Thanks to robust demand for its products in all segments, sales rose by around 37 percent to 10.9 billion euros compared to the same period last year, as the company announced on Wednesday. Earnings after taxes reached 698 million euros, after a loss of 159 million euros in the same period of the previous year.
This means that voestalpine “even significantly exceeds the level before the outbreak of the pandemic”. As particular challenges in the three quarters (April 1 to December 31, 2021), the Group highlighted the extraordinary volatility of raw material costs and the sharp rise in energy prices towards the end of the year. Some areas, most notably the automotive division, have been affected by the supply chain problems in the automotive industry. However, the demand for cars is unbroken. The railway infrastructure systems division developed stably, the aviation segment recovered, as did the oil and gas industry, in which investments are being increased overall. The warehouse technology and high-bay warehouse area again benefited from the strong growth in online trading during the corona crisis.
In the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year (ending at the end of March), the Group’s earnings should again improve significantly compared to the already very good previous quarters, as long as there are no unexpected economic upheavals. The management expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) “at the upper end of the previously communicated range” and thus in the amount of up to 2.2 billion euros.
In the first three quarters, EBITDA more than doubled year-on-year from EUR 683 million to EUR 1.55 billion. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) came to EUR 947 million, after a loss of EUR 134 million in the same period of the previous year. The number of employees increased by 2.7 percent to 49,157 employees worldwide in the reporting period.
The group’s net debt fell from 3.2 to 2.9 billion euros at the end of December, and equity increased from 5.4 to 6.3 billion euros. Gearing (net debt in relation to equity) improved accordingly from 58.4 to 46 percent.
The omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus is leading to new highs in new infections, the supply bottlenecks in global supply chains are still present and energy costs in Europe have “recently exploded”. Irrespective of this, voestalpine expects the positive trends in the key sales markets to continue. The supply chain problems in the automotive industry are likely to have “bottomed out in the fall”.
“The fact that we were even able to significantly exceed the results before the outbreak of the pandemic in a still unstable economic environment is impressive confirmation of the strategic orientation and performance of our group,” emphasized CEO Herbert Eibensteiner.
Source: Nachrichten
