EQS-News: JOST Werke AG: JOST finishes fiscal year 2022 with record sales and earnings: Sales rise to EUR 1,265 million and adjusted EBIT grows to EUR 124 million

JOST finishes fiscal year 2022 with record sales and earnings: Sales rise to EUR 1,265 million and adjusted EBIT grows to EUR 124 million

• Targeted sales mark of EUR 1.2 billion exceeded: Sales increased by 20.6% to EUR 1,264.6 million (2021: EUR 1,048.6 million)
• Adjusted EBIT grew stronger than expected: Adjusted EBIT rose by 18.1% to EUR 123.8 million (2021: EUR 104.8 million)
• Resilient profitability: Adjusted EBIT margin reached 9.8% despite significantly higher costs (2021: 10,0%)
• Strong financial position: Leverage ratio further improved to 1.28x (2021: 1.45x)
• Raised targets for fiscal 2022 surpassed: Sales growth of 21% (forecast: low double-digit percentage growth) and adjusted EBIT increase of 18% achieved (forecast: high single-digit percentage growth)

Neu-Isenburg, 16 February 2023. JOST Werke AG (JOST), a leading global producer and supplier of safety-critical systems for the commercial vehicle industry, published its preliminary and unaudited results for fiscal year 2022 today.

Joachim Dürr, CEO of JOST Werke AG, said: "2022 was the most successful year in JOST's history so far. With record sales of EUR 1.27 billion, we achieved an excellent result in a very challenging market environment and were once again able to demonstrate the strength and resilience of our business model. Our employees made a decisive contribution to this success with their dedication for which I would like to express my sincere thanks. High inflation, logistics bottlenecks, the war in Ukraine and the weakness of the Chinese market posed major challenges, which we successfully overcame thanks to our high flexibility, the proximity to our customers and our wide international footprint. We want to build on the strong result achieved in 2022 and continue to grow profitably and sustainably in the future."

Strong growth and improvement in profitability in the fourth quarter of 2022

In the fourth quarter of 2022, JOST was able to continue the successful business development of the previous quarters and increase group-wide sales by 14.1 % to EUR 303.7 million (Q4 2021: EUR 266.1 million). Group-wide adjusted EBIT increased by 29.2% to EUR 27.0 million, outpacing sales (Q4 2021: EUR 20.9 million), and the adjusted EBIT margin improved by 1.1 percentage points to 8.9% compared to the same period last year (Q4 2021: 7.8%). The main driver for the strong growth in the fourth quarter was the excellent development in North America and Asia-Pacific-Africa.

Significant growth in sales and earnings 

JOST exceeded its sales target of EUR 1.2 billion in fiscal year 2022, significantly increasing groupwide sales by 20.6% to EUR 1,264.6 million (2021: EUR 1,048.6 million). Adjusted for currency translation effects, sales increased by 16.8% year-on-year. All regions contributed to this strong development. In a highly volatile economic environment, JOST's balanced global presence and broad product portfolio enabled the group to compensate for regional market and demand fluctuations and set new records for revenue and earnings in fiscal year 2022. In the Transport business line, JOST increased sales by 19.3% to EUR 936.9 million (2021: EUR 785.4 million). Sales of agricultural components also increased sharply by 24.5% to EUR 327.7 million (2021: EUR 263.2 million). 

Despite the sharp rise in material, logistics and energy costs, JOST was able to increase adjusted EBIT by 18.1% to EUR 123.8 million year-on-year (2021: EUR 104.8 million). This represents a significantly higher growth than originally forecast. Even though the soaring Inflation and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine had a negative impact on JOST's business, the group managed to keep its adjusted EBIT margin year-on-year nearly stable at 9.8% in 2022 (2021: 10.0%).

Europe

In Europe, JOST increased sales by 12.5% to EUR 695.5 million (2021: EUR 618.2 million). Following the dynamic sales development in the first nine months of the year, the pace of growth slowed during the fourth quarter of 2022 due to the typical seasonality of the business, both in transport and agriculture. Adjusted for negative currency translation effects, sales in Europe increased by 14.4% year-on-year. Alongside the global rise in raw material, alloy and freight costs over the course of 2022, Europe was additionally burdened by supply bottlenecks and sharp increases in energy costs due to the war in Ukraine. Overall, adjusted EBIT in Europe decreased by 7.9% to EUR 41.8 million (2021: EUR 45.4 million) and adjusted EBIT margin amounted to 6.0% (2021: 7.3%).

