Kontron AG with successful conclusion of pivotal year 2022
Increase in net profit from the operating business to EUR 55.5 million (before special effects) from continuing operations (2021: EUR 29.8 million) and EUR 232.5 million total net profit.
- Guidance for 2023 up by 10% to EUR 66 million in net profit
- Operating cash flow of EUR 109.4 million in 4th quarter and EUR 44.4 million in 2022
- Further growth in order backlog to EUR 1,459 million in continuing operations (2021: EUR 1,160 million)
- Dividend proposal of EUR 1.00 per share
Kontron AG has published the results of a successful business year of the technology group in 2022 – a pivotal year in the history of Kontron. The strategic realignment and focus on the Internet of Things (IoT) segment is reflected in the tech firm’s figures. Revenue totalled EUR 1,483.5 million in 2022, which was 10.6% higher than the previous year (2021: EUR 1,342.0 million). Of this, EUR 1,096.1 million was generated by continuing operations and EUR 387.4 million by the divested IT service companies.
In a market environment that was once again challenging due to geopolitical upheavals and the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, Kontron managed to increase is net profit to EUR 232.5 million in the 2022 business year, whereby the operating business before special effects was responsible for EUR 55.5 million from continuing operations and around EUR 26.3 million from the divested companies. The profit from the sale of IT services and other special effects totalled an additional EUR 150.7 million. To compare, net profit stood at EUR 29.8 million in 2021 (from continuing operations) and EUR 18.5 million (from divested activities), thereby totalling EUR 48.3 million.
At the end of 2022, cash and cash equivalents stood at EUR 437.8 million, with an additional EUR 138 million for the IT service companies still outstanding (EUR 80.3 million is expected to come in the 1st quarter 2023). Kontron is using its liquidity for further organic growth as well as strategic acquisitions in the IoT segment. Part of the proceeds from the sale will go to shareholders – in addition to the share buyback programme launched in February 2023, a dividend proposal of EUR 1.00 (2021: 35 eurocents) will be made to the Annual General Meeting.
Since the start of the 2023 financial year, Kontron AG has turned the full focus of its activities to the Internet of Things (IoT) market, which is growing at rates of more than 15% a year. Kontron already generated the majority of its revenue in the Industrial IoT (IIoT) product area in previous years and is one of the three largest providers worldwide in this fragmented market. The order book in the IoT areas rose to EUR 1,459 million in the 2022 financial year (2021: EUR 1,160 million), which corresponds to a book-to-bill of 1.28.
Hannes Niederhauser, CEO of Kontron AG: “In future we will focus more on enhancing profitability as well as on reducing low-margin turnover. For 2023 we assume organic revenue growth of around 10% to EUR 1,200 million. Net profit should be significantly stronger, rising to EUR 66 million. We have thereby raised our January 2023 guidance on net profit by 10%. We will use our high liquidity and make significant acquisitions from our pipeline in 2023. Organic and non-organic, we are standing by our target of revenue of EUR 2,000 million in 2025 – and this with significantly higher profitability”.
The annual report is already available on the website of Kontron. The annual financial report will be uploaded accordingly in the coming days.
www.kontron.com
