Page 1

EX ESSENTRA RESULTS FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021 Released : 30/07/2021 07:00 RNS Number : 9932G Essentra plc 30 July 2021 ESSENTRA PLC ( the " Company " ) A leading global provider of essential components and solutions RESULTS FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021 Encouraging H1 performance , with a positive full year outlook , focused on delivering organic growth and accretive M & A Summary : The Company delivered an encouraging H1 2021 results performance , demonstrating a continuously improving rebound from COVID - 19 ( " the pandemic " ) , driven by Essentra's strong market positions , balanced portfolio and agile operations Revenue increase of 7.5 % vs H1 2020 on a like - for - like ¹ ( LFL ) basis , with continued positive momentum resulting in a return to quarterly growth O Compared to H1 2019 , H1 2021 revenue is down 1.9 % on a LFL basis o Adjusted² operating profit up 34.0 % vs H1 2020 ( at constant FX ) to £ 35.7m Reported operating profit of £ 30.1m versus £ 15.6m in H1 2020 o Adjusted ² basic EPS higher by 39.9 % ( at constant FX ) at 7.7p ( H1 2020 : 6.2p ) O Reported basic EPS of 6.6p compares to 2.3p in H1 2020 O O Adjusted² operating cash flow of £ 22.4m in H1 2021 Reported net cash inflow from operating activities of £ 26.1m in H1 2021 Well positioned for sustained growth in all divisions with clear and successful strategies based on innovation , sustainability and strong customer partnerships o Components - improving trend since the onset of the pandemic has led to a strong H1 2021 performance o Packaging - whilst the impact to the underlying market continued to affect H1 2021 , customer relationships continue to strengthen and we are expecting to see the market return to moderate growth in H2 2021 O Filters - strong performance seen in H1 2021 , led by outsourcing contracts won Margin expansion in Q2 ( vs Q2 2020 and Q1 2021 ) across all Divisions driven by self - help actions and operational leverage , despite cost inflation O Price increases being implemented to offset the impact of inflationary cost pressures o Progress made on strategic initiatives , underpinning future profitability and providing the platform for industry average margin delivery in Packaging towards the end of the year Value enhancing and strategic acquisition of Hengzhu announced in Components , 3C ! integration on plan in Packaging Strong balance sheet maintained , providing strategic optionality O Net debt of £ 212.2m ( H1 2020 : £ 297.0m ) , with net debt / EBITDA at 1.7x ( excluding lease liabilities , net debt / EBITDA ratio is 1.5x ) Issue of $ 250m private placement debt in July , securing more long term funding Interim dividend of 2.0p per share declared , in line with our progressive policy