25.10.2020, 4425 Zeichen

RHI Magnesita: RHI Magnesita, global supplier of refractory products, systems and solutions, provided an update on trading for the three months to 30 September 2020 ('Q3'). Encouragingly, the order book improved steadily but still slowly through the period.  With the exception of the Industrial Projects business, we now have stronger visibility to the beginning of 2021. Within the Steel Division, North America and South America started to see signs of recovery in Q3.Europe and India continued to reflect the slower rate of recovery in the steel industry in both regions. Activity levels improved further in China, although from a low base. The Industrial Division remained subdued. Raw material prices fell slightly in July and August and improved in September.  The Group continues to derive a solid margin from its backward integration, with a 2.3% Adjusted EBITA margin contribution in Q3 2020, unchanged from the H1 2020 results. As previously announced, the Group expects to realise Euro 50 mn of short-term fixed cost savings for the full year 2020 as part of its Covid-19 response. Euro 10 mn of these will be maintained into 2021 in the form of lower depreciation.The Group continues to make good progress on its longer-term, strategic cost savings initiatives. These comprise the Production Optimisation Plan and SG&A Reduction Plan. Plans to extend the Production Optimisation Plan have now been finalised and the Group intends to close additional production facilities with a focus on Europeand South America. The intention is to take the total plant rationalisation up to 10 sites by H1 2022 and increases the cumulative strategic cost savings (including the SG&A Reduction Plan) to Euro 100 mn by 2022. The total capital expenditure for the strategic cost savings initiatives increases to Euro 160 mn by 2022, with exceptional restructuring costs of Euro 100 mn and impairments of Euro 110 mn. RHI Magnesita has a resilient balance sheet, liquidity of Euro 1.1 bn, no material debt maturity before 2023 and significant headroom under its net debt to EBITDA covenant.  The Group continues its focus on working capital management, especially inventories and accounts receivable.  Working capital has reduced further in the third quarter and the Group expects further cash inflows in Q4. Due to the resilient underlying cash generation, strength of the balance sheet and improving confidence in the market outlook, the Board is today declaring an interim dividend of Euro 0.50 per share, which is in line with the 2019 interim dividend. While the Group continues to target leverage of between 0.5x and 1.5x net debt to EBITDA, the impact of COVID-19 on 2020 EBITDA means that leverage is likely to be modestly above this range at the end of 2020 and through 2021 as the Group continues to prioritise investment in projects to improve its competitive position and shareholder returns. The Board is confident that leverage should reduce thereafter.

voestalpine: voestalpine AG's result will be affected by non recurring write offs of around Euro 200 mn in the current business year 2020/21, in particular due to impairment losses both at voestalpine Texas and to a lesser extent at voestalpine Tubuluars. These are realized because of the expected results at the end of the current financial year, mainly due to global disparities triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as necessary adjustments to medium-term earnings expectations at these companies. The non-recurring write-offs are neither cash-effective nor affect EBITDA, but do affect EBIT. Due to the improvements in the economic environment, the Management Board currently expects an EBITDA in a range of Euro 800 mn to Euro 1 bn for the entire business year 2020/21, assuming no further significant restrictions in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic, such as "lockdowns", by the authorities. In June the forecast EBITDA was between Euro 600 mn and Euro 1 bn. “We have succeeded in adapting to this completely new situation very quickly over the past few months. Our focus remains on measures including consistently managing costs and working capital as well as generating cashflow in order to stabilize results. Irrespective of these measures, over the next few months the situation for the entire voestalpine Group remains highly uncertain,” says CEO Herbert Eibensteiner.

(From the 21st Austria weekly https://www.boerse-social.com/21staustria (22/10/2020)

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