EQS-News: voestalpine AG: voestalpine with solid result in Q1 2023/24 after record year

EQS-News: voestalpine AG / Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement
   voestalpine AG: voestalpine with solid result in Q1 2023/24 after record
   year

   09.08.2023 / 07:30 CET/CEST
   The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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   voestalpine with solid result in Q1 2023/24 after record year

     • Revenue for Q1 2023/24 down 4.3% year over year to EUR 4.4 billion
       (previous year: EUR 4.6 billion)
     • EBITDA down 42.6% to EUR 505 million (previous year: EUR 879 million)
     • EBIT drops 54.4% from EUR 693 million to EUR 316 million
     • Profit before tax at EUR 278 million (previous year: EUR 670 million)
       and profit after tax at EUR 218 million (previous year: EUR 615
       million)
     • Equity rises further to EUR 7.9 billion (previous year: EUR 7.7
       billion)
     • Net financial debt reduced by 15.2%, from EUR 2.3 billion to EUR 1.9
       billion
     • Gearing ratio improves year over year from 29.8% to 24.5%
     • 51,164 employees as of June 30, 2023 (+2.5%)
     • A good first quarter in 2023/24 following the company’s best operating
       result in its history in the same quarter of the previous year

   voestalpine generated a solid result in the first quarter of the 2023/24
   business year (April 1 to June 30). The individual industrial sectors
   experienced different developments in this respect. For instance, the
   momentum of the past business year in the traditional energy sector (oil &
   natural gas) continued unchanged. The solar industry also continued to see
   strong demand. voestalpine supplies solar projects worldwide; among its
   projects, the Group is equipping one of Brazil’s largest solar projects
   with sophisticated steel sections. By contrast, there was a noticeable
   slowdown in demand in the mechanical engineering, consumer goods, and
   construction industry sectors. The automotive industry recorded
   satisfactory demand in the first quarter of the 2023/24 business year. The
   supply bottlenecks that the automotive industry had faced for over two
   years are increasingly dissipating. The rail infrastructure systems
   business continued to develop very strongly. The high demand for
   voestalpine’s high-quality track grades led to full capacity utilization
   for rail production at the Austrian Donawitz site in the first quarter.
   The clearly positive trend in the aerospace industry also continued at the
   beginning of the 2023/24 business year. Demand in the storage technology
   segment is also as strong as ever.

   “The first quarter of the current business year was a good one overall.
   When comparing the figures year over year, it is important to remember
   that we are measuring ourselves against the best quarter in the Group’s
   history. Our unique selling proposition is diversification both by
   industry as well as by region. This puts us in a strong position for the
   future,” says Herbert Eibensteiner, CEO of voestalpine AG.

   Development of revenue and earnings

   Compared with the first quarter of the previous year, revenue decreased
   slightly by 4.3% from EUR 4.6 billion to EUR 4.4 billion. Measured against
   the Group’s best operating result in its history in the same quarter of
   the previous year, the decline in earnings was significant: EBITDA
   decreased by 42.6% to EUR 505 million with a margin of 11.3% (Q1 of the
   previous year: EUR 879 million; margin of 18.9%). In the same period, the
   operating result (EBIT) decreased by 54.4% to EUR 316 million with a
   margin of 7.1% (first quarter of the previous year: EUR 693 million;
   margin of 14.9%). Profit before tax also fell by a similar amount,
   dropping by 58.5% from EUR 670 million to EUR 278 million. Profit after
   tax decreased by 64.5% from EUR 615 million to EUR 218 million. At EUR 7.9
   billion, the equity base was further strengthened year over year (+3.2%).
   Equity increased by 1.8% compared with the reporting date of March 31,
   2023. Net financial debt fell 15.2% to EUR 1.9 billion within one year.
   Financial debt increased by 16.5% (EUR 1.7 billion) compared with the
   reporting date due to an increase in working capital. The gearing ratio
   (net financial debt in relation to equity) improved year over year from
   29.8% to 24.5%, but increased slightly compared with the reporting date
   (21.4%). The number of employees (FTEs) in the voestalpine Group rose 2.5%
   year over year, from 49,900 to 51,164.

   Outlook

   The first quarter of the business year 2023/24 was very satisfactory for
   the voestalpine Group overall, although the overall economic mood in some
   segments has already clouded over noticeably.

