DGAP-News

Kontron AG shows seasonally subdued start to 2016, annual guidance confirmed

DGAP-News: Kontron AG / Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement
Kontron AG shows seasonally subdued start to 2016, annual guidance confirmed

28.04.2016 / 07:00
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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- Revenues down 9.1 % to EUR 89.5 million (1Q15: EUR 98.5 million)

- Gross margin up 1.6 percentage points on the prior year at 27.1 % on
account of savings in cost of materials

- EBIT adjusted for restructuring cost down EUR 2.7 million to EUR -4.9
million compared to the prior year

- Order intake down 8.9 % to EUR 79.9 million

- Annual earnings guidance confirmed: revenues corridor EUR 460 - 480
million, gross margin > 25 %, adjusted EBIT margin 3 - 5 %

Augsburg, April 28, 2016 - Kontron AG, a leading global provider of
Embedded Computer Technology (ECT), had a seasonally subdued start to 2016
but confirms earnings guidance for the year as a whole.

First-quarter results

Revenues of EUR 89.5 million were down 9.1 % and order intake of EUR 79.9
million was down 8.9 % on the comparable prior-year quarter. Order backlog
developed in line with this decline and stood at EUR 255.1 million at the
end of the first quarter. Profits saw a similar development: EBIT adjusted
for restructuring cost was down EUR 2.7 million at EUR -4.9 million. By
contrast, the gross margin developed positively with an increase of 1.6
percentage points to 27.1 %, clearly exceeding the targeted 25 %.

The main reasons for this start to the year relate to the development of
the ATD (Avionics, Transportation, Defense) business unit, which, at EUR
22.1 million, recorded around 25 % lower revenues. This is due to the
longer than expected development times for some new projects. Improvement
is, however, expected over the course of the year. In the COM
(Communication) business unit, hardware-based products continue to be
replaced by software-supported solutions, causing a EUR 3.1 million decline
in revenues (down 14.6 %). A slight increase in order intake, however,
shows that Kontron is on track to catch up. While revenues in the IND
(Industrial) business unit rose by a further 3.5 %, order intake was down
by around 31 % due to a base effect: framework agreements in the Medical
segment could not be concluded at the same level as during the first
quarter of 2015. However, the company anticipates that this business unit
will also return to growth in the near future.

"January and February did not give us the start to the year that we would