The first nine months of fiscal 2021/2022 were mixed for the economy as a whole. The start to the reporting period was still characterized by a pleasing economic recovery and diminishing effects of the coronavirus pandemic. In the course of the second quarter of the fiscal year, overall economic growth weakened noticeably. A turning point was marked by the start of the war in Ukraine in mid-February 2022, which exacerbated already existing challenges such as a general shortage of materials or rising inflation rates and their effects.
"Since the third quarter, macroeconomic conditions have been completely different. Nevertheless, we were able to benefit from increased demand for development services, a noticeable rise in project awards and improved capacity utilization in Germany and abroad in the period under review. Added to this is the cost optimization initiated during the pandemic," says Markus Ruf, Chief Financial Officer of Bertrandt AG.
Total operating performance in the nine-month period increased by 17.2 percent to EUR 739.652 million (previous year: EUR 631.027 million). EBIT amounted to EUR 25.850 million in the reporting period (previous year: EUR 12.877 million). This corresponds to an operating margin of 3.5 percent (previous year: 2.0 percent). Earnings after income taxes in the first nine months of the 2021/2022 financial year amounted to EUR 12.035 million, compared with EUR 3.504 million in the same period of the previous year. The number of employees also increased: As of June 30, 2022, the Group had 12,991 employees (previous year: 11,899).
Bertrandt raised its forecast for total revenues in the 2021/2022 reporting year on July 27, 2022 in an ad-hoc announcement. The Group now forecasts strong growth in total revenues of between EUR 140 million and EUR 170 million (previously EUR 100 million to EUR 140 million) to between EUR 990 million and EUR 1,020 million (previously EUR 950 million to EUR 990 million). The outlook for EBIT margin in fiscal 2021/2022 was confirmed at 4 to 7 percent.
The Bertrandt Group's strategic development was implemented in a targeted manner in the period under review. With the acquisition of the Philotech Group in December 2021, the growth areas of software, electronics and IT security in particular are being expanded. Since February 2022, an interdisciplinary project group has been working on the Group's environmental and sustainability targets, taking a holistic view of stakeholder requirements. Bertrandt aims to achieve its goal of cutting CO2 emissions by at least 15 percent across all greenhouse gases by 2030 and to operate on a completely climate-neutral basis from 2039.
The most important key figures at a glance
IFRS-based figures for the Bertrandt Group | 01.10.2021 | 01.10.2020 |
Total revenues (in EUR million) | 739.652 | 631.027 |
EBIT (in EUR million) | 25.850 | 12.877 |
Post-tax earnings (in EUR million) | 12.035 | 3.504 |
Free cash flow (in EUR million) | -0.685 | 25.413 |
Equity ratio (in percent) | 45.5 | 44.5 |
Employees worldwide | 12,991 | 11,899 |
About Bertrandt
As a leading development service provider in the automotive, aviation and mechanical engineering sectors, Bertrandt focuses on first-class technology-oriented services for the mobility of today and tomorrow! The trends of digitalization, autonomous systems, networking and electromobility play a central role here. With almost 50 years of cross-industry expertise and a global presence, we are able to develop customer-centric solutions quickly and efficiently. Our strengths lie in our ability to implement projects holistically - from consulting to implementation and safeguarding to production transfer and after-sales, as well as in the speed with which we can scale projects. Around 13,000 employees at over 50 locations worldwide are committed to meeting the challenges of our customers.
