acquisitions of Hero and HY-LINE and our add-on acquisition of Recyplast over the last few months, and the positive development in the Plastics Technology segment, will all contribute to this.”

With the announcement of the acquisition of HY-LINE Verwaltungs GmbH at the beginning of August, the Management Board raised its revenue forecast for the 2021 financial year from EUR 255–265 million to EUR 265–275 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin should be within a range of 8% to 9%. The full half-year report is available on our website at www.blue-cap.de/investor-relations.