SURTECO with anticipated respectable start to the year 2016

- Renewed sales growth up by 3 % to EUR 170.2 million in the first quarter

- EBIT slightly increased to EUR 10.4 million

- Outlook for 2016 confirmed: Modest increase in sales and substantial improvement in EBIT to EUR 38 - 42 million

Buttenwiesen-Pfaffenhofen, 13 May 2016 - SURTECO SE - one of the world's leading manufacturers of decorative surface materials - started the year 2016 with a respectable result in line with expectations. Accordingly, consolidated sales increased by 3 % as a result of improvements in the two Strategic Business Units to EUR 170.2 million (Q1-2015: EUR 166.0 million) during the first quarter of 2016. Earnings before financial result, income tax, and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were unchanged at EUR 18.9 million on account of higher costs of materials, EBIT underwent a small improvement by 1 % to EUR 10.4 million. Following a currency gain of EUR 3.9 million in the year-earlier quarter, the financial result in the first quarter of 2016 was negatively impacted by an unrealized currency loss amounting to EUR -1.1 million. As a result of this, profit after tax at EUR 5.3 million was 37 % below the comparable year-earlier value (EUR 8.4 million). Against the background of the business performance during the first quarter, the SURTECO Board of Management confirms its positive forecast for the year overall in 2016, according to which a slight increase in sales is anticipated for consolidated sales and EBIT is expected to experience a substantial improvement of around EUR 31 million to EUR 38 - 42 million.

"As expected, SURTECO made a respectable start to the business year 2016 with a further increase in sales. Since the synergies from the largely completed integration of the Süddekor Group will become increasingly tangible as the year progresses, we continue to maintain our confident forecast for the year overall. We want to improve EBIT by more than 20 % to between EUR 38 and EUR 42 million," according to the Chairman of the Board of Management of SURTECO SE Dr. Herbert Müller.

Level of debt significantly reduced to 35 %

During the first quarter, SURTECO succeeded in substantially reducing the net financial debt by EUR 7.6 million to EUR 119.0 million compared with year-end 2015. Since equity simultaneously grew by 1 % to EUR 337.0 million, the level of debt - defined as the ratio of net financial debt and equity - went down from 38 % to 35 %. The equity ratio at 50.9 % remained virtually unchanged at a high level. Conversely, the free cash flow declined significantly from EUR 19.7 million to EUR 6.1 million on account of a reduction in currency-adjusted earnings after tax and extraordinary income realized in the previous year. Overall, the Group continued to have a healthy financial base and underlying balance sheet to maintain the foundation for the desired ongoing growth which the company is striving to achieve in future.

Forecast for increase in sales and earnings confirmed for 2016

Against the background of the expected steady economic development and cautious optimism projected by the most important customer group in the form of the furniture industry, SURTECO is maintaining its forecast for the year 2016 as a whole. According to this projection, consolidated sales are expected to be slightly above the previous record value attained in 2015 (EUR 638.4 million). EBIT is forecast to rise from EUR 31 million to a value of between EUR 38 and 42 million on the back of the projected operational improvements and with significantly lower one-off burdens arising from Süddekor integration.

You can find the report for the 1st quarter of 2016 and other information about SURTECO SE on the Internet at www.surteco.com.

Profile of SURTECO
SURTECO SE, Buttenwiesen-Pfaffenhofen, is a leading international specialist for surface technologies. The product portfolio includes papers printed with decorative designs, impregnated products, release papers, decorative flat foils and edgebandings based on specialist papers for technical applications and plastics. The extensive product portfolio is completed by skirtings made of plastic, technical extrusions for industry and do-it-yourself ranges and shutter systems.
The Group currently has a workforce of appr. 2,700 and manufactures at 20 sites on four continents, currently generating approximately 29 % of sales in Germany, 44 % in European countries outside Germany and the remainder in America, Asia and Australia. Customers of SURTECO generally come from the wood based materials, flooring and furnishing industry and the interior industry.
The shares of SURTECO SE are listed on the official market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt and Munich Stock Exchanges under the ticker symbol SUR and ISIN DE0005176903. They are also traded on the stock markets in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart Hamburg and Hannover.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

This press release contains statements of future forecasts or expectations and other forward-looking statements and involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties. There is therefore no guarantee for the statements and expectations expressed herein. The actual results and developments may differ substantially. The company does not intend to - and assumes no obligation - to update any forward looking statements contained herein or to adapt such information to future results or developments.

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Important indicators of SURTECO SE
(in EUR million)

(1) Based on an number of shares amounting to 15,505,731

(2) Net debt / Equity