Alstom's orders and sales for the first three months of 2021/22.
Exceptional order intake of EUR6.4 billion for Q1 2021/22 including several large orders.
Solid three months of sales at EUR3.7 billion
Sustained backlog at EUR76.8 billion
Over the first quarter of 2021/22 (from 1 April to 30 June 2021), Alstom booked its first fully combined quarterly result with EUR6.4 billion of orders. The Group's sales reached EUR3.7 billion. The book-to-bill ratio was very high at 1.74. The backlog, as of 30 June 2021, reached EUR76.8 billion, providing strong visibility on future sales.
Geographic and product breakdowns of reported orders and sales are provided in Appendix 1. All figures mentioned in this release are unaudited. Any reference in this document to variations ' Pro forma like-for-like', orders and sales, correspond to non-audited financial performance indicators used by the Group that are not defined by accounting standards setters and defined in the appendix.
Detailed review
During the first quarter of 2021/22 (from 1 April to 30 June 2021), Alstom recorded EUR6,439 million of orders versus EUR3,058 million in Q1 proforma.
Europe accounted for the majority of the orders, i.e. 71% of the Group total. Of particular note, Alstom won the largest train tender in Danish rail history, with a EUR2.6 billion frame contract for Danish State Railways including a firm order of 100 Coradia Stream regional trains combined with 15-year full-service maintenance agreement amounting to a value of EUR1.4 billion. Alstom was also awarded a contract in France for approximately EUR1.1 billion to provide suburban trains for the Paris area, a systems contract worth EUR300 million for Athens Metro Line 4, multiple regional train contracts in Italy and Germany and a strategic signalling contract for the digitalisation of the Stuttgart rail node. The Americas confirmed the positive global market dynamic with more than EUR1.6 billion of orders including EUR1 billion on the emblematic Tren Maya railway project in Mexico which bundles systems and services, as well as an upgrade for the Metromover automated people mover system in Miami.
The book-to-bill ratio is 1.74.
Regarding sales, EUR3,701 million were traded in the first quarter of 2021/22 (from 1 April to 30 June 2021) versus EUR2,789 million in Q1 2020/21 proforma, which was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Q1 2021/22 sales were sustained by the solid ramp-up of Rolling Stock projects at EUR2,164 million. Services delivered EUR762 million of sales in Q1 2021/22. On Systems, Alstom reported EUR238 million sales, as anticipated impacted by continued ramp-down of Middle East projects. Signalling sales of EUR537 million demonstrate a sound level of execution.
Main events of the first quarter of 2021/22
Driving smart and green mobility
Following several successful pilot programs in Europe, the Coradia iLint, world's first hydrogen train, has made its debut in Poland in June 2021 on a test track near Warsaw.
The first trials of the autonomous train prototype led by the consortium between SNCF and its partners Alstom, Bosch, Spirops, Thales and the Railenium Technology Research Institute took place in the Spring. The Regio 2N regional train prototype ran on a commercial track. These new trials are taking place on the national railway network at Busigny (Northern France) and will lead, in the coming months, to semi-autonomous operation in the trial phase. These trials are a key step towards achieving the consortium's ultimate objective: achieving full autonomy by 2023.
In May 2021, Alstom opened new facilities for its 3D printing hub at Santa Perpetua site, in Barcelona. The new facilities will allow the printing of tools for industrial centres and prototypes to validate designs, moulds, and serial parts.
Acquisitions
In April 2021, the Group acquired France-based hydrogen fuel-cell manufacturer Helion Hydrogen Power. This allows Alstom to draw upon Helion's proven expertise across the entire value chain of high-power fuel cells, from design, development and manufacturing to engineering support and customer training.
In April 2021, Alstom acquired Flertex, a France-based group specialised in the design and manufacture of brake linings for braking systems, expanding and strengthening the Group's expertise in braking systems, a key element in the overall technical performance of trains. It comes only a few months after that of IBRE, a company specialised in the development, manufacture, and supply of cast-iron or steel brake discs.
ESG 2025 targets extended to the new scope - first green guarantee facility signed
Alstom ESG 2025 targets were disclosed in the Capital Markets Day of July 6, 2021 along the 4 priorities of the Group: Enabling decarbonization of mobility, Caring for our people, Creating a positive impact on society, and Acting as a responsible business partner.
