Klöckner shipments stable, foresees improved second-quarter profitability

Klöckner & Co expects increasing shipments and better results in the second quarter.

In Q1, the distributor’s sales were almost stable, at 1.21 million tonnes compared to 1.26mt in Q1 2022, Kallanish notes.

Revenue decreased by 36% on-year to €2.1 billion ($2.3 billion), largely on the back of rising prices. Ebitda adjusted for special effects was €69 million, far lower than the previous year’s €201m. In the prior-year comparative period, operating income notably benefited from significant positive price effects, the firm says.

According to the company, it made a very good start to 2023, despite the ongoing challenging environment, and has made progress in the implementation of the group strategy in the first few months.

“Klöckner & Co achieved a strong operating income and a significantly positive cash flow from operating activities in the first quarter, despite the challenging environment,” says chief executive Guido Kerkhoff. “With the introduction of the Nexigen PCF Algorithm, we are now able to calculate the product carbon footprint for nearly all of our products. In this way, we are tangibly helping our customers to achieve their decarbonisation goals.”

A further focus of the group strategy consists of digitalising and automating Klöckner & Co’s value chains. Sales handled by Kloeckner Assistant, the group’s proprietary AI solution, remained at a strong level of over €280m in Q1.

Klöckner forecasts an Ebitda before material special effects of €60-110m and a positive cash flow from operating activities for Q2.

Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria