EQS-News: voestalpine AG: voestalpine posts record performance in Q1 2022/23
EQS-News: voestalpine AG / Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement
voestalpine AG: voestalpine posts record performance in Q1 2022/23
04.08.2022 / 07:30
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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• Revenue for Q1 2022/23 rises 37.7% year over year to EUR 4.6 billion
(Q1 2021/22: EUR 3.4 billion)
• EBITDA is EUR 879 million (Q1 2021/22: EUR 522 million)
• EBIT doubles year over year, from EUR 332 million to EUR 693 million
• Profit before tax is EUR 670 million (Q1 2021/22: EUR 311 million),
and profit after tax is EUR 615 million (Q1 2021/22: EUR 259 million)
• Gearing ratio improves year over year, from 43.8% to 29.8%
• Equity jumps to EUR 7.7 billion (Q1 2021/22: EUR 6 billion)
• Number of employees stands at 49,900 FTE (+2.1%)
• Group’s operating result for Q1 2022/23 is its best quarterly
performance ever following the record business year 2021/22, however
outlook falls short of that record
voestalpine successfully carried its excellent performance in the business
year 2021/22 over into the first quarter of the business year 2022/23
(April 1 to June 30, 2022). Demand for the high quality products of the
steel and technology Group was positive in all segments despite the
difficult environment: the Russia/Ukraine war, massive increases in energy
prices, ongoing supply chain bottlenecks, and disruptions in logistics.
Even the European automotive industry, which has had to contend with
supply chain bottlenecks for over a year despite strong order levels,
benefited from slight upward trends in the current business year’s first
quarter. A clearly positive upward trend lifted the aerospace segment,
which profited from rising passenger numbers in regional air traffic and
the resulting increase in demand for single aisle aircraft. In the oil and
natural gas segment, demand rose considerably year over year as well. The
sharp increases in energy prices are creating incentives to invest in oil
and natural gas projects; the conversion of the US protectionist tariffs
(Section 232) into a quota system with effect from January 1, 2022 is also
having a positive impact on voestalpine’s European production plants. The
Railway Systems business segment posted stable performance again. Strong
demand in the storage technology segment continues unabated and the
photovoltaics segment, which voestalpine supplies with substructures,
achieved record growth.
“voestalpine delivered extraordinarily strong results in its first
business quarter. We are, however, aware of the potential risks that we
may face due to the uncertainty of economic developments in the second
half of calendar year 2022 and have prepared well for them,” says Herbert
Eibensteiner, CEO of voestalpine AG.
Development of Revenue and Earnings
Year over year, the voestalpine Group achieved significant improvements in
both revenue and earnings, posting its best quarterly performance ever in
the first quarter of the business year 2022/23. The numbers in detail:
Revenue rose year over year by 37.7%, from EUR 3.4 billion in Q1 2021/22
to EUR 4.6 billion in Q1 2022/23. EBITDA soared by 68.5%, from EUR 522
million to EUR 879 million. The increase in EBIT was even more pronounced.
It more than doubled, from EUR 332 million in Q1 2021/22 to EUR 693
million in Q1 2022/23. Profit before tax surged in the reporting period to
EUR 670 million (Q1 2021/22: EUR 311 million), and profit after tax to
EUR 615 million (Q1 2021/22: EUR 259 million). voestalpine considerably
strengthened its equity to EUR 7.7 billion, both year over year (+28.5%)
and compared with the reporting date for the business year 2021/22
(+8.5%). Net financial debt fell by 12.8% to EUR 2.3 billion within a
single year. The gearing ratio (net financial debt as a percentage of
equity) improved year over year, from 43.8% to 29.8%. The number of
employees (FTE) in the voestalpine Group rose 2.1% year over year, from
48,880 to 49,900.
Outlook
Economic forecasts became increasingly pessimistic over the course of the
first quarter of the business year 2022/23. Due to the dampening
sentiment, the voestalpine Group cannot assume a continuation of its
earning performance for the remainder of the business year 2022/23 on the
record level posted for the first business quarter despite the high amount
of order backlogs at the moment. The Management Board of voestalpine AG
expects a significant cooling of the economy in the second half of
2022/23, with the corresponding impact on the company’s earnings.
It is to be expected that this will affect especially the cyclical
business segments of the voestalpine Group. Besides the flat steel
business, this includes in particular voestalpine products that are
delivered to the construction, mechanical engineering as well as consumer
and white goods market segments. On the other hand, the prevailing
positive momentum in the rail technology, energy, and aerospace sectors is
expected to continue throughout the business year 2022/23.
While the production output of the European automotive industry still
falls substantially short of pre-crisis levels, developments in the
reporting period indicate a moderate improvement. Strong order books of
the car producers (OEMs) lead us to expect that demand will at least be
stable during the remainder of the current business year. By contrast, if
the supply chain bottlenecks are resolved, we may expect a marked
improvement in demand from this segment.
Based on its current estimates, therefore, the Management Board of
voestalpine AG expects EBITDA of about EUR 2 billion for the entire
business year 2022/23.
The threat scenario of insufficient supplies of natural gas to Europe as a
result of the political tensions arising from the Russian war of
aggression on Ukraine has intensified over the past few months. At the
time of preparation of this report, sufficient supplies of natural gas are
available in Europe. However, the continuation of adequate supplies is the
precondition for the outlook presented here regarding the business year
2022/23. Significant disruptions of supply chains are to be expected in
many industrial sectors if gas supply in Europe comes to a standstill, if
emergency plans go into effect, or if prices force producers to curtail
production.
Hence this outlook presupposes that Europe will continue to receive
sufficient supplies of natural gas and that other risks, such as the
general economic development, supply chain disruptions, developments
regarding customer needs, raw materials, and energy prices, that can
barely be quantified at this time, remain manageable.
KEY FIGURES – voestalpine GROUP
Q1 BY 2021/22* Q1 BY 2022/23 Change
04/01/–06/30/2021 04/01/–06/30/2022 in %
Revenue 3,373.9 4,645.4 +37.7
EBITDA 521.7 879.1 +68.5
EBITDA margin in % 15.5% 18.9%
EBIT 331.5 692.7 +109.0
EBIT margin in % 9.8% 14.9%
Profit before tax 310.9 670.3 +115.6
Profit after tax from 251.3 523.4 +108.3
continuing operations
Profit after tax from 7.9 91.1 +1,053.2
discontinued operations
Profit after tax ** 259.2 614.5 +137.1
Earnings per share (euros) 1.42 3.34 +135.2
Gearing ratio in % (06/30) 43.8% 29.8%
In millions of euros
*Q1 2021/22 retroactively adjusted. For further details see Annual Report
2021/22.
** Before deduction of non-controlling interests.
The Report of the first quarter of 2022/23 of voestalpine AG as of the
June 30, 2022, may be accessed on the company’s website at
[1] www.voestalpine.com under the ‘Investors’ tab.
Please direct any inquiries to:
voestalpine AG
Peter Fleischer
Head of Investor Relations
voestalpine-Strasse 1
4020 Linz, Austria
T. +43/50304/15-9949
peter.fleischer@voestalpine.com
or
Peter Felsbach
Head of Group Communications I Group Spokesperson
voestalpine-Strasse 1
4020 Linz, Austria
T. +43/50304/15-2090
peter.felsbach@voestalpine.com
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04.08.2022 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: 1412687
End of News EQS News Service
1412687 04.08.2022
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