In June, Alstom signed a EUR400 million Green guarantee facility with BBVA for the issuance of bank guarantees in support of Alstom's commercial contracts which recognizes the Group's contribution to Sustainable Development Goals SDG 9 'Industry, innovation and infrastructure' and SDG 11 'Sustainable Cities and Communities'. This very positive first step confirms the relevance of the ambition to lead the way to sustainable and smart mobility.
Confirmation of the financial trajectory disclosed at the Capital Markets Day
Alstom held a Capital Markets Day on July 6, 2021 during which the Group presented its updated strategy 'Alstom in Motion 2025' and its financial trajectory for the next 4 years. The presentation is available on Alstom's website and the financial trajectory in the appendix of this press release.
Alstom will hold its combined annual Shareholders' Meeting on July 28, 2021. The Shareholders' Meeting will be streamed live in video and in full on the Company's website.
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current plans and forecasts of Alstom's management. Such forward-looking statements are relevant to the current scope of activity and are by their nature subject to a number of important risks and uncertainty factors (such as those described in the documents filed by Alstom with the French AMF) that could cause actual results to differ from the plans, objectives and expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and Alstom undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This press release does not constitute or form part of a prospectus or any offer or invitation for the sale or issue of, or any offer or inducement to purchase or subscribe for, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any shares or other securities in the Company in France, the United Kingdom, the United States or any other jurisdiction. Any offer of the Company's securities may only be made in France pursuant to a prospectus having received the visa from the AMF or, outside France, pursuant to an offering document prepared for such purpose. The information does not constitute any form of commitment on the part of the Company or any other person. Neither the information nor any other written or oral information made available to any recipient or its advisers will form the basis of any contract or commitment whatsoever. In particular, in furnishing the information, the Company, the Banks, their affiliates, shareholders, and their respective directors, officers, advisers, employees or representatives undertake no obligation to provide the recipient with access to any additional information
Project stabilization impacting fiscal year 2021/22 Free Cash Flow
The current fiscal year 2021/22 will be a transition year, focused on the stabilization of the Bombardier Transportation challenging legacy projects. During H1 2021/22 free cash flow is expected to be between (EUR1.6 billion) and (EUR1.9 billion) impacted by working capital consumption due to phasing, industrial ramp-up and project stabilization efforts. In H2 2021/22, the Group expects positive free cash flow driven by increased deliveries and operations stabilization. Overall, this should result in significant negative free cash flow in 2021/22.
Thereafter, the Group expects to see yearly positive free cash flow generation towards its mid-term target
[1]
of over 80%, driven by progressive working capital stabilization.
Mid-term financial trajectory and objectives
Sales: Between 2020/21 (proforma sales of EUR14 billion) - and 2024/25, Alstom is aiming at sales Compound Annual Growth Rate over 5% supported by strong market momentum and unparalleled EUR74.5 billion backlog securing ca. EUR30 billion of sales over the next three years. Rolling Stock should grow above market rate, Services at solid mid-single digit path and Signalling at high single digit path;
Profitability: The adjusted EBIT margin should reach between 8% and 10% from 2024/25 onwards, benefiting from operational excellence initiatives, the completion of the challenging projects in backlog while synergies are expected to deliver EUR400 million run rate between 2024/25 and 2025/26;
Free Cash Flow: From 2024/25 onwards, the conversion from net income
[2]
to free cash flow should be over 80%
[3]
driven by mid-term stability of working capital, stabilisation of CAPEX to around 2% of sales and cash focus initiatives while benefiting from volume and synergies take up;
Alstom will maintain its disciplined capital allocation focusing on maintaining its investment grade profile while keeping flexibility and ability to pursue growth opportunities through focused bolt-on M&A.
Alstom is committed to delivering sustained shareholder returns with a dividend pay-out ratio of between 25% and 35%
[4]
. For fiscal year 2020/21, on the dividend announced on May 11
[5]
, Alstom's board of directors decided to propose, in its meeting of July 4, to the General Shareholder Assembly a dividend in share or in cash, which is detailed in the notice for the shareholders' meeting.
APPENDIX 3 - NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INDICATORS DEFINITIONS
This section presents financial indicators used by the Group that are not defined by accounting standard setters.
Orders received
A new order is recognised as an order received only when the contract creates enforceable obligations between the Group and its customer.
