Michelin MICP.PA reported record annual operating profit on Monday, driven by the delayed impact of past price adjustments in 2022, but the group remains cautious for the current fiscal year, citing an “uncertain” market environment. “.
The Clermont-based group recorded an operating profit from the sectors of 3.57 billion euros for the year 2023, exceeding the forecasts of analysts who expected an average of 3.42 billion euros, according to a consensus compiled by Michelin.
“We are in a market context which remains complicated, a European situation which is not very bright, a China which is restarting but not with growth as strong as it was a few years ago, and lots of other unknowns,” financial director Yves Chapot said in an interview with Reuters.
Logistical problems linked to the Red Sea weighed on 4% of the group’s finished product flows, mainly natural rubber, he added, and the crisis will have a “reasonably marginal” impact on 2024 results.
Michelin now expects operating profit from the sectors to exceed 3.5 billion euros in 2024, while analysts on average expected 3.59 billion euros.
(Reporting by Olivier Cherfan and Augustin Turpin, with Gilles Guillaume in Paris, edited by Kate Entringer)