Record-high Q1 profitability
This release is a summary of
The figures presented in this report are unaudited. Figures in brackets, unless otherwise stated, refer to the same period a year earlier.
FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
- Order intake
- Service annual agreement base value
- Service order intake
- Order book
- Sales
- Comparable EBITA margin 11.1 percent (10.6) and comparable EBITA
- Operating profit
- Earnings per share (diluted)
- Free cash flow
- Net debt
DEMAND OUTLOOK
Our demand environment within industrial customer segments has remained good and continues on a healthy level.
Global container throughput continues on a high level, and long-term prospects related to global container handling remain good overall.
FINANCIAL GUIDANCE
| 1-3/ 2024 | 1-3/ 2023 | Change % | R12M
| 1-12/ 2023 |
Orders received, MEUR | 909.1 | 1,289.6 | -29.5 | 3,780.9 | 4,161.4 |
Order book at end of period, MEUR | 3,046.4 | 3,281.4 | -7.2 |
| 3,040.8 |
Sales total, MEUR | 913.1 | 899.3 | 1.5 | 3,980.2 | 3,966.3 |
Comparable EBITDA, MEUR 1 | 124.4 | 117.9 | 5.5 | 541.5 | 535.0 |
Comparable EBITDA, % 1 | 13.6% | 13.1% |
| 13.6% | 13.5% |
Comparable EBITA, MEUR 1 | 101.8 | 95.4 | 6.7 | 457.1 | 450.7 |
Comparable EBITA, % 1 | 11.1% | 10.6% |
| 11.5% | 11.4% |
Comparable operating profit, MEUR 1 | 93.9 | 88.4 | 6.3 | 425.2 | 419.7 |
Comparable operating margin, % 1 | 10.3% | 9.8% |
| 10.7% | 10.6% |
Operating profit, MEUR | 89.1 | 85.8 | 3.9 | 405.8 | 402.5 |
Operating margin, % | 9.8% | 9.5% |
| 10.2% | 10.1% |
Profit before taxes, MEUR | 79.5 | 72.2 | 10.1 | 374.9 | 367.6 |
Net profit for the period, MEUR | 59.3 | 52.7 | 12.5 | 282.2 | 275.6 |
Earnings per share, basic, EUR | 0.75 | 0.67 | 12.5 | 3.56 | 3.48 |
Earnings per share, diluted, EUR | 0.75 | 0.66 | 12.5 | 3.55 | 3.46 |
Gearing, % | 21.8% | 42.3% |
|
| 22.9% |
Net debt / Comparable EBITDA, R12M 1 | 0.6 | 1.3 |
|
| 0.7 |
Return on capital employed, % |
|
|
| 17.6% | 16.4% |
Comparable return on capital employed, % 2 |
|
|
| 18.9% | 17.7% |
Free cash flow, MEUR | 48.8 | 116.0 |
| 444.1 | 511.4 |
Average number of personnel during the period | 16,570 | 16,551 | 0.1 |
| 16,503 |
1) Excluding items affecting comparability, see also note 11 in the summary financial statements
2) ROCE excluding items affecting comparability, see also note 11 in the summary financial statements
CEO
Our demand environment remained healthy in Q1 despite a year-on-year order intake decrease of 29.0% on a comparable currency basis. The comparison period was strong in Industrial Equipment and Port Solutions, as we received exceptionally large single orders in both businesses. Our orderbook totaled €3.0 billion at the end of March, 6.8% lower than a year ago on a comparable currency basis.
Delivery capability continued at the same good level as in previous quarters. Group sales exceeded €913 million and were 2.5% higher versus a year ago on a comparable currency basis. Our Q1 sales were negatively affected by the strikes in the Finnish ports, the delay impact being some €15-20 million, mainly in Industrial Equipment.
Comparable EBITA margin improved year-on-year and was 11.1%, mainly driven by productivity improvement and pricing. Profitability improved year-on-year in Service and Port Solutions but declined in Industrial Equipment.
Turning to our Business Segments, Service had a strong quarter. Order intake increased 3.7% year-on-year in comparable currencies. Sales increased 5.1% year-on-year in comparable currencies. The comparable EBITA margin improved year-on-year to 19.9%, a new record for Q1, mainly driven by higher productivity and pricing. The agreement base value continued to grow and in comparable currencies was 5.3% higher at the end of Q1 versus a year ago.
Industrial Equipment's external orders decreased 29.7% in comparable currencies against a strong comparison period. Sequentially, external orders increased 10.8%. External sales decreased by 7.6% year-on-year in comparable currencies. Following the sales decline, the comparable EBITA margin decreased year-on-year to 6.5%. Our Industrial Service and Equipment optimization program continued to progress, and we booked €3.8 million of restructuring costs in Industrial Equipment, mainly related to headcount reduction in
In Port Solutions, order intake totaled €248 million, decreasing 51.4% year-on-year in comparable currencies versus a record-high comparison period. Sales execution continued to improve, and sales grew 10.2% year-on-year in comparable currencies. Comparable EBITA margin improved to 7.1%, mainly due to higher sales volumes. We also received an R&D subsidy of €2.1 million. Port Solutions ended the quarter with an orderbook value of over
As a part of our continuous efforts to optimize our business and supply chain, we have investigated different options for our straddle carrier manufacturing operations in Würzburg,
As for the outlook, we expect the demand environment within our industrial customers to remain healthy. Regarding our port customers, container throughput continues to be on a high level, and long-term prospects related to container handling remain good. Our Port Solutions sales pipeline includes a good mix of projects of all sizes. Quarterly order intake fluctuation is normal for the business, as the booking of orders depends on the timing of customer decision-making.
We also reiterate our financial guidance for 2024. We expect our net sales and comparable EBITA margin to remain on the same level or to increase in 2024 compared to 2023.
Overall,
ANALYST AND PRESS BRIEFING
A live international webcast and telephone conference for analysts, investors and media will be arranged today at
The webcast can be watched through the following link:
https://konecranes.videosync.fi/q1-2024
To ask questions, the telephone conference can be joined by registering through the following link:
https://palvelu.flik.fi/teleconference/?id=50049971
Phone numbers and the conference ID to access the conference will be provided after the registration. In case you would like to ask a question during the conference, please dial *5 on your telephone keypad to enter the question queue.
Questions can also be presented in writing through the question form, while watching the webcast.
NEXT REPORT
Kiira Fröberg
Vice President, Investor Relations
FURTHER INFORMATION
Kiira Fröberg,
Vice President, Investor Relations,
tel. +358 (0) 20 427 2050
IMPORTANT NOTICE
The information in this release contains forward-looking statements, which are information on
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