When this condition is met, the order is recognised at the contract value.
If the contract is denominated in a currency other than the functional currency of the reporting unit, the Group requires the immediate elimination of currency exposure using forward currency sales. Orders are then measured using the spot rate at inception of hedging instruments.
Book-to-bill ratio
The book-to-bill ratio is the ratio of orders received to the amount of sales traded for a specific period.
Adjusted EBIT
Adjusted EBIT ('aEBIT') is the Key Performance Indicator to present the level of recurring operational performance. This indicator is also aligned with market practice and comparable to direct competitors.
Starting September 2019, Alstom has opted for the inclusion of the share in net income of the equity-accounted investments into the aEBIT when these are considered to be part of the operating activities of the Group (because there are significant operational flows and/or common project execution with these entities).
This mainly includes Chinese joint-ventures, namely CASCO joint-venture for Alstom as well as, following the integration of Bombardier Transportation, Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd., Bombardier NUG Propulsion System Co. Ltd. and Changchun Bombardier Railway Vehicles Company Ltd.
aEBIT corresponds to Earning Before Interests and Tax adjusted for the following elements:
net restructuring expenses (including rationalization costs); tangibles and intangibles impairment;
capital gains or loss/revaluation on investments disposals or controls changes of an entity;
any other non-recurring items, such as some costs incurred to realize business combinations and amortisation of an asset exclusively valued in the context of business combination, as well as litigation costs that have arisen outside the ordinary course of business;
and including the share in net income of the operational equity-accounted investments.
A non-recurring item is a 'one-off' exceptional item that is not supposed to occur again in following years and that is significant.
Adjusted EBIT margin corresponds to Adjusted EBIT in percentage of sales.
Adjusted net profit
Following the Bombardier Transportation acquisition and with effect from these Fiscal year 2020/21 consolidated financial statements, Alstom decided to introduce the 'adjusted net profit' indicator aimed at restating its net profit from continued operations (Group share) to exclude the impact of amortisation of assets exclusively valued when determining the purchase price allocations ('PPA') in the context of business combination, net of the corresponding tax effect. This indicator is also aligned with market practice.
Free cash flow
Free Cash Flow is de?ned as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures including capitalised development costs, net of proceeds from disposals of tangible and intangible assets. Free Cash Flow does not include any proceeds from disposals of activity.
The most directly comparable financial measure to Free Cash Flow calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS is net cash provided by operating activities.
Alstom uses the Free Cash Flow both for internal analysis purposes as well as for external communication as the Group believes it provides accurate insight into the actual amount of cash generated or used by operations.
Pay-out ratio
The payout ratio is calculated by dividing the amount of the overall dividend with the 'Adjusted Net profit from continuing operations attributable to equity holders of the parent, group share' as presented in the management report in the consolidated financial statements.
Proforma variation
The 'proforma' variations, orders and sales, correspond to the like-for-like variation of Alstom after the acquisition of Bombardier Transportation integrating Bombardier Transportation during the fiscal years prior to their acquisition.
The pre-acquisition financial data used to calculate the 'proforma' variations, sales, are extracted from the historical accounts of Alstom and Bombardier Transportation respectively. In order to ensure the comparability of the results, the proforma restatements as presented in chapter 3 of the URD 'Unaudited proforma Condensed Financial Information as of March 31, 2021' have been applied. Data related to the commercial performance correspond to orders intake recorded by Alstom and Bombardier Transportation integrating Bombardier Transportation over the comparable periods preceding the acquisition.
These indicators are not presented on an organic basis and, therefore, are not restated in order to eliminate the impact of changes in scope of consolidation and changes resulting from the translation of the accounts into euro following the variation of foreign currencies against the euro.
Sales Q1 2020/21 of Bombardier Transportation were converted at the average quarterly foreign exchange rate EUR/USD of 1/1.1004. Orders received Q1 2020/21 of Bombardier Transportation were converted at the rate EUR/USD of 1/1.1284, communicated in Bombardier Inc Q2 2020 financial report.
[1] Subject to short term volatility
[2] Adjusted net income
[3] Subject to short term volatility
[4] Of adjusted net income
[5] Dividend distribution of EUR0.25 per share, which corresponds to a 31% payout ratio from the adjusted net profit group share
ALSTOM 
