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spk01: Thank you Lord, my cup is full and running over All who never like me, I got love with y'all Baby girl just next to me, said she coming over And when she reach, she want me fit on up the phone Turn the lights down low, turn up the stereo Altanellis, Gregory, Isaac, Dennis Brown Have you ever, have you ever been in love? Ain't nothing wrong with melodies that touch your soul, no. They're acting like the people don't need it no more. Still, when she hear that good music, she hold me closer. She grooving, now I know she feeling it for sure. She move to me and rest her head upon my shoulder. Soothingly, she tell me, fit on up the song. Have you ever, have you ever been in love? Now, bad vibes can't stop this good vibration, yeah. Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the positive vibes that we created, yeah. Songs that make you feel right, we keep it blazing, yeah. Forever shining this light, we keep it blazing, blazing. Forever shining this light, ooh, yeah.
spk11: You and I No matter what the no Good morning all and welcome to Beckharts H1 2024.
spk13: results and trading updates. Delighted that you could all join us today. As is usual, I will start with the safe harbor. And just to remind, this presentation may contain forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors. This may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. ACCA is providing the information in this presentation as of its date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in it. in light of new information, future events, or otherwise. Beckhardt disclaims any liability for statements made or published by third parties and does not undertake any obligation to correct inaccurate data, information, conclusions, or opinions published by third parties in relation to this or any other publication issued by Beckhardt. It's also worth reminding that this call is being recorded. So with that out of the way, I'm delighted to hand over to Eve, please.
spk09: Thanks, Guy, and good morning, everybody. So let me start with the introduction, and then Taufik will take us through the different segments and overall financial performance. And I will wrap up with some updates on strategic review and operational review. So first half of 24, another half of progress on our strategic direction while demonstrating financial resilience in the current market context. So from a strategic direction on the M&A side, happy to have done the acquisition of Bexco. We'll talk a little bit later about that and further the businesses improving margins across the board with three of the business units above 10% EBIT level and a nice improvement in the margins and portfolio of SWS performance. On the other side, we have some challenges in the growth business areas. A mixed picture, I would say. First of all, in construction, nice growth in terms of volume. And we continue to that in doing the second half. We see some contract delays in hydrogen. I will talk a little bit later about the market environment, the policy evolution and how we look at it and how we navigate. with that opportunity. And then last, more an internal challenge where we have operational performance challenges in our steel ropes businesses in the UK and in the US, which has impacted the performance of BBRG in the first half of the year, both on the top line as well as on the profitability. And we have a turnaround plan that we will give you some highlights of. In that context, proud to have a resilient financial performance. Another proof point of stable performance with the profitability underlying around 10%. Slight improvement versus the first half of 2023, despite the lower sales volumes and top line. Stable earnings per share and a stable free cash flow on a comparable base year on year and keeping a good healthy balance sheet. On the sustainability side of our business, we report only on the full year results, but happy to announce or to share here that the Times Magazine, together with Statista, has, let's say, nominated Bekaert as one of the top five out of 5,000 companies on our stance and our progress towards sustainability. If you look at the indicators from a financial point of view, so a top line of 2.1 billion in first half, in revenue, a decline of 11%, a strong EBIT contribution of 204 million with a margin around 9.9%, 10%. Stable EPS, good balance sheet, reduction of the depth and a good stable leverage of our balance sheet. Some highlights on H1. So we continue to drive some aspects in terms of innovation, awards or also role in specification and standards bodies in the industry. So let me start first with the tyre business where with Goodyear we launched, we developed a 90% recycled sustainable tyre with our recycled tyre court inside, but also on the right bottom side, setting the standards about how to report, how to create transparency on using recycled steel, let's say, across our businesses. Then on the BBRG side or on the rope side, two aspects had the acquisition and the fully successful integration of Flintstone, the connectors for the ropes, as well as the acquisition of Bexco, And then in the construction and the energy transmission area, successful being nominated in the standards for tunneling in India, but also progress in China, as well as in America for the overhead cable. So nice proof points of further product and solution innovation and influencing the standards of the industry. So I hand over now to Tawfiq, who will zoom in to the financial performance of the consolidated group, but also the different divisions.
spk07: Thank you very much, Yves, and hello and good morning, everyone. So just before going into the details, I will, as usual, start with the sales.
spk08: I will focus primarily here on this first page on the total consolidated sales, and then I will elaborate during the business segments. for the other key information. So I think that the key message is that we had a robust performance despite the fact that the markets have been quite challenging. So there's a mix of operational issues that we had to deal with with BBRG and I will explain the reasons behind it, but also some of the market dynamics and the normalization versus last year is driving most of the variances that we will be discussing. So the key information is the sales contraction. So as you can see, 2 billion 60. So an 11% contraction compared to last year. And this decline is not something completely surprising to us. It's something that we have expected and that we have communicated when we provided the initial guidance for this decline. continue somehow the trend we reported in 2023 as we continue to deal with subdued market conditions across some of our key segments. So, similar again to 2023, the primary driver for the top-line contraction is related to the normalization of the past on-cost inflation, including some of the energy price surcharges that we benefited from last year. So remember, and we explained it a couple of times, that this has contributed to the top line, albeit at the zero margins, which was a pass-through, and this pass-through is now normalizing. And this category or this explanation is explaining half of the total top line contraction versus last year, so roughly 120 million euros. The balance of the reduction in organic volume decrease is related to the volume, so roughly 3.8%, where RR and SWS are the main contributors themselves. They are reporting a 4% contraction in volumes, and that would probably add the fact that the volumes have also contracted with BBRG, albeit on a smaller base. When it comes to the price and mix, which is resulting in a 1.5% decrease, these were primarily due to the changes in the type code volumes in China and Southeast Asia. as well as the DRAMIC cells where we gained some significant momentum in terms of volume, albeit at a lower price and mix. But this is also a strategic decision that we have taken to accelerate the adoption in the decarbonized construction segment. So what we see more generally is that the price level are now normalizing compared to the previous period, which was characterized somehow by lower goods availability in the supply chain. So we see somehow these difficulties being easing, and it's also adding up some pressure in terms of pricing. So that's for the price. overall