Aurelius SE & Co. KGaA

Earnings Release • Mar 12, 2021

News Details

Corporate | 12 March 2021 07:00

AURELIUS Equity Opportunities announces very good preliminary numbers for financial year 2020 – EBITDA of the combined Group rises to EUR 431.1 million

DGAP-News: AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA / Key word(s): Preliminary Results

12.03.2021 / 07:00

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

AURELIUS Equity Opportunities announces very good preliminary numbers for financial year 2020 – EBITDA of the combined Group rises to EUR 431.1 million

– In last year’s challenging environment, the EBITDA of the combined Group reached EUR 431.1 million, considerably higher than the prior-year figure of EUR 271.4 million

– Operating EBITDA came to EUR 167.6 million, at the level of the previous year (2019: EUR 168.9 million) despite the coronavirus pandemic

– Very solid cash holdings of EUR 422.9 million after redemption of the convertible bond

– Positive outlook for a transaction-intensive year in 2021

Munich, March 12, 2021 – Based on preliminary, not yet audited numbers, AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE000A0JK2A8) generated total consolidated revenues of EUR 3,230.1 million in the 2020 financial year (2019: EUR 3,612.1 million), which was in line with expectations. Annualized consolidated revenues from continued operations amounted to EUR 3,415.8 million, after EUR 3,131.6 million in the previous year.

In last year’s challenging environment, the EBITDA of the combined Group reached EUR 431.1 million, considerably higher than the prior-year figure of EUR 271.4 million

The significant increase in the EBITDA of the combined Group to EUR 431.1 million (2019: EUR 271.4 million) is mainly attributable to the transactions conducted in the 2020 financial year. A profit of EUR 78.7 million (2019: EUR 139.5 million) was generated by gains on exits, especially the successful sale of the GHOTEL Group in February 2020. In total, AURELIUS Equity Opportunities acquired six corporate groups, generating gains on bargain purchases of EUR 292.2 million (2019: EUR 65.3 million) in the 2020 financial year.

The AURELIUS portfolio was strengthened in the 2020 financial year by these six new acquisitions: ConverterTec (formerly: Renewable Power Systems, producer of converters for the wind power industry) / SEG Electronics (developer and producer of protective relays), Distrelec (online distributor) / Nedis (wholesaler of electronics products), GKN Wheels & Structures (manufacturer of off-highway wheels), Pullman Fleet Solutions (commercial vehicle fleet operator), Zentia (formerly: Armstrong Ceiling Solutions, producer of mineral fiber ceiling tiles and grid systems) and ZIM Flugsitz (manufacturer of economy and premium economy aircraft seats).

Operating EBITDA came to EUR 167.6 million, at the level of the previous year despite the coronavirus pandemic

The operating EBITDA of EUR 167.6 million (2019: EUR 168.9 million) clearly shows that AURELIUS Equity Opportunities made it through the coronavirus-dominated year 2020 very well. The extreme closeness of the AURELIUS operations experts to our Group companies made it possible to react quickly and comprehensively to the coronavirus crisis as soon as it began in the spring of 2020. Thanks to extensive countermeasures and the operational support afforded by AURELIUS, we managed to navigate most of our portfolio companies through the crisis very well. Restructuring and non-recurring expenses of EUR 107.4 million were incurred for the restructuring of Group companies; this figure was only negligibly higher than the prior-year figure of EUR 102.3 million, confirming the resilience of the Group’s portfolio companies.

Very solid cash holdings of EUR 422.9 million after redemption of the convertible bond

Despite the redemption of the convertible bond in the amount of EUR 103.0 million in December 2020, the Group has very solid cash holdings of EUR 422.9 million (December 31, 2019: EUR 435.7 million), which it can put to good use in seizing the opportunities in the M&A markets arising from the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“2021 will be an exciting year. More companies in exceptional situations will come onto the market. We therefore see a multitude of opportunities for expanding our portfolio with attractive new acquisitions. We are ideally equipped for this with currently around EUR 100 million in non-operating cash and our experienced team, who have shown that they can successfully guide the company through tough times. In addition to our accustomed transaction volumes, we would also like to increasingly pursue larger acquisitions with the aid of co-investments,” said Matthias Täubl, CEO of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities. “In addition to the focus on our transaction activities, I am especially committed to communicating with our shareholders and building the company’s value. In 2020, we already launched a comprehensive transparency initiative that we intend to supplement with additional measures in the current year. I am therefore pleased that the strong results of 2020 provide an excellent basis for increasing the value of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities further. We want our shareholders to participate in this success in the future as well.”

The complete Annual Report 2020 will be published on March 31, 2021.

Key figures

(in EUR millions)	1/1 – 12/31/2019	1/1 – 12/31/2020
Total consolidated revenues	3,612.1	3,230.1
Annualized consolidated revenues 1,2	3,131.6	3,415.8
EBITDA of the combined Group	271.4	431.1
of which gains on bargain purchases	65.3	292.2
of which restructuring and non-recurring expenses	-102.3	-107.4
of which gains on exits	139.5	78.7
Operating EBITDA of the combined Group	168.9	167.6
	12/31/2019	12/31/2020
Cash and cash equivalents	435.7	422.9
Equity ratio 3 (in %)	17%	21%

¹ The prior-year consolidated statement of comprehensive income has been adjusted in accordance with IFRS 5.

2 From continued operations.

3 Including minority interests.

ABOUT AURELIUS

AURELIUS Group is a pan-European investment group with offices in Munich, London, Stockholm, Madrid and Amsterdam. Since it was founded in 2006, AURELIUS has grown from a local turnaround investor to an international multi-asset manager.

AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN: DE000A0JK2A8, ticker symbol: AR4) is the listed entity within AURELIUS Group and focuses on investing in mid-market corporate carve-outs and platform build-ups in a broad range of industries. With a team of approximately 100 in-house operations experts, AURELIUS actively supports its portfolio companies in their long-term development. AURELIUS Equity Opportunities currently has 26 portfolio companies located across Europe which employ around 12,000 people and generate annual revenues of approx. EUR 3.4 billion. The shares of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities are traded on all German stock exchanges.

AURELIUS Group also operates in the areas of growth capital, real estate opportunities and debt. AURELIUS Growth Investments invests in leveraged buyouts usually in succession or corporate spin-off situations. AURELIUS Real Estate Opportunities focuses on real estate investments, the value of which can be increased in the long-term by means of active management. AURELIUS Finance Company is an alternative direct lender, focused on providing flexible debt solutions to small and mid-market firms across Europe.

With its group charity AURELIUS Refugee Initiative e.V., AURELIUS provides comprehensive support for refugees on their way towards a better life.

To find out more, visit www.aureliusinvest.de .

CONTACT

AURELIUS Group

Anke Banaschewski

Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Phone: +49 (89) 544799 – 0

Fax: +49 (89) 544799 – 55

E-mail: investor@aureliusinvest.de

---

12.03.2021 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.dgap.de

---

Language:	English
Company:	AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA
	Ludwig-Ganghofer-Straße 6
	82031 Grünwald
	Germany
Phone:	+49 (0)89 544 799-0
Fax:	+49 (0)89 544 799-55
E-mail:	info@aureliusinvest.de
Internet:	www.aureliusinvest.de
ISIN:	DE000A0JK2A8
WKN:	A0JK2A
Listed:	Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich (m:access), Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
EQS News ID:	1175071

End of News	DGAP News Service