GERMANY - Surteco Group SE announced the adjustment of the forecast for the business year 2023.

Preliminary sales for the first half of 2023 (6M-2023) amount to EUR 428 million (6M-2022: EUR 415 million) and preliminary EBIT to EUR 7.6 million (6M-2022: EUR 33.5 million).

The main reasons for the decline in earnings are a persistently difficult market environment in Europe and North America, one-off costs in connection with the Omnova acquisition and the purchase price allocation. The company has initiated countermeasures, which, however, are unlikely to be sufficient to achieve the original EBIT forecast for 2023 of EUR 45 to EUR 55 million. These measures will lead to additional one-off restructuring expenses in the second half of 2023. In this respect, EBIT in the range of EUR 20 to EUR 30 million is now expected for the 2023 financial year. EBIT adjusted (for acquisition and integration costs, the purchase price allocation from the acquisition of the Omnova business units and costs from the restructuring programme) is expected to be in the range of EUR 45 to EUR 55 million.

All measures should lead to a sustainable EBIT of over EUR 60 million and an EBITDA of over EUR 110 million before special effects from the 2024 financial year onwards.

Due to the continued weak demand, Group sales in the 2023 financial year will also be slightly below the original forecast of EUR 920 to EUR 950 million.

Surteco Group SE develops, produces, and sells coated surface materials based on paper and plastic in Germany, rest of Europe, the United States, Asia, Australia, and internationally.