Beka key indicators. So when we drill down and we look at the performance by business unit and starting with rubber reinforcement, so some challenges and some considerable actually challenges for RR during the first half of 2024. So a global sales decline. So RR business is reporting a 13.2% decline contraction in sales. So we're totaling 885 million euros. Some of the key drivers are related to the volume, mainly in China, which did see some drop. EMEA as well with 4.5% decline versus first half of 2023. We do see on the positive side a good momentum in Southeast Asia, which is reporting an increase of 2.3%. But again, I mean, this is comparing to the first half. If you compare it to the second half, we do see a positive momentum. So if you look at some of the key regions like Europe and North America, We do see some significant increases in the top line Europe, increasing sales by 13% versus second half of 23. Same goes for North America with roughly 8%. In terms of price and mix, a negative impact, again, from all these normalizations that I have referred to, which is mainly due to the reduced cost for wire rod. And the utilities and the price mix effects did somehow further drag down the sales value by 2%, roughly, limited 2%, mainly from price erosion across most of the region, with the exception of China, which is important. The second element driving the pricing was the fact that we did see a trend in the first half of 2024 with a lower proportion of truck tire coats versus passenger tire coats. And we also did some tactical business selection in China, which turned out to be the right thing to do, because we wanted to make sure that we have the plants at the right load and the right occupation. And this has been contributive overall in terms of fixed cost absorption. So in terms of profitability, and I think this is the key positive news. So despite the sales decline, the EBIT margin is improving by 50 basis points. So it's reaching 10.7%. in H1 2024, and this improvement is really highlighting the ability of the business to optimize cost and to enhance the operational efficiency. So the margin improvements were driven by production cost optimization, the high planted utilization, especially in in Europe and Asia, the focus on higher margin, innovative type of constructions. So the combination of these actions have clearly bolstered the profitability. As I mentioned in Asia, the capacity utilization remained high at around 95%. So this is A very good, a very strong achievement for us directly and positively impacting the profitability metrics. Other important information is that at the end of H1-24, 50% of our sales now come from premium products. So we have a very strong focus on stronger tensile cores. We are also increasing the recycled content of our products, and all this comes at a premium, which is contributing in the results that we're sharing today. And we're continuing from the operational side with the ramp-up in Vietnam and India, so we are homologating some important key accounts, and the production capacity in India is expanding. Moving to SWS, so there is very complex landscape for SWS, at least sales-wise. We'll discuss that a bit later on. So overall, some decline in sales. The market conditions have been very variable. But again, despite these challenges, I mean, very strong focus in cost management, operational improvement, and most importantly, the selective business targeting, which has allowed us to offset some of the adverse sales strengths and to enhance the profitability. So overall top line contracting by 9.5%. Volumes themselves are representing roughly half of the total contraction. It's partly due to the portfolio rationalization and you will see the outcome of this exercise in the improvement of the margins or reducing some of the dilutive segments that we had. Some of these actions had primarily targeted Latin America, where we had the biggest drop and contraction of the top line, roughly 10%. So there was also a combination of the market challenges, local market challenges in Ecuador and also in Colombia, where we did go through a phase of shortages when it comes to our availability. On the price impact, so there is, well, a 3.7 decrease, which is primarily related to the past on-wire road price reduction. So similar to what I have explained earlier in RR, we're going through a phase of normalization. But despite all that, I mean, this is not dramatically penalizing our margin, although we're suffering from a slight negative price decrease. Positive news as well when it comes to the volume. So again, similar to RR if you compare, the sales to the second half of 2023. We do see a rebound in Europe, a rebound in North America with the double-digit growth versus the last period. So again, we still need to wait and see if this is crystallizing, but the momentum seems to be in the right direction, hopefully. Profitability-wise, so again, amazing performance by the business, 380 basis point improvement reaching 11.4%. So it's a very strong performance for RR, mainly on the back of the improvements that I have referred to in terms of cost management, operational efficiency, product segmentation, and so on. The team did really a very good job in terms of addressing some of these burdens that we did suffer from the past. But as well, we do see the results of the mix improvement. So currently, around 28% of our sales came from energy and utilities sector. This is driving mix improvement towards higher margin application. And again, once again, you see the results in the profitability reported by the business unit. Moving to specialty business, so €332 million, top line, a contraction of 5%, so as you know, different segments. We have different segments with different type of dynamics in specialty business and starting with building products. So top line contraction roughly of 9.1%, primarily driven by price, which is accounting for a contraction of 12.2%. But on the flip side, this is leading to a volume increase. So volumes have increased by 4%, driven by some significant project wins around the world in some key segments like industrial flooring, port pavement, tunneling projects in India. We do see an increased market competitiveness and a normalization of the previously high margins, which is leading to a rebalancing of the margins and volume. So supply chains were constrained last year. This is not the case anymore. So this is contributing to this normalization that we see in the pricing, although it remains at a very good level and the profitability still remains in construction at a very satisfactory level. Moving to fiber technology, so including the ultra-fine wire business, the subsegment, did report a sales increase of 5%. However, we did see some negative trend, which is primarily affected by slow polymer filtration and lower cells in most of our IFS segment. Ultra-fine wire has been disappointing as well during the first half. So it's more in size, but it's a good profitability business. So we did see a very strong demand in Q1, in particular from the solar and semiconductor market. But then there was a sudden collapse, which did occur to some overstocking and also some disruption from competing materials. And it's something that we are currently tackling on hydrogen. So we do see and we do have an increase in volume. The ramp up is continuing. We are facing inflation. some sector-related delays, mainly triggered by some of the uncertainties in the incentive schemes and some rising capital costs, which is postponing some of the expected orders. However, and this is important, the customer engagement and the sector fundamentals remain strong. We are continuing our further long-term supply agreements in terms of negotiation. So some delays, but the fundamentals are not dramatically changing. On combustion technology, a contraction of 9.6%. So there is what we already commented on that. We still continue to continue seeing Some of the effects around the uncertainty of the transition from fossil fuels to electricity in some key markets in Europe and North America. However, the business has done a great job in variabilizing the costs and they have been able to offset most of the negative impacts coming from the volume contraction. So, EBIT margin at 15.5%, coming down from 18.1%. So, this is the result primarily of some