The economic situation in certain regions deteriorated particularly towards the end of Q1. During the first half of April, revenue and order intake figures were significantly below prior-year levels. The Executive Board has thus decided today to withdraw the guidance for fiscal 2020 published on March 16, 2020. At present, it is not possible to reliably predict how the pandemic will affect customer demand moving forward, the state of global supply chains as well as the Group's production output. As such, the Executive Board is unable to provide a sufficiently reliable, concrete new guidance for fiscal 2020 at this point in time. The Executive Board therefore currently refrains from the publication of a new guidance for fiscal 2020 and will issue a new guidance as soon as this is feasible.
The initial effects of the pandemic are reflected in the business results for the first quarter of 2020. Based on preliminary, unaudited figures, the Group reports revenue of around EUR 411 million. This corresponds to a drop of around 6 percent relative to the prior-year period (Q1/19: EUR 435 million). Profit before interest and tax (EBIT) decreased to EUR 29 million (Q1/19: EUR 31 million). The EBIT margin fell slightly to 7.0 percent (Q1/19: 7.1 percent). Profit for the period was markedly lower than the prior-year figure at around EUR 6 million (Q1/19: EUR 21 million). This was primarily attributable to negative valuation effects related to internal Group loans. The sharp decline of several currencies that are heavily dependent on commodity market trends had a particular impact here. In the prior-year period, valuation effects were mainly positive.
To prepare the Group as effectively as possible for the current situation, in recent weeks the Executive Board has already reduced production programs and brought forward vacation-related shutdowns at production plants. The Group is also implementing various short-time work models. In addition to this, numerous initiatives have been implemented to cut costs and secure liquidity.
The Group will publish its Q1 report for 2020 on May 7, 2020.
