Bekaert 197 0 Kommentare 2023 Full Year Results

2023 Full Year Results

Bekaert delivers strong cash generation and improved margins
Sales at € 4.3 billion • EBITu of € 388 million (margin 9.0%) • FCF up 40% • Leverage remains low at 0.5x Net debt/EBITDAu • Proposed dividend of € 1.80 per share (+9%)

Bekaert delivered a resilient financial performance in 2023, further improving profit margins (EBITu margin at 9.0%, up 80bps vs FY2022) and delivering strong cash flows (Free Cash Flow of € 267 million, up +40% y-on-y). Despite lower volumes and weaker conditions in many of its end markets, the business continues to benefit from the successful execution of Bekaert’s strategy, maintaining pricing discipline, enhancing the mix of higher margin products, and driving cost efficiencies. Looking ahead, the repositioning to target new growth opportunities linked to the energy transition and decarbonization trends continues and supports the company’s ambitious financial targets for 2026.

Financial Highlights

Consolidated sales of € 4.3 billion (-13.5%) and combined sales of € 5.3 billion (-13.9%), driven primarily by the reversal of raw material cost inflation, lower volumes and an unfavorable impact from exchange rate movements
- The reversal of previous input cost inflation reduced sales by € -437 million and lower volumes (-3.7%) reduced sales by € -188 million. Currency effects had an impact of € -152 million.
- Successful focus on price and mix optimization towards higher margin products increased sales by € +101 million.
Gross profit underlying remained stable despite lower sales (€ 745 million vs € 749 million in FY2022) at a margin of 17.2% (vs 15.0% in FY2022)
Strong operating result and margin performance, driven by ongoing business mix improvements including the contribution of higher margin growth applications
- EBITDAu of € 561 million (-5.1%), delivering a margin on sales of 13.0% (improvement of +120bps vs FY2022)
- EBITu of € 388 million (-5.3%), resulting in a margin of 9.0% (vs 8.2% in FY2022)
EPS from continued operations of € 4.75 (up +5.5% vs € 4.50 in FY2022)
Strong cash conversion, despite lower sales
- Free Cash Flow (FCF) of € 267 million, up +40% compared to € 191 million in FY2022, benefiting from further improved working capital management
- Net debt of € 254 million (€ 380 million in FY2022) including proceeds of the disposal of Steel Wire Solutions businesses in Chile and Peru, resulting in net debt to EBITDAu of 0.5x
Proposed dividend of € 1.80 per share (+9% y-on-y)