MAX Automation : Quarterly statement 3M (240510 q1 quartalsmitteilung eng final)

MAX Automation SE

QUARTERLY STATEMENT I.2024

Strategic Highlights

• Strong growth in the ELWEMA segment accompanied by continuous follow-up orders
• EBITDA from continuing operations remains positive despite slight decline in sales due to reluctance to invest
• Equity ratio improved due to profit for the period and valuation of investments

Key Share Data 3M 2024

Ticker/ISIN	MXHN/DE000A2DA588
Number of shares	41.24 million
Closing price	EUR 5.58
(28/03/2024)*
Highest/lowest price	EUR 6.40/EUR 5.36
Price performance**	-3.5%
Market capitalisation	EUR 230.1 million
(28/03/2024)

• Closing prices on Xetra trading system of Deutsche Börse AG
• Comparison of the price on 28/03/2024 with the price on 29/12/2023

Financial Calendar 2024

30 May 2024

Annual General Meeting

2 August 2024

Publication of the Half-Year Report

8 November 2024

Publication of the 9M Quarterly Statement

25 - 27 November 2024

German Equity Forum, Frankfurt/Main

Statement by the Managing Directors

The MAX Group proved itself to be resilient in the first quarter of 2024 and got off to a strong start to the new financial year by posting a positive result. Nevertheless, the challenging economic conditions and uncertainties regarding the effects of geopolitical tensions meant that customers remained reluctant to invest. Only the ELWEMA segment recorded strong growth and continuous follow-up orders. In the same period of the previous year, the bdtronic Group segment was still able to compensate for order postponements in other segments with non-recurring effects from major orders.

For example, the bdtronic Group segment recorded the highest growth in sales, supported by a continued high order backlog and strong service business. Overall, sales from continuing operations declined slightly in the first quarter of 2024. Despite inflation-related wage cost increases and the increase in personnel in the bdtronic Group segment, which had a negative impact on earnings in addition to the decline in sales, the MAX Group continued to generate positive EBITDA in its continuing operations.

The cash outflow from operating cash flow and the increase in working capital are due in particular to the order situation in the bdtronic Group segment.

At a strategic level, we entered into an agreement with Hitachi, Ltd. for the sale of MA micro group after the end of the reporting period on April 26, 2024. The MA micro Group is a good example of the implementation of our strategy to increase the development and potential of our investments, and we are convinced that being part of the Hitachi Group will enable the next phase of growth for the MA micro Group. The MAX Group intends to use the proceeds from the sale to reduce its financial liabilities in particular by partially repaying the syndicated loan and thereby further strengthening its equity ratio.

We continue to assume that the uncertainties caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the resulting higher energy and material costs as well as supply chain disruptions and the general reluctance to invest due to the rise in interest rates will diminish over the course of financial year 2024. Overall, we continue to expect sales of between EUR 390 million and EUR 450 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of between EUR 31 million and EUR 38 million for financial year 2024.

MAX Automation | Quarterly Statement I.2024

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Overview of the Group's key figures

in EUR million	01/01/-31/03/2024	01/01/-31/03/2023	Change
Order intake	89.7	113.7	-21.2%
Order backlog*	196.8	206.0	-4.5%
Working capital*	112.7	102.9	9.5%
Sales	90.6	96.5	-6.1%
EBITDA	7.9	9.7	-17.8%
Employees	1,550	1,398	10.9%
Headquarter
Sales	0.6	0.3	91.9%
EBITDA	-1.6	-2.2	-26.8%
bdtronic Group
Sales	29.6	19.7	50.2%
EBITDA	3.3	3.3	0.7%
Vecoplan Group
Sales	38.7	46.2	-16.2%
EBITDA	4.1	5.6	-27.2%
AIM Micro
Sales	2.1	2.1	-0.5%
EBITDA	0.7	0.6	27.8%
NSM + Jücker
Sales	10.0	12.4	-18.9%
EBITDA	0.0	1.2	-96.3%
ELWEMA
Sales	10.2	16.1	-36.9%
EBITDA	1.2	1.1	2.6%
Other
Sales	0.1	0.1	3.6%
EBITDA	0.0	0.1	-87.9%
Discontinued operation iNDAT
Sales	0.0	0.2	-100.0%
EBITDA	0.0	-0.2	100.9%
Discontinued operation MA micro Group
Sales	7.8	14.1	-44.8%
EBITDA	0.9	3.7	-76.2%

*Comparison of reporting dates 31 March 2024 to 31 December 2023

MAX Automation | Quarterly Statement I.2024

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KEY FIGURES OF THE GROUP

Order intake and order backlog

(in EUR million)

