EQS-Adhoc

Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA: Preliminary figures 2023: Net sales and earnings significantly above prior year – Dividend increase – Forecast 2024 - Seite 2

The preliminary calculated order intake increased by 1.8 percent (net of currency effects; nominal: -0.2 percent) to around EUR 3,280 million in fiscal year 2023 and was therefore currency-adjusted above the high level of the prior year (2022: EUR 3,284.7 million). In the medical division, order intake decreased by 1.8 percent (net of currency effects; nominal: -3.7 percent) to around EUR 1,907 million (2022: EUR 1,979.3 million). This was offset by an increase in the safety division of 7.3 percent (net of currency effects; nominal: 5.2 percent) to around EUR 1,373 million (2022: EUR 1,305.4 million).

Overall, Dräger returned to growth and profitability in fiscal year 2023 as planned. At the same time, the preliminary figures with a net sales increase of 13.2 percent (net of currency effects) and an EBIT margin of around 4.9 percent are above Dräger's own original expectations, according to which Dräger had expected a net sales increase of 7.0 to 11.0 percent (net of currency effects) and an EBIT margin of 0.0 to 3.0 percent.

Dividend proposal
Due to the higher profitability and the strong equity ratio of well over 40 percent (46.0 percent at the end of Q3 2023), Dräger intends to significantly increase the dividend and pay out around 30 percent of the Group’s net profit (dividend for fiscal year 2022: EUR 0.19 per preferred share and EUR 0.13 per common share). The final dividend proposal will be made with the final business figures for 2023.

Forecast for 2024
In 2023, growth and profitability were supported by catch-up effects as a result of the improvement in the previously limited delivery capability; in addition, the surge in demand for ventilators in China at the beginning of the year had a positive impact on net sales and earnings. These two effects will be absent in the current fiscal year. Against this backdrop, Dräger expects an increase in net sales of 1.0 to 5.0 percent (net of currency effects). In addition, Dräger anticipates an EBIT margin of 2.5 to 5.5 percent.