Krones continued its profitable growth in the first six months of 2024 and remains very optimistic for the full year. Krones is well positioned, the company’s markets are largely unaffected by economic fluctuations and customers continue to be very keen to invest.
Order intake increases further at very high level – revenue growth accelerates in second quarter
After a good first quarter, demand for Krones’ products and services continued to grow from April to June 2024. At €1,310.2 million, order intake exceeded the already high prior-year figure (€1,272.8 million) by 2.9%. In the first six months, the contract value of orders went up by 0.3% on the strong previous year, from €2,785.9 million to €2,792.9 million. Customer order activity therefore remained at a very high level in the first two quarters of 2024. As a global leader with a broad and innovative range of products and services, Krones was able to take advantage of the good market conditions.
As expected, Krones’ growth accelerated significantly in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter (4.0% revenue growth). From April to June 2024, revenue increased by 16.7% year on year to €1,309.0 million. Part of this growth is due to the acquisition of Netstal Maschinen AG, whose revenue Krones has consolidated since 28 March 2024. However, the largest contribution to the increase took the form of organic growth, which also benefited from the company’s increased efficiency.
In the first six months of 2024, Krones’ revenue climbed by 10.1% year on year, from €2,320.9 million to €2,556.1 million. Revenue growth in the reporting period was therefore within the full-year guidance range of 9% to 13%.
Order intake exceeded revenue in the first two quarters. As a result, Krones’ order backlog further increased despite the strong revenue growth. At the end of June 2024, the company had an order backlog totalling €4,359.1 million. The order backlog thus grew by 5.7% relative to the 2023 year-end (€4,122.3 million). Relative to the previous year’s figure of €3,931.4 million, the increase was 10.9%.
Krones continues profitable growth – EBITDA margin increased in first half-year from 9.5% to 10.0%
Due to Krones’ increased efficiency, profitability further improved in the first half of 2024 despite high labour and material costs. Prices for the company’s machines and lines remained stable at their increased level. Between January and June, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) went up by 15.7% year on year, from €221.4 million to €256.2 million. The EBITDA margin improved from 9.5% to 10.0%, which is within the guidance range of 9.8% to 10.3% for the full year.
Earnings before taxes (EBT) went up in the first half-year by 15.3% to €185.7 million. This results in an EBT margin of 7.3% (previous year: 6.9%). Krones generated consolidated net income of €135.0 million in the first two quarters of 2024, up 11.2% year on year. This corresponds to earnings per share of €4.27 (previous year: €3.84).
Krones’ EBITDA of €130.8 million in the second quarter of 2024 was 22.8% higher than in the previous year. The EBITDA margin rose from 9.5% to 10.0%. EBT improved by 23.8% to €96.7 million. Consolidated net income increased by 19.5% to €69.2 million. Earnings per share consequently amounted to €2.19 (previous year: €1.83).
