Krones Group Annual Report 2023
Krones published its 2023 Annual Report and confirmed its preliminary figures.
Highlights 2023
- 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.
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | ||
| Revenue | € million | 4,720.7 | 4,209.3 | + 12.2% |
| Order intake | € million | 5,376.6 | 5,782.8 | – 7.0% |
| Order backlog at 31 December | € million | 4,122.3 | 3,466.4 | + 18.9% |
| EBITDA | € million | 457.3 | 373.3 | + 22.5% |
| EBITDA margin | % | 9.7 | 8.9 | + 0.8 PP* |
| EBIT | € million | 291.0 | 230.4 | + 26.3% |
| EBT | € million | 310.5 | 242.1 | + 28.3% |
| EBT margin | % | 6.6 | 5.8 | + 0.8 PP* |
| Consolidated net income | € million | 224.6 | 187.1 | + 20.0% |
| Earnings per share | € | 7.11 | 5.92 | + 20.0% |
| Dividend per share | € | 2.20** | 1.75** | + 25.7% |
| Capital expenditure for PP&E and intangible assets |
€ million | 162.7 | 118.2 | + €44.5 million |
| Free cash flow | € million | – 101.3 | 371.0 | – €472.3 million |
| Free cash flow excluding acquisitions | € million | 13.2 | 398.2 | – €385.0 million |
| Net cash at 31 December *** | € million | 444.7 | 669.5 | – €224.8 million |
| Working capital to revenue **** | % | 17.8 | 19.0 | – 1.2 PP* |
| ROCE | % | 16.3 | 14.1 | + 2.2 PP* |
| Employees at 31 December | ||||
| Worldwide | 18,513 | 17,164 | + 1,349 | |
| Germany | 10,654 | 10,130 | + 524 | |
| Outside Germany | 7,859 | 7,034 | + 825 |
*Percentage Points **As per proposal for the appropriation of earnings available for distribution
***Cash and cash equivalents less debt ****Average of last 4 quarters
