Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

R&S Group announces 2023 key figures and confirms positive outlook for 2024

• FY 2023 net sales of CHF 216.9 million, resp. CHF 201.6 million excl. divested business, equivalent to organic sales growth of 40%
• Order intake of CHF 245.0 million, up by 6% when adjusted for divested business, and order backlog at year-end 2023 of CHF 185.7 million, an increase of 22% compared to prior year
• Adjusted EBIT of CHF 37.5 million, equivalent to an EBIT margin of 18.6%, and adjusted net profit of CHF 28.9 million, an increase of CHF 23.0 million
• Strong balance sheet with net financial position of CHF 6.7 million at year-end allows for a dividend payment proposal of 0.25 per share
• Thanks to the solid order intake and strong order backlog, the Group confirms its guidance for 2024 with net sales growth of 9%-12% and an EBIT margin in the range of 16%-18%. The good start into 2024 substantiates this positive outlook.

Sissach/BL, Switzerland, 21 March 2024 – R&S Group Holding AG (SIX: RSGN) today announced key figures for the full year (FY) 2023. In summary, the Group looks back on a successful year with a strong performance at the topline and at the profitability levels. As previously reported, net sales for FY 2023 amounted to CHF 201.6 million, corresponding to a growth of 40% when excluding SERW, the fully divested high-voltage switches business in the Czech Republic. Order intake increased by 6% in 2023 to CHF 245.0 million. On an adjusted basis, the book-to-bill ratio amounts to 1.2. R&S Group closed the year with a record order backlog of CHF 185.7 million up from adjusted CHF 151.9 million at year-end 2022 (+22%), which bodes well for the expected development in 2024 and beyond.

In terms of profitability, the operating result EBIT reached CHF 37.5 million when adjusted for the net loss from the sale of SERW and historic goodwill of SERW which was fully amortized under “other operating expenses”. This is equivalent to an EBIT margin of 18.6% and in line with the guidance provided on 24 January 2024. The net profit amounted to CHF 28.9 million when adjusted for the net result of the sale of SERW (CHF 9.5 million) and non-operating listing costs which arose in connection with the initial business combination with VT5 Acquisition Company AG (VT5) in December 2023 of CHF 8.0 million. The reported net profit of CHF 11.6 million was significantly higher than in 2022 (CHF 4.3 million).

The balance sheet continues to be strong also following the initial business combination with VT5. The reported net financial position of CHF 6.7 million at year-end compares to CHF 4.7 million at the end of 2022 and provides flexibility for operational and strategic initiatives. As already communicated in 2023, the dividend for the year was targeted at CHF 7.0 million. The dividend proposal by the Board of Directors to the AGM of 28 May 2024 of CHF 0.25 per share corresponds to this amount.

Outlook:

Based on R&S Group’s strong performance in 2023 and a positive demand forecast for 2024, driven primarily by the continuing shift to renewable energy sources and grid modernization in Europe, the Group confirms its guidance for net sales growth of 9% to 12% in FY 2024 and an EBIT margin in the range of 16% to 18%.

Markus Laesser, CEO of R&S Group, adds: «In particular, newly addressed markets in Europe with renewables and wind farms performed above expectations. Overall, net sales in Europe, the largest region served, increased significantly while other geographic regions showed a more subdued performance. Regarding order intake, a key indicator of future revenues, the increased demand was broad based across all product area, applications and markets, especially in the new markets of Germany, the Nordic and the Baltic countries. These positive business developments are testimony to the encouraging momentum in the Group’s end markets which is expected to continue unabatedly. We are excited to announce our first Capital Markets Day on 31 October 2024 in Switzerland.»
 

Further information will be provided on 17 April 2024 with the publication of the annual report 2023 including the governance report, the compensation report and the full financial statements of R&S Group as well as the statutory statements of R&S Group Holding AG.

Calendar 2024

17 April   audited financial results 2023 and Annual report

28 May   Annual General Meeting

24 July   Trading update

11 September  2024 half-year results

31 October  Capital Markets Day

Contacts

About R&S Group

R&S Group Holding AG (“R&S Group”, the “company”) is headquartered in Sissach/BL, Switzerland. With six manufacturing facilities in Switzerland, Italy, Poland and the Middle East, R&S Group serves its domestic and various European export markets with small and medium power and distribution transformers in the utility, infrastructure and industrial sectors. The company has been successfully positioned to benefit from the accelerating demand for energy production and distribution, driven by the global trend towards decarbonization. R&S Group has been listed on SIX Swiss Exchange on 13 December 2023 under the ticker symbol RSGN following its successful business combination with VT5 Acquisition AG, a previously Swiss-listed Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).

Further information about the R&S Group can be found at www.the-rsgroup.com.

Disclaimer

This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning R&S Group Holding AG and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of R&S Group Holding AG to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. R&S Group Holding AG is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.