EANS-News: voestalpine AG voestalpine posts strong revenue and earnings increase in the first half of the business year 2021/22
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Mid Year Results
Linz -
* Revenue for first half of the business year 2021/22 rises 37.8% year over year
to EUR 7 billion (H1 2020/21: EUR 5.1 billion)
* At EUR 1 billion, EBITDA is 2.7 times higher year over year
* At EUR 651 million, EBIT reaches very high level (H1 2020/21: EUR -215
million)
* Profit before tax is EUR 611 million (H1 2020/21: EUR -268 million), and
profit after tax is EUR 486 million (H1 2020/21: EUR -276 million)
* Very solid gearing ratio of 45.1% (H1 2020/21: 66.2%)
* Equity rises to EUR 6.1 billion (H1 2020/21: EUR 5.3 billion)
* Number of employees is 49,068 FTE (+2.4% year over year)
In the first half of the business year 2021/22 (April 1 to September 30),
voestalpine was able to build on the previous business year's positive
development-despite challenging parameters such as the global increase in energy
prices, partly disrupted supply chains as well as new mutations and variants of
the novel coronavirus in the face of regionally divergent progress in
vaccinations. All key market and product segments of the steel and technology
group delivered very solid performance. The supply chain problems intensified
over the summer solely in the Automotive segment, even though voestalpine's
North American and Asian facilities were affected much less by the lack of
semiconductors than the European ones. Orders from the aerospace industry also
rose again for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
satisfactory trend in the energy segment, which benefited from growing
investment activity in the oil & natural gas industry, continued. The Railway
Systems business segment posted stable performance yet again. And the storage
technology segment did very well indeed: Orders in this segment were at record
highs due to the e-commerce boom.
"We were able to deliver strong revenue and earnings increases in the business
year's first half thanks to very solid demand for voestalpine's products in all
markets and product segments that are material to us, our focus on efficiency-
boosting measures, and the excellent commitment of our employees," says Herbert
Eibensteiner, Chairman of the Management Board of voestalpine AG.
Development of Revenue and Earnings
The key performance indicators (KPIs) of the voestalpine Group for the first
half of the business year 2021/22 show strong year-over-year growth. Compared
with the first half of the previous business year, revenue rose by 37.8%, from
EUR 5.1 billion to EUR 7 billion. EBITDA surged year over year by 165.8%, from
EUR 395 million to EUR 1 billion. After EUR -215 million in the first half of
2020/21, EBIT soared to EUR 651 million in the first half of 2021/22. Profit
before tax for the reporting period jumped to EUR 611 million (H1 2020/21: EUR -
268 million), and profit after tax to EUR 486 million (H1 2020/21: -276
million). The positive development of the company's net financial debt from EUR
3.5 billion as of September 30, 2020, to EUR 2.7 billion as of September 30,
2021, showcases the company's ability to generate strong cash flow, especially
in the previous business year's second half. Equity rose year over year from EUR
5.3 billion to EUR 6.1 billion. The gearing ratio (net financial debt as a
percentage of equity) improved year over year, from 66.2% to 45.1%. And the
number of employees (FTE) in the voestalpine Group climbed by 2.4% compared with
the previous business year, from 47,917 to 49,068.
Outlook
The economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, which at the beginning was
partially accompanied by overheating tendencies, continued overall in the first
half of 2021/22. However, given the recent developments that have come into
focus, the further positive growth expectations appear somewhat more uncertain.
Toward the end of the reporting period, the continued high volatility on the raw
materials side was accompanied by sharp increases in energy costs. From today's
perspective, no change in this situation on the purchasing side can be expected
at least until the end of the current business year.
As far as sales are concerned, our expectations going forward differ depending
on the market and region. The automotive industry continues to suffer from
semiconductor supply chain difficulties. This situation is unlikely to ease
before the middle of the next business year. It is important to note in this
regard that the decrease in automotive production does not stem from a weakness
in demand. Absent microchips, end consumers' high demand, which continues
unabated, cannot be fully satisfied. It is to expected, therefore, that some
areas will see a time lag in order call-ups for voestalpine's products.
Demand from the construction, mechanical engineering, and consumer goods
industries for the voestalpine Group's products remains high. At this point in
time, we expect the railways segment-a stabilizing earnings factor-to continue
delivering good performance despite the usual seasonal weakening. The energy
sector (oil & natural gas) has rebounded substantially of late, and this trend
should continue throughout the second half of the business year 2021/22.
Aerospace, too, is showing signs of a recovery. Recently, the major aircraft
manufacturers issued more optimistic forecasts for short and medium-haul jets, a
trend that is already reflected in rising order levels.
Regionally speaking, the positive development of the U.S. economy continues
unabated, whereas some economic indicators for China point to a slowing down of
that country's momentum. Nonetheless, the economic forecasts for China on the
whole remain substantially positive. The current forecasts for Europe also point
to positive economic growth, both for the current calendar year and the next
one.
Based on the Group's results for the first half of the business year 2021/22 and
the assumption that there will be no unexpected economic distortions, at this
time the Management Board of voestalpine AG thus continues to expect EBITDA of
between EUR 1,900 million and EUR 2,200 million for the business year 2021/22.
KEY FIGURES - voestalpine GROUP
_____________________________________________________________________
|(pursuant_to_IFRS)________|H1_BY_2020/21____|H1_BY_2021/22____|Change|
|__________________________|04/01/-09/30/2020|04/01/-09/30/2021|in_%__|
|Revenue___________________|5,110.1__________|7,042.9__________|37.8__|
|EBITDA____________________|395.0____________|1,049.8__________|165.8_|
|EBITDA_margin_in_%________|7.7_%____________|14.9_%___________|______|
|EBIT______________________|-215.0___________|650.6____________|______|
|EBIT_margin_in_%__________|-4.2_%___________|9.2_%____________|______|
|Profit_before_tax_________|-267.5___________|611.1____________|______|
|Profit_after_tax_*________|275.8____________|485.7____________|______|
|Earnings_per_share________|-1.53____________|2.65_____________|______|
|Gearing_ratio_in_%_(09/30)|66.2_%___________|45.1_%___________|______|
|In_millions_of_euros_________________________________________________|
* Before deduction of interest of non-controlling interests
The Report of the first half of 2021/22 of voestalpine AG as of the September
30, 2021, may be accessed on the company's website at www.voestalpine.com [http:
//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
peter.felsbach@voestalpine.comwww.voestalpine.com [http://www.voestalpine.com/]
Further inquiry note:
Peter Fleischer
Head of Investor Relations
Phone: +43/50304/15-9949
Fax: +43/50304/55-5581
mailto:peter.fleischer@voestalpine.com
http://www.voestalpine.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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issuer: voestalpine AG
voestalpine-Straße 1
A-4020 Linz
phone: +43 50304/15-9949
FAX: +43 50304/55-5581
mail: IR@voestalpine.com
WWW: www.voestalpine.com
ISIN: AT0000937503
indexes: WBI, ATX
stockmarkets: Wien
language: English