EQS-News: voestalpine AG: voestalpine ends business year 2023/24 with solid operating results and pioneering projects

EQS-News: voestalpine AG / Key word(s): Annual Results
   voestalpine AG: voestalpine ends business year 2023/24 with solid operating
   results and pioneering projects

   05.06.2024 / 07:30 CET/CEST
   The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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   voestalpine ends business year 2023/24 with solid operating results and
   pioneering projects

     • EBITDA in line with expectations at EUR 1.7 billion (previous year:
       EUR 2.5 billion)
     • Second highest revenue to date at EUR 16.7 billion after record result
       in BY 2022/23 (EUR 18.2 billion)
     • Key earnings figures influenced by non-recurring effects
     • Debt level at an all-time low
     • Cash flow from operating activities rose significantly from
       EUR 956 million to EUR 1.4 billion
     • Solid operating result once again confirms the Group strategy
     • Strategically important projects launched in international markets
     • Technological milestones achieved with construction starting for
       greentec steel in Linz and Donawitz along with the opening of the
       special steel plant in Kapfenberg
     • Number of employees (FTE) rose by 0.8% to 51,600
     • Outlook for 2024/25: EBITDA between EUR 1.7 billion and EUR 1.8 billion

   In the past business year, April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, voestalpine
   achieved a solid operating result. This financial success once again proves
   the robustness of the long-term corporate strategy: Focusing on the most
   technically demanding products made it possible to expand the market share
   in the global competitive environment in the face of a tough economic
   backdrop. Our global presence and industrial diversification ensured
   stability in an environment where interest rate-sensitive industries such
   as construction and mechanical engineering recorded significant drops in
   demand. The railway infrastructure, aerospace, and energy industries
   performed especially well. Demand for products manufactured by the
   voestalpine Steel Division in the automotive industry was stable throughout
   the year. “We have once again proven our strength and resilience in the
   past business year. Despite operating in a highly turbulent market, we have
   succeeded in achieving a strong operating result that met market
   expectations and in further reinforcing and improving our strategic
   position on international markets with a number of major projects,”
   explains Herbert Eibensteiner, CEO of voestalpine AG.

   Over the past business year, the steel and technology Group rolled out a
   number of key strategic projects around the world. With this, voestalpine
   continued to improve its position as global leader in rail infrastructure
   by acquiring production facilities for rail fastening technology and
   sleeper production in the U.S. Capacities were further increased in the
   demanding warehouse technology segment with the construction of a new
   production plant in the U.S. and the acquisition of the Italian warehouse
   specialist Torri S.R.L. In South America, production capacities were
   doubled for special profiles primarily used in photovoltaic installations.
   Meanwhile, in the Automotive Components business segment in China the fifth
   phs line – the first carbon-neutral production unit powered by in-house
   photovoltaic installations – went into operation.

   Investing in the future

   With the official opening of the state-of-the-art special steel plant in
   Kapfenberg back in October 2023, voestalpine set a further technological
   milestone in the production of pioneering high-performance materials for
   the international automotive, energy, and aerospace industries. A global
   pioneer in terms of digitalization and sustainability, the new plant is the
   first of its kind to be built in Europe for four decades. Once full
   operations commence, the new plant will produce 205,000 tons of special
   steels annually for some of the most demanding customer segments.

   Other key milestones achieved over the past business year include the two
   groundbreaking ceremonies for greentec steel, the clearly defined roadmap
   for the transformation of steel production and the awarding of contracts
   for the key facilities for the installation of one electric arc furnace at
   each of the sites in Linz and Donawitz. Switching to this technology allows
   the steel and technology Group to reduce its emissions by around 30% as of
   2027, representing annual savings of almost 4 million tons of CO[2]. As a
   result, greentec steel is the largest climate protection program in
   Austria. The investment volume is around EUR 1.5 billion. The downstream
   processing divisions of voestalpine that generate just over half of the
   Group’s revenue have achieved an almost negligible direct carbon footprint
   (Scope 1). “The official opening of our special steel plant in Kapfenberg
   and the official start of construction for greentec steel in Linz and
   Donawitz are particularly important for the future of voestalpine in terms
   of strategy. In view of this, the past business year can be viewed as a
   historic success,” explains Eibensteiner.

   On the whole, the voestalpine Group’s investments during the past business
   year came to EUR 1.2 billion, up 33.7% on the previous business year’s
   level of EUR 922.0 million.

   Solid operating result, significant rise in cash flow, and negative
   non-recurring effects

   Revenue reached the second-highest amount in the Group’s history at
   EUR 16.7 billion after achieving record revenue of EUR 18.2 billion in the
   2022/23 business year. After hitting record levels in the previous year,
   the key figures have returned to normal in the current reporting year and
   voestalpine has recorded strong performance in a long-term comparison. The
   operating result (EBITDA) reached EUR 1.7 billion (previous year:
   EUR 2.5 billion). EBIT came to EUR 569.3 million in total. While the
   economic slowdown was partly responsible for the drop from the previous
   year (EUR 1.6 billion), non-recurring effects also played a role.

   Non-recurring effects had an impact on the key performance indicators: Two
   divisions reported non-recurring effects (impairment losses) totaling
   EUR 428 million. As announced, voestalpine is planning to sell Buderus
   Edelstahl in Germany. This move comes as part of the consistent
   implementation of the Group’s strategy to focus on the materials sector at
   the highest level of quality. This planned sale has resulted in a total of
   EUR 360 million in unscheduled impairment losses in the High Performance
   Metals Division. EUR 92 million of this amount has also been recognized in
   EBITDA.

