Kardex Holding AG: Kardex expects decline in bookings and earnings

Media information

Zurich, 8 July 2020

Kardex expects decline in bookings and earnings

Due to the Corona crisis, Kardex is recording a weakening of bookings at Kardex Remstar. The Group therefore expects a temporary slowdown in the positive development of revenues in the second half of the year and a related decline in profitability.

In the first half of 2020 the bookings of Kardex are almost 15% lower than in the same period last year. This decline is due to the development at Kardex Remstar, whose bookings are almost 30% below the strong prior-year period. Bookings of Kardex Remstar, which had already weakened before the outbreak of the Corona crisis due to the economic slowdown in Europe, now reflects a high level of uncertainty in all markets. Since the end of May, the important US market has also cooled down significantly. Although interest in Remstar solutions remains high, many customers are holding back on investment decisions. By contrast, bookings at Kardex Mlog are significantly higher than in the same period of the previous year.

Kardex Remstar and Kardex Mlog have always been able to deliver in recent months, despite the COVID 19 challenges. In some cases, however, access restrictions at customers meant that deliveries, installations and service work on site were not possible and had to be postponed. This led to postponed revenues and partial short time working in the organization. In combination with the weaker bookings, the first six months of the year under review are expected to show a decline in revenues of around 10% compared to the previous year. The EBIT margin of Kardex is expected to be around 2% below the same period last year due to a one-off revaluation of inventories in Kardex Mlog and the lack of economies of scale in Kardex Remstar, which could only be partially offset by stringent fixed cost management.

The Group Management assumes that the bookings situation will gradually recover in the coming months until the end of the year. Kardex Remstar is able to cope with the previous slump in orders with measures already introduced, for the most part without any significant structural adjustments. However, if the assessment for the third quarter is not confirmed and the global economy continues to deteriorate, adjustments will be made to structures and capacities.

The Board of Directors and the Group Management remain convinced of the medium- to long-term growth opportunities and the dynamics of automation in intralogistics. Therefore, investment activity in strategic projects will continue unabated. This applies to the completion and commissioning of the new plant in the USA, investments in digitization and the further development of the solution and product portfolio. These projects can be managed with the company's financial strength alone, so the balance sheet remains free of interest-bearing debt.

On 30 July 2020, Kardex Holding AG will report on the first half of the year and provide an assessment for the second half.

Further information:
Media and investor contact Kardex Holding AG:

- Edwin van der Geest, +41 79 330 55 22, investor-relations@kardex.com

Today, 8 July 2020, from 2:00 - 3:00 pm CET, a Q&A session with CEO Jens Fankhänel and CFO Thomas Reist will take place.

Dial-in details:

- Switzerland / Europe +41 (0) 58 310 50 00

- United Kingdom +44 (0) 207 107 06 13

- United States +1 (1) 631 570 56 13

Please dial-in approx. 5 minutes prior to the telephone conference.

The media release and the presentation for the conference call will be available on 8 July 2020 from 7:00 am (CET) on our website.

Kardex - Corporate Profile
Kardex is a global industry partner for intralogistic solutions and a leading supplier of automated storage solutions and material handling systems. The Group consists of two entrepreneurially managed divisions, Kardex Remstar and Kardex Mlog. Kardex Remstar develops, produces and maintains dynamic storage and retrieval systems and Kardex Mlog offers integrated materials handling systems and automated high-bay warehouses. The two divisions are partners for their customers over the entire lifecycle of a product or solution. This begins with an assessment of customer requirements and continues via the planning, realization and implementation of customer-specific systems through to ensuring a high level of availability and low lifecycle costs by means of customer-oriented lifecycle management. Around 1 900 employees in over 30 countries work for Kardex.

Disclaimer
This communication contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements". In this communication, such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to our financial condition, results of operations and business and certain of our strategic plans and objectives. Because these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual future results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors which are beyond Kardex's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behavior of other market participants, the actions of governmental regulators and other risk factors detailed in Kardex's past and future filings and reports and in past and future filings, press releases, reports and other information posted on Kardex companies' websites. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only of the date of this communication. Kardex disclaims any intention or obligation to update and revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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