- After the profit slump last year, train manufacturer Stadler Rail earned more again in 2023.
- Net profit rose to 138.6 million francs. Stadler said this was the highest value since the IPO.
- A year earlier, the eastern Swiss company had suffered a dip to 75.1 million francs.
The significant increase in the consolidated result is due in particular to lower currency losses in the financial result than in the previous year. “In addition, significantly higher interest income was recorded due to the high liquidity,” wrote Stadler. “Despite the significant disruption caused by the negative currency effects, sales and EBIT were at a solid level,” explained the new CEO Markus Bernsteiner.
Expectations missed
Sales, on the other hand, fell by 4 percent to 3.61 billion francs. The company said that the currency developments alone would have cost almost 100 million francs. Incoming orders also fell by a fifth to 6.8 billion francs, which is still the second-best result in the company’s history (2021: 5.6 billion).
Nevertheless, the order backlog reached a new peak of 24.4 billion francs. This means that the order cushion is 2.4 billion francs thicker than twelve months ago. Despite the dip in profits, shareholders should receive an unchanged dividend of 0.90 francs per share.
Sales of 3.5 to 3.7 billion expected
Things are not looking up in the new 2024 financial year either. Stadler expects sales of 3.5 to 3.7 billion francs. The EBIT margin should be at a comparable level to 2023.
In order to provide the required capacities, Stadler expects to invest another 200 million francs in 2024. Stadler is sticking to its dividend policy of paying out around 60 percent of the group’s earnings.