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Operating income (EBITDA) at seven-year high of €220 million
Share of sales generated via digital channels raised during the year from 13% to 18%
Proposal to pay out a 50% higher dividend of €0.30
Duisburg, Germany, February 28, 2018 – Klöckner & Co raised sales in fiscal year 2017 by 9.8% to €6.3 billion and operating income (EBITDA) by 12.3% to €220 million. The increase was notably a result of internal optimization measures as well as of the positive trend in prices. Net income improved from €38 million to €102 million. Earnings per share went up from €0.37 to €1.01.
Operating cash flow rose by 8.4%, from €73 million to €79 million. Net financial debt was reduced from €444 million to €330 million. The equity ratio as of the reporting date remained very solid at 42% (December 31, 2016: 40%).
Gisbert Rühl, CEO of Klöckner & Co SE: “We want to give our shareholders their due share of this significant improvement in earnings. The Management Board and Supervisory Board are going to propose an increased dividend of €0.30 at the Annual General Meeting.”
Fiscal year 2017 saw Klöckner & Co further accelerate the digital transformation that forms a key part of its “Klöckner & Co 2022” strategy. The share of sales generated via digital channels was raised from 13% to 18% as a result. As of the last year-end, the Group is expanding its online shops into marketplaces by opening them up to providers of complementary products. In parallel, the first version of the industry platform that is also open to direct competitors has gone live under the name of XOM.
For its key markets, Klöckner & Co expects that real steel demand will rise by 1% to 2% in Europe and about 3% in the USA in 2018. Group sales should track this with a slight increase. Even if – in contrast to 2017 – positive price effects are largely absent, Klöckner & Co expects with the aid of optimization measures and higher steel demand to deliver operating income at least at the level of the prior year. If the current trend toward higher steel prices were to persist, this would have an additional positive impact on operating income.