   As expected, order intake from the construction, mechanical engineering,
   and consumer goods industry market segments weakened. The central banks’
   measures to fight inflation seem to have reached the manufacturing
   industry. Assuming no short-term policy reversal by the central banks,
   demand from these market segments can be expected to remain weak
   throughout the rest of the business year 2023/24. On the other hand, the
   automotive segment in voestalpine’s customer portfolio is performing at
   least stably overall. This development should by and large continue for
   the rest of the business year 2023/24 from today’s perspective. In the
   energy sector, a certain softening is expected for the conventional part
   (oil & natural gas) in the further course of the business year 2023/24,
   but demand should remain at an overall attractive level. For the renewable
   energy sector, a continuation of the currently very good performance is
   expected for the rest of the business year. The railway systems and
   aerospace industries will also continue their very good development.

   From the perspective of the voestalpine portfolio, the strongest economic
   slowdown is expected in Europe from a regional point of view, while a
   rather moderately weaker economic development is anticipated for North
   America. South America (Brazil) should experience a largely stable
   development, whereas the Asian economic area (China) should grow slightly.

   As this development essentially reflects the assessment of the Management
   Board at the beginning of the business year 2023/24, it remains unchanged:
   Assuming that the global economy will not be hit by massive economic
   distortions on account of the central banks’ interest rate polices and
   that there will be no further escalation scenarios in the Ukraine war or
   additional geopolitical tensions, the Management Board of voestalpine AG
   expects the Group to generate EBITDA of between EUR 1.7 billion and EUR
   1.9 billion in the business year 2023/24.

   KEY FIGURES – voestalpine GROUP

                                   Q1 BY 2022/23     Q1 BY 2023/24     Change
                                   04/01/–06/30/2022 04/01/–06/30/2023 in %
   Revenue                         4,645.4           4,445.7           -4.3
   EBITDA                          879.1             504.5             -42.6
   EBITDA margin in %              18.9%             11.3%              
   EBIT                            692.7             316.2             -54.4
   EBIT margin in %                14.9%             7.1%               
   Profit before tax               670.3             278.4             -58.5
   Profit after tax from           523.4             220.0             -58.0
   continuing operations
   Profit after tax from           91.1              -1.8               
   discontinued operations
   Profit after tax *              614.5             218.2             -64.5
                                                                        
   EPS – basic earnings per share  2.83              1.04              -63.3
   from continuing
   operations (euros)
   EPS – basic earnings per share  0.51              -0.01              
   from discontinued
   operations (euros)
   EPS – basic earnings per share  3.34              1.03              -69.2
   (euros)
                                                                        
   EPS – diluted earnings per      2.83              1.01              -64.3
   share from continuing
   operations (euros)
   EPS – diluted earnings per      0.51              -0.01              
   share from discontinued
   operations (euros)
   EPS – diluted earnings per      3.34              1.00              -70.1
   share (euros)
                                                                        
   Gearing ratio in % (06/30)      29.8%             24.5%              
   In millions of euros

   * Before deduction of non-controlling interests.

   The Report of the first quarter of 2023/24 of voestalpine AG as of the
   June 30, 2023, may be accessed on the company’s website at
   [1]www.voestalpine.com under the ’Investors’ tab.

   In case of questions, please contact the company’s Investor Relations team
   at +43/50304/15-9949.

   Please direct any inquiries to:
   voestalpine AG
   Peter Felsbach
   Head of Group Communications I Group Spokesperson
   voestalpine-Strasse 1
   4020 Linz, Austria
   T. +43/50304/15-2090
   [email protected]

   Peter Fleischer
   Head of Investor Relations
   voestalpine-Strasse 1
   4020 Linz, Austria
   T. +43/50304/15-9949
   [email protected]

   [2]www.voestalpine.com

    

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   09.08.2023 CET/CEST This Corporate News was distributed by EQS Group AG.
   www.eqs.com

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   Language:    English
   Company:     voestalpine AG
                voestalpine-Straße 1
                4020 Linz
                Austria
   Phone:       +43 50304/15-9949
   Fax:         +43 50304/55-5581
   E-mail:      [email protected]
   Internet:    www.voestalpine.com
   ISIN:        AT0000937503
   WKN:         897200
   Listed:      Vienna Stock Exchange (Official Market)
   EQS News ID: 1698791


    
   End of News EQS News Service


   1698791  09.08.2023 CET/CEST

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