Fuchs reverses course on FCF, 'reasonable' guidance
12/03/2024 12:42
** Shares of Germany-based lubricant supplier Fuchs
FPEn.DE rise around 5% after initially opening weaker, with
analysts pointing to a strong FCF and "reassuring" guidance
** Konstantin Wiechert at Baader Helvea Equity Research says
the company's is actually not bad on second glance and might
have reassured investors
** "Looking at FCF of both years combined (2023-2024), Fuchs
is actually ahead of consensus, nonetheless, investors look
ahead, so obviously FY23 is in the past now and FY24 FCF alone
consequently looks weaker," says Wiechert
** Stifel sees Fuchs revenue guidance of 3.6 bln euros (vs
consensus 3.7 bln) and EBIT of around 430 mln euros (vs
consensus 447 mln) as "reasonable", given uncertainty around the
important automotive end
** Sebastian Bray at Berenberg points to the company's
robust cash flow and indication from other chemical companies,
like Wacker Chemie WCHG.DE , to a robust start to 2024
** "Fuchs' 2024 guidance is highly conservative", says
Oliver Schwarz at Warburg Research, but expects 2025 "to be a
blowout year" with a yoy EBIT increase of 16%
(Reporting by Isabel Demetz)
((Isabel.demetz@thomsonreuters.com))