Rieter Investor Update 2018

• Order intake of CHF 750 million after nine months
• In the third quarter, order intake of CHF 238 million
• Carsten Liske appointed as Head Business Group Machines & Systems
• Details on outlook for 2018

The order intake recorded by the Rieter Group in the first nine months of 2018 was down by 2% compared to the prior year period. The cumulative order intake was CHF 749.8 million.

In the third quarter of 2018, order intake was CHF 238.0 million (Q3 2017: CHF 269.7 million).

Order Intake by Business Group

In the Business Group Machines & Systems, order intake fell to CHF 433.4 million, a reduction of 12% compared to the first nine months of the previous year (2017: CHF 490.1 million).

In the third quarter of 2018, Machines & Systems received orders worth CHF 135.7 million (Q3 2017: CHF 164.9 million). In the Asian countries (excluding China, India and Turkey), especially in Vietnam, order intake increased compared to the third quarter of 2017. In China, development was stable. For Indian customers, increasing challenges in financing of orders led to a weakening of demand in the third quarter. In Turkey, demand was very low.

The Business Group After Sales recorded a decline in order intake compared to the first nine months of the previous year, from CHF 115.8 million to CHF 111.3 million (-4%).

Order volumes in the third quarter of 2018, which totaled CHF 36.3 million, were lower than in the prior year period (Q3 2017: CHF 38.0 million). The spare parts business developed positively. However, the lower volume in the machinery business led to a decline in installation services. In the third quarter of 2018, After Sales also recorded a significant decline in order intake from Turkey compared to the previous year.

The Business Group Components ‒ including the acquisition of SSM Textile Machinery ‒ increased order intake to CHF 205.1 million (2017: CHF 159.1 million), a growth of 29%.

In the third quarter of 2018, order intake was CHF 66.0 million (Q3 2017: CHF 66.8 million). For Components, compared to the prior year period order intake in the key markets of China, India and the Asian countries (excluding China, India and Turkey) was generally stable in the third quarter of 2018.

Innovations at ITMA Asia 2018
At ITMA Asia in October 2018, Rieter focused on the systems offering and digitization in the spinning mill. Both met with great interest among the customers. Rieter has thereby achieved another milestone in the implementation of its innovation strategy.

Carsten Liske appointed as Head Business Group Machines & Systems
The Board of Directors of Rieter Holding AG has appointed Carsten Liske as Head of the Business Group Machines & Systems effective January 1, 2019.

Carsten Liske has been with Rieter since 2009. In January 2015, he had been appointed to the Group Executive Committee as head of the newly formed Business Group After Sales. He has successfully built up the business group and with this contributed significantly to the development of the Rieter Group. Before, he was in charge of Global Operations and the subsidiary in China at Rieter’s Business Group Machines & Systems.

Carsten Liske will take over from Chief Executive Officer Norbert Klapper who holds this position since October 1, 2018 on an interim basis.

Details about the succession arrangements regarding the Business Group After Sales shall be provided in due course.

Details on Outlook for 2018
As announced in July of this year, for 2018 as a whole Rieter anticipates that sales will be above the 2017 figure and EBIT (before restructuring costs) will be below the prior year level. Net profit is expected to be significantly higher than in the previous year, as no extraordinary restructuring charges are anticipated in 2018.

The situation Rieter’s customers are facing in some markets (rising interest rates, strong currency and/or commodity price volatility and political uncertainty) – as outlined in July 2018 – remains unchanged. Rieter believes that these challenges will continue to impact demand.

Telephone Conference for Media and Investors

As part of the investor update, a telephone conference for media and investors will take place today, 31 October 2018, at 9 a.m. (CET)

Dial-in details:
Europe: +41 58 310 50 00
UK: +44 203 059 58 62
USA: +1 631 570 56 13
China: +86 400 120 23 19
India: +91 446 688 60 46

Forthcoming Dates

Publication of sales 2018: January 30, 2019
Deadline for proposals regarding the agenda of the Annual General Meeting: February 22, 2019
Results press conference 2019: March 13, 2019
Annual General Meeting 2019: April 4, 2019
Semi-Annual Report 2019: July 18, 2019

About Rieter
Rieter is the world’s leading supplier of systems for short-staple fiber spinning. Based in Winterthur (Switzerland), the company develops and manufactures machinery, systems and components used to convert natural and manmade fibers and their blends into yarns. Rieter is the only supplier worldwide to cover both spinning preparation processes and all four end spinning processes currently established on the market. Furthermore, Rieter is a leader in the field of precision winding machines. With 17 manufacturing locations in ten countries, the company employs a global workforce of some 5 250, about 20% of whom are based in Switzerland. Rieter is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under ticker symbol RIEN. www.rieter.com

Disclaimer
All statements in this report which do not refer to historical facts are forecasts which offer no guarantee whatsoever with respect to future performance; they embody risks and uncertainties which include – but are not confined to - future global economic conditions, exchange rates, legal provisions, market conditions, activities by competitors and other factors which are outside the company’s control.