DGAP-Adhoc: HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA: Outlook for current fiscal year 2019/2020 with non-cash impairments in the fourth quarter; proposal to suspend dividend payments

HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA: Outlook for current fiscal year 2019/2020 with non-cash impairments in the fourth quarter; proposal to suspend dividend payments

- Group sales expected in the range of approx. 5.7 to 5.8 billion Euro; adjusted EBIT margin of approx. 4 per cent being forecast

- Non-cash extraordinary impairments of approx. 500 million Euro will be recognized in the fourth quarter of 2019/2020

- Management board proposes suspension of dividend payment for fiscal year 2019/2020

Lippstadt, 25 May 2020. For the fiscal year 2019/2020 (1 June 2019 to 31 May 2020), HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA expects group sales in the range of approx. 5.7 to 5.8 billion Euro and an adjusted operating profit margin (adjusted EBIT margin) of approx. 4 per cent. In mid-March 2020, HELLA had already announced that, despite the immediate initiation of countermeasures, the massive economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic could not be fully compensated for and that the originally planned targets for the current fiscal year would probably not be achieved.

In the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2019/2020, HELLA will furthermore recognize non-cash impairments of approx. 500 million Euro. The expected impairments mainly result from the considerably reduced market volume due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the assumption that the worldwide production volume of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles will, also in the medium to long term, remain significantly below the planning assumptions and market expectations made prior to the Corona crisis and that this will result in a lower capacity utilisation of the global HELLA production network. The impairments will affect certain financial performance indicators such as the reported EBIT, the group net income attributable to shareholders and the equity ratio but will have no impact on the adjusted EBIT margin.

In view of the resulting net loss for the current fiscal year at group level and the negative market expectation, the management board of HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA has decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting on 25 September 2020, despite the good liquidity situation, to suspend the dividend payment for the fiscal year 2019/2020.