Interim report for BEWiSynbra Group for the period January to March 2019

HIGHLIGHTS for the first quarter of 2019
Numbers in parentheses refers to the corresponding period in the previous year

• BEWiSynbra Group reported net sales of SEK 1,076.2 million (SEK 491.1 million), an increase of 119 per cent of which 142 percentage points (pp) was explained by acquisitions
• Adjusted EBITDA2 was SEK 138.6 million (SEK 34.5 million), while adjusted EBITA amounted to SEK 85.7 million (SEK 22.6 million)
• The earnings were negatively impacted by items affecting comparability of SEK 22.7 million for the quarter, mainly related to restructuring costs in Sweden, as well as severance costs in connection with the integration of acquired companies
• EBIT for the Group was SEK 46.5 million (SEK 10.9 million)
• During the first quarter, BEWiSynbra strengthened its recycling activities, including
  - Acquisition of 51 per cent of the recycling company EcoFill
  - Launch of recycling initiative Use ReUse

Rik Dobbelaere, CEO of BEWiSynbra Group:

Our business progressed well during the first quarter of 2019. Volumes are increasing in most of our operating markets, mainly as a result of successful integration of acquired companies. Most end-markets show positive or stable development in terms of volumes.

In 2018, BEWiSynbra completed several acquisitions, both expanding our geographic presence and strengthening our market positions. The work to integrate the former BEWi Group with Synbra Holding, as well as the integration of the other companies we acquired during 2018 is ongoing and progressing well, yielding several positive effects, but also some temporarily higher costs, in particular relating to restructuring costs and severance costs.

At our raw material site in Etten-Leur in the Netherlands, we are proud to say that we have managed to increase our production by more than 10 per cent in the first quarter this year, compared to the first quarter last year.

Our Danish operations is delivering improved results this quarter following the closure of our facility in Såby last year and the consolidation of the two Danish organizations. The improvements are visible in both the P&C segment and Insulation segment.

As previously communicated, the performance in the Swedish operations has been unsatisfactory and we have therefore initiated several measures to reduce cost and improve efficiency in this part of our business. We are glad to see that these measures are already yielding improved earnings. However, we still face a challenging situation in Sweden and in January we decided to close the production facility in Dorotea to consolidate our production and optimize cost structure further. In the first quarter, we also experienced somewhat lower volumes from the automotive industry in Sweden (P&C).

In Norway, most of our revenues are linked to sale of fish boxes to the salmon farming industry. In the first quarter this year, we experienced some lower activity in the fish slaughteries we supply to. Most of the larger salmon companies in Norway have, however, guided on increased volumes for 2019 compared to 2018.

With our committment to lead the EPS industry's change towards a circular economy we have kickstarted 2019. Since the establishment of Circular, we have launched several activities to increase the collection- and recycling of EPS, including establishing compacting and collecting stations at several locations and the launch of the concept “Use-ReUse”. Use-ReUse aims at setting a new industry standard for collecting and recycling EPS, offering a variety of solutions for collecting and recycling. In addition, we were happy to announce our acquisition of 51 per cent of the Belgian recycling company EcoFill in March this year.

Please see the full interim report for the period January – March 2019 attached.

For further information, please contact:
Charlotte Knudsen,
Director of IR and Communications,
BEWiSynbra Group AB,
tel: +47 9756 1959

Marie Danielsson,
CFO,
BEWiSynbra Group AB,
tel: +46 70 661 0047

About BEWiSynbra Group AB
BEWiSynbra Group is one of the largest vertically integrated producers of expandable polystyrene (EPS) in Europe, focusing on sustainable solutions for packaging and technical components, as well as insulation. Sustainability and innovation are key drivers for the Group’s competitive advantage, and BEWiSynbra has an ambitious approach to its recycling initiatives.

The information is such that BEWiSynbra Group AB (publ) is required to disclose in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 CET on 16 May 2019.