In view of the bleak development, the logistics group KION is drastically reducing the dividend: Shareholders are to receive only EUR 0.19 per share for the past year after EUR 1.50 per share in the previous year. Analysts had expected a little more at EUR 0.24 per share.
In the past year as a whole, incoming orders fell by 6.2 percent to 11.7 billion euros. In the fourth quarter alone, it collapsed by 27 percent, as analysts had expected. Sales rose by 8.2 percent to 11.14 billion euros in 2022, up 4.8 percent in the final quarter. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell by two-thirds to EUR 292 million in 2022, and by 46 percent to EUR 81.8 million in the quarter. The adjusted EBIT margin thus fell noticeably to 2.6 from 8.2 percent for the year as a whole and to 2.8 from 5.5 percent in the final quarter.
The company, which is listed on the MDAX, had announced a range of 11.6 to 12.5 billion euros for incoming orders for the past year. Sales should be between 10.45 and 11.25 billion euros, adjusted Group EBIT between 200 and 310 million euros.
For 2023, KION is aiming for sales of at least EUR 11.0 billion. Adjusted EBIT is expected to increase to at least EUR 550 million.
JPMorgan leaves KION price target at EUR 40
According to figures, the US bank JPMorgan has left KION on “neutral” with a price target of EUR 40. The forklift manufacturer had a mixed quarter, analyst Akash Gupta wrote in a study available on Thursday. The weak outlook for the Supply Chain Solutions division will be offset by the expected strong recovery in Industrial Trucks & Services (ITS).
In XETRA trading, KION shares initially fell by up to four percent, before briefly turning positive. But now it’s giving up again, the losses at times amount to 2.07 percent at a price of 37.32 per share.
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