Voltabox experiences impressive growth in the year of its IPO and achieves profitability as announced

- Group sales up 88.2 percent to EUR 27.3 million (prior year: EUR 14.5 million)

- Growth driven by battery systems for intralogistics, first revenues from starter batteries in Voltaforce operating segment

- EBIT above expectations at EUR 0.6 million (prior year: EUR -3.7 million)

- Equity ratio increased to 90.8 percent as of the reporting date (December 31, 2016: 14.0 percent)

- Forecast for 2018: Further increase in sales to around EUR 60 million, with an EBIT margin of around 10.0 percent

Delbrück, Germany, March 13, 2018 - Today, Voltabox AG [ISIN DE000A2E4LE9] published its results for the 2017 fiscal year and its forecast for the current fiscal year.

In fiscal year 2017, Voltabox AG generated revenues of EUR 27.3 million (prior year: EUR 14.5 million), representing 88.2 percent growth on the prior year. This significant improvement was the result of the excellent performance of the Voltapower operating segment, the company's biggest operating segment. The advanced battery systems for industrial applications are used in forklifts, mining vehicles, trolleybuses for local public transportation and automated guided vehicles. Voltabox is increasingly benefiting from substitution effects as more and more lead-acid batteries and diesel backup generators are replaced by modern lithium-ion battery systems.

Voltabox was founded in 2011 as a unit of its listed parent company, paragon AG. With an offering price of EUR 24, Voltabox achieved a placement volume of EUR 151.8 million on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on October 13, 2017, with the company receiving gross proceeds from the issue of EUR 139.8 million. In addition to the targeted further development of its products, increasing production capacity and the repayment of a shareholder loan held by paragon AG, this is primarily intended to increase the flexibility of the company as it also seeks to grow through value-enhancing acquisitions.

Business Performance

In the reporting year, business was largely influenced by the development, production and sale of lithium-ion battery systems for industrial applications in the Voltapower operating segment. Demand for ready-to-use battery modules for intralogistics from automated series production also increased in significance over the course of the year. Furthermore, the third quarter saw the launch of series production for 5 Ah and 10 Ah starter batteries for high-performance motorcycles in the Voltaforce operating segment, in which the Group manufactures high-quality lithium-ion batteries for select mass markets. The company delivered the first series-produced battery systems for the first application in mining in the fourth quarter. Business in 2017 was also influenced by the construction of another prototype for a large, innovative underground mining vehicle.

The third and newest operating segment, Voltamotion, has been developing electric drive systems at the research and development center in Aachen since the second quarter of 2017. The operating segment's initial products are due for market launch this fiscal year and will complement the high-performance battery systems available from our core operating segment, Voltapower. With this range of services and development projects, Voltabox is increasingly moving toward becoming a full-service provider for the electrification of vehicles.

"We are very proud of having achieved profitability in the year of our IPO. It shows that we stick to our promises", says Jürgen Pampel, CEO of Voltabox AG. "We will quickly build on our competitive advantage in technology, modularization, specialist applications and automation with further innovations. We want to continue to grow in markets where we are already active and tap into new target markets for our battery systems. We also want to extend our range of services and expand into select segments of the mass market."

Financial Performance

Despite the significant increase in revenue, the cost of materials went up by a disproportionately low 24.3 percent to EUR 16.7 million (prior year: EUR 13.4 million). As a result, the cost of materials ratio was, as expected, significantly below the prior year's levels at 61.1 percent (prior year: 92.5 percent). Development work capitalized was down by 12.8 percent to EUR 5.3 million (prior year: EUR 6.0 million) due to the relatively large amount of project-related development work in the USA in the prior year. This resulted in a gross profit of EUR 14.6 million for fiscal year 2017 (prior year: EUR 7.0 million), providing a gross profit margin of 53.6 percent (prior year: 48.3 percent).

"Our figures reflect the strong growth in revenue and the highly successful IPO. We generated even more income than we originally expected", says Andres Klasing, CFO of Voltabox. "For 2018, we expect that Voltabox will more than double its revenue, with profitability of around 10 percent."

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to EUR 3.0 million in the reporting period (prior year: EUR -2.1 million), which represents an EBITDA margin of 11.0 percent (prior year: -14.7 percent).

After a planned increase in depreciation and amortization to EUR 2.4 million (prior year: EUR 1.5 million) resulting from increased depreciation and amortization on intangible assets owing to now-implemented series production starts, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) improved to EUR 0.6 million (prior year: EUR -3.7 million). As a result, the EBIT margin rose to 2.1 percent (prior year: -25.4 percent).

The financial result was shaped by lower financial income and higher finance costs, amounting to EUR -0.7 million (prior year: EUR -0.5 million). Despite this, earnings before taxes (EBT) increased to EUR -0.1 million (prior year: EUR -4.2 million).

Net Assets and Financial Position

The total assets of Voltabox AG increased significantly to EUR 170.8 million as at the balance sheet date (December 31, 2016: EUR 39.0 million). A major reason for this was the inflow of liquid assets as a result of the IPO.

Voltabox AG's equity increased correspondingly to EUR 155.0 million (December 31, 2016: EUR 5.5 million), with the equity ratio increasing in line with expectations to 90.8 percent (December 31, 2016: 14.0 percent). As a result of the IPO, the subscribed capital increased due to the issue of new shares, as did the capital reserve, owing to the issue price achieved for the new shares.

Cash flow from operating activities decreased in the period under review to EUR -15.0 million (prior year: EUR 6.6 million). This was due to the significant increase in trade receivables owing to particularly strong revenue in the fourth quarter, as well as the planned reduction in trade payables as a result of the IPO.

Cash flow from investment activity remained approximately at the prior year's level at EUR 6.0 million (prior year: EUR 6.2 million).

Cash and cash equivalents increased to EUR 102.7 million as at the reporting date (prior year: EUR 0.9 million), mainly as a result of the inflow of funds from the IPO.

Forecast

The Voltabox AG Management Board expects that Group sales will more than double to around EUR 60.0 million in the current fiscal year. An EBIT margin of around 10 percent is expected. In addition to the intralogistics segment, mining will also be a major growth driver, particularly in the second half.

The Management Board expects to see an investment volume of around EUR 13.4 million in the current year. Own work capitalized should amount to around 43 percent of the investment total for the current year.

The annual report and consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 are available for download at http://ir.voltabox.ag.

About Voltabox AG

Voltabox is a high-growth e-mobility system provider for industrial applications. Its core business lies in intrinsically safe, highly developed high-performance lithium-ion batteries that are modular and in serial production. The battery systems are used in buses for public transportation, forklifts, automated guided vehicles and mining vehicles. The company also develops and produces high-quality lithium-ion batteries for selected mass market applications, such as high performance motorcycles. Voltabox has production sites at its headquarters in Delbrück, Germany, and in Austin, Texas, as well as a development site in Aachen, Germany. Additional information about Voltabox can be found at www.voltabox.ag/en/.

Financial Press & Investor Relations Contact

Voltabox AG

Dr. Kai Holtmann
Artegastraße 1
D-33129 Delbrueck
Phone: +49 (0) 52 50 - 99 30-964
Fax: +49 (0) 52 50 - 99 30-901
E-Mail: kai.holtmann@voltabox.ag