Scale market report: "Could not escape peer group decline".

Companies like Exasol, Deutsche Rohstoff, Cliq and 2G are growing strongly, and the stock market is also doing well. Other scale companies are struggling. This time, the three questions go to Remco Westermann from Media and Games Invest.

15 March 2023. FRANKFURT (Börse Frankfurt). The Scale segment has not been spared from the recent stock market slump. The collapse of the Californian start-up financier Silicon Valley Bank has fueled concerns about a new financial crisis and sent stock markets around the world into a tailspin. Yesterday, Tuesday, a recovery began.

The Scale All Share, which tracks all members, is at 1,278 points Wednesday morning, up from 1,324 a month ago. Since the beginning of the year, that still gives a gain of 4 percent. The Scale 30 selection index is currently at 1,139 points, more or less the same level as at the end of 2022.

"German AI hopefuls" with rich price gains

Many Scale members that had performed very well since the beginning of the year also lost ground. For example, the price of the database provider Exasol (DE000A0LR9G9) - occasionally traded as the German AI hope - had risen from 2.87 to 4.65 euros. Now it's back down to just 3.92 euros. 2022 Exasol - according to preliminary figures - increased recurring revenues by 17 percent to 36 million euros. The operating result also improved significantly, but it still remained at a loss. For the current fiscal year, the Management Board expects a continuation of the growth course and a further increase in profitability.

Record year for German raw material

The share price of Deutsche Rohstoff AG (DE000A0XYG76) also crumbled recently. Currently, the share costs 26.20 euros, down from 28.30 euros at the beginning of the month, but is still clearly in the black this year. The oil producer had also presented good figures for 2022: Sales of 165 million euros and Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of 139 million euros were within the forecast range published in December. This had been raised three times in 2022 - partly due to rising oil and gas prices. "Deutsche Rohstoff has reached a new level both operationally and in terms of profitability," CEO Jan-Philipp Weitz said. "For the current year and the years to come, we have created an excellent basis and are confident that we can continue to grow."
 

Cliq and 2G continue to grow

Düsseldorf-based streaming provider Cliq Digital is hardly suffering from the current stock market environment, with the share price up a good 15 percent since the beginning of the year. In 2022, Cliq increased its sales by 84 percent to 276 million euros and its net income by 63 percent to 29 million euros. Combined heat and power plant manufacturer 2G Energy (DE000A0HL8N9) also continued on its growth course in 2022, increasing its sales revenue - according to preliminary figures - to well over 310 million euros. The company plans to announce details at the end of March.

The analyst firms SMC Research and First Berlin consider the 2G share far too cheap: SMC expects a continuation of the positive development and trusts 2G 30 euros. That would be an increase of 36 percent from the current 22 euros. SMC says that combined heat and power plants will play a key role in the further implementation of the energy transition. 2G is ideally positioned in this market to benefit from an increase in demand. Increasingly important: the hydrogen capability of the plants, and 2G offers that. Based on the new figures, First Berlin has raised its estimates for 2022 and expects double-digit sales growth with higher margins for 2023. The price target is 31 euros.