Short-term product and project postponements by some customers have led to a temporary reduction in demand for capacity at Bertrandt since the beginning of the second quarter of 2023/2024, which, contrary to the Group's assumption, has recently become even more dynamic. As a result, capacity utilization in the Bertrandt Group was lower than expected in the reporting period. "Bertrandt is responding to the current market trend with a cost optimization programme that includes structural and infrastructure adjustments as well as portfolio measures. The aim of the program is to save a double-digit million euro amount already in the coming fiscal year 2024/2025 and to achieve an EBIT margin of six to nine percent in the medium term*," says Markus Ruf, Member of the Management Board Finance of Bertrandt AG.
After nine months in the 2023/2024 financial year, total revenues amounted to EUR 921.555m (previous year: EUR 858.227m). EBIT of EUR 15.034m (previous year: EUR 32.688m) in the reporting period was impacted in particular by the temporary and increasingly weaker capacity utilization over the course of the financial year, expenses linked to capacity management and higher depreciation and amortization. Due to the lower number of working days, the third quarter is generally weaker in comparison. The aforementioned general conditions were weighing additionally. The number of employees at Bertrandt Group was 14,273 as at 30 June 2024. In addition, there were 142 employees at Centum, which was acquired in May 2024. The number of employees has thus increased by 324 (466 including Centum) from 13,949 (30 June 2023).
In light of current market developments, the Management Board of Bertrandt AG reviewed and partially revised the forecast for fiscal 2023/2024 on July 26, 2024. In short, this means that a moderate (0-10%) increase in total revenues is now expected (previous year EUR 1.157 billion). EBIT is expected to be significantly (over 10%) below the previous year's figure (EUR 50.1 million).
The technical and strategic challenges faced by some customers are leading to short-term product and project postponements as well as reduced capacity call-offs. Nevertheless, Bertrandt expects capacity call-offs to normalize in the short to medium term on the basis of a high volume of supply and specific project planning, although it is not possible at present to make a precise estimate of the timing. The markets of relevance to Bertrandt generally have growth potential, from which the Company can derive similar prospects.
The most important key figures at a glance
| IFRS-based figures for the Bertrandt Group | 01/10/2023 until 30/06/2024 | 01/10/2022 until 30/06/2023 |
Total revenues (in EUR m) | 921.555 | 858.227 |
EBIT (in EUR m) | 15.034 | 32.688 |
Post-tax earnings (in EUR m) | 5.278 | 18.672 |
Free cash flow (in EUR m) | 25.533 | -13.968 |
Equity ratio (in percent) | 48.3 | 47.8 |
Employees worldwide | 14,415 | 13,949 |
*medium term = within the next three financial years
About Bertrandt
Through our development performance, we accelerate technological progress and make a relevant contribution to a sustainable future. We are an independent and international development service provider with many years of automotive expertise. With cross-industry know-how and a holistic understanding of systems and products, we create technological solutions along the entire value chain. We deal with a focus on trend topics such as digitalization, e-mobility and autonomous systems, mainly for the automotive, aviation and mechanical engineering sectors, and consistently facilitate the development of tailored solutions in these areas. We work on this every day – with around 14,500 employees at over 50 sites worldwide.