of the price normalization that I have referred to in sustainable construction, but we're seeing a good momentum in terms of volume. So the volume will at some point, hopefully sooner than later, allow us to offset this price reductions that we have decided to implement, you know, that construction is a transfer, is a conversion plate, a penetration discussion. So we want to accelerate these key levers to grow this business as fast as possible. On hydrogen, so the production ramp up, is supported by the LTSAs we have currently on hand. There are some delays, but the strong long-term industry outlook remains despite some of the re-phasing that we have referred to. Then on BBRG, So there is, well, a top line contraction of roughly 14%. Most of it is somehow self-inflicted, not saying by that that it's better or it's good, but more focusing on the fact that it's something where we clearly know the root cause and where we can leverage the actions and act more forcefully. So the root cause is of the issue is mainly related to the commissioning of the equipment in the new plants in the US after the closure of our plants in Canada and Germany. So we have been suffering from issues to stabilize the production output. So this is now being resolved. The plan is to reach the expected and the planned output at the end of Q3 and to come back hopefully to a normalized situation in Q4. So as a result of that, so we did see volume decreases. across the main segments within the BBRG in oil and gas, in mining, in crane and industrials as well, most of it driven by these operational issues, which has somehow been further exacerbated by the fact that we've been facing some challenges in securing the proper staffing, particularly in the U.S. On the positive side, two key positive messages. So despite these volume challenges, we do see a positive price mix impact in the business. So the business has conducted well. Throughout 2022, and it's continuing in 2024, a price up series of action, which is yielding good results. We do see as well a favorable mix. And the other positive is that we still benefit from an order intake, an order book increase. which is at a good level. So obviously part of it is coming from the delays in delivering some of the existing orders, but we are also feeding this order book with new orders or the dynamics and the fundamentals in the sectors where we are moving in the right direction. So as a result of this issue, so you see that our EBIT margin is decreasing to 7.4%. Hopefully, this is just a conjectural issue. So structurally, we do think that we should normalize the profitability at the higher level with the actions that are currently being taken and the focus from our teams. Moving now to the next slide, which is our EBIT bridge, just to illustrate the evolution of the performance on a year-to-over-year basis to see that the key driver in the absolute value degradation for the first half is related to the volume, so minus 26 million euros. We have been able to offset most of this impact in terms of operational deleverage in the conversion cash cost, so where we have a slight deviation of 2 million, so we have variabilized A massive portion of our cost base in order that this further impacts us negatively. Our overheads, we continue our journey to further improve it and we are generating. Some very nice savings, which will continue for the balance of the year. The non-volume businesses. So this is mainly the contribution and the variance from the non-volume related businesses. So primarily the fibres and the combustion business and the other is a mixed bag of different things related to the reversal of write downs and also some small disposals of assets. So in terms of, if we move to the next slide, so some additional information on the income statement and probably starting with the interest income and expense. So we did see some positive trends on those two categories. The first one is a reduction in the net interest expense. which is decreasing by roughly 5 million compared to the previous period. So it's primarily due to the repayment of the Shu Chai loans in the second quarter of 2023, and also some positive outcome coming from the interest income increase, which is higher, which is driven by higher interest rates on some financial instruments. and an increased cash balance, which is increasing by 137 million euros compared to the first half of the previous year. The other financial results, it's rather small, so it's an expense of 8 million, primarily related to some bank charges and some factoring expenses. And the result before tax, so at 174 million euros, we have been able at the result before tax level to reduce the gap that we did see in terms of EBITDA. And the gap versus last year has been limited to 10 million euros, 11 million euros. Exactly. The result after tax, 130 million euros versus 140 million. Last year, so 10 million gap. So again, considering the issues that or the challenges that we have to deal with in terms of top line, some work to do, but we have mitigated a significant portion of the adverse impacts coming from the SEPs. So moving to the working capital and the balance sheet. We do see a good work in terms of working capital management. So we did see some of the questions coming up this morning and probably we will address that during the Q&A. But the first key indicator is that we have achieved a reduction in the total working capital by roughly 56 million euros. compared to h1 2023 so the focus on working capital continues so there are some business related specifics that needed to be addressed which did prevent us somehow to do a bit more but we're spending less in terms of building up the the working capital when you look at the ratio I think it's important as well to remember that the ratio H124 versus H123 might be a bit distorted because we had some inflated cells in 2023 due to the higher raw materials and energy costs. a cost pass-throughs which is driving a different type of ratios but i mean we continue working on our overall balance sheet with some further evolutions to come for the second half of the year and then when you look at the working capital by category so the dio is remaining stable so at 80 days so knowing the complexity and the variety of our footprint and some of the long lead times that we have to deal with. 80 days is a good level of inventory. We have the ambition to go even further, so we need to have a stabilization of the overall macro to understand how this will evolve, but we have some actions. in place where we have also a potential distortion is in the accounts receivables so last year we had the dso roughly 73 days it has increased by five days to 78 days in the first half of 2024 so there as well we have implemented a plan to accelerate the collection of our receivables and this should hopefully yield some positive results in terms of working capital for the second half, and nothing really to mention in terms of payroll as they remain flat around 117 days. so uh moving to the free cash flow and the cash uh generation uh so we have generated 116 million euros in cash flow from operating activities in 24 so last year at 110 and the 38 million euros after the removal of the cash coming from latin latin this was viewed As a strong cash generation and a strong cash performance, we do think that we are at the same level in terms of cash performance. Obviously, the 43 million euros, the 116, are not reflective of the full year expectation in terms of cash because of the normal seasonality. The Bekaert has a pattern where most of the cash is generated in the second half. But we are starting from a very solid base, a more comfortable base even than last year. So overall, we're pretty happy with the cash performance that we have delivered. CapEx plays a significant part in the overall cash performance. So for the full year 2024, we are going to adjust significantly. the level of anticipated cash spent which will be lower than initially projected and this is a pure reduction which is due to some tactical postponements due to some of the delays that we have so again coming back to the modularity of our investment and this reduction of capex will further strengthen the expected cash delivery for the balance of the year So with that, I'm done with this section. And I guess back to you, Yves.
