EQS-News

TAKKT AG: TAKKT strengthens resilience in 2024 and lays foundation for accelerated growth - Seite 2

In the coming years, TAKKT aims to accelerate organic growth, improve the EBITDA margin to 12 percent and maintain strong cash generation. In addition, the Group intends to continue to fulfill its corporate responsibility towards customers, employees, society, and the environment. Further information on the strategic goals and the value and growth drivers can be found in the 2023 Annual Report published today.

Sustainability has long been an integral part of TAKKT’s strategy. The Group very closely integrates sustainability and responsibility with economic success. A prime example of this is the product rating for sustainable products - the “enkelfähig” rating. TAKKT thus offers customers a simple and attractive way to choose a “green” product. “The significant success of these products underscores the increasing importance of sustainability in B2B purchasing decisions. Last year, we increased the share of “enkelfähig” products to nearly a quarter of total sales,” says CEO Zesch. TAKKT was awarded the prestigious German Sustainability Award 2024 in the “Investment Goods – Distribution” category for its commitment to sustainability.

Current economic forecasts for 2024 anticipate continued weak momentum in Europe overall and a slowdown in the pace of growth in the US. The purchasing managers' indices for the manufacturing sector remain well below the 50-point threshold, signaling a challenging environment. “In this environment, we started the new year in a very similar way to how the previous one ended. We are still experiencing very subdued demand and remain focused on strengthening our gross profit margin, cost management and cash flow. After the weak start, we expect a reversal of the trend over the course of the year, with a gradual improvement in each quarter. Depending on the timing and extent of this stabilization, we anticipate an organic sales decline for the full year in the high single-digit to low double-digit percentage range,” says CFO Lars Bolscho.

TAKKT will further work to improve its cost structures in 2024 and reduce the cost base by at least EUR 15 million through adjustments to other costs and personnel. As a result of these structural adjustments, one-time expenses will increase significantly compared to the previous year and are expected to impact the reported margin by one to one and a half percentage points. The Group expects the EBITDA margin adjusted for one-time costs to be in the range of 8.0 to 9.5 percent. “We will continue to work on strengthening cash generation throughout the year and anticipate additional contributions from the reduction of net working capital and improved cash conversion. As a result, free cash flow will enjoy a more stable development than EBITDA,” says CFO Bolscho.