FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – The IT service provider Kontron secured the favor of investors on Wednesday with an increased profit forecast. After the presentation of the final annual figures, analysts also highlighted the prospect of acquisitions and a good dividend yield. At times, the shares listed in the SDAX soared to EUR 18.99, their highest level since the beginning of March. Most recently they were up 7.5 percent at EUR 18.70. They made it above the 50-day line, which depicts the medium-term trend.
Apart from a setback the day before, the papers have had a good run in the past few days anyway: Since the intermediate low reached at the beginning of the previous week, they have now recovered by 9.5 percent. The price slide on Tuesday in the course of a general sector weakness has also been completely ironed out. Since the turn of the year, the surcharge has now added up to a good fifth.
With the final annual figures for 2022, Kontron had also polished its profit outlook for the current year by ten percent and now wants to achieve a profit of 66 million euros, which was well received on the market. In the morning, a stockbroker also spoke of a solid balance sheet presentation for the past year and praised the dividend, which was higher than expected. In 2022, the bottom line profit had more than quadrupled, although Kontron had benefited from the sale of its IT service business. But even adjusted for the special effect, the Austrians earned more.
However, the distribution is not entirely new: Kontron had already proposed a substantial increase in the dividend to EUR 1.00 per share in its key data in January. A year earlier, the company had paid out just 35 cents per share.
Jefferies expert Martin Comtesse therefore did not see the final annual report as really surprising. However, the strong order book at the end of the year, together with two recent major orders, made for good predictability, he added. He sees the group on the right track in its planned transformation into a provider that focuses on the Internet of Things (IoT).
Like Comtesse, Adrian Pehl from the investment house Stifel also confirmed his purchase vote for Kontron. From the expert’s point of view, the high level of cash after the sale of the IT service business should not only enable the group to increase the dividend: Pehl is also hoping for news about possible share buybacks that would make the solid return even more attractive. He also highlighted the prospect of upcoming acquisitions as an aspect of the investment story./tav/tih/mis
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