spk09: So thanks, Tawfiq, for giving perspective on the different segments. So in the next section, we'd like to quickly touch base on how we are strategically progressing and how we as management see our performance versus this strategy. So let me remind on the left side, so we have a couple of priorities, is move to this market-oriented business units, particularly focused on end markets that are backed up by the future, nice growth profiles, transforming our business portfolio. driving more innovation and building up these global brands, which have products, but also solutions in their offering. And then, of course, continue to strengthen the fundamentals. And if you see where we are on perform, transform, grow, and in that types of priority in the journey for us, on the performance, a pretty strong financial performance, despite some of the challenges. We see this margin improvement. We see three views above the 10%. And if the operational issues increase, In BBRG, we would have, as I worked out differently, we would have had four BUs over the 10% profitability, and that would be a very nice performance. On the transformation, we are progressing with the choices we make in the portfolio in all businesses, but also in the CAPEX, we are allocating to the necessary BUs. And thirdly, also on inorganic, with, of course, the BEXCO acquisition, further a pipeline of M&As on the adjacencies, and we are progressing there. The more disappointing aspect is on the progressing on the growth. But in line with what we've communicated also in Capital Market Day, that we expect the first two years moderate evolution in our top line because we are prioritizing the perform and the transform. And so when positioned in these growth markets, we are expecting higher growth rates on the midterm. Within that, let's say there's a mixed back. There's the positive evolutions on of the growth segments, like in DRAMEX with 4% growth. And on the long term, we're expecting their double-digit growth series. in some of these growth segments, and also for the remaining of the year, we are very positive about that. Hydrogen, I will spend a little bit more time on that, how we look at that, the evolution, but still positive outlook, profitable business, and for the future, nice potential for growth. On the RR side, as mentioned by Tawfiq, expanding in India, expanding in Southeast Asia, and these are the two regions where the Tariq business is growing, and we have strong positions there, and will improve our competitiveness overall. So if we move to the next slide, a quick update. Most of you, we spent already a couple of meetings and calls on going through the segments we are focusing on. And let me update you on two things here. First, on that for the steel wire solutions, while we are let's say, focusing on pruning the portfolio in SWS and focusing on improving the profitability. And you've seen the proof point in the first half of the year. SWS will be focusing as one of the sub-segments on what we call the transmission and performance wire. What we see today already, but also in the future, a lot of investment and growth opportunities in strengthening the grid, both on the energy as well as on the data. Of course, different technologies and journeys in the different regions worldwide. We have already some solid business with our core and armor wire products. And so the SWS team is doubling down on these segments for future growth and for innovation. Second update here is on sustainable construction with Eric Peets coming in as a dedicated leader, strengthening the sustainable construction team on that growth trajectory, both organically as well as inorganically. So moving to some deep dives on two strategic topics. First, some words on hydrogen. And I'm sure all of you are monitoring how the hydrogen economy is playing out. So some data points to show how we look at it. And we want to share with you on the graph how new technologies have been deploying in the past. And you see that there's a curse of solar wind here. ammonia or LNG took longer years to deploy. If we translate, and this is done by the organization mentioned, ARENA there, if we translate the 1.5 degrees scenario Paris Agreement, you see the blue curve, which is the ramping up in 10 years time of basically the needed hydrogen. And here we talk about low carbon, meaning blue and gray hydrogen of that industry. And that's pretty steep. And of course, that gives a number of challenges, both from a policymaking, incentive funding, industrializing, scaling up of these projects. So we've been from the beginning monitoring very carefully. And so while the OEMs had a capacity of 80 gigawatts for green electricity, so for the electrolyzers, 80 gigawatt install capacity or yearly demand from 2030 onwards, We had a plan about 50 gigawatts. And what we see now is that this for 2030, we see a delay of between one year and a half to two years with this demand towards 2030, 2032. So still ramping up, still a nice business for us, but some delays driven by the whole ecosystem. If you look on the other side, we all know that there is the demand, there is the grey hydrogen today that needs to be decarbonized. So that's why we continue to have good contract negotiations and growth sales in the different regions worldwide. We keep on doing modularity. So we have two plans, one in China and the one in Europe, now fully operational by the second half. And with these two plans, we will serve, let's say, the demand for the upcoming one, two years. Let's pivot to the next one on best acquisition. So already communicated about that. Really happy to have the Bexco family joining the Bekaert with a lot of experience in offshore energy renewables, both renewables and conventional, creating the mooring solutions with a lot of commercial technical experience with operations in Belgium, complementing our operations and footprint we have in Scotland. And they also will, of course, strengthen our journey to provide a solution on the mooring in the future for floating offshore wind, where we are not only working on synthetic ropes, but on all the solutions and components for floating offshore wind in the long term. So an acquisition which is strengthening us on the short term, while also positioning us as a leader on the long term. Moving then to some operational updates. First, let me give some more highlights on the evolution of building products with some key developments. As mentioned, 4% growth. Second half, we expect slightly higher growth further. Some good news, new applications where we're focusing on the high tensile fibers, but also the rafts and elevated slabs, higher building slabs. So expanding the potential of this business. Success in some priority regions for us. Not really new, but priority regions. So in India, with a wind of a tunnel project and being spec'd in, but also in Saudi Arabia, as well as in China. And then the landmark projects, which are, let's say, very nice projects in main mature markets like France, Switzerland, and Australia, where we continue to deploy the damage solution. Extra scaling up, FalconX, it's our engineering offices, which are helping contractors, EPCs on doing calculations on the capabilities and the potential, the benefit both on the TCO, but also on the sustainability aspect of fiber reinforcement. So we are scaling up that and expanding that to other regions in North America and into the Middle East. Last point on operational review, a little bit more background on our challenge we have in BBRG division. The challenge operationally is mainly in, is only in the steel ropes business in the US and in the UK. So it's not affecting, let's say, the other businesses like acols and synthetic ropes in BBRG. We've, as you know, we've been rationalizing the plans in the US, move from Canada to the US and from Gelsenkirchen into the UK. These transitions have been done in terms of equipment, these moves have been done. However, we've been having a wave of challenges with reliability of the process and some equipment, combined with, of course, the challenges that we reported already in the past about finding and retaining the right staff, mainly in the US in the new locations. So issues have been completely identified, strong ownership by all the teams, to get our capabilities and production back on track by end of Q3, stabilizing fully in H2 and recovering some of the sales volumes. And I want to repeat, no other plans are affected. And of course, this has impact in the first half and will have impact on the full year results while we are expecting a recovering of the profitability levels in the second half. And also the orders remain very strong and pricing remains very good and strong. So let me pivot before we open to the Q&A. So summarizing, let's say first half, continuing in line with expectation on our strategic roadmap, driving performance, unfortunately, with the BBRG underperformance, not achieving 10% above for all the BUs. Some delays due to market driven, but also internal reasons on some of the growth platforms, which makes us more prudent on the top line. But in that context, confirming a good profit margin for the last half, but also last year, and continue that performance and good financial stability. So Guy, having covered the presentation, I think it's time to, yeah, perhaps on the full year, I think I mentioned it, on the top line. So what we expect is an increasing EBITU margins. The EBITU Absolutely in line with expectations and further, as commented by Tawfiq, a strong free cash flow.
