Announcement of preliminary key figures for the financial year 2016 Revenue increased by 3.4 percent at constant currency EBIT margin before special items at 12.7 percent Free cash flow increased to around 730 million euros 2017 with improved growth prospects The global automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler announced its preliminary key figures for the financial year 2016 today. The company increased its revenue at constant currency by 3.4 percent to around 13.3 billion euros (prior year: approximately 13.2 billion euros) and earned an EBIT of approximately 1,700 million euros (prior year: 1,676 million euros). On this basis, EBIT margin before special items was 12.7 percent (prior year: 12.7 percent). The free cash flow increased to approximately 730 million euros (prior year: 370 million euros). “We have continued on our successful course also in the financial year 2016 and have delivered a strong result. Compared to the prior year, we were able to improve our sales as well as our operating results before one-off effects. Furthermore, our free cash flow improved remarkably”, said Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler AG. The main driving force for the positive business development was the Automotive division, which again performed stronger than the market, i.e. grew faster than the global production of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. In the Industrial division, the efficiency and cost reduction measures were implemented as planned. Furthermore, a number of prominent customer projects were signed in the fourth quarter. In 2017, the Schaeffler Group anticipates revenue growth of 4 to 5 percent at constant currency. On this basis, the company expects as in previous years to generate an EBIT margin before special items of 12 to 13 percent. The Schaeffler Group is anticipating approximately 600 million euros in free cash flow for 2017. Rosenfeld explained: “With our ‘Mobility for tomorrow’ strategy, we have created the prerequisites for profitable and sustainable growth. In our Automotive business, we are increasingly placing our focus on electric mobility, where we already received several series production orders. In our Industrial Division, we consider ourselves to be in a good position to benefit from the future opportunities arising from Industrie 4.0.” On March 8, 2017, Schaeffler AG will present its business figures during its Annual Results Press Conference in Frankfurt.