Krones Group Full-Year Report 2023

Highlights

• Krones continued its profitable growth in 2023. Revenue increased by 12.2% year on year to €4,720.7 million.
• After the previous year’s record (€5,782.8 million), order intake remained at a high level in 2023 at €5,376.6 million. In the fourth quarter, order intake increased by 6.8% year on year on year to €1,263.0 million. The order backlog exceeded the €4 billion mark and, at €4,122.3 million at the end of 2023, was 18.9% higher than in the previous year.
• Despite challenging conditions, Krones significantly improved profitability. EBITDA increased by 22.5% in 2023 to €457.3 million. The EBITDA margin rose from 8.9% in the previous year to 9.7%.
• As expected, free cash flow was below the extremely high prior-year figure. Before acquisitions, however, it remained positive at €13.2 million in 2023 (previous year: €398.2 million). Krones improved ROCE (return on capital employed) to 16.3% in 2023 (previous year: 14.1%).
• Due to the good business performance, Krones intends to pay a dividend of €2.20 per share for 2023 (previous year: €1.75).
• The Executive Board is confident for the 2024 financial year and forecasts revenue growth of 9% to 13% with an improved EBITDA margin of 9.8% to 10.3% and ROCE of 17% to 19%. The forecast figures include the effects of the acquisition of Netstal Maschinen AG, which is still to be finalised