Revenue and earnings up again in the first three months of 2021 – Knaus Tabbert AG enters 2021 financial year with record order backlog

• Order volume doubles to EUR 624 million relative to the previous year
• Revenues increase by 9.2 percent to EUR 238.9 million
• Adjusted EBITDA grows substantially by 21.8 percent to EUR 28.1 million
• EBITDA margin (adjusted) improves by 1.3 percentage points to 11.8 percent
• Consolidated net profit of EUR 16.1 million exceeds previous year’s figure (EUR 12.4 million) by 29.8 percent
• Free cash flow of EUR 31.4 million also significantly higher than in the previous year (EUR 23.5 million)
• Knaus Tabbert confirms forecast for the full year 2021

Knaus Tabbert AG, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of recreational vehicles, enters the 2021 financial year with a further increase in all key financial indicators.

In the first three months of the current financial year, the company recorded a 9.2 % increase in revenues to EUR 238.9 million (2019: EUR 218.8 million). At EUR 28.1 million, adjusted EBITDA was up 21.8 percent compared to the previous year’s figure of EUR 23.1 million.

"We are undergoing profitable growth and are stepping up our growth course! In the first three months of this year, we were once again able to increase both revenues and adjusted EBITDA. Our growth offensive will create close to 600 new jobs in 2021 alone, and will be accompanied by substantial investments in our locations and products," explains Wolfgang Speck, CEO of Knaus Tabbert. "Our customers, dealers and rental companies are delighted with the products of our WEINSBERG, TABBERT, T@B, KNAUS and MORELO brands! With RENT AND TRAVEL, young people in particular find the perfect introduction to the wonderful world of caravanning. Thanks to the persistently high demand for our recreational vehicles, we are starting into our first full financial year following the IPO with an order backlog of more than 18,000 units – the largest in the history of Knaus Tabbert."

Strong demand for caravanning boosts revenues in the reporting period

The Premium segment, which comprises the KNAUS, TABBERT, WEINSBERG and T@B brands, recorded an increase in revenues to EUR 203.8 million (previous year: EUR 189.8 million). In the Luxury segment, which is served by the MORELO brand, Knaus Tabbert substantially increased its revenues by 21.0 percent to EUR 35.1 million.

Adjusted EBITDA shows over-proportional improvement

Before one-time expenses and special items, adjusted EBITDA amounted to EUR 28.1 million, representing an increase of 21.8 percent (previous year: EUR 23.1 million). At 11.8 per cent, the adjusted EBITDA margin was 1.3 percentage points above the previous year’s value. Including one-time expenses, EBITDA in the reporting period improved by 20.5 percent to EUR 27.6 million (previous year: EUR 22.9 million).

Adjusted EBIT stood at EUR 23.1 million (previous year: EUR 18.4 million); the EBIT margin reached 9.7 percent. After deducting finance costs and taxes, net profit amounts to EUR 16.1 million (previous year: EUR 12.4 million).

In the first three months of 2021, Knaus Tabbert generated positive cash flows from operating activities in the amount of EUR 36.5 million, compared to EUR 27.5 million in the same period of the previous year. This marked increase resulted both from a significant rise in consolidated net income by 29.8 percent to EUR 16.1 million in the first three months, and from the further reduction of working capital. Cash flows from investing activities increased to EUR 5.1 million in the first quarter, compared to EUR 4.0 million in the same period of the previous year. Significant cash outflows occurred in connection with the planned investments to increase production capacities at the Jandelsbrunn (GER), Schlüsselfeld (GER) and Nagyoroszi (HU) sites.

The total workforce of the Group – including apprentices and temporary workers – increased from 2,887 in the same period of the previous year to 3,237 as of 31 March in the reporting period 2021.

“Our strong financial base will open up a wide range of growth options in the future and provide us with a high degree of flexibility to respond to challenges,” says Marc Hundsdorf, CFO of Knaus Tabbert. “Besides continuing to consistently increase our key financial figures, our focus in 2021 will be on the strategic implementation of non-financial targets – particularly in the area of ESG – to make the Knaus Tabbert share even more attractive and more widely known to a broad group of investors.”

High demand provides planning security for the current financial year 2021

The total number of vehicles sold in the first three months of 2021 amounted to 7,088, compared to 6,853 in the previous year. The strong increase in caravanning utility vehicles (upgraded camper vans) reflects the company’s strategic focus on the sale of high-quality motorised vehicles. With the number of CUVs (upgraded camper vans) sold reaching 1,735 (previous year: 1,335), Knaus Tabbert has set a new record in this category. The KNAUS model BoxStar was in particularly high demand.

In addition, a record order backlog of 18,860 pre-ordered vehicles as of 31 March 2021 offers a high degree of planning security for the current financial year 2021 and beyond. This is particularly true in view of the sustained positive environment surrounding caravanning, which is experiencing rising popularity among young people and a growing trend towards regional tourism. Knaus Tabbert is convinced that it will be able to successfully meet the further increase in demand for recreational vehicles in the European growth market.

The rental platform RENT AND TRAVEL can also look back on a very successful start into the 2021 rental season. As of the end of the reporting period, 31 March 2021, bookings increased by 19.6 % to 6,624 compared to the same period of the previous year. This rise demonstrates that RENT AND TRAVEL was launched at exactly the right time, around four years ago. Moreover, Knaus Tabbert is increasingly attracting a younger audience to this leisure activity in the spirit of a "shared economy". Approximately 25 % of all bookings are made directly via www.rentandtravel.de or our RENT AND TRAVEL app.

Outlook for the 2021 financial year

Against the backdrop of the developments to date in the current financial year, Knaus Tabbert confirms its forecast for the full year 2021, as communicated in the Annual Report on 31 March 2021. Consequently, on the basis of a prudent entrepreneurial assessment, the Management Board anticipates an increase in revenues in the range of 20 – 22 % for 2021. We also expect a significant increase in adjusted EBITDA despite anticipated material cost increases, disruptions to production due to delivery bottlenecks at our suppliers and start-up expenses resulting from the strong increase in production. The adjusted EBITDA margin will be roughly at the previous year’s level of approximately 8 %.

For the following years, we expect growth dynamics to remain high. Economies of scope and scale within the Group should lead to a steady improvement in the quality of results. This forecast is based on the assumption that there will be no major corona-related shutdowns or delays in production beyond the current restrictions, e.g. due to problems in supply chains or additional governmental measures.