Bekaert slides after Q3 miss, worse-than-expected FY outlook

NV Bekaert SA

17/11/2023 11:25

** Belgium's Bekaert  BEKB.BR  shares slip around 2% after
the steel wire maker's Q3 sales and outlook for the year missed
expectations
    ** Q3 sales fell 21% year-on-year to 1.04 billion euros 
($1.13 billion), which was below a consensus of 1.19 billion,
according to KBC Securities
    ** KBC also points to worse-than-expected outlook for FY 
underlying EBIT margin and sales
     ** Bekaert expects the margin in a range of 8.5%-8.7%,
which at midpoint is 4% below consensus expectations, KBC says
    ** The group sees sales of around 4.3 billion euros, while
the consensus expects 4.56 billion, the broker adds
    ** Still, KBC keeps its "buy" rating, citing attractive
valuation and strong balance sheet, with a second 120 mln euros
share buyback underway
    ** ING also points to Q3 update below expectations and to a
miss in all divisions, adding that headwinds seen continuing
into first quarter of 20224 pose downside risks to 2024
expectations
    ** The shares head for their worst day in about a month 



($1 = 0.9233 euros)

 (Reporting by Olivier Sorgho)
 ((Olivier.Sorgho@thomsonreuters.com))