Stabilus S.A.: New CEO to be appointed

CORPORATE NEWS

Stabilus S.A.: New CEO to be appointed

- Chief Executive Dietmar Siemssen to leave the company at his own request at the end of fiscal 2018

- Supervisory Board Chairman Dr. Stephan Kessel to act as interim CEO until appointment of a new chief executive

- Search for new CEO initiated and expected to be completed by the end of 2018

- Udo Stark mandated as temporary member of the Supervisory Board and appointed as its Chairman

Luxembourg/Koblenz, July 9, 2018 - The Supervisory Board of Stabilus S.A. (ISIN: LU1066226637), one of the world's leading suppliers of gas springs, damping solutions and electromechanical drives for motion control, on Monday evening agreed to the request of Chief Executive Dietmar Siemssen (54) to step down from his position as CEO of Stabilus S.A. at the end of the 2018 business year. Supervisory Board Chairman Dr. Stephan Kessel will switch to the Management Board of Stabilus S.A. and take on the role of CEO in an interim capacity effective August 1, 2018, until a successor to Mr. Siemssen is found and appointed. His mandate as a member of the Supervisory Board shall be temporarily suspended for the length of this interim period. The Supervisory Board has decided to co-opt the former chairman of the Supervisory Board, Udo Stark, as member of the Supervisory Board during that time, it is intended to appoint him as Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

Dr. Stephan Kessel is an acknowledged industrial and automotive sector expert who was for many years a member of the management at Continental AG, and that company's CEO until 2002. Since 2008, he has performed a variety of roles on the Advisory Board of Stabilus, and from 2008 to 2011 acted as the CEO of Stabilus. In 2014, following the flotation of the company, he joined the newly formed Supervisory Board of Stabilus. At the shareholder meeting on February 14, 2018, he was appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

On behalf of the Stabilus management and the company's workforce, the Supervisory Board would like to express its gratitude to Dietmar Siemssen for his outstanding performance as the CEO of Stabilus, and to wish him well in both his professional and personal life going forward. Siemssen came from Continental AG to take up the position of CEO at Stabilus in 2011. He assumed the task of managing the company in the wake of the automotive crisis, subsequently putting Stabilus on a sustained growth trajectory. It was under his leadership that the STAR strategy was devised, the implementation of which has enabled the company's automotive and industrial activities to both be significantly expanded

The remarkably successful market launch of Powerise, a system pioneered by Stabilus from prototype through to its establishment as a globally leading product for the automatic raising and closing of vehicle tailgates, was followed by the flotation of the company in 2014. In 2016, Stabilus completed its biggest acquisition in the history of the company, acquiring entities from SKF Group for a total of USD 339 million with a view to extending the footprint of Stabilus in the industrial segment. These acquisitions have since been successfully integrated into the company. They are showing strong growth and now make a major contribution to revenues and earnings at Stabilus. In 2017, the Stabilus Management Board, together with the Supervisory Board and the international management teams, presented the next phase of its STAR strategy and presented goals until the 2025 business year, thus mapping out the course for the future development of the company over the coming years. Since the 2011 business year, group revenues have more than doubled, advancing from EUR412m to EUR910m in fiscal 2017. Dietmar Siemssen has now chosen to pursue new challenges.

The Supervisory Board has initiated a search for a new CEO. It is planned that Dr. Kessel returns to his position on the Supervisory Board once the new CEO has been appointed and for Udo Stark's mandate on the Supervisory Board to terminate at such time.

About Stabilus

As one of the world's leading suppliers of gas springs, damping solutions and electromechanical drives, Stabilus has for eight decades been demonstrating its expertise in the automotive industry and a variety of other sectors. Gas springs, dampers and electromechanical POWERISE drives from Stabilus optimize opening, closing, lifting, lowering and adjusting operations, and also protect against vibrations. Employing a workforce of more than six thousand worldwide, the company has its operational headquarters in Koblenz. Stabilus has reported sales revenues of EUR 910.0 million in the 2017 fiscal year. Stabilus has a global production network encompassing plants in nine countries. Additionally, the Group maintains regional offices and relations to sales partners in over fifty countries in Europe, North, Central and South America, and in Asia Pacific. Stabilus is listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and included in the SDAX index.

Important Notice

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Stabilus Group management and other information currently available to Stabilus. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here.