• Fitch Ratings assigned the company a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating of BBB- with a stable outlook
• CFO Thomas Toepfer: "Rating reflects strong financial profile, very good and stable operating margins and free cash flow generation"
• Fitch: KION Group "in many respects in line with investment grade rating requirements of a capital goods or diversified manufacturing company"

Wiesbaden, 3 January 2017 - Two months after the acquisition of Dematic, a leading specialist for automation and supply chain optimisation, the KION Group has received its first investment grade rating. The international agency Fitch Ratings assigned the company a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating of BBB- with a stable outlook.

"We are very pleased at the recognition Fitch has granted us with this rating which validates the organization's hard work over the past years," said Thomas Toepfer, CFO of the KION Group, a leading global supplier of industrial trucks, related services and automated supply chain solutions. "The investment grade rating reflects the company's excellent financial profile, which has continuously improved in recent years, with very good and stable profitability and free cash flow generation."

Fitch highlighted that the KION Group's financial profile "is in many respects in line with investment grade rating requirements of a capital goods or diversified manufacturing company. The group's operating margins are strong. Despite high capex levels, Fitch expects FCF generation to be strong, further aided by a moderate dividend policy (up to 35% of net profits) and low debt servicing needs (...)" In addition, Fitch Ratings sees Dematic as complementary to the KION Group as it will expand its potential customer base, improve its exposure to the US market and provide the company with diversification.

International rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's last awarded the Group BB+ with a negative outlook and Ba1 under review for a downgrade respectively.

Website: kiongroup.com/mediasite

Twitter: @kion_group

The Company

The KION Group is a global leader in industrial trucks, related services, and supply chain solutions. Across more than 100 countries worldwide, the KION Group designs, builds and supports logistics solutions that optimize material and information flow within factories, warehouses and distribution centres. The company is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in Europe, the second-largest producer of forklifts globally, and a leading provider of warehouse automation.

The KION Group's world-renowned brands are clear industry leaders. Dematic, the newest addition to the KION Group, is a global leader in automated material handling providing a comprehensive range of intelligent supply chain and automation solutions. Egemin Automation is a leading logistics automation specialist with a particular strength in AGVs. The Linde and STILL brands serve the premium industrial truck segment. Baoli focuses on industrial trucks in the economy segment. Among its regional industrial truck brands, Fenwick is the largest supplier of material handling products in France, OM STILL is a market leader in Italy, and Voltas is a leading provider of industrial trucks in India.

With a global installed base of more than 1.2 million industrial trucks and over 6,000 installed systems, KION Group's customer base includes companies in all industries and of all sizes on six continents. The company's 30,000 dedicated and highly skilled employees generated more than EUR6.7 billion in pro-forma revenue for the calendar year 2015.

Disclaimer

This document and the information contained herein are for information purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, regulatory reforms, results of technical studies, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. We do not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.

Further information for the media

Michael Hauger
Head of Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 655
Mobile: +49 (0)151 16 86 55 50
michael.hauger@kiongroup.com

Frank Brandmaier
Head of Corporate Media Relations
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 752
frank.brandmaier@kiongroup.com


Further information for investors

Dr Karoline Jung-Senssfelder
Head of Investor Relations and M&A
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 450
karoline.jung-senssfelder@kiongroup.com