spk13: Super. Thank you so much, Yves and Tawfiq. Now I'd like to open to questions. I think, Frank, you had your hand up first. Please do go ahead.
spk00: Yes. Good morning, all. Three questions, please. First of all, the logical question, I guess, on the FIFO and wire rot. Did that have any impact in the first half? And what is your working assumption for wire rot and FIFO for the full year? Then secondly, maybe also a logical question on the working capital. What can we expect for the full year? What is roughly your target to arrive at full year with working capital as percentage of revenues? And then finally, on the BBRG issues, could you maybe quantify the impact of the issues here? In other words, is it fair to assume that without the issues, the operational issues, you would have had a double-digit margin? Is that a fair assumption? Thank you.
spk06: I will probably take the two first questions, and I will also comment after you on the third one. So as far as FIFO is concerned, so, again, we're comparing first half, 23, versus first half,
spk08: So during the first half of last year, we had a negative FIFO of roughly 32 million euros. This year, during the first half of 2014, It's minor. It's a positive 5 million. So it's not moving dramatically. And this is in line and looking at this small positive inventory effect, it is in line with the assumption that we took where we considered that throughout 2024, we will not see inflation. massive movements in terms of world price, and therefore it will remain roughly flat. So moving on the working capital. So you know that the working capital in Bekaert has a specific pattern where we have the first half especially the Q1 where we do some inventory buildup and we prepare for some of the high seasons in some of our segments. So typically in construction, the building season is springtime and summertime and it slows down. somehow in the second half during the winter. So we usually and systematically have this pattern. And this is also translated into the cash generation profile that we have with a rather small cash contribution and generation in the first half, and then it picks up significantly in the second half. So the same thing will happen and the same impact will be seen. in the working capital evolution. So the percentage that we're seeing now further crystallized with all the actions that we're taking in terms of receivables collections, further inventory optimization will lead to a lower working capital percentage by year end and the percentage on sales will also evolve accordingly.
spk00: Sorry to interrupt, but could you quantify this? Will it be lower than last year or similar?
spk08: Well, I mean, last year again... and I mentioned it during the presentation, the ratio was somehow skewed because of the distorted, well, it was distorted because of the high sales coming from the contribution of the pass-through inflation and so on. So we will have a lower level of sales, which will impact as a denominator the overall ratio. But for the moment, I mean, we're still aiming at a level of inventories, working capital and so on, which hopefully will land in roughly the same level. so we will try to mitigate all these adverse factors coming from the distortion of the ratio and we will continue working on uh the inventory build up so you saw from the results that we're publishing that we're building our working capital at a much lower pace than what we did last year so we have less cash outflow to build working capital and we will continue being vigilant especially in terms of inventories and receivables. And this should translate into a ratio which should hopefully be at the same level.
spk00: Okay, and on the BBRG?
spk09: Yeah, on the BBRG, I think I can give you some perspective there. So it's correct. So if you would not have the operational issue, that's a business that we project to be above 10% profitability. Last year it was very strong with the 12 points where we ended up, but the plan was certainly to be above the 10%. That's also the run rate we are targeting after recovering from the operational issues.
spk00: Okay, that's clear. Thank you. Thank you very much.
spk13: Super. Thank you, Frank. Martin, you're next. Please go ahead.
spk10: Yeah, thank you, Guy. I just want to come back to that working capital and then specifically inventory. Supply chains have normalized. You just mentioned the run up is usually normally because of the link with construction markets, but construction markets are down. I hate to re-ask the question, but isn't there more that you can do specifically on the role match side within inventory? It seems, to be quite honest, not a very ambitious target that you've just set for inventory within working capital. That's question one. And then my second question is for Yves, with regards to SWS. You mentioned The transformation continues. We continue to prune the portfolio. That implies that, in fact, the incredible EBIT margin that you've achieved now in the first half is sustainable and could even go up. Is that the right interpretation?
spk09: I will take the second question after you, Sophie. Okay. Thanks, Michael.
spk08: Okay. So on the first question and inventory in particular. So first of all, just a small caveat to a statement you made. Construction is down, but not in our segments, not in the business we are in. We are in an adoption play. And what we're aiming at, and this is also translated in the results that we are publishing, our volumes are increasing. And this is something which will continue. We are winning and we continue to win some major projects. We did see some delays. the construction but it's a phasing issue these projects are still expected in 2024. so because we will have to deliver on these projects i mean you all see you also see some of uh the probably uh anticipated uh inventory raw materials acquisition uh being stuck in the balance sheet because of this delay so this might be a bit marginal but it is uh however uh still uh still there so construction in our case it's a growing market we're not impacted by the generic construction uh slow down uh as one might think of it so uh again When you look at what has happened in the first half, so the first KPI is that there was 56 million less working capital compared to H1. So on top of that, we needed to add up the inventory coming from the acquisition of Bexco in our balance sheet, and we did suffer as well, or we were impacted by the FX re-evaluation. So when you look as well in the cash flow statement, our working capital cash outflow in 24 was roughly 83 million euros. Last year it was 125 million euros. So that's 42 million euros less build up of inventory compared to last year. Now, the other thing as well, if you look specifically at BBRG, if you look at construction, we are saying that we have a phasing and some of the orders that were not delivered during the first half will be delivered during the second half. And this will also translate into an inventory reduction. So that's for the inventory and the rest will be kept under control so that we make sure that it doesn't deviate. I'm not sure to which extent the days of inventory is something relevant for you, but as a proportion of ourselves, we're keeping it flat we don't see a major deviation there so it was at 81 days last year we are at 80 days this year so it's not as if we're building inventory in a disproportionate way compared to to to to our business on top of that i mean we systematically carry out and we focus on inventory plan reductions uh for for the year end This is something that we will do as well. And all these actions plus this market dynamics will definitely lead to an improvement of the working capital ratio by the end of 2024. I don't know if I'm giving you a bit more clarity.
