BENTELER Group: 2013 with a stable sales and business development

1. Comprehensive investments and structural measures in all business divisions to strengthen efficiency and customer focus create the conditions that are necessary for future growth
2. Substantial improvement of the earnings capacity planned for 2014

Salzburg, April 28, 2014 – The fiscal year 2013 was a year of changes for the BENTELER Group in which it laid the foundation for future growth and an increase in the efficiency and customer focus of all business divisions with comprehensive investments and structural measures. At the same time revenues remained stable at EUR 7.425 million compared to EUR 7.452 million in 2012. In the fiscal year 2013, the BENTELER Group invested EUR 349 million, which means that the investment significantly exceeded the depreciation totaling EUR 220 million. The largest investment project is the construction of a new hot rolling mill in Louisiana in the United States. As the first production site of BENTELER Steel/Tube in the U.S., the plant is a key component of the global growth strategy. It is the entry ticket to the largest steel tubing market in the world and one of the most important markets for oil and gas exploration. The total investment for this project amounts to approx. USD 1 billion. In 2013, the Group result before tax dropped to EUR 4.3 million, which is EUR 59 million less than the group result for 2012. This is mainly due to the planned restructuring expenses of BENTELER Automotive in the amount of EUR 70 million. The result after tax was EUR 3.1 million, compared to a consolidated profit of EUR 41 million in the previous year. The balance sheet total was EUR 3,806 million, 0.4% less than in 2012. The share of BENTELER Automotive in the total revenue of the Group was 78%. The contribution of the business divisions BENTELER Steel/Tube and BENTELER Distribution to the total revenue was 13% and 9%, respectively. “I am convinced that the efforts made in 2013 will have a sustainable positive effect enabling us to increase our revenue in the long term and acquire new customers,” said Hubertus Benteler, CEO of the BENTELER Group. “We are certain that the growth of the automotive industry will occur outside of Europe in the future. For this reason we have further strengthened our position in the global growth markets, in particular, in the Automotive division. At the same time we have advanced the internationalization of the Steel/Tube division with determination and have significantly improved logistics in the Distribution division. The indications for a trend reversal and a return to growth, especially in the automotive sector, have already been evident since the second half of 2013. 2 Consequently, in the fiscal year 2014 – our “year of opportunities” – the focus will be on significant improvement of the earnings capacity of Benteler Group again.” BENTELER Automotive recorded revenue of EUR 5,955 million in 2013. This means an increase of EUR 76 million or 1% compared to the previous year, despite intensive restructuring expenses. The exchange rate adjusted growth rate was 4.3%. It is primarily due to the Asia/Pacific and Mercosur regions. In Europe, the division’s revenue dropped compared to 2012 because of the difficult business environment, especially in western, eastern and southern Europe. BENTELER Automotive develops and produces ready-to-install modules, components and parts for bodies, chassis and engines. As a full-service supplier it supplies almost all major car manufacturers in the world. The BENTELER Steel/Tube division generated revenue of EUR 959 million in 2013, 6% less than in the previous year. The main reason for the drop is significantly lower prices, while the tube tonnage sold in the weak European market was up 3.3%. BENTELER Steel/Tube is one of the leading manufacturers of high-quality tube products internationally. With the companies Benteler Steel/Tube, Benteler Rothrist and Benteler Tube Management this business division offers highly specialized solutions for numerous industries, such as power generation, automotive engineering, machinery and plant engineering and other industrial applications. BENTELER Distribution generated revenue of EUR 728 million in the year under review, down 8% compared to the previous year. The significantly lower prices impacted this figure, too. On the other hand, the sales volume slightly exceeded the one of the previous year. BENTELER Distribution is one of the world's leading warehouse keepers and processors of steel and stainless steel tubes – with a full range of tube products and comprehensive services for all aspects of tube applications. Research and development Despite its restructuring measures, BENTELER Group provided EUR 101 million for research and development in the fiscal year 2013, too. The Group filed applications for 74 new patents. The research and development work at BENTELER is focused on the future-oriented subjects of safety, protection of the environment and efficiency. More than 1,200 employees at 32 locations in 18 countries work in the area of research and development at BENTELER Group. In pursuit of the reduction of mass, cost and emissions they work on the development of more efficient products, processes and services as well as new materials. 3 Personnel In 2013, the BENTELER Group had a global workforce of 28,166 FTEs (Full Time Equivalent employees), which is 159 or 0.6% more than in the previous year. In the year under review 81.4% of all FTEs of the BENTELER Group worked in the Automotive division. In the Steel/Tube division, the average number of employees slightly increased compared to the previous year. In the Distribution division, the average number of employees dropped by 53 FTEs to a total of 1,430 FTEs. In the other companies (including the central purchasing company BENTELER Global Procurement GmbH) the number of employees was 383 FTEs, compared to 342 FTEs in the previous year. In the year under review BENTELER employed an average of 262 FTEs in Austria and 18,557 FTEs worked outside of Germany. Upswing in the BENTELER Automotive division: The market forecasts for vehicle production expect continued growth of the global market for 2014. This development continues to be strongly supported by the growth in the Asian region. The European market situation is expected to improve as well. Internationalization of the Steel/Tube division: In the Steel/Tube division, the construction of the hot rolling mill in the US will play a key role in 2014 as a preparation for the start of production in 2015. In addition, the division is analyzing further potential for growth outside the established core markets in Europe, for example in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. For the Automotive division, the BENTELER Group is exploring a production site for welded tubes in China. Slight upswing expected in the Distribution division: The global steel market is expected to recover slightly in 2014. The global demand is expected to continue to increase. Based on these forecasts, the BENTELER Distribution division expects to see growth in all relevant countries again. Outlook Due to the measures to reduce costs, which were successfully implemented in 2013, and given that the economy is forecast to pick up, the BENTELER Group expects a substantially improved net result for 2014. The Group plans to increase its revenue to more than EUR 10 billion by 2018. The long-term, continuous increase of the company value and the preservation of financial independence still remain the main corporate objectives of the BENTELER Group. Due to its product portfolio and geographic presence the company is in a good position to take advantage of any market opportunities that may present themselves and to face new challenges.