EQS-News

Viscom AG closes 2023 financial year in line with forecast; very subdued start to 2024 financial year - Seite 2

The outlook for the 2024 financial year is currently clouded by considerable uncertainty among some of Viscom AG's major customers and generally negative forecasts with regard to expected economic growth in 2024. For this reason, Viscom AG's management expects incoming orders and target revenue for the 2024 financial year to be between 100 to € 110 million with an EBIT-Margin of between 3 % and 8 %. This corresponds to EBIT of between € 3.0 million and € 8.8 million. Viscom AG is cautious about the 2024 financial year and expects a sideways movement compared to the previous year. Viscom is dependent on the investment decisions of its customers. Due to the current economic situation and high energy, raw material and material costs, many are acting more cautiously than a year ago. Interest rates and the associated high financing costs are also limiting the scope for investment. In addition, there is currently a lack of global impetus for further growth in the form of capacity expansion at Viscom AG's customers. In the automotive sector, this depends not least on the success of current product developments and the expected sales figures of car manufacturers in the European and Asian markets. In recent years, Viscom has been able to significantly reduce its dependence on the automotive sector. Viscom AG has also managed to position itself in other growth markets such as battery production, consumer electronics and the back-end of semiconductor production. Thanks to this diversification, the management of Viscom AG believes it is nevertheless well positioned to compensate for fluctuations in demand in individual sectors in the 2024 financial year. Megatrends such as electrification, automation and digitalization also offer immense growth opportunities for Viscom in the coming years.

The current difficult market outlook and geopolitical uncertainties are prompting Viscom AG to exercise caution in its liquidity management. Last year, cash and cash equivalents were already heavily burdened by the high cost of capital. Viscom also expects its customers to be reluctant to invest in the first half of the year and a significant upturn in the second half of 2024. Due to this particular situation, the Executive Board of Viscom AG, in consultation with the Supervisory Board, will propose the payment of a dividend of € 0.05 per share for the 2023 financial year at the Annual General Meeting on 29 May 2024. The proposal to pay a reduced dividend for the 2023 financial year and to carry forward the remaining amount in full to new account is intended to ensure that Viscom AG's financial and liquidity position remains stable. The Group's fundamental dividend policy of distributing at least 50 % of consolidated net profit for the period remains unaffected.