spk10: There's some useful clarification there, Taufik. Thanks, Martin.
spk09: If All right, yes, thanks, David Martin. Let me take on, so SWS, of course, I think all satisfied with the performance of that business and the evolution of the team. There are some seasonal effects, but fundamentally the business, how we manage it is improving. And let me give you some highlights. So first of all, it's in line with what our strategy is, is pruning the portfolio. That means sometimes smaller segments that we focus less on, another more, plus also strengthening our pricing power. That's certainly one. Secondly, on the operational improvement in the plants, and so we continue the journey of driving improvement. This is not only valid for SWS. You've seen that also for the other BUs to deleverage, let's say, the volumes. And then there's some growth pockets in SWS. So everything which is related to what we call energy transmission, reinforcing the grid in the U.S., but also some other regions. But a little bit project business, correct? That means timing of these orders. Not always 100% sure. On the other hand, the growing trend, well-positioned, also some innovation there. So we expect not the same margin for the second half, but certainly further improved margins on the trajectory we are in. So that's the perspective I can give.
spk10: I know that the strategic period runs further than this year and next year. But if you talk about that transformation, how far do you think you are if you were to put a number on it and turn between zero and 100 percent?
spk09: On the whole, you mean at the best of overall, Bekaert?
spk10: No, for SWS specifically.
spk09: So both organic, inorganic, because what I mean by inorganic is that both on the divestment but also on the investment side. So with the right positioning of SWS in the future businesses, we're also looking at more M&A targets there, correct? So that's evolving. But I would say, I don't know, you asked between 0% and 100%. I would say 50%, 60%. Clear. Not at 80%, 90%.
spk10: Got that. And I actually had a third question and that's my final one. And that relates to BBRG. So the working assumption is improving profitability, but still in negative territory in the second half. And then perhaps even at the start of 2025, still in negative territory, but positive for the first half. Is that the way we should be thinking about specifically the ropes business within BBRG?
spk08: I think it's a bit too pessimistic, Martin, because I think we stated it. So the actions that we're working on currently, we have set a target to bring the output by the end of Q3 and to recover during Q4. So this recovery will not allow us, that we will see in the second half, will not allow us to offset the gaps that we have been generated in Q1, in H1, but it will reset the clocks and it will allow us to start 2025 on the right base, on the right level. Because here it's really a question about the output because commercially the fundamentals are good. And I referred to our order book. I mean, we have the orders. oil and gas is still seeing very good momentum and Very good level of orders. Same goes for crane and industrials. So the investment cycle is still there. So, I mean, we don't have major issues in terms of capturing the orders. The other element as well is that we are not yet seeing the wall in front of us when it comes to the price of actions that we have initiated last year. and this has been a very strong and positive element in the overall results contribution without this price up that is still there despite these issues that we've been dealing with uh we would not have been able although they're disappointing we would not have been able to to to reach the results so the fundamentals are good now we need to address this self-inflicted issue which is not new it's not it's complex but not complex because it's related to machine outputs to stabilizing this output. It's complex machinery with a lot of knock-on impacts ranging from maintenance down to having the right operator in a labor market in the U.S., which is complicated. But we are mobilized. We have the teams. We know what are the issues, and it's something that we have done in the past.
spk10: Okay, that's clear. Just one follow-up. You said fundamentally everything is fine. But I also wondered, that was question 1B actually here, there have been operational leverage now for two quarters. There's going to be a situation whereby it improves, but it still won't be there where you need it to be. Are customers not getting, opting for alternatives? It doesn't impact your current order book. Well, it could actually impact your order book, but have you lost any clients? What are your clients telling you about this?
spk08: Well, you're speaking about BBRG in particular? Yes. Okay. So, I mean, let's be fair. We had some ad hoc sales which did indeed go to the competition because the lead times that we gave them were not something that they could cope with. So having said that, when you look at the nature of what we manufacture in BBRG, these are highly engineered products. So you cannot switch from one supplier to the other. that easily yes you can you can to be fair but you cannot do it as easily because you need to agree on specs you need to agree on the terms and conditions i mean it's long-term projects it's not uh you know most of it is long-term project it's not ad hoc so there's this uh this uh circumstances and this context around the nature of the the business which allows to keep some of the key customers more captive than other of the businesses that we have Having said that, it is something that we can still leverage, that we're leveraging successfully because, I mean, despite these issues, we're maintaining the good price, but we cannot count on the fact that our customers will be patient forever. And that's why we're very adamant to finish this stabilization of the output in Q3 and stabilize in Q4. Otherwise, then it will be a tricky game.
spk10: Got it. Thank you very much for the clarification.
spk13: Very good. Thank you, Martin. Wim, you're next. Please go ahead.
spk03: Yes, thank you. Good morning also from my side. A couple of questions on rubber reinforcements, if I may, and then a general one. So on rubber reinforcements, can you provide a bit more clarity on the situation in China? How's the pricing environment? How much is the filler business making up out of the total business you have in that area? region and will that fill the business also be there in H2? So a bit more clarity on the Chinese context. And then also what is the profit performance within rubbery enforcement, profit margin in China versus the rest? I can assume that China has made good progress given the planned closure you executed, but if you can just give a bit more clarity, that would also be helpful. And then the more general question I have is, yeah, on the M&A ambitions you have, you've done, amongst others, Bexco. Yeah, how filled is the M&A pipeline for H2? And, yeah, what are the key priorities in this search? Any change versus the commentary of the capital market or any update that would also be helpful? So those were the questions. Thank you.
spk06: Do you want me to take the first one?
