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

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 CO₂. 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 CO₂ emissions.

KEY FIGURES – voestalpine GROUP

*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 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
www.voestalpine.com