Inside Information according to Article 17 MAR / annual balance sheet

Basler reports business figures for 2018:
Company confirms annual result and gives forecast for 2019

- Sales Euro 150.0 million (2017: Euro 150.2 million)

- Incoming orders Euro 154.0 million (2017: Euro 153.6 million)

- EBITDA Euro 36.0 million (2017: Euro 40.0 million, -10 %)

- Earnings before taxes Euro 24.5 million (2017: Euro 29.8 million, -18 %)

- Earnings after taxes Euro 17.0 million (2017: Euro 21.6 million, -21 %)

- Result per share Euro 5.29 (2017: Euro 6.74 , -22 %)

- Free cash flow Euro 1.3 million (2017: Euro 22.0 million, -94 %)

- Forecast 2019: Sales Euro 160 - 180 million, pre-tax return 7 - 11%

Ahrensburg, March 21, 2019 - BASLER AG, the leading global manufacturer of industrial cameras, is releasing the audited annual report for fiscal year 2018 today.

In a stagnating market environment in 2018, the group's sales stabilized on the high level of the previous year and amounted to Euro 150.0 million (previous year: Euro 150.2 million) in 2018. Incoming orders amounted to Euro 154.0 million and were close to the previous year's level of Euro 153.6 million. Thus, Basler AG stabilized the sales level which increased by 54 % in 2017, compensating the previous year's large projects in the electronics industry by business with a broader base of customers in less cyclic markets.

The earnings before taxes decreased to Euro 24.5 million (previous year: Euro 29.8 million), particularly due to planned strategic investments in the building up of personnel. Thus, the pre-tax margin summed up to 16.3 % (previous year: 19.8 %). With these results, Basler achieves the forecast communicated to the capital markets and performs above the mid-term targeted EBT-margin of > 12%.

The free cash flow calculated as sum of the cash flows from operations and cash flow for investments reached a value of Euro 1.3 million (previous year: Euro 22.0 million, -94 %). It was significantly impacted by the acquisition of Silicon Software GmbH in July 2018.

Especially against the background of the good annual results of 2018, the company will suggest in the annual shareholder's meeting a dividend payment of Euro 1,59 per share. This conforms with our recent payout ratio of 30 %.

With 100 new employees, the number of staff increased significantly especially in marketing, sales and R&D. Focus in 2019 will be an efficient training of new employees, the further integration of Silicon Software GmbH, which was acquired in 2018, and, furthermore, the establishing of Basler China by taking-over the business from the local distribution partner Beijing Sanbao Xingye (MVLZ) Image Tech. Co. Ltd..

Because of the high uncertainty of the markets and the economic slowdown, Basler plans to reach sales figures between Euro 160 - 180 million for the fiscal year 2019. Therefore, the company would develop better than the market. Basler estimates the market trend for vision components to stagnate again or to decrease slightly in the year 2019. Despite the present weakness of the economy, Basler's management holds on to its growth course, as the growth drivers are still intact for the medium- and long-term. In 2019, Basler expects a pre-tax return rate within a corridor of 7 - 11 %. The management will seek to further refine this forecast corridor during the fiscal year.

The full annual report can be found on the company's website. (www.baslerweb.com).
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Basler is the leading manufacturer of high-quality cameras and camera accessories for industry, medicine, traffic and a variety of other markets. The company's product portfolio encompasses area scan and line scan cameras in compact housing dimensions, camera modules in board level variants for embedded solutions, and 3D cameras. The catalog is rounded off by our user-friendly pylon SDK plus a broad spectrum of accessories, including several developed specially for Basler and optimally harmonized for our cameras. Basler has three decades of experience in computer vision. The company is home to approximately 800 employees, at its headquarters in Ahrensburg, Germany, and at its subsidiaries and sales offices in Europe, Asia, and North America.

Basler AG, Hardy Mehl (CFO/COO), An der Strusbek 60 - 62, 22926 Ahrensburg, Tel. +49 (0)4102-463100, ir/baslerweb.com, www.baslerweb.com, ISIN DE 0005102008