spk08: Yeah, I will take the second and then you can take our other. Yeah. Okay. So starting with China, some overall indication, first of all, so in terms of macro. So first of all, what we're seeing is that The PMI index has moved in 2023. We're expecting a GDP at 4.7%, slightly down versus the 5.2% that was expected in terms of in 2023. So it's still a significant growth. So now when you look at the markets on automotive, the export for the new passenger vehicles is slowing down because of the trade barriers that have been implemented around the globe, mainly in the US and Europe. But the domestic market is still growing. On trucks, both the new vehicles and the tire replacement markets are impacted by weaker real estate and the impacts also that we see in the infrastructure industry. Now, Bekaf specifically, so we mentioned it, roughly a full occupation or near full occupation in H124. primarily on the back of the footprint optimization and the closures that we have announced on the back of last year. Segment and mix-wise, we do see positive momentum and continuation of the trend that we saw and that we discussed when it comes to the ST and UT volumes. It's increasing. It's now over 50% of our total volume. Total mix. But there's a flip side. There's a negative mix effect coming from the fact that the truck, the truck business is is going down and the truck business comes at a higher, slightly higher margin. than the passenger. So in that context, and also in the overall competitive market, where we see most of the competition, not the direct competition like Shinda, but more competition like Zenit and so on, they have put a lot of capacity online. They're struggling to fill it up through export. They're dealing with some of the dynamics of the market, the local market. So what they're doing is that they're going into a price competition. We're resisting very well to that. And I will translate that into a margin indicator. We're resisting very much to that with the fact that our portfolio is very strong. The focus that we have on the premium solutions, which is also significantly crystallizing the level of profitability. So all in all, as it stands now for 2024 H1 and subject to future evolutions, the situation considering again, is rather positive. And the way we see it, and this is answering your last question, it's mainly through the translation of the margin that we're delivering in China, which is above 10%. Does it answer your question, Wim?
spk04: Yes, thank you very much. And then just a general, I think, M&A question.
spk09: Yeah, perfect. We'll take that one, Tawfiq. So basically, in line with our strategic focus, the M&A inorganic play bolt-ons remains a priority for us. If you look at the growth segments, which is a third priority, was of course in the area of BBRG synthetic ropes, and they will focus now on the successful integration of the acquisitions. Other priorities are construction and energy transition. In construction, you need to think about how we can become a reinforcement player, also beyond steel. We touched based on that strategy direction in the past. So that's where we are looking. And also in the energy transition, is it in the hydrogen play? Is it in the balance of plant? Is it in the whole ecosystem or energy transition? So that's where the pipeline is. And, of course, you know how this process goes. We have a nice pipeline, good discussions, and we will continue to work hard, Craig, to do at the right moment, at the right price, the right deal to strengthen these platforms. And as mentioned, some new segment areas where we want to position us as well. So gradually we will also look at filling a pipeline with these areas.
spk04: Okay, very clear. Thank you very much.
spk13: Very good. Thank you, Wim. Alexander, you're next. Please go ahead.
spk05: Hi. Good morning. So, yeah, a couple of – so Alexander Kreim is from Capri-Chevreux. A couple of topics from my side. So the first one would be on capital expenditure. You already mentioned that Capri for the full year will be a bit less. But I thought you were originally aiming for 220 to 250 million euros this year. Of course, we saw that coming down in H1, with the majority being spent on rubber reinforcement. So the question would be there, maybe just the maintenance question first. So that rubber reinforcement CAPEX, probably Vietnam and India plant. Could you maybe remind us of how much of the global capacity you're adding there? And then the second question on the CAPEX. would be if you see that you have a positive momentum in these growth areas, with DRAMIX, BZNOX, and then actually BBRG, where you're losing the ad hoc order, so your capacity utilization rate must be good. So I just wonder if why you're not building additional capacity in these areas already and why you're not planning that. So, yeah. And then, of course, as you're expecting growth in these areas, like, OK, how can we square the lower carpets? to the clear expectations of growth in these areas. So that would be the first topic. And then I have another topic that I would like to discuss, but I'll maybe let you answer these first.
spk06: Thanks. I can start, Yves, and you compliment. Yeah, please, yeah. So, first of all, Alex, and thank you for the questions.
spk08: I mean, the fact that we're driving the capex spend along the business evolution doesn't mean that we're compromising our growth or anything like that. I mean, what we have always said is that we're very careful about on making sure that we modularize and we variabilize our cap expense. So not doing it doesn't mean that, I mean, we will be missing the growth because most of the capacity that we will be adding up, and we can take the example of Vietnam, it's not about building up a new plant, which will take years to implement and years before you can start seeing The output coming from growth. It's about implementing a new line. It's about increasing the speed of a line. It's about, you know, activities related to capex, which have a much shorter lead time and therefore does not penalize our growth prospects. But we want to be in a position to match growth. the returns of this investment as closely as possible with the top line growth that we're expecting from that. So that's the philosophy and how we're approaching the capex investment. So as far as the capacity that we're adding up, I mean, to answer a straightforward question, we're adding up capacity in Vietnam. So we're moving from 10 kilotons to 25 kilotons this year. And there's a business which is sustaining this increased capacity. So we have contracts, negotiations currently ongoing with Indian time makers. The business is doing well and the momentum is quite positive. So then on Dramix and Pesinox, to speak specifically on Dramix, because this is probably a more relevant one. So Dramix, for the moment, we do think that the capacity that we have does allow us to absorb the growth that we're seeing. in the next six to 12 months. Beyond that, we will need additional footprint. This is something which is part of the plan that we will be conducting, that we will be launching. But for the moment, we will not be missing growth opportunities from DREMX because we have any constraints in terms of footprint and capacity. Mid-term, it's something else, and this is something which is included in the plan. Same goes somehow to Basinox. It's the same kind, same line of thinking. So if we're reducing the CAPEX this year versus what we initially expected. It's mainly to translate some of the delays that we have referred to. The capex is still in the plan. If you do it on a cumulated three years, it will be in line with what we have guided. The phasing will be different because, I mean, we're very mindful of the timing where we're spending this cash and the free cash flow implication that it has. Yeah.
spk09: I would like to add, Alex, some perspective. So the 200 that we are projecting now is a plus and a minus, correct? So you're right on the BBRG, and we are looking there into how to invest, let's say, in upgrading equipment for stability for the future. So you're right there. On the downside, the play for hydrogen, where we are on one hand time-facing the new factory, So the full factory in Belgium will be operational for the second half in line with the plan. What you need to take into account, we also double down on operational improvements. So both in hydrogen as well as in ceramics, to the way we work and operational efficiency, process efficiency, but also people efficiency, we've been upgrading the capacity output of the existing facilities, correct? And that's, of course, priority number one. So that plays also in the plus and the minuses.
spk05: Okay, thank you for that clarification. So on the second topic, it would be just on steel wire solutions. So we saw North America, Europe having strong growth in this half of the year. And you mentioned that 28% is related to utilities. So, yeah, is it fair enough to say that Bizinox is the main driver there? Because, I mean... We've been hearing noise from FURO, TKH, that, of course, these are also exposed to fixed offshore. If you look at what Basinux gives, it's basically armoring for this fixed offshore, so I'm assuming that they probably have the same drivers. Is that a fair assumption? It's wider.
