Bertrandt (BDT) Q3 23/24 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Total revenues for the first nine months rose to €921.6M, up 7.4% year-over-year; Q3 revenues were €294.7M, up 3.4% from Q3 2022/2023.

• EBIT for the nine-month period fell sharply to €15.0M from €32.7M year-over-year; Q3 EBIT was -€6.9M versus €8.7M in Q3 2022/2023.

• Net income for the nine months dropped to €5.3M from €18.7M year-over-year; Q3 net loss was €6.9M.

• Employee count increased to 14,415, including 142 from the Centum acquisition in May 2024.

Financial highlights

• Personnel expenses ratio rose to 76.1% in Q3 (prior year: 73.8%) and 72.8% for nine months (prior year: 72.5%).

• Cash flow from operating activities improved to €44.0M for nine months (prior year: €5.3M).

• Free cash flow turned positive at €8.4M for nine months, compared to -€6.2M prior year.

• Equity ratio stable at 48.3% (prior year: 47.8%).

• Earnings per share for nine months were €0.52, down from €1.85 year-over-year.

Outlook and guidance

• Management withdrew specific sales and EBIT margin guidance, now expecting only a moderate increase in total operating performance and EBIT significantly below prior year.

• Cost optimization program launched, with extraordinary expenses expected in the low to mid double-digit million euro range this and next year.

• Targeting double-digit million euro savings in 2024/2025 and a medium-term EBIT margin of 6–9%.