			-4.5%
	-21.2%	206.0	196.8
113.7	89.7
3M 23	3M 24	31/12/2023	31/03/2024
Order intake	Order backlog

• Order intake from continuing operations declined by 21.2% to EUR 89.7 million in the first quarter of 2024 (3M 2023: EUR 113.7 million). Customers continued to show a reluctance to invest due to the challenging economic conditions.
• Only the ELWEMA segment recorded strong growth of 30.0% due to continuous follow-up orders. The MAX Group's prior- year period was characterised by major orders in the bdtronic segment.
• The book-to-billratio decreased to 0.99 (31 March 2023: 1.18) with a slight decline in the development of sales.
• The order backlog for continuing operations decreased accordingly by 4.5% to EUR 196.8 million at the end of the first quarter of 2024.

Sales and EBITDA

(in EUR million)

	-6.1%
96.5	90.6
			-17.8%
		9.7	7.9
3M 23	3M 24	3M 23	3M 24
	Sales		EBITDA

• Sales from continuing operations were down slightly by 6.1% to EUR 90.6 million in the first quarter of 2024 due to subdued demand (3M 2023: EUR 96.5 million). Exports accounted for 74.9% of sales (3M 2023: 76.9%).
• Bolstered by a continued high order backlog and strong service business, the bdtronic Group segment recorded the highest growth in sales.
• Total performance of the continuing operations declined by 6.9% to EUR 94.4 million (3M 2023: EUR 101.4 million) due to a lower increase in inventories.
• Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from continuing operations fell to EUR 7.9 million (3M 2023: EUR 9.7 million). Besides the decline in sales, inflation-related wage increases and the increase in the bdtronic Group segment's headcount had a negative impact on earnings. The EBITDA margin fell slightly to 8.8% (3M 2023: 10.0%).

MAX Automation | Quarterly Statement I.2024

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Cash flow

(in EUR million)

					n/a
	n/a		+8.5%		5.9
0.3
		-2.3	-2.1	-4.1
	-8.1
3M 23	3M 24	3M 23	3M 24	3M 23	3M 24

Cash flow from	Cash flow from	Cash flow from
operating activities	investing activities	financing activities

• The MAX Group's cash flow from operating activities in the first quarter of 2024 resulted in a cash outflow of EUR 8.1 million (3M 2023: cash inflow of EUR 0.3 million), mainly due to the order-inducedincrease in working capital in the bdtronic Group segment.
• Cash flow from investing activities included a cash outflow of EUR 2.1 million (3M 2023: cash outflow of EUR 2.3 million).
• Due to the additional utilisation of the syndicated loan, cash flow

from financing activities resulted in a cash inflow of EUR 5.9 million (3M 2023: cash outflow of EUR 4.1 million). This was due in particular to the increased demand for working capital. The prior-year period was characterised by the repayment of non-current liabilities

Working capital

(in EUR million)

	+9.5%
102.9	112.7

31/12/202331/03/2024

• The increase in working capital is mainly due to the higher volume of projects in the bdtronic Group segment.

MAX Automation | Quarterly Statement I.2024

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Net debt

(in EUR million)

+11.8%

	Net debt increased as of 31 March 2024, in particular due to the
	higher demand for working capital.


111.8

124.9

The MAX Group's equity increased by 4.0 % to EUR

119.5 Mio. Euro at the end of the first quarter of 2024 (31 December 2023: EUR 114.9 Mio. Euro). In addition to the profit for the period, the valuation of the shares in ZEAL Network SE at fair value with no effect on profit or loss had an impact. The equity ratio improved to 30.3% as of 31 March 2024 (31 December 2023: 29.8%).

31/12/202331/03/2024

• Due to the term of the current syndicated loan until mid of February 2025, a reclassification to current liabilities was made in the quarterly financial statements.
• Discussions with the syndicate banks to agree follow-up financing are proceeding according to plan.

MAX Automation | Quarterly Statement I.2024

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KEY FIGURES OF THE SEGMENTS

bdtronic Group

Order intake and order backlog

(in EUR million)

	-54.0%	-19.3%
		52.0
42.2		42.0
		19.4

3M 23	3M 24	31/12/2023	31/03/2024
Order intake	Order backlog

• Order intake in the bdtronic Group segment declined significantly by 54.0% to EUR 19.4 million (3M 2023: EUR 42.2 million) due to sluggish demand in the area of dispensing and impregnation technology.
• While major orders were already placed in the first quarter of the previous year, project delays are having an impact in the current financial year 2024.
• The order backlog dropped accordingly by 19.3% to EUR 42.0 million at the end of the first quarter of 2024 (31 December 2023: EUR 52.0 million).

