LANDSBERG (dpa-AFX) - After a strong past year, commercial kitchen equipment supplier Rational is aiming for further growth with continued high profitability. The company announced on Wednesday at the presentation of its detailed figures for the past year in Landsberg that sales volumes and sales revenues are set to increase in the mid to high single-digit percentage range in 2024 compared to the previous year. The Group, which expects to return to the MDax in June, is therefore somewhat more optimistic than the experts surveyed by Bloomberg. On average, they expect an increase of just under five percent.

In terms of the margin measured by earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), Group CEO Peter Stadelmann expects a figure close to the 2023 result. The fact that raw material and logistics costs have normalized is playing into the Group's hands. This will allow Rational to continue investing in strategic projects, drive forward the expansion of its sales structure and maintain profitability at the recent high level. Rational's margin forecast meets the expectations of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

As has been known since January, sales revenues rose by ten percent to just under 1.13 billion euros last year. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) climbed by 17 percent to 277 million euros. The margin rose by 1.4 percentage points to 24.6%. The operating profit figures were already known. What is new in the presentation of the detailed figures is the result below the line. This increased by 16 percent to just under 216 million euros.

The dividend is to be increased by 2.50 euros to 13.50 euros per share. This is slightly less than analysts had expected on average. For 2022, Rational had paid a special dividend of 2.50 euros per share in addition to the regular distribution, as in the previous year. With the special dividend, Rational had partially offset the dividend cut as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The main beneficiary of the dividend is the family of company founder Siegfried Meister, who died in 2017 and holds around half of the shares in the company, which is valued at just under nine billion euros./zb/he