Operationally strong performance at an adjusted level

Wertheim, December 15, 2020

Business development 2020

Rainer Kurtz, CEO and Thomas Mühleck, CFO gave their assessment for the 2020 financial year in today's press conference via Skype. In the economically difficult Corona environment, the Kurtz Ersa Group achieved a strong performance. Like the entire industry, the company has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and is anticipating a decline in sales of around 15 percent to around EUR 225 million for the current financial year. The earnings situation could be kept at the previous year's level thanks to the cost-saving measures implemented and the use of short-time working. “Against the background of the current exceptional situation, we rate the result achieved as positive. Our key financial figures are again very stable, and we have shown a strong operational performance. Not only does the operating result look good, it is also reflected in the cash position, which is important for an old-fashioned CFO” said CFO Thomas Mühleck, commenting on the figures. The slightly lower number of employees of currently 1,200 is primarily due to the sale of the prefabrication of Kurtz GmbH.

Strong operational performance

"We are responding to the call for more sustainability in the automotive and plastics industries with technical innovations," describes Rainer Kurtz, explaining the company's strategy for the major megatrends. Kurtz GmbH was able to achieve remarkable successes with the Wave Foamer and win two awards for the environmentally friendly technology. The Bavarian Energy Prize and the EPS Award honored the company for its radio frequency technology, with which up to 90% energy can be saved when welding particle foam and a recycling rate of up to 100% can be achieved.

In addition, a new business area was founded in September 2020: Kurtz Ersa and Laser Melting Innovations GmbH & Co. KG enter into a cooperation for the marketing of 3D metal printers. The first printers have already been manufactured and delivered to customers.

Digitization is the pillar and driver in operational business

The company invested in digitization very early on and pushed ahead with the digital transformation: New scope of services for Industry 4.0 solutions complement the machine park and our customers are offered a variety of cloud solutions to increase process and service quality. Digital tools are also being used more and more in internal communication - our "HAMMER app" keeps employees up to date with the latest developments in the company. Home office was and is easily possible for our employees due to the appropriate hardware and server equipment.

Focus topic "Sustainability"

“Sustainability is an indispensable pillar of our corporate strategy,” says Rainer Kurtz. That is why the company has defined subject areas in which many measures for more sustainability are implemented. The spectrum ranges from the reduction of CO2 emissions from the plants to a sustainable orientation of our procurement activities to the promotion of environmental projects in the region. "We already have the first hybrid vehicles in our fleet and our long-term goal is to be a CO2-neutral company for our 250th birthday in 2029," emphasizes Rainer Kurtz.

Outlook for 2021

In addition to the effects of the pandemic, the upheavals in drive technology in automotive engineering, the environmental discussion on the subject of plastic packaging and new competitors from the Far East are still negative factors. The outlook is basically positive. "At the end of the year, I would like to thank all Kurtz Ersa employees, who have all made a great contribution to mastering the difficult 2020" says Rainer Kurtz confidently. After a stagnant first half of the year, the company expects significant growth for 2021 and continued stable financial figures.