Cham, 18 August 2016

A gratifying first six months

The Cham Paper Group enjoyed a largely satisfying first half of 2016. The Group increased revenues by 3% to CHF 103.8 million and posted an operating profit of CHF 5.2 million. This meant that the lower end of the target margin range was exceeded for the first time in a long time following a challenging transformation process in the paper division. Net income amounted to CHF 3.3 million.

In a slightly weaker market environment, the paper division benefited from the efficiency improvements made so far in production and from a return to normal raw material prices. In the real estate division, the public vote on the rezoning and the development plan for the Papieri-Areal will be held on 25 September.

Paper division
Although market conditions for the Cham Paper Group's speciality papers were predominantly positive at the start of the year, they deteriorated somewhat as the year progressed. A decline in the consumer goods segment was offset by an increase in deliveries in the industrial release and digital imaging segments.

The relocation of production activities and the extensive modernisation of the factories in Italy have now been completed successfully. The production managers have launched new projects to generate additional synergy effects to be leveraged in particular through process optimisation. For example, the Cham Paper Group is to restart the in-house manufacturing of some basic papers used in digital imaging.

The paper division posted a net revenue of CHF 103.4 million and maintained volumes at an unchanged level. The 3.0% increase in turnover was due to slightly higher prices, a better turnover mix and currency effects. Normalising raw material prices and the efficiency gains achieved at the factories pushed gross profit up to CHF 14.1 million (previous year: CHF 11.3 million). In addition, fixed costs were further reduced and an operating profit (EBIT) of CHF 5.2 million was achieved (previous year: CHF 1.4 million). This equates to an EBIT-margin of 5.0%, within the target margin range of 5-12%.

Sales in the consumer goods division fell year on year in volume terms. Demand for food/non-food papers and for wet glue labels was particularly badly hit by the Euro's rise against the US dollar and the economic slowdown in China. The innerliner business (tobacco) saw a temporary increase in sales in the first few months.

Turnover from products for industrial applications (industrial release segment) was significantly higher compared with the same period in the previous year. In Europe particularly, the Cham Paper Group benefited from good market demand and its well-known name. For instance, sales in the facestock product group witnessed double-digit growth thanks to the leading market position enjoyed by speciality papers for metallised labels. The industrial productions and labels product group also reported an above-average increase in turnover. Sales of tapes, however, declined slightly.

Following the challenging transfer of digital imaging products to Italy, this sector, which is the Group's most promising, was able to focus entirely on market activitiesonce more. Accordingly, volumes sold increased by 20% following last year's period of stagnation. In particular, sublimation papers for the textile market are enjoying steady growth in demand. However, market growth also entails mounting price pressure, a situation to be offset by instigating various measures to increase production efficiency.

Real estate division
The planning stage for the development of the Papieri-Areal is complete. Following the preliminary review by the cantonal authorities, the planning files were made public in the spring. On 25 September 2016, voters in the municipality of Cham will vote on the development plan and the associated partial change to the building regulations and the zoning plan. This marks the end of a planning phase which has lasted over four years and in which the authorities and locals in Cham have been actively involved.

More and more areas of the site that have become free are now being assigned a temporary use, with over 50 commercial tenants from different sectors now based on the site. The conversion of the listed workshop building is also progressing well. In late autumn, the American bicycle manufacturer Specialized will become its first permanent tenant, bringing around 40 employees to its new base in Europe.

Turnover from the real estate division in the first half of the year amounted to CHF 850,000, up 16.1% year-on-year. The operating result at the end of the period stood at CHF 29,000.

Balance sheet remains strong
The Cham Paper Group still has a healthy balance sheet. Shareholders' equity amounted to 53.2% at the end of the period (end of 2015: 50.6%) and the Group has cash and cash equivalents totalling CHF 35.6 million. The site in Cham continues to be valued at acquisition cost.

Positive outlook across all divisions
The Board of Directors and the Executive Management Board expect the Group to keep up its positive performance over the year as a whole and are maintaining their stated aim of a clear improvement in operating profit in the region of 2014's EBIT result.

Like her colleagues on the Board of Directors, Susanne Oste, the new Delegate of the Board since the General Meeting of Shareholders on 4 May, is confident in the paper division's market position and potential for further growth and optimisation. The Board of Directors' real estate committee is expecting voters to approve the development plan for the Papieri-Areal. If accepted, the vision of creating a new, vibrant district for Cham and a new pillar of the Cham Paper Group's operations will become a reality.

Conference call, presentation and full half-year report
A conference call is scheduled for 9.00 a.m. today, 18 August 2016, with Delegate of the Board Susanne Oste, Head of Finance & Controlling Daniel Grab, and Head of the Real Estate Division Andreas Friederich, to discuss the half-year results.
The dial-in number is +41 44 580 72 18 and the confirmation code is 9306349. A brief presentation is available at
http://ir.champaper.com/cgi-bin/show.ssp?id=500&companyName=champaper&language=German
The complete half-year report (in German) can be downloaded from the Investor Relations section of our website (see "Financial Reports") or via the following link:
http://ir.champaper.ch/cgi-bin/show.ssp?id=311&companyName=champaper&language=German

For information, please contact
Media and IR office Cham Paper Group Holding AG
Edwin van der Geest
E-mail: media@cham-group.com or investor@cham-group.com
Phone: +41 43 268 32 32 / +41 79 330 55 22
Valor / ISIN / Ticker: registered shares Cham Paper Group Holding AG 193 185 / CH0001931853 / CPGN

Key figures at a glance

Cham Paper Group
The Cham Paper Group is a leading manufacturer of coated speciality papers. Surface finishing lends papers properties that generate added value for its customers. The company, which was founded in 1657, has three sites, one in Switzerland (Cham) and two in Italy (Carmignano and Condino), and a global sales network.
The decision to focus on development and sales and discontinue paper manufacturing in Switzerland has made way for a new project on the factory site in the centre of Cham. The Cham Paper Group is developing an eleven-hectare quarter there called the Papieri-Areal.
The Cham Paper Group (stock exchange symbol: CPGN) is listed on Switzerland's SIX Swiss Exchange.

Disclaimer
This communication may contain statements about the future that use words such as, for example, "believe", "assume", "expect" and other similar expressions. Such statements about the future are subject to known risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which can cause the true results of the company to differ significantly from those which are expressly or implicitly assumed in these statements.

In view of these uncertainties, the reader should not depend on this type of statement about the future. The company gives no undertaking whatever to update such statements regarding the future, or to adapt them to future events or developments.
This press release is issued in English and German. The German version is binding.