Financial key performance indicators

Following the substantial increase in its financial key performance indicators (KPIs) already achieved in the business year 2021/22, the Metal Engineering Division delivered even better revenue and earnings performance in the business year 2022/23. Some of the KPIs are all-time highs. Revenue rose substantially by 27.0% to EUR 4,289.2 million (2021/22: EUR 3,376.2 million). Although all of the division’s product segments contributed to the revenue increase, the growth in the tubulars product segment stands out due to high demand from the oil and natural gas industry. The division’s prices reached new highs across all product segments in response to the strong upward momentum in the cost of raw materials and energy. Deliveries of finished products also developed along a largely positive trajectory in the reporting period. Wire product deliveries, however, were the only ones to fall short of the previous business year’s levels due to the ongoing supply bottlenecks in the automotive industry. A detailed analysis of the operating result (EBITDA) presents a complex picture. As usual, both the rail and the turnout systems product segments delivered solid performance. The wire technology product segment, for its part, had to contend with slight declines. The pleasing EBITDA performance of the tubulars product segment, by contrast, stands out: By raising its own prices higher than the increases in input costs, this manufacturer of seamless tubes expanded its operating result to a remarkable degree. The welding product segment also posted a year-over-year increase in the operating result. On the whole, the Metal Engineering Division’s EBITDA for the business year 2022/23 soared 44.4% to EUR 585.9 million with a margin of 13.7% (2021/22: 405.8 million, margin of 12.0%). At an increase of 77.3% to EUR 404.0 million (margin of 9.4%) in the reporting period compared with EUR 227.9 million (margin of 6.8%) in the business year 2021/22, the division also performed very well in terms of its profit from operations (EBIT). Bucking the prevailing economic trend, the division continued to significantly boost the quality of its earnings even in the second half of the business year ended.

The quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) comparison of Q3 and Q4 2022/23 shows that the revenue of the Metal Engineering Division rose but slightly in the fourth quarter by 1.6% to EUR 1,094.0 million (Q3 2022/23: EUR 1,076.9 million). A heterogeneous development made itself felt within some of the product segments. Declining delivery volumes in the rails product segment from the third to the fourth quarter of the reporting period was offset by higher prices arising from catch-up effects. In the wire product segment, for its part, sales volumes rose in the fourth quarter concurrently with shrinking contract prices. Both the tubulars and the welding product segments posted slight QoQ increases in revenue. On the whole, the performance of the Metal Engineering Division in the fourth quarter of the business year 2022/23 continues a dynamic development. Following the jump in earnings in the third quarter, EBITDA for the fourth rose by yet another 4.8% to EUR 176.1 million with a margin of 16.1% (Q3 2022/23: EUR 168.0 million, margin of 15.6%). The product segments that serve the rail technology industry—such as rails and turnout systems—followed a positive trend. While the QoQ performance of the welding and tubulars product segments was stable, wire technology’s EBITDA weakened somewhat in the fourth quarter.

As of March 31, 2023, the Metal Engineering Division had 14,053 employees (FTE). This represents an increase of 3.9% compared with the figure (13,528) as of the same date in the previous business year. This increase is chiefly due to the acquisition of Plastwil sp. z.o.o., which has been fully consolidated in the turnout systems product segment since August 1, 2022.