Blue Cap AG: Preliminary key financial figures for the first half of 2022 show a significant increase in sales and earnings
_Group sales increase by 43.5% to EUR 173.3 million (previous year: EUR 120.8 million)
_Adjusted EBITDA margin(1) improves to 9.9% (previous year: 8.4%)
_Forecast for the 2022 financial year provisionally confirmed
_Change in the Management Board: Tobias Hoffmann-Becking becomes CEO, Henning Eschweiler takes over the COO position
Munich, 27 July 2022 According to preliminary calculations, Blue Cap AG ("Blue Cap") can look back on a successful first half of the year. At EUR 173.3 million, consolidated group sales increased significantly compared to the previous year's figure (previous year: EUR 120.8 million). The operating result (Adjusted EBITDA(1)) rose to EUR 17.7 million (+69.9% compared to the previous year, previous year: EUR 10.5 million). This corresponds to a margin of 9.9% (previous year: 8.4%) of the total output. Adjusted EBIT more than doubled compared to the previous period and reached a value of EUR 11.2 million (previous year: EUR 5.3 million). The corresponding margin also climbed significantly to 6.3% (previous year: 4.2%). The net debt ratio (including lease liabilities) was 2.5 years (31 December 2021: 2.6 years) and thus within the target range of less than 3.5 years.
The improvements are due in particular to the new acquisitions of HY-LINE Group, H+E and Transline, but also to the positive development in the Plastics segment. Although the sales of Gämmerler and Carl Schaefer reduced sales compared to the previous year, they had a clearly positive effect on the operating result.
Plastics segment with continued profitable growth
As of June 30, 2022, the Blue Cap portfolio included eight majority holdings, which are allocated to the Plastics, Adhesives & Coatings, Business Services and Others segments, as well as one minority holding.
The Plastics segment was able to noticeably increase both sales and earnings. The main driver of this development is the portfolio company con-pearl, which continues to benefit from a good order situation in the logistics sector and from its high level of sustainability expertise. The developments at H+E and Uniplast have slowed down due to the raw material and energy price increases, which can only be passed on to customers with a delay, but they show a solid development in view of the difficult environment.
Planatol and Neschen from the Adhesives & Coatings segment are also affected by the raw material and energy price increases and supply bottlenecks for important materials. Accordingly, the development of earnings in this business field was below the previous year despite improved sales.
The Business Services segment includes the two newly added portfolio companies HY-LINE and Transline. The HY-LINE Group grew very dynamically in the first six months of 2022. Thanks to improved material and product availability, the company was able to significantly increase its deliveries while order intake continued to be strong. Transline developed at the previous year's level, although the overall economic uncertainty resulted in individual project postponements by customers.
The year-on-year development of the Others segment was significantly influenced by the disposals and deconsolidation of Gämmerler and Carl Schaefer. Blue Cap's smallest holding, Nokra, had a good service business and performed almost as planned. The continued stable development of orders from the pharmaceutical and diagnostics sectors, even after the corona pandemic has abated, led to results at the minority holding INHECO at the previous year's level.
Segment key figures at a glance
| EUR million | H1 2022 | H1 2021 | Change in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastics | |||
| Revenue | 84.5 | 64.1 | 32 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 10.9 | 7.2 | 51 |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin in % | 12.5 | 11.0 | 14 |
| Adhesives & Coatings | |||
| Revenue | 48.2 | 42.9 | 12 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 3.2 | 3.7 | -14 |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin in % | 6.3 | 8.3 | -24 |
| Business Services | |||
| Revenue | 38.7 | 0 | 100 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 3.7 | 0 | 100 |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin in % | 9.3 | 0 | 100 |
| Others (*) | |||
| Revenue | 2.0 | 13.8 | -86 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | -0.03 | -0.5 | 94 |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin in % | -1.8 | -3.5 | 49 |
Note: H1 2022 figures are preliminary, rounding differences are possible
(*) The Others segment includes consolidation effects at holding level, Nokra, the Group's holding, real estate management companies, and portfolio companies already sold as of the reporting date.
Positive outlook in an uncertain market environment
Despite the increasingly difficult framework conditions, the preliminary key financial figures confirm the existing forecast for the current financial year of being able to achieve consolidated sales of between EUR 305-325 million, an adjusted EBITDA margin of between 9-10% and a net debt ratio of below 3.5 years.
Matthias Kosch, CFO of Blue Cap, comments: “It is encouraging that our half-year figures are in line with our forecast from the beginning of 2022. However, the macroeconomic momentum has been increasingly negative in recent months and is still characterized by a high level of uncertainty. We are closely monitoring further developments and are in close contact with the management of our portfolio companies.” Tobias Hoffmann-Becking, CIO of Blue Cap, adds: “With regard to M&A activities, we will focus on smaller add-on acquisitions in the coming months to further improve our portfolio. In addition, the focus of the work in the team shifts even more to the operational support of the subsidiaries in order to continue to be successful even in the difficult market environment. I am pleased to have a new colleague, Henning Eschweiler, at my side, who with his extensive expertise will give Blue Cap important and new impetus for a future, sustainable value creation.”
Changes in the board of directors
With effect from September 1, 2022, changes in the Management Board of Blue Cap AG will come into effect. The Supervisory Board has decided to appoint Mr. Tobias Hoffmann-Becking, who has been Chief Investment Officer (CIO) for Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets since April 2020, as Chairman of the Management Board/CEO. His contract was extended until December 31, 2027.
In addition, Mr. Henning Eschweiler will be appointed to the Management Board with effect from September 1 and will take over the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Blue Cap AG from Ulrich Blessing, who is ending his Management Board mandate, which would run until the end of 2022, prematurely by mutual agreement. The Supervisory Board and Management Board would like to thank Mr. Blessing for the trusting and successful cooperation and wish him all the best for the future.
Henning Eschweiler (born 1982) will be responsible for portfolio management and sustainability at Blue Cap. He has many years of experience in German medium-sized companies and in the private equity sector. During his time at the consulting firm Struktur Management Partner GmbH the graduate mechanical engineer and business economist advised companies on the development of growth and earnings increase programs. In addition, as operational manager, he was also responsible for their implementation. Most recently, Mr. Eschweiler worked at the Dutch-German private equity house Nimbus, where he was responsible for both M&A transactions and portfolio management. As a member of the advisory board and managing director, he assumed operational responsibility in selected portfolio companies. With his proven expertise, Mr. Eschweiler will place a strong focus on the portfolio and the operational performance improvement of the portfolio companies.
Important note:
To coincide with the publication of the preliminary figures, a conference call with the Management Board of Blue Cap AG will take place at 2:00 pm today. You can register under this link (see below). The corresponding presentation can be found under https://www.blue-cap.de/en/investor-relations/presentations/.
Further details on the company can be found on the website: www.blue-cap.de/investor-relations/. The complete half-year report 2022 will be published as planned at the end of August.
(1) Adjustments to reflect extraordinary, prior-periodic and other effects from reorganization measures and one-off effects, as well as effects arising from the purchase price allocations