Sales and EBITDA

(in EUR million)

	+50.2%
	29.6
19.7
			+0.7%
		3.3	3.3
3M 23	3M 24	3M 23	3M 24
	Sales		EBITDA

• Sales increased by 50.2% to EUR 29.6 million (3M 2023: EUR 19.7 million) due to the fulfilment of the high order backlog and the strong service business.
• At EUR 3.3 million, EBITDA was at the same level as in the same period of the previous year (3M 2023: EUR 3.3 million). Earnings were negatively impacted by the need to procure external services due to the high capacity utilisation. The EBITDA margin decreased accordingly to 11.3% (3M 2023: 16.9%).

MAX Automation | Quarterly Statement I.2024

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Vecoplan Group

Order intake and order backlog

(in EUR million)

			-7.6%
	-7.5%	63.3
		58.4
36.2	33.5
3M 23	3M 24	31/12/2023	31/03/2024
Order intake	Order backlog

• Order intake in the Vecoplan Group segment was down 7.5% to EUR 33.5 million (3M 2023: EUR 36.2 million).
• While the Recycling/Waste and Wood/Biomass segments saw a decline in investment restraint, demand in the service business continued to gain momentum.
• The order backlog decreased accordingly by 7.6% to EUR 58.4 million at the end of the first quarter of 2024 (31 December 2023: EUR 63.3 million).

Sales and EBITDA

(in EUR million)

	-16.2%
46.2
	38.7
			-27.2%
		5.6	4.1
3M 23	3M 24	3M 23	3M 24
	Sales		EBITDA

• Sales were 16.2% lower at EUR 38.7 million (3M 2023: EUR 46.2 million). The still subdued demand was particularly noticeable in the Recycling/Waste division, while the service business continued to grow.
• EBITDA was down 27.2% to EUR 4.1 million due to lower sales (3M 2023: EUR 5.6 million). There were positive effects from the reversal of provisions in the same period of the previous year. The EBITDA margin decreased accordingly to 10.5% (3M 2023: 12.1%).

MAX Automation | Quarterly Statement I.2024

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AIM Micro

Order intake and order backlog

(in EUR million)

	-32.7%	-12.0%
2.5	1.7	3.3	2.9
3M 23	3M 24	31/12/2023	31/03/2024
Order intake	Order backlog

• Order intake in the AIM Micro segment fell by 32.7% to EUR 1.7 million (3M 2023: EUR 2.5 million).
• The order backlog declined to EUR 2.9 million at the end of the first quarter of 2024 (31 December 2023: EUR 3.3 million).

Sales and EBITDA

(in EUR million)

	-0.5%				+27.8%
	2.1			2.1	0.6	0.7
	3M 23	3M 24		3M 23			3M 24
	Sales				EBITDA

• At EUR 2.1 million, sales were at the previous year's level
  (3M 2023: EUR 2.1 million).
• EBITDA increased by 27.8% to EUR 0.7 million (3M 2023: EUR 0.6 million). At 35.0%, the EBITDA margin was above the previous year's level (3M 2023: 27.3%).

MAX Automation | Quarterly Statement I.2024

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NSM + Jücker

Order intake and order backlog

(in EUR million)

			-9.0%
	-41.1%	41.2	37.5
10.7	6.3
3M 23	3M 24	31/12/2023	31/03/2024
Order intake	Order backlog

• Order intake in the NSM + Jücker segment declined by 41.1% to EUR 6.3 million (3M 2023: EUR 10.7 million).
• The reluctance to invest was particularly noticeable in packaging automation. By contrast, there was a major order in the press automation segment in the same period of the previous year.
• The order backlog decreased by 9.0% to EUR 37.5 million at the end of the first quarter of 2024 (31 December 2023: EUR 41.2 million).

Sales and EBITDA

(in EUR million)

	-18.9%
12.4
	10.0
			-96.3%
		1.2	0.0
3M 23	3M 24	3M 23	3M 24
	Sales		EBITDA

• Sales were down 18.9% to EUR 10.0 million (3M 2023: EUR 12.4 million) due to lower capacity utilisation as a result of lower demand.
• EBITDA was therefore lower as expected at EUR 0.0 million (3M 2023: EUR 1.2 million). The EBITDA margin dropped to 0.4% (3M 2023: 9.4%).

MAX Automation | Quarterly Statement I.2024

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