Bertrandt’s business performance in the first half of fiscal 2023/2024 was determined by very heterogeneous market conditions. The favourable market environment for research and development (R&D) services in the first quarter resulted in increasing project awards and successful project acquisition efforts for Bertrandt. Since the beginning of the second quarter, the company has been faced with changed conditions, which are considered to be temporary, however.
The company has seen a reduction in capacity demand from its customers since the beginning of the second quarter of 2023/2024 and consequently a temporarily lower-than-expected capacity utilisation in the group. “Bertrandt is responding to the temporary market changes with consistent and effective measures such as cost optimisation and a capacity management in Germany that is adapted to market requirements. Nonetheless, we expect demand for capacity to return to normal over the course of the 2023/2024 fiscal”, says Markus Ruf, Board Member Finance at Bertrandt AG. Investment in research and development is the basis for competitive products, innovation and the implementation of regulatory requirements.
When assessing Bertrandt's business performance in the period under review, the conditions described need to be taken into account. The favourable market environment in the first quarter of fiscal 2023/2024 paved the way for an increase in the company’s total revenues by 9 per cent to EUR 626.890 million (HY1 2022/2023: EUR 573.135 million). On the other hand, the company’s EBIT of EUR 21.959 million (HY1 2022/2023: EUR 23.999 million) reflects a temporary decline in capacity utilisation in the second quarter. In addition, there were one-off effects from a loss allowance in connection with the deteriorated solvency of a customer and from the utilisation of an obligation previously classified as a contingent liability. Free cash flow has improved noticeably, increasing to EUR 42.862 million. At the end of March 2024, the company’s equity was EUR 453.969 million (31 March 2023: EUR 437.581 million). This means an equity ratio of 48.7 per cent (31 March 2023: 47.5 per cent). The number of employees reached another record level with 14,526 employees on 31 March 2024 (31 March 2023: 13,715).
Based on the development in the first half of fiscal 2023/2024 and in view of the expectations for the further course of the year, Bertrandt confirms the forecast* for the 2023/2024 fiscal year. In conclusion, the group expects growth in total revenues of between EUR 70 and 110 million and an EBIT margin of between 5 and 7 per cent.
The most important key figures at a glance
| IFRS-based figures for the Bertrandt Group | 01/10/2023 until 31/03/2024 | 01/10/2022 until 31/03/2023 |
Total revenues (EUR million) | 626.890 | 573.135 |
EBIT (EUR million) | 21.959 | 23.999 |
Post-tax earnings (EUR million) | 12.222 | 13.963 |
Free cash flow (EUR million) | 42.862 | 10.150 |
Equity ratio (in per cent) | 48.7 | 47.5 |
Employees worldwide | 14,526 | 13,715 |
*The forecast was last published on 14 February 2024 as a summarised statement on page 4 of the report on the first quarter of 2023/2024. The detailed forecast report for the 2023/2024 fiscal year was published with the 2022/2023 Annual Report on 14 December 2023 (pages 118 to 121).
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.