spk09: When we talk about the drivers, Let's say energy transmission segments, we look at grid and we look at data. And so for both, we have solutions. So in the U.S., for example, the growth is more of overhead cables, correct, which is the core strength for the strengths, for the aluminum strengths we deliver. They're also driving some innovation. So it's basically a couple of product segments where we see a good pull from the market, a good demand. And it's not only short term. We're also looking at how, for example, in the U.S. with the Department of Energy on the projects, on the innovation, what is needed to reinforce the grid in the U.S. And we see a good amount and good pull in the first half of the year, but that was also partly expected.
spk05: Okay. And then maybe last topic, just on BBRG, of course, there are now steep targets to climb towards 2026. Just wondering what needs to go right to arrive in that EBIT margins of 15%, actually 20%, when you're, if I can hear it correctly, almost working at full capacity. So thanks for that.
spk09: Yeah. So the... So the BBRG in total, both the steel ropes, you have the synthetic ropes in there. You have the armor for offering in there. And you have, of course, the growth in the advanced course, elevator belts and so on. So even the BBRG, when we set a target of growth platforms and 15% profitability target on the midterm, is driven by the combination of all these segments. So some growth in steel ropes, of course, then the growth that is ramping up on synthetic ropes, Arma 4, and then also in the new advanced course and the strategic direction we go there. So you have to see that growth trajectory and that profit improvement as a mix of portfolio of these businesses and not only steel ropes. On top in steel ropes, the focus is there on, let's say, more on also extending the lives of the ropes, providing servicing, monitoring, extend life cycle of the ropes, also in the context of sustainability. So we have to see that strategic direction. Of course, this year, operational challenges is a small setback for us. And so, as mentioned, recovering for second half of the year and then reconnecting with growth for all the different segments in BBRG.
spk05: Okay, thank you for that.
spk13: Thank you, Alexander. Stein, you're next. Please go ahead.
spk12: Yes, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I have two clarifications, if I may. The first one is on FIFO and Frank's question. You mentioned some numbers, I think 5 million this year, minus 30 million last year. Are those absolute numbers that you provided, Taufik? Yes, they are. Okay, because in the bridge of last year, I had minus 86. So can you then help me to the absolute number for the second half of last year to have a better stand of the comparable?
spk08: Yeah, I need to look up at this. We will send it to you. But what we're saying in the bridge is that accumulated there is a minus 37, plus 37, sorry, variance in five for year over year, broken down between last year, the minus 32 and the plus five this year. So this is what's driving the variance. We will look at the figure for the second half of the year and get back to you.
spk12: And anticipating that response for the second half of this year in terms of absolute number, would that be roughly similar to the 5 billion?
spk08: Yeah, roughly flat. We are not anticipating major variances in FIFO for the balance of the year.
spk12: Okay, okay. And the second question I had is on SWS and on that margin that we see there of 11.4%. Can you absolutely confirm there are no one-offs or phasing effects in that number? And if not, can we extend these margins to the second half and beyond? Or has there been some timing issues?
spk08: Well, you will have one timing issue there, which is related to the FIFO that was positive, 6 million out of memory in H1, which will be passed back through pricing. in the second half of the year. I mean, that's basically the timing related to the inventory consumption of roughly 80 days. Other than that, there is no exceptional items. So moving from there, should we expect exactly the same level of profitability for the balance of the year? I will probably take some doses of cautiousness related to some of the seasonality impacts that we might have in the business for the balance of the year so uh achieving 11.4 which is very strong uh in in sws despite the fact that 28 of the business is related to transmission which is a good margin recurring business and so on i think that we need to to think to take a pinch of salt And, yeah, reduce it a little bit for the balance of the year.
spk09: And some plants also in that business have, in the second half, more the normal shutdowns than in the first half. Yeah, indeed. That's also the seasonal effect that will play.
spk12: One final, if I may squeeze it in. When you guide for modest sales declines, What sort of quantum should we look at? Because organically, first half was minus 10. So, yeah, I'm a bit trying to square that minus 10 with a modest sales decline over the second half, noting that seasonality is working against you. So, yeah, any help here would be appreciated.
spk08: Yeah, so seasonality will need to be offset by some of the phasing that we had. in H1. So we refer to these phasings in DRAMIX with some of the key projects, which will come in the second half. Same goes with BBRG, where we're expecting to stabilize the output, plus the fact that we will have some businesses where we will still see the growth coming up. So hydrogen, I already mentioned construction. The rest will be impacted by seasonality. So if we were to give a percentage, it will be 3% to 4% deviation, basically.
spk12: Okay. And related to that, when we talked here during the Q1 call, you still were guiding for a much stronger Q2 relative to Q1. And you were saying that Q2 would be the biggest quarter of the year. That has not came into effect. So what has changed versus that outlook? that you provided during Q1 outside of BBRG? What do you think has changed in the market? In terms of top line? Yes.
spk08: Okay, so it's mainly the delays in construction and BBRG. There is nothing as major So that's why we're still confident that the fact that the H2 was not as strong as it has been historically in Beka is primarily due to the phasing of the projects and we are not seeing for the time being. any structural delays beyond the ones that we usually know with seasonality, plant closure, and so on. Okay.
spk12: Okay. Thanks.
spk02: Thank you, Stan. Chase, you're the last. Please go ahead. You may be still on mute. Chase, are you there? Chase, we can't hear you, unfortunately.
spk09: But we can see him.
spk02: We can indeed.
spk13: Chase, we might have to leave your question for... Afterwards, indeed. Thank you for your message. So that wraps up. That was the last. Chase, you're back. I see the hand's gone back up. One last attempt. I think we may have to leave it there and we'll follow up with you afterwards. So do you have any closing remarks?
spk09: Yes, first of all, thanks for joining this call. I think we could give some perspective on how we look at the first half results and the full year. And I think, again, I want to repeat that from... priority and the performance stability and the resilience happy with what we demonstrated and fully aware about of course the growth plans we have and the portfolio evolution and we'll keep on working on that part to strengthen the Bekaert company so having said that I want to thank also I don't know if some of you still have deserved some holidays or had already some holidays but if you have them in front of you enjoy them and let's connect later back
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