ROUNDUP: Dürr expects further growth thanks to order cushion – share under pressure

shares in this article

BIETIGHEIM-BISSINGEN (dpa-AFX) – The mechanical engineering company Dürr expects growth in sales and profitability for the current year. The company can build on a robust backlog of orders. In 2022, incoming orders reached the five billion euro mark for the first time, and Dürr also achieved a record in terms of sales. The company benefits from topics such as sustainability, e-mobility and automation. The stock was still on investors’ sell lists on Thursday.

It initially lost more than four percent in the morning and was the biggest loser in the MDAX average value segment. UBS analyst Sven Weier called the figures for the final quarter “mixed”. He was disappointed by the slight drop in incoming orders, with four out of five areas falling short of his expectations, according to the expert. The adjusted margin before interest and taxes (EBIT) was also slightly weaker than expected. He called the forecast in line with expectations.

Peter Rothenaicher from Baader Helvea, on the other hand, praised the figures overall and called the order intake in the fourth quarter “still solid” despite the slight decline. He sees excellent prospects for 2023, and Dürr’s forecast is characterized by confidence. From Rothenaicher’s point of view, the outlook is even conservative and thus offers room for positive surprises.

In the current year, thanks to the good order situation, revenues are expected to rise to between 4.5 and 4.8 billion euros, the company announced in Bietigheim-Bissingen. In the previous year, sales had increased by 22 percent to 4.3 billion euros. In contrast, incoming orders are likely to fall slightly after the record year 2022 and reach 4.4 to 4.8 billion euros. On the other hand, the company expects the adjusted operating profit margin to be significantly higher in 2023 – it should improve from 5.4 percent to 6.0 to 7.0 percent. In the previous year it was still slightly declining. Earnings after taxes should continue to rise.

Last year, incoming orders increased by 16.7 percent to five billion euros. The new business for production technology for e-cars has increased by more than 40 percent to a new high of more than 1.1 billion euros, it said. After taxes, the company earned around 58 percent more at 134.3 million euros. The final numbers are scheduled to be released on March 16./nas/lew/jha/