Landis+Gyr wants to focus on America
Published: Wednesday, Oct 30th 2024, 09:40
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Landis+Gyr is repositioning itself strategically. The plan is to focus entirely on America. The listing on the Swiss stock exchange is up for discussion.
The Zug-based company announced on Wednesday that it is sharpening its strategic focus on the Americas and is considering a listing there in the medium term. Meanwhile, activities in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) are undergoing a strategic review.
The operating profit margins in America are above average and account for more than 80 percent of adjusted EBITDA, according to the statement. In the EMEA region, however, the market focus and customer expectations are "fundamentally different", which is why a different business approach is necessary.
The company did not provide any specific details on possible measures. However, business continuity is guaranteed at all levels of the organization during the audit.
No decisions have yet been made regarding the listing, said a spokeswoman at the request of AWP. However, no dual listing is being sought.
The electricity meter manufacturer currently employs around 200 people in Switzerland. Of these, 90 are responsible for the entire Group. Around 2800 employees work in the EMEA region, of which around 1300 are responsible for the region.
Delayed major projects
In the first half of 2024/25 (April to September), the Group's turnover fell by 4.6% to USD 925.6 million. According to the company, this was primarily due to delayed major projects in the EMEA region, subdued demand for electric vehicles and a high basis for comparison.
Incoming orders fell by 15.2 percent to 812.1 million dollars and the order backlog of 3.65 billion was 2.3 percent below the previous year's figure.
However, Landis+Gyr was able to improve its profitability thanks to improvements in operating efficiency, the ongoing normalization of supply chains and a profit from the sale of a property in India. Adjusted operating profit at EBITDA level was just above the previous year at 108.2 million dollars, while the corresponding margin rose from 11.1 percent to 11.7 percent.
At the bottom line, the company achieved a 16.8 percent higher net profit of 48.2 million dollars. With the figures presented, Landis+Gyr missed analysts' forecasts for sales, but exceeded them for EBITDA, margin and net profit.
Outlook confirmed
"After the 2023 financial year with extraordinary growth, we are satisfied with the results for the first half of 2024," CEO Werner Lieberherr was quoted as saying. The Americas region in particular continues to deliver a strong performance, including significant contract wins.
With regard to the outlook for 2024/25, the company is sticking to the forecast issued at the beginning of May, as the second half of the financial year is expected to be stronger. Accordingly, Landis+Gyr expects low single-digit growth and an EBITDA margin of between 11 and 13 percent.
In addition to the figures, there were also changes in top management. CFO Elodie Carr-Cingari will be leaving the company and the search for a successor is underway. EMEA boss Bodo Zeug is also stepping down and will be succeeded by Rob Evans.
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