The record hunt for many DAX companies came to an end for the time being in the third quarter.
For the first time since the second quarter of 2020, which was slowed down by the corona pandemic, the stock market heavyweights had to accept overall declines in sales and profits, as the consulting firm EY has calculated.
According to EY information on Thursday, the sales of companies in the first German stock exchange league shrank by almost five percent to around 436 billion euros in the period from July to September 2023 compared to the same period last year. Business in the USA and Asia in particular weakened. Operating profit (EBIT) fell by a good eleven percent to 39.2 billion euros, but still reached the second highest value ever achieved in a third quarter.
“Germany’s top corporations are increasingly feeling the global economic headwind,” analyzed Henrik Ahlers, Chairman of the EY Management Board. “We have a dangerous mix of a sluggish economy, high energy and material prices, delivery problems, political crises and armed conflicts.”
But also many corporations with better businesses
However, it does not affect all companies and all industries equally: 15 of the 38 DAX companies whose figures were included in the analysis recorded an increase in sales compared to the same period last year. The largest percentage increase was at the armaments company Rheinmetall with a good 24 percent.
In terms of operating profit, 16 of the companies in the German stock index recorded an increase in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. According to the EY analysis, Deutsche Telekom was the frontrunner with a good 5.4 billion euros. The car manufacturers Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW follow in the ranking, each with an operating profit of well over four billion euros.
Despite the overall uncertain outlook, the increase in employment continues: in 28 DAX companies for which information was available, the number of employees rose by a total of 1.6 percent to a good 3.3 million in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, according to EY information .
/ben/DP/jha
FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX)
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