   Due to the burden placed on the automotive supplier industry in Germany in
   the face of the ongoing structural underutilization, the Metal Forming
   Division began to restructure its automotive supplier operations in Germany
   in the Automotive Components business in the 2023/24 business year and
   recorded one-off losses totaling EUR 68 million. In addition to these major
   effects, the operating result (EBITDA) and consequently the profit from
   operations (EBIT) were affected in the 2023/24 business year by positive
   and negative non-recurring effects on a medium and small scale, which
   almost fully canceled each other out.

   Profit before tax amounted to EUR 383.4 million, with profit after tax
   totaling EUR 207.1 million. Despite the decline in earnings, cash flow from
   operating activities rose significantly by more than half of the amount
   achieved in the previous year, namely EUR 956.2 million, to the present
   EUR 1.4 billion in the current year due to the decrease in working capital.

   In recent years, voestalpine has been able to continuously reduce its net
   financial debt. However, despite increasing investment activities, the
   value remained at a historically low level at EUR 1.7 billion. Equity
   remained similarly stable (–2.4%) at EUR 7.5 billion as of March 31, 2024
   (March 31, 2023: EUR 7.7 billion) despite unscheduled impairment losses.
   The gearing ratio (net financial debt to equity ratio) remained practically
   unchanged compared to the previous year at 22%.

   As of March 31, 2024, the number of employees in the voestalpine Group
   worldwide amounted to 51,600 (full-time equivalent) which is 0.8% more than
   in the previous year (51,200).

   Proposed dividend: EUR 0.70

   Subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting of voestalpine AG on July
   3, 2024, a dividend of EUR 0.70 per share will be paid to the company’s
   shareholders in consideration of earnings per share of EUR 0.59 in the
   2023/24 business year. This translates to a distribution ratio of
   approximately 120%.

   Outlook for the business year 2024/25

   The current trends have not changed significantly with the start of the new
   2024/25 business year. While Europe is currently still experiencing very
   subdued economic growth, momentum in North America is solid despite high
   interest rates. Brazil has cooled off recently, whereas economic growth in
   China has picked up again somewhat.

   With regard to the market segments, the good market environment in the
   railway infrastructure, aerospace, and warehouse technology segments is
   expected to continue. The automotive industry and the energy sector should
   largely continue their stable development to date. The construction,
   mechanical engineering, and consumer goods segments are likely to remain at
   least at the current level. Any positive stimuli, such as interest rate
   cuts, could lead to an upturn in the second half of the 2024/25 business
   year.

   Based on these assumptions and assuming no economic distortions from
   geopolitical developments, the Management Board of voestalpine AG expects
   an EBITDA in the range of EUR 1.7 to 1.8 billion for the business year
   2024/25.

   Strategically, voestalpine’s management will continue to expand the Group’s
   processing activities globally in the business year 2024/25 and the
   following years and continue to drive forward the implementation of the
   greentec steel transformation project towards net zero CO[2] emissions.

   KEY FIGURES – voestalpine GROUP

                                      BY 2022/23*            BY 2023/24 Change
                            04/01/2022-03/31/2023 04/01/2023-03/31/2024   in %
   Revenue                               18,225.1              16,684.3   -8.5
   EBITDA                                 2,543.9               1,666.1  -34.5
   EBITDA margin in %                       14.0%                 10.0%       
   EBIT                                   1,622.8                 569.3  -64.9
   EBIT margin in %                          8.9%                  3.4%       
   Profit before tax                      1,489.4                 383.4  -74.3
   Profit after tax from                  1,083.9                 215.6  -80.1
   continuing operations
   Profit after tax from                     93.4                  -8.5       
   discontinued operations
   Profit after tax **                    1,177.3                 207.1  -82.4
                                                                              
   Diluted and basic                         5.48                  0.64  -88.3
   earnings per share
   (euros)
   from
   continuingoperations 
   Diluted and basic                         0.53                 -0.05       
   earnings per share
   (euros)
   from
   discontinued operations 
   Diluted and basic                         6.01                  0.59  -90.2
   earnings per share
   (euros)
                                                                              
   Gearing Ratio in %                       21.6%                 22.0%       
   (12/31)
                                                                              
   In millions of euros

   *Business year 2022/23, retroactively adjusted.
   ** Before deduction of non-controlling interests.

   The Report of the first three quarters of the BY 2023/24 of voestalpine AG
   as of the December 31, 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:
   Peter Fleischer
   Head of Investor Relations
   voestalpine-Strasse 1
   4020 Linz, Austria
   T. +43/50304/15-9949
   fleischer@voestalpine.com

   Mag. Peter Felsbach, MAS
   Head of Group Communications I Spokesman
   voestalpine-Straße 1
   4020 Linz, Austria
   T. +43/50304/15-2090
   peter.felsbach@voestalpine.com
   [2]www.voestalpine.com

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   05.06.2024 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:      IR@voestalpine.com
   Internet:    www.voestalpine.com
   ISIN:        AT0000937503
   WKN:         897200
   Listed:      Vienna Stock Exchange (Official Market)
   EQS News ID: 1917985


    
   End of News EQS News Service


   1917985  05.06.2024 CET/CEST

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