North America

In North America, sales increased by 53.1% to EUR 396.3 million in fiscal year 2022 (2021: EUR 259.0 million). This development was additionally strengthened by positive currency translation effects due to the appreciation of the US Dollar against the euro. Adjusted for these effects, sales in the region increased by 36.5% in 2022. JOST achieved the largest increase in the transport business line, while sales with agricultural components also went up sharply year-on-year. Adjusted EBIT rose significantly by 50.9% to EUR 35.7 million (2021: EUR 23.7 million). Business in North America was also affected by higher material and logistics costs. However, JOST was able to largely offset this negative impact through a much higher production capacity utilization. Overall, the adjusted EBIT margin in North America remained stable year-on-year at 9.0% (2021: 9.1%).

Asia-Pacific-Africa (APA)

In the region Asia-Pacific-Africa (APA), JOST substantially boosted sales in India, Australia, Southeast Asia, and South Africa year-on-year. In contrast, the market in China saw a significant decline in demand due to strong pull-forward effects in the previous year resulting from a new emissions regulation as well as the negative effect of various pandemic-related lockdowns. Given its strong growth in the other countries of the APA region, JOST was able to offset the negative impact from China. Overall, sales in APA increased slightly by 0.8% to EUR 172.8 million (2021: EUR 171.4 million). Adjusted for currency translation effects, sales decreased by 4.0% year-on-year.  Despite the weakness of China, JOST managed to boost adjusted EBIT in APA by 24.8% to EUR 37.4 million compared to previous year (2021: EUR 30.0 million). The main reason was a more favorable regional product mix with a particularly high proportion of high-margin products for off-road applications as the Chinese market typically requires less off-road applications. JOST was able to improve the adjusted EBIT margin in APA to 21.7% in fiscal 2022 (2021: 17.5%).

Strong financial position

The higher business activity compared to previous year, the increased cost of materials and selling prices, as well as the ongoing bottlenecks on the procurement markets continued to pose significant challenges for the working capital management in 2022. Working capital increased by 28.7% year-on-year to EUR 242.5 million (2021: EUR 188.4 million), mainly due to the corresponding increase in sales. At 19.2%, JOST was nevertheless able to keep the ratio of working capital to sales below the targeted mark of 20%, which is attributable to consistent working capital management despite adverse conditions (2021: 17.9%).

In fiscal year 2022, JOST started construction of a production plant for agricultural components in India and commissioned a new logistics center in Germany. Accordingly, capital expenditures increased to EUR 32.3 million (2021: EUR 20.1 million). They totaled 2.6% of sales and were thus in line with the forecast capital expenditures of approximately 2.5% of sales (2021: 1.9%).

JOST was able to achieve a positive free cash flow (cash flow from operating activities less capital expenditures) of +EUR 23.8 million in fiscal year 2022 (2021: +EUR 33.3 million). The reduction is attributable to the increase in capital expenditures, as cash flow from operating activities rose to EUR +56.1 million year-on-year despite the increase in working capital (2021: EUR +53.4 million).

Cash and cash equivalents decreased slightly by EUR 6.8 million to EUR 80.7 million as of December 31, 2022 (December 31, 2021: EUR 87.5 million). The dividend payment of EUR 15.6 million and the repayments of financial liabilities contributed to the decrease. Net debt increased by EUR 3.5 million to EUR 197.4 million as of December 31, 2022 (December 31, 2021: EUR 193.9 million). However, the leverage ratio improved further year-on-year to 1.28x due to the strong operational growth (2021: 1.45x).

Dr. Christian Terlinde, CFO of JOST Werke AG, said: "In 2022, we exceeded all our financial targets. We have once again strengthened our financial position and were able to further reduce leverage. By making strategic investments in the expansion of our business, we have set the right course to seize further attractive growth opportunities in the future. Our excellent corporate performance also had a positive impact on the placement of our promissory loan, which was ESG-linked for the first time. JOST is thus well prepared for the future."
 

The final audited results for fiscal year 2022, the dividend proposal and the outlook for fiscal year 2023 will be published on March 28, 2023, together with the Annual Group Report and the Sustainability Report 2022. In this context, JOST will host a virtual conference on March 28, 2023, at 10:00 am.

A definition of the alternative performance measures used can be found on page 37 of the Annual Group Report 2021.

 
Contact:

JOST Werke AG
Romy Acosta
Head of Investor Relations
T: +49 6102 295-379
romy.acosta@jost-world.com

About JOST:

JOST is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of safety-relevant systems for the commercial vehicle industry with its core brands JOST, ROCKINGER, TRIDEC and Quicke. JOSTs global leadership position is driven by the strength of its brands, its long-standing client relationships serviced through its global distribution network, and its efficient and asset-light business model. With sales and production facilities in 25 countries across five continents, JOST has direct access to all major truck, trailer and agricultural tractor manufacturers as well as relevant end customers in the commercial vehicle industry. JOST currently employs more than 3,600 staff across the world and is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. For more information about JOST, please visit https://www.jost-world.com