Cash flows

The cash flows from operating activities fell in the business year 2022/23 by 23.1% to EUR 956.2 million (2021/22: EUR 1,242.9 million) due chiefly to the accelerated build-up of net working capital. While the change in working capital in the business year 2021/22 was EUR –599.4 million, the figure for the business year 2022/23 is EUR –1,014.0 million. The dramatic increase in net working capital is largely rooted in the significant expansion of inventories. Over and above the steep increases in the cost of raw materials, energy, and other input materials, this increase was also driven by the first-ever stockpile of natural gas. Although investments during the reporting period were a bit higher yet again, at EUR –47.1 million, the cash flow from investing activities was marginally negative (2021/22: EUR –629.8 million) due to the proceeds in the business year 2022/23 from the sale of 80% of voestalpine’s stake in voestalpine Texas to ArcelorMittal and the sale of real property in Düsseldorf, Germany (High Performance Metals Division). In the business year 2022/23, the cash flow from financing activities in the amount of EUR –685.9 million (2021/22: EUR –948.3 million) stems mostly from dividend payments, the buyback of treasury shares as well as the extinguishment of non-current financial liabilities without actually taking on new non-current borrowings. For the reporting period, this translates into an increase in cash and cash equivalents by EUR 223.2 million (2021/22: reduction by EUR 335.2 million). Including the change from currency translation, as of the reporting date (March 31, 2023), cash and cash equivalents stood at EUR 1,055.8 million (March 31, 2022: EUR 842.8 million).