Thyssenkrupp Nucera AG & Co KgaA has met its sales guidance for the 2023/24 fiscal year, reporting an operating loss that was slightly smaller than initially anticipated.
According to preliminary results released on Tuesday, the company's EBIT for the period was “slightly better” than expected, falling within the negative mid-double-digit million euro range. This compares with a positive EBIT of EUR 23.8 million (USD 25.1 million) in the 2022/23 fiscal year.
The decline in EBIT was attributed to the build-up of its alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) capacity and higher research and development (R&D) expenses, which impacted profitability.
Despite this, the company's sales for the 12-month period are expected to be within the EUR 820 million-900 million forecast, with AWE sales falling within the EUR 500 million-550 million range. The AWE business benefitted from projects in Saudi Arabia and Sweden, while chlor-alkali (CA) electrolysers showed a slight increase in sales.
Order intake exceeded the prior year's level, driven by AWE orders, although CA order intake was lower, due in part to a large order from OxyChem in the previous year.
In Q4 alone, Thyssenkrupp Nucera recorded all-time-high AWE sales, with CA sales largely unchanged from the same quarter in the prior year. However, increased capacity expansion costs and a lower gross margin led to a decline in quarterly EBIT, although it still exceeded the company's initial expectations.
