Komax : Annual Report 2022 (short version)

Short Report 2022

• Komax Group Short Report 2022

The Komax Group is a pioneer as well as market and technology leader in automated wire processing solutions. Serial production machines, customer-specific systems, quality assurance modules, test systems, networking solutions, and services are all provided on a one-stop basis. The Komax Group aims to further expand its leading position and set the pace on the trends that are important today, such as automation, e-mobility, and autonomous driving. To this end, it is channeling above-average investment into research and development.

The Komax Group has ambitious growth and profitability targets. Through its business strategy, which is geared to long-term success, the Komax Group aims to create sustainable value that will also benefit its shareholders in the form of an attractive dividend policy.

• Komax Group Short Report 2022

KEY FIGURES

678	million order	606	million revenues
intake in CHF	in CHF
(2021: 482 million)	(2021: 421 million)

71.7 (2021: 44.8 million)	12.11 per share in CHF
million EBIT in CHF	basic earnings
		(2021: 7.90)
	equity ratio	of revenues invested in
53.2% (2021: 51.4%)	9.7% research and development
		(2021: 9.8%)
3 390	employees as at 31.12.	54.5%	payout ratio
(31.12.2021:	(2021: 57.0%)

2 121 employees)

Revenues

in TCHF

800 000
600 000
400 000
200 000
606 332	421 067	327 623	417 771	479 698
2022	2021	2020	2019	2018

Operating profit (EBIT)

in TCHF			EBIT in % of revenues
80 000	11.8	10.6	3.4	5.8	14.0
60 000
40 000
20 000
	71 732	44 794	11 254	24 035	67 254
	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018

• Komax Group Short Report 2022

DEAR SHAREHOLDER

2022 was an extraordinary year for the Komax Group in many respects. The combination with the Schleuniger Group and the war in Ukraine had a significant impact on the development of business. Record figures were achieved for both order intake and revenues, to the extent that the mid-term targets set for 2023 were exceeded a year early. Customers were eager to further increase the degree of automation in their factories. This laid the basis for a successful financial year for the Komax Group in a turbulent market environment.

The 2022 reporting year was signifi­ cantly influenced by a number of fac­ tors: the combination of Komax and Schleuniger, the war in Ukraine, and the trend toward greater automation in wire processing. Order intake therefo­ re increased substantially to CHF 678.1 million, a rise of 40.6% on the previous year (2021: CHF 482.4 million). Komax received orders for over CHF 599.7 million, while Schleuniger contributed CHF 78.4 million between its consoli­ dation at the start of September and the end of the financial year. Even with­ out Schleuniger, Komax would have

exceeded its previous year's result by 24.3% and surpassed the previous re­ cord order intake (CHF 496.7 million, in 2018) by more than CHF 100 million.

Impact of the war in Ukraine

The difficult supply chain situation in the automotive industry was exacer­ bated in the spring of 2022 by the war in Ukraine, which is a significant center of wire manufacturing. In order to com­ pensate for reduced Ukrainian produc­ tion capacity against the backdrop of the war and secure their ability to sup­ ply automotive producers reliably, wire

• Komax Group Short Report 2022

harness manufacturers built up subs­ titute capacity in other countries. As a result, the Komax Group received a large number of extraordinary orders in the first half of the year.

Record revenues in a difficult market environment

The global supply chain situation pro­ ved a challenge for the Komax Group, too. Overall, the Group coped with this challenge very well, but there were no­ netheless some delays, and not all or­ ders could be processed within the accustomed timeframe. The Komax Group posted a record figure for reve­ nues in 2022 of CHF 606.3 million (2021: CHF 421.1 million), an increase of 44.0% on the previous year.

Of this amount, Komax contributed CHF 522.2 million, while Schleuniger contributed CHF 84.1 million in the four months of the financial year following its consolidation. Here, too, a record figure would have been posted even without the Schleuniger Group. The factors behind the revenue increase were very strong organic growth (26.7%), acquisition-driven growth (20.1%), and a negative foreign currency effect (-2.8%).

Automation trend drives growth The trend toward higher automation in wire processing continued in all regi­ ons in the year under review - both in the automotive market segment, whe­ re the Komax Group generates around 75% of its revenues, and in the other market segments. Customers are awa­ re that automation not only delivers better long-termcost efficiency com­ pared to manual wire processing, but also helps them to meet increasing quality requirements. In keeping with

this trend, the Komax Group grew in all regions: Africa (+37.4%), Europe (+51.2%), Asia/Pacific (+34.3%), and North/South America (+45.4%).

Further increase in profitability The Komax Group also improved its profitability in 2022, which was due in particular to the higher revenues and advantageous product mix associated with orders received in connection with the war in Ukraine. Operating profit (EBIT) rose accordingly by 60.1% for the full year of 2022, to CHF 71.7 mil­ lion (2021: CHF 44.8 million). Group earnings after taxes (EAT) increased by 70.4% to CHF 51.8 million (2021: CHF 30.4 million). The Schleuniger Group contributed CHF 5.0 million to EBIT and CHF 2.6 million to EAT.

Combination with Schleuniger secures competitiveness

The combination of Komax and Schleu­ niger, which was completed at the end of August 2022, marked a historic mo­ ment for both corporate groups. This combination brought eleven compa­ nies with strong market positions and locations spread across three conti­ nents into the Komax Group, expan­ ding it significantly. Together with Schleuniger, opportunities that arise in the market can now be harnessed better and more rapidly. The combi­ nation supports all four strategic prio­ rities of the Komax Group, and there­ fore will secure its competitiveness over the long term. In addition, the combination has increased the stabi­ lity of the shareholder base thanks to a new anchor shareholder with a long- term focus: Metall Zug AG, the former owner of the Schleuniger Group. Jürg Werner was appointed to the Board of