FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX Broker) - Dürr's shares clearly turned positive on Tuesday after an initially weaker start.

After falling just below the 20-euro mark at the start, they were up 3.9 percent at 20.84 euros. Mixed results and outlook initially made it difficult for investors to find their bearings before a recovery set in.

In initial comments, traders were divided on the overall picture of the figures: One Borsianer spoke of a good fourth quarter, while another spoke of a weak quarter. The recently "safe haven", the core business with painting and final assembly systems, had weakened. Although the business of the woodworking machinery subsidiary Homag was robust, this was likely to be the last good quarter.

Initial assessments of the outlook for 2024 were also mixed, with consensus estimates for adjusted operating profit (EBIT) falling by five percent compared to the mid-point of the target range, said one trader. Analyst Peter Rothenaicher from Baader Bank, however, described the outlook as cautiously optimistic in view of a forecast decline in capacity utilization at Homag.

Rothenaicher had words of praise for the free cash flow from last year, which turned out well. In his opinion, the poor share price performance since a profit warning in October is exaggerated against this background. The shares have not yet recovered from this, the expert added. He therefore confirmed his previous buy recommendation, although he had to reduce his estimates for the 2024 results.

In October, Dürr's profit warning caused the share price to plummet to a low since May 2020. In January, it looked at times as if this could be closed with a return to the EUR 23 mark. Since then, however, it has been downhill again, with several falls to below EUR 20. Despite the recovery on Tuesday, Dürr 2024 remains a SDax loser, down 2.5 percent./tih/lew/stk