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InTiCa Systems AG: InTiCa Systems AG publishes interim report for 9M 2020 - Corona pandemic overshadows sales and earnings but full order books indicate business is picking up - Seite 3

Outlook

The return to the pre-pandemic level remains a long process and is susceptible to setbacks. There is therefore great uncertainty, especially in view of the renewed sharp rise in the number of infections, which has resulted in a renewed tightening of restrictions in many places:

"The extent to which it is possible to keep production running smoothly will have a significant impact on the remainder of this financial year and our full-year performance. Orders on hand were EUR 117 million as of September 30, 2020, back at the high level of the previous year (9M 2019: EUR 118 million). However, an additional challenge is that customers are calling off high volumes at short notice. This is especially challenging in a pandemic as protecting health has top priority and it is also more difficult to access the necessary staff", comments Günther Kneidinger, Member of the Management Board.

Provided that there is no further supply chain disruption and there are no new plant shutdowns, despite the rising number of infections, the Board of Directors currently considers that it should be possible to make up more of the current sales shortfall by year end and to report a positive result in the fourth quarter. Here, InTiCa is benefiting, among other things, from the boost in demand for electric cars resulting from the reduction in value-added tax and the increased bonus for the purchase of environmentally friendly cars.

Since uncertainty is still extremely high, at this time the Board of Directors is unable to issue specific guidance for the 2020 fiscal year. At present it is not possible to give a stable and reasonably reliable forecast for the present fiscal year based on target ranges in line with past practice. However, it may be assumed that at year end earnings at least will be below the 2019 level. As soon as the economic situation stabilizes and reliable planning for the 2020 fiscal year is possible, InTiCa Systems AG will publish a detailed forecast for the 2020 fiscal year.