Swiss OC Oerlikon cuts margin target on waning industrial activity (updated)
03/11/2022 06:35
(Adds results, management quote, detail on outlook)
Nov 3 (Reuters) - Swiss industrial group OC Oerlikon
OERL.S cut its 2022 margin outlook on Thursday, citing
weakening industrial activity in a volatile market.
Industrial groups such as Oerlikon struggle with higher
costs on top of an already rampant inflation, as the Swiss
government stuck to its decision not to provide financial aid
this winter to companies hit by surging energy prices.
"Leading indicators signal an upcoming downturn, however,
the timing and scope are difficult to predict," OC Oerlikon's
executive chairman Michael Suess, who took over from CEO Roland
Fischer on July 1, said in a statement.
The group trimmed its forecast for full-year operational
earnings before interest, taxes, amortisation and depreciation
(EBITDA) margin to between 17% and 17.5%, from around 17.5%
previously.
However, it expects to exceed its earlier 2022 sales
guidance of 2.9 billion Swiss francs ($2.9 billion).
The company remains confident in its mid-term strategy,
Suess said.
For the third quarter to the end of September, OC Oerlikon
posted operational EBITDA of 126 million francs, up 7.6% from a
year earlier and corresponding to a margin of 17%.
Its quarterly order intake fell by 8.5% to 764 million
francs.
($1 = 1.0037 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Tristan Chabba and Enrico Sciacovelli, editing by
Milla Nissi)
((Enrico.Sciacovelli@thomsonreuters.com; +48587720309;))