DGAP-News

STRATEC reports on first nine months of 2016 (news with additional features) - Seite 2

The Group generated adjusted EBIT of EUR 18.4 million. The adjustment
includes expenses for the two acquisitions made in 2016 and the integration
of the companies involved. To enhance efficiency, this integration also
involved merging the activities of three operating units in the US at two
locations on the East Coast. The EBIT margin was adjusted to exclude the
associated one-off expenses and came to 14.6% at the end of the first nine
months.

The temporary reduction in the margin is mainly due to lower profitability
at the new subsidiaries and to the hiring of new staff in connection with
numerous product developments.

The positive impact these product development measures are expected to have
in the medium term is currently being impeded. This is because the delays
in product approvals already mentioned have held back growth momentum,
leading to a temporary delay in the materialization of the resultant
benefits of scale.

The backlog of investments in the infrastructure of the new subsidiaries
will be rapidly remedied through targeted capital expenditures.

The bridge financing taken up in the context of the acquisitions is planned
to be exchanged for long-term follow-up financing as the fourth quarter
progresses.


Development in personnel
Including the newly acquired company divisions, personnel hired from
temporary employment agencies, and trainees, the STRATEC Group had a total
of 981 employees as of September 30, 2016. This corresponds to an increase
of 71.2% compared with the previous year's reporting date.

Of the total workforce as of September 30, 2016, 364 employees were
attributable to the two new companies. In the previous year, these
companies had a total of 332 employees. Taking into account the 573
employees at STRATEC in Q3 2015, and factoring in the 332 employees from
the two new companies, workforce grew by 8.3% over the twelve month period.
Excluding acquisitions, the number of employees at the STRATEC Group rose
by 7.6%, an increase driven in particular by the build-up of additional
development capacities at the Birkenfeld location.

To deal with the large number of development projects, STRATEC remains on
the lookout for well-qualified personnel and expects to report rising
employee totals in the quarters ahead as well.


Projects and other developments
In the period under report, STRATEC reported new contracts for development
projects, including a contract with a further leading company in the IVD
industry. Further development contracts have reached promising negotiating
stages.

Hologic, one of STRATEC's largest customers, has reported that the market
launch of its "Panther Fusion" in Europe will take place in 2017. The US