Vitesco Technologies, a leading international provider of modern drive technologies and electrification solutions for sustainable mobility, published the results for the second quarter and first half of 2023 today. Besides strong order intake, particularly in the electrification business, the second quarter was characterized by signing long-term partnerships between Vitesco Technologies and semiconductor manufacturers.
Orders worth around €5 billion were booked in the past quarter, of which 90 percent (€4.5 billion) were related to electrification products. To comfortably meet all its orders in the long term, Vitesco Technologies joined forces with further key partners – semiconductor manufacturers ROHM and onsemi – and secured itself supply of energy-efficient high-performance silicon-carbide (SiC) semiconductors worth almost €3 billion. "Access to SiC-based technologies is crucial for our tremendous growth in electrification. We are working to secure 100 percent of our semiconductor requirements until 2030," says CEO Andreas Wolf.
Strong sales growth despite a persistently challenging market
In the second quarter of 2023, Vitesco Technologies generated group sales of €2.44 billion (Q2 2022: €2.17 billion). This included sales of electrification products of €354 million (Q2 2022: €237 million). When adjusted for changes in the scope of consolidation and exchange-rate effects, sales rose by 14.3 percent. The electrification and the core businesses saw sharp growth of 23.9 percent and outperformed the global passenger car market by 8.4 percentage points. There was also an increase in adjusted EBIT to €76.3 million (Q2 2022: €34.9 million). This equates to an adjusted EBIT margin of 3.1 percent (Q2 2022: 1.6 percent).
In the first half of 2023 group sales grew by 7.5 percent to €4.76 billion (H1 2022: €4.42 billion). Organic growth stood at 7.8 percent. Vitesco Technologies' adjusted EBIT came in at €113.4 million (H1 2022: €82.6 million) with an adjusted EBIT margin of 2.4 percent (H1 2022: 1.9 percent). Due mainly to impairments in connection with the sale of units from the non-core business, the net income amounted to minus €64.5 million (H1 2022: profit of €25.4 million) and resulted in earnings per share to minus €1.61 in the first six months of 2023 (H1 2022: plus €0.63).
Due to further cost increases and the ongoing negotiations concerning the passing on of additional costs the free cash flow fell to minus €20.6 million in the second quarter (Q2 2022: plus €1.6 million). For the first half of 2023, free cash flow came in at minus €61.7 million (H1 2022: plus €49.8 million). Capital expenditures[1] on property, plant, and equipment and software amounted to €92.8 million (Q2 2022: €112.5 million). The ratio of capital expenditure to sales is therefore 3.8 percent (Q2 2022: 5.2 percent). As of June 30, 2023, Vitesco Technologies had a solid balance sheet with an equity ratio of 38.9 percent (June 30, 2022: 40.4 percent).
CFO Werner Volz: "After a difficult start to the year, we increased our adjusted EBIT margin substantially once again in the second quarter. The improvement in profitability gives us the boost needed to achieve our full-year targets."
Divisional results for Vitesco Technologies
The Powertrain Solutions division generated sales of €1.63 billion in the second quarter of 2023 (Q2 2022: €1.55 billion), which equates to organic growth of 6.1 percent. In the same period, its adjusted EBIT rose to €109.2 million (Q2 2022: €104.7 million). Its adjusted EBIT margin therefore stood at 6.7 percent (Q2 2022: 6.7 percent). "The division's core business once again achieved a double-digit adjusted EBIT margin. This strong result is helping us to drive the transformation of Vitesco Technologies," says CFO Volz.
Based on the positive business performance in China and Germany, the Electrification Solutions division increased its sales to €825.2 million in the second quarter of 2023 (Q2 2022: €626.1 million). This equates to strong organic sales growth of 34.5 percent. The division's adjusted EBIT came in at minus €31.2 million (Q2 2022: minus €60.5 million), relating to an adjusted EBIT margin of minus 3.8 percent (Q2 2022: minus 9.7 percent). The general uptick in the market and stabilizing supply chains also contributed to the improvement in the division's performance.
Guidance for fiscal year 2023
The outlook for Vitesco Technologies for the fiscal year 2023 remains unchanged, with the company continuing to anticipate sales of €9.2 billion to €9.7 billion for 2023. Vitesco Technologies is also expecting the adjusted EBIT margin for 2023 ranging between 2.9 percent and 3.4 percent and free cash flow at around €50 million.
