Schouw & Co. — Earnings Release 2015

Mar 4, 2016

Best performance in Schouw & Co.'s history

2015 was one of the very best years in Schouw & Co.’s almost 140-year history,
as all the companies of the Schouw & Co. Group improved on their 2015 revenue
and earnings relative to 2014, and the Group’s consolidated EBIT is the highest
ever.

The Group’s companies improved overall revenue from DKK 11,784 million in 2014
to DKK 12,566 million in 2015. The improved 7% revenue performance was composed
of several opposing factors, including changing prices of raw materials,
foreign exchange rates and volume sales, but all of our consolidated businesses
reported revenue improvements.

EBIT for the year rose from DKK 708 million in 2014 to DKK 831 million in 2015.
The 17% EBIT improvement was driven mainly by Fibertex Personal Care, but
BioMar, Fibertex Nonwovens and Hydra-Grene also contributed. The associate
Kramp and Xergi, which is recognized as a joint venture, also both achieved
expected earnings.

Highlights

Realised in 2015:

-- Revenue rose to DKK 12.6 billion (2014: 11.8).
-- EBIT up to DKK 831 million (2014: 708), which was much better than expected
during the year.
-- Cash flows from operations improved by more than DKK 500 million to DKK
1,171 million, mainly due to lower working capital. Free cash flow of DKK
602 million.
-- All portfolio companies reported revenue and EBIT improvements relative to
2014.
-- NIBD was a net deposit of DKK 511 million.
-- High level of activity in portfolio companies: BioMar set up a joint
venture in China, Fibertex Personal Care resolved investment in printing
facilities in Malaysia, Fibertex Nonwovens acquired company in Turkey, and
Hydra-Grene agreed to acquire its much larger Swedish peer Specma.
-- Our ROIC improved for the sixth consecutive year, reaching 18.3%, excluding
goodwill, and 15.1% when stated including goodwill.

Outlook for 2016:

-- Still very competitive markets, but earnings are expected to remain
attractive.
-- Completion of GPV expected . First time in ten years, a new leg is added to
the portfolio.
-- We expect 2016 revenue to be around DKK 14.2 billion (2015: 12.6) and EBIT
in the range of DKK 760-850 million (2015: 831). These numbers are stated
without the effect of the GPV acquisition.
-- The share of profit in associates etc. is expected to be DKK 75-85 million
after tax.
-- Proposal to increase the dividend for the 2015 financial year by 25% to DKK
10 per share.

BioMar:

-- Volumes sold were down on 2014, but revenue was up by 6%, mostly due to
higher raw materials prices and currency appreciation. EBIT grew to DKK 447
million (2014: 434) mainly as a result of changes in foreign exchange
rates, proper cost control and margin management in all regions. Facing
challenging market conditions, and a slight drop in EBIT is expected
relative to 2015.

Fibertex Personal Care:

-- Revenue was marginally up from 2014, but EBIT was up by 47% to DKK 253
million (2014: 171) due to efficient operations, attractive raw materials
prices and favourable FX rate developments. EBIT for 2016 is expected lower
than in 2015.

?Fibertex Nonwovens:

-- Revenue up by 17% and EBIT up by 23% to DKK 76 million in 2015.
Improvements expected to continue in 2016, which will be a year of
consolidating past investments.

?Hydra-Grene:

-- Revenue up to DKK 603 million (2014: 566), and EBIT up by 30% to DKK 78
million, driven by a high level of activity in the wind turbine segment.
Specma acquisition will lift 2016 revenue and earnings, but market
expectations moderate.

Kramp (20% owned):

-- Revenue up by 5% to DKK 5,126 million and EBIT rose by 17% to DKK 474
million. Revenue expected to improve and EBIT to remain flat in 2016
despite the challenging conditions facing the agricultural sector.

Statement by Jens Bjerg Sørensen, President of Schouw & Co.:

”Our very solid performance comes on the back of the platform we have
established over the past few years. We are strongly committed to
future-proofing our businesses by giving priority to development, innovation
and long-term investment.

A common characteristic of all of our businesses in their busy everyday
operations and challenging market conditions is their everpresent commitment
and dedication to visionary, innovative thinking and a long-term approach. It
is a culture we value very highly at Schouw & Co.

The last few months have been full of intense acquisition activity and we are
very pleased with the additions of Specma and GPV to the Schouw family.

Over the past few years, we invested heavily in making our businesses both
larger and stronger. It’s now time to shift our focus to prioritizing stronger
businesses over larger ones.

We have the capacity for growth, and we’ve shown a commitment to investing in
making our businesses stronger. Schouw & Co. remains well-positioned for
long-term value creation. The markets our companies operate in will always be
highly competitive, but we are well prepared to face a changing world. Our
company acquisitions from 2015 will propel us forward, and the future looks
quite promising.”

Conference call

Schouw & Co. will be hosting a teleconference (in Danish) for analysts, the
media, etc. on Friday, 4 March at 09.00 CET. Those wishing to attend the
teleconference are invited to call tel. +45 8025 0187 using pin 53583916#. An
accompanying presentation can be downloaded from www.schouw.dk.