Dr. Hönle AG: Hoenle Group starts new financial year as planned and confirms outlook for full financial year

Gilching (pta008/25.02.2025/08:45 UTC+1)

• Q1 sales of €21.4 million below previous year's figure of €23.8 million due to structural and economic effects
• Cost-cutting measures introduced are showing initial positive effects
• EBITDA increases from €0.6 million to €1.0 million
• Management Board confirms positive outlook for 2024/25 financial year

In the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year, the continued reluctance to invest was noticeable. Also, some larger orders were postponed from December to January and thus to the following quarter. In addition, the discontinuation of unprofitable product areas had a noticeable impact on sales. Overall, the Hoenle Group generated sales of T€ 21,411 in the first three months of the 2024/25 financial year. In the same quarter last year, sales amounted to T€ 23,787.

The cost-cutting measures implemented, including the termination of previously unprofitable product areas, led to an improvement in earnings despite the lower sales level. The operating result before depreciation (EBITDA) rose from T€ 605 in the previous year to T€ 1,025 in the current financial year. The cost of materials ratio improved from 40.1% to 37.3%. The gross profit of T€ 14,271 therefore was merely 1.1% lower than the previous year's figures. Personnel expenses were 1.2% higher at T€ 10,074 compared to the same period last year. Other operating expenses were reduced by 17.2% to T€ 3,168.

After depreciation, the operating result (EBIT) was T€ -357 (previous year: T€ -779) and after taxes the consolidated loss was T€ -578 (previous year: T€ -861), which corresponds to earnings per share of € -0.10 (previous year: € -0.15).

Focus on core business and improvement of profitability

The Hoenle Group has initiated several measures and has already implemented some of them, thus laying the foundation for successful business development. These include the implementation of cost-saving measures that will take effect in the course of the 2024/25 financial year. Unprofitable product lines will no longer be pursued and were discontinued. Investments that were not part of the core business were sold. In the future, R&D activities will focus more on a platform strategy and modularisation. In order to increase the profitable after-sales, Hoenle has set up a Life Cycle Solutions organisation. And the restructuring of the business units already described will also have a positive effect on the processes. It is geared far more towards the needs and requirements of customers than the previous segmentation. All measures form the basis for prospective increasing sales in the business units and improving EBITDA in these business units.

Outlook for the Hoenle Group

Incoming orders and sales of the Hoenle Group in the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year were below the previous year's figures due to the weak market environment, particularly in mechanical and plant engineering. However, the Management Board assumes that the reluctance to invest will partially resolve over the course of the year and, in con-junction with the measures initiated to improve profitability and focus market activities, it will lead to higher demand and increasing incoming orders for the Hoenle Group. This assumption is supported by the strong business development at the beginning of the second quarter.

Overall, the Management Board continues to expect sales of between €95 million and €105 million for the Hoenle Group in the 2024/25 financial year (FY 2023/24: €98.7 million). Due to the cost control measures initiated, it also expects an operating result before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) that will be significantly higher than the adjusted EBITDA result for the 2023/24 financial year (€5.5 million).

Business Unit Adhesive Systems

Hoenle has bundled UV-curing adhesives and the UV-curing devices together into the newly created Adhesive Systems business unit. This enables customer-specific solutions to be offered for industrial manufacturing processes that meet all the requirements of application-specific joining technology.

Hoenle offers this solution expertise in the three focus areas of Electronics, Medical and Optics. All three focus areas are growing rapidly, and adhesives are playing an increasing role in joining parts, creating structural stability or protecting against environmental influences. UV-curing adhesives in particular do also have the advantage of low heat input and rapid processing. Not least due to the targeted expansion of the regional presence in East Asia and North America, Hönle is currently working on promising projects in automotive electronics, consumer electronics and medical implants, among others.

Business Unit Curing

In the Curing business unit, Hoenle has brought together curing systems for the printing industry, particularly for packaging printing, for coatings on two- and three-dimensional objects, as well as for technical films and labels. Hoenle sees good growth opportunities in many industrial application areas especially where high demands are placed on functional surface coatings.

In close coordination with key customers and their requirements, the Hoenle Group is investing in modern and modular curing solutions. In addition to the use of UV lamps and IR units, a special focus is on the development of high-performance solutions with UV LEDs, which enable customers to accelerate processes while at the same time reducing electricity and consumption costs. With the innovative, high-precision UV dose measurement, Hönle offers its customers optimised process control. The profitability is to be achieved through the development of a modular platform strategy and a streamlining of the supplier structure. In order to increase the profitable after-sales, Hönle has also set up a Life Cycle Solutions organisation. The Management Board expects positive earnings contributions in the Curing BU in the coming years with increasing sales.

Business Unit Disinfection

The Disinfection business unit brings together systems for the UV-based disinfection of water, surfaces and air. The focus is on the application areas of ballast water in container ships, process water as well as drinking and waste water. Hoenle supplies leading manufacturers of water treatment systems with lamps and components. In addition, disinfection solutions are offered for the food industry, with the Hönle Group covering the entire performance range for the disinfection process with pulsed UV light, low-pressure lamps, medium-pressure lamps and LEDs. This unique product range, including microbiological analyses for quality assurance, is receiving a broad response in industry.

New fields of application for ultraviolet radiation are currently emerging in the pharmaceutical industry and in the semiconductor industry for the treatment of ultrapure water, among others.

Disinfection using ultraviolet radiation is reliable, efficient and environmentally friendly and is therefore increasingly being used as the method of choice. Overall, the Management Board expects increasing sales and earnings for the Hönle Group in the BU Disinfection in the coming years due to growing demand in existing markets and new fields of application.

The 2024/25 half year report will be published on May 8, 2025 and then can be viewed online at https://www.hoenle.com/investor-relation/financial-information#reports.

About Hoenle

Dr. Hönle AG is a listed technology company based in Gilching. The Hoenle Group develops innovative solutions with a focus on UV technology for a wide range of industrial applications with its 600 employees. A business unit includes the development and sale of industrial adhesives and adhesive curing devices. The company also produces drying systems for the printing and coating industry. Another business area deals with the environmentally friendly disinfection of water, air and surfaces. The Hönle Group supplies technology and global market leaders worldwide and is represented in over 20 countries with its own companies and partner companies.

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Emitter:	Dr. Hönle AG Nicolaus-Otto-Str. 2 82205 Gilching Germany
Contact Person:	Peter Weinert
Phone:	+49 8105 2083 173
E-Mail:	peter.weinert@hoenle.de
Website:	www.hoenle.de
ISIN(s):	DE0005157101 (Share)
Stock Exchange(s):	Regulated Market in Frankfurt; Free Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate