Voestalpine Ag Unsp/Adr

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to welcome you to our Füsterbühne finance press conference live here from the Stahlwelt in Linz. We would like to report about the past business year 2024 and we will also provide you with an outlook to the current business year of Füsterbühne. My name is Peter Felsbach, head of the Füsterbühne group communications, and I will facilitate this press conference.

After the beginning of some housekeeping remarks, the media information, photos and videos on today's publication can be found, as usual, on our website, firstalpine.com. In the media section, the presentation will take about 45 minutes.

And afterwards, you will be able to ask questions about board members, either via chat tool, direct to your streaming site, or you can also call your telephone.

We will show you these options later on, and you will find this on our website. You can also send your questions via email to medialations.com. Now let's move on to the content. A very busy and eventful business year lies behind us. We have started the groundbreaking ceremony. Green Textile and the new specialty of London, Kapfenberg, has been inaugurated. We're still in a very challenging economic environment with numerous geopolitical conflicts.

First Alpine wouldn't be First Alpine if it didn't have very robust results after all.

More on that from our board members. I would like to welcome them very cordially.

As you know, since the 1st of April of 2024, we have three new members in the board of First Alpine AG on your left. We have

Reinhard Nöbauer, the new head of the High Performance Metals Division, Carola Richter, the new head of the Metal Forming Division, CEO Herbert Eibensteiner, Gerald Mayer, our new CFO of Füster P&AG, Hubert Seitschek, head of the Steel Division, and Franz Keinersdorfer, head of the Metal Engineering Division.

Our new board members have already been communicated, so I'd like to also introduce an alphabetic sequence.

Gerald Mayer, the new CFO of Vestalpine AG, and a well-known face to many of you.

He started a business school.

He started as a tax advisor in Linz and held various leadership positions in VHC Siemens. Since 2007, he was the CFO with the International Amag Austria Metall AG in charge of financing, controlling, accounting, and law. In 2019, he was also appointed as the CEO of Karagmeyer. is married and has three daughters. Reinhard Neubauer, new head of the High Performance Metals Division, was born in Steyr and studied at the Mining University at Leoben and at the ETH in Zurich. Since 1988, he's been working in the steel industry. In 2005, he joined First Alpine and he held various management positions in Austria and abroad. Since 2011, Reinhard Neubauer has been a member of the Board of the High Performance Metals division where he's been in charge of service. He's married and has two adult children. Karola Richter, new head of the metal forming division. She was born in Germany. She did her PhD at the University of Heidelberg and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel in the area of high energy physics.

In the past 20 years, she held ministerial positions for BASF.

more than 10 years she spent outside of Europe.

Since 2019, she was the regional president in charge of the growth region Asia-Pacific, headquartered in Hong Kong, and recently in Singapore.

Currently she is married, and she moved from Singapore to Linz.

At this point, we'd like to welcome you in the team of the board members of USIP in Asia, and we'd like to wish you all the best.

Now, this brings us to the first part. I would like to ask our CEO, Herbert Eibensteiner, for his presentation.

Ladies and gentlemen, I call a welcome also on my side for the presentation of the figures of the past business year 2023-24. I'd like to start with the highlights. As Mr. Felsbach has already said, we have a very solid operating result.

EBITDA is very robust in a very difficult market environment.

That's how we managed to fulfill market expectations.

If we compare the figures, we are comparing with a record year because, as you know, last year we achieved record results here at Fürstalpina. And this year we achieved the second highest revenue after the record results in the previous year. and our debt is also at a historically low level that is important in order to ensure that the projects that we are planning to implement in future can actually be implemented and also compared to the previous business year we managed to also increase the operating cash flow There's also very important projects that we launched in international markets. Our colleagues are going to report on that. Important projects in the U.S., for example, in the area of railways engineering have been implemented, and also other projects in Europe, the railway attachment structures, and also in warehouse technology. Last year, we acquired a company in Italy, and also a plant in the U.S. for the production for the American market. New automotive lines were delivered to China, and they were commissioned there. I believe that these are very important projects for our future to ensure that we have a good presence in international markets. And we're also seeing that the demand in terms of renewable energy sources is going up internationally. So in Brazil, for example, our capacities were doubled. Thank you. But we also implemented important measures for the restructuring of some parts of our business in Germany, such as, for example, the reorganization of our automotive segment and also the planned divestment of Puderus Special Steel in Germany. We are going to hear about this in more detail later on. Now, there have also been some technological milestones in the past business year. The official opening of the special steel plant in Kapfenberg. As you know, 200,000 tons of special steels will be produced there for the international automotive industry, for the energy industry, and also for the aerospace industry. I think this is a very modern plant that we have opened there, and the ramp-up is working according to schedule. We also have another big project, namely green textile, a very heartbreaking project. We have launched projects in Linz and Donauwitz. The contracts have been awarded for the key facilities, and you will hear that we are on time and on budget when it comes to implementing our project. And let me remind you that until 2027, we are going to invest 1.5 billion euros. Now let us move on to the global economic environment. Europe is our weakest market. We are seeing subdued economic growth in Europe in the past business year, and Germany, a very important market for us, has not really developed very well. We are seeing a significantly better development in the U.S. in spite of the continuing high interest rates. But we have seen a very robust growth in the U.S., even though there's persistent inflation there. In China and Asia, there's lower growth than in previous years. There are problems and issues in the real estate industry there, and these are weighing down on the growth there. But anyway, there's still robust development in China. And in South America, we are I've seen a very positive environment and only towards the end of the business year there has been somewhat slower economic growth.

I would now like to ask Gerhard Mayer to present the figures.

Gerhard, over to you. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm very pleased that since the 1st of April I'm part of the management board of Fürst Alpine. And I can tell you we have a robust financial position that is based on a very strong strategy. So basically, it's a very robust company. Before I talk about the financial KPIs, let me inform you, as Mr. Eibenstein already said, the result last year has been a record-breaking result. And you, of course, have to see this in the right context. Revenue has gone down from 18.2 billion to 16.7 billion euros. About 50% of this is due to lower volumes, and another 50% is caused by lower prices. Taking a look at the divisions, there's been a downturn in three divisions. The metal engineering division alone has seen a slight increase in revenue. The operating result, the EBITDA, SDA, that's the result before taxes. Depreciation and amortization is at 1.7 billion approximately, so it's down after 2.5 in the previous year, a minus of 34.5% as you can see here. But if you take a look at the long-term view, that's still a very robust result. The profit from operations, EBIT, close to 600 million after 1.6 in the previous year. This is influenced by special effects in 2023, non-recurring items, impairments of company values that don't have an impact on cash, but they amount to about 400 million euros. The profit before tax is 400 million euro and the financial result due to higher interest rates has also gone down. And you can see this when you take a look at the difference between the EBIT and the pre-tax result. The profit after tax, 207 million after 1.2 billion in the previous year. So the tax rate is a bit higher than usual because of these impairments and non-recurring items that cannot be deducted from tax. So the dividend per share will be proposed at the amount of 70 cents per share. The annual general meeting is in July, and we'll decide on that. And the number of employees has remained more or less stable, and it's gone slightly. As announced, I would like to compare the EBITDA in a multi-year comparison So 1.7 billion is quite robust. When you compare it with the previous years, we've seen two record-breaking results in the past two years. So if you look back a bit further into the past, you see that it's actually a quite good result. And allow me to mention that we are in a very challenging, volatile, and difficult economic environment. So I think it is a very robust and respectable result of 1.7 billion euros. I mentioned at the beginning that First Alpine has a good, solid, robust equity base. You can see this here. We come from a time of reduction of debt. So these record-breaking years were used to bring down the debt. So the equity ratio is currently 22%. So it is at the level of the previous year. The equity is 7.5 billion. That's an equity ratio of 45%, so there's a very robust equity base. So we are basically well prepared for any projects going forward, including our transformation and decarbonization of the first Alpina Group. And last but not least, this is always important, if you take a look at the financial position, You see that liquidity at the year end was 2.6 billion euros. So the liquidity also contains the committed lines. that we agreed with our banks. On the right-hand side, you see the repayments, the loans that will be repaid. So you see that with this liquidity, the loans of the coming four years can be repaid, and I think that is a very comforting position to be in. So all things considered, as far as my part is concerned, we can say that the economic environment has been difficult. The EBITDA of 1.7 billion is a robust EBITDA, and the financial position, equity position of the First Alpina Group is suitable in order to ensure that our transformation towards a green steel company can be supported. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Meyer, for this overview. This takes us to the highlights of the four divisions. We'll start with the steel division, with Mr. Zajcik. And Mr. Neubauer and Mr. Keimersdorfer will talk about the high-performance metals in the metal engineering division, respectively. And then Karola Richter will talk about the metal forming division. And then we'll continue with the strategy for 2030 plus. Mr. Zajcik. Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, the steel division of Fürst Alpine achieved a very robust result in the past business year.

This was characterized by two important segments. On the one hand, the automotive industry and the energy industry, the energy sector. These have been stable in terms of the demand situation, and our high-tech products allowed us to also enforce our prices. But there have also been some weaker market segments, the construction industry, mechanical engineering, and white goods and appliances. As you've heard from Mr. Eibensteiner, we are in the midst of preparing for our carbon neutral production with the name Green Textile. We are investing in Linz. About 1 billion euro of the 1.5 billion will be invested here in Linz. The project is proceeding according to schedule. Due to local circumstances, we are needing to shift some things, but we are clearing the construction site and the New raw material supply of the steel plant has already been started. It's an 800-meter long and 60-meter high conveyor bridge that's already being installed. We have a 220,000-volt power supply. At the beginning of the year, the electric arc furnace contract has been awarded to Primetals, and in terms of costs, we are also doing very well, and everything is on time and on budget. We are also preparing the market for green steel. We are already offering steel products under the brand name Green Textile Edition, where we have a lower CO2 footprint for our products. And when it comes to the commissioning of the plant in 2027, we will already have prepared a market for green steel. Of course, we are not only investing in the transformation towards CO2 neutral production, but we're also trying to make sure that we remain quality leaders in the area of steel products. We want to expand this position further. I'm very pleased that a very important plant has been commissioned. It's a pickling line in the cold rolling mill, a huge plant. where we want to improve our quality even further, and an old plant has been shut down, and also the modernization of the hot-dip galvanizing lines. So these are products that are in high demand in the automotive industry, so this modernization is possible. according to plan and will be continued for a few years to come to make sure that we are not only transforming but we are also maintaining our position as a high quality supplier. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, I would also like to welcome you cordially. Today, I would like to present the highlights from the High Performance Medals Division. This is the first time that, since I've just taken over this High Performance Medals Division, we are in a very good position. And in the coming years, together with my team members across the globe, I'm going to expand this position further. As to the past business year, we were confronted with quite a varying demand across the regions. There's been an overall decline in earnings across the entire division, especially in toolmaking, where there's been a subdued demand. There's extremely strong competitive pressure for standard products, especially in Germany. And on the other hand, we are seeing a positive development in the U.S. and North America and a very positive trend, which continued in China in recent months. We've also seen a very positive trend in the aerospace industry. The energy sector remains stable, and after long deliberations, we have started the investment process for Budero's Edelstein. Then the new special seed plant in Kapfenberg was put into operation at the beginning of 2024. We're ramping up. It's going according to plan, so we're in a good way. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, I would also like to welcome you very cordially into our report about the metal engineering division in the past business year. We are organized in two segments, the railway systems and industrial systems segment. In railway systems last year, we had a very stable growth characterized by high demand for our products and systems. And there's also been very good results coming from the railway systems segment. And we have used this past year in order to broaden our offer to have a systemic offer. Also, digitization was used. We also used artificial intelligence, so we are well underway in order to expand our global market leadership position. In the area of industrial systems, that is subdivided into several other segments. In the area of welding, for example, due to the international setup, We were uncoupled from the European development in a positive sense. That is to say, we achieved a very robust result in the welding segment, and we used the time in order to complete our product portfolio. So in the area of welding wire, we needed to broaden our offer, and we acquired an Italian premium manufacturer of welding wire. So welding will be offering a full range of products. and will be developed further. The business area where we are seeing a very strong impact of the European business environment, which is quite weak, is the area of wire, where there's quite moderate demand. We adapted our capacities accordingly. And we continue to do so. But here, too, we are in the process of ensuring that our products, customers, and our regional setup will be further diversified. So in the past business year, we've also started cost optimization programs. in order to be sure that if business picks up again, we are well prepared and we have a good, sustainable position.

The segment that...

has delivered a significant contribution to our results as tubulars. So in the past business year, we benefited from the very good demand situation in the area of the energy industry, and we have used this time in order to develop our strategy further and to be ready for the future. because in the coming 10 years, as far as oil and gas are concerned, there will be a lower demand. So we quickly implemented a new product segment, and within one year, we acquired a competitor for this product. So in the course of this year, after the summer, we are going to launch this new product portfolio, the seamless square and rectangular hollow sections. Now, we have a conclusion. I can report that just like in the steel division, we are working to have a transition of our technology with installation of an electric arc furnace in Tornovitz, which is on schedule. So, in 2027, we'll It's okay.

Good morning also from me.

I'm very pleased that this is the first time that I have the chance of participating in the press conference, the full year results. I'll report on the metal forming division. We're a leading position in market segments that offer and require tailor-made solutions. Together with the metal forming team, we are going to continue to grow and to focus on internationalization. I would like to focus on a few highlights from the 2023-24 business year, and it's about the international dimension. We are very proud about the closing of the acquisition of our new Italian subsidiary, Tori, in autumn of last year. So the integration is on schedule, and together with our Dutch subsidiary, Netcom, that's already working in the area of warehouse technology. We have not only a fitting technological addition to our portfolio, but also a good geographic fit. We'll continue with organic growth. There's new projects that stay with warehouse technology in the very important North American market. We have built a new hall that was inaugurated on the 31st of January of 2024. I already visited it. There's another hall that will be built for a processing plant, a customer corporation. So when I was there, well, the plants were already being installed, and we plan to go live in summer. Now, in the Czech Republic, we've also expanded. In Brazil, we doubled our capacities. And also in China, our important growth market, five plants are installed. for air spring components for Chinese OEMs were built. Now, let me continue with the business results. We'll start with tubes and sections. Outside of Europe, we have good business for material handling and aerospace. In South America, the trucks and bus business compensated for the weaker PV business, and in Asia, as I said previously, with the air spring systems, we are managing to penetrate the market, and we compensated for the weaker performance in the construction industry segment. PV business was good, which offset the slightly weaker performance in the automotive segment. What's been very positive in Europe is our British subsidiary, MedSec. has managed to show robust performance in the very difficult market segment. So in terms of tubes and sections, you see that we are working in many different industries and many different geographic regions, and with this stable portfolio, we are still managing to achieve good margins. We are also very happy in terms of warehouse and rack solutions. Well, this is where the online dealers are more confident after the COVID-19 digitalization and automation of warehouse technology continues, and we are very pleased about full order books in the coming business year. Mr. Einstein, our CEO, has already said it. The automotive industry is a bit more difficult, especially as far as Europe is concerned. In the metal forming division, we are very strong in terms of the European and German OEMs. And just to give you a comparison, the automotive industry, It's still 20% below the figures of 2019 for the production of new cars. Now, what does this mean for us? We are in the process of a strategic reorientation to ensure the good capacity utilization of our plant and equipment. It's about attracting new business and the current competition. Also, we are trying to win over new international customers, and we believe that with our global network and as a strategic partner for complex solutions and with excellent quality and performance, we have a good outlook. Now let me briefly talk about our foreign subsidiaries in the automotive industry. These are performing very well, and we are seeing the growth there that we expected. And, of course, we are also going to restructure our German production network. We've already reacted by personnel-related measures and by the divestment in Margold. And we will continue to ensure that we remain competitive and competitive. We are also going to move forward digitalization, automation, and manage costs. And then there's precision strip. We had a slightly weaker demand in the construction industry and in packaging. The warehouses of our customers were quite full, but this business, of course, depends on novelties, innovations, and we had a successful market launch in precision strip in the era of non-ferrous metals. So this is new technology to combine aluminum and copper, and we're very successful in terms of electronics applications. Thank you to the board of our four divisions for the highlights and the overview for the past business year. Well, as we've heard repeatedly, we're in a very dynamic environment, so it is very important to have a clear plan, a clear strategy. First, Alpina in the past business year has also worked to develop this strategy, 2030 plus. So I'd like to invite you to watch a short video clip, and Mr. Einstein, our COO, will then present the details.

As a globally leading steel and technology group, we not only like what we do, but also what we are doing it for. We want to leave a better and safer world for future generations. With technologies and innovations that achieve value-enhancing growth. With sustainable processes and products like our green textile that benefits us and everyone else. With employees who are getting things moving and shaping a culture of shared success. with partners from innovative companies all over the world, to whom we offer the best quality and a unique combination of material and processing expertise. We are developing new product and system solutions made of steel and high-performance metallic materials. We are enabling modern infrastructure and energy supply as well as the mobility of tomorrow. How are we doing that? With a clear strategy that safeguards our future economic viability and resilience. This enables sustainable and value-enhancing growth. By differentiating ourselves in technologically demanding segments, we are able to seize opportunities and strengthen our competitiveness through business excellence. In this way, we are growing in high yield areas of processing, extending our leading economic position, and managing the challenges of decarbonization as a sustainable company. We don't just enjoy exploring new approaches. We also want to implement the best solution. The solution for a better future. First Alpine. One step ahead.

Ladies and gentlemen, today I can only show you a little excerpt of the strategy 2030 plus of Fürst Alpine. But I believe what's important is this reference to the fact that we expect a very dynamic environment in future. I think if you are familiar with the global megatrends, we can say that geopolitical uncertainty will increase We see that there's discussion about trade barriers and new trade barriers are being erected. Then there's climate change, sustainability and conservation of resources is getting even more important in future in everything that we do and also in terms of what our environment is going to look like. And What we are seeing is a demographic change, and there's also a sociocultural transformation.

If you consider how new employees will have to react to the various economic circumstances,

and how employees view companies in future. We are also seeing an accelerating technological progress, and this is probably going to accelerate even more in future. So these are some of the challenges we are facing, so it is very important for us to make sure that we are still sustainable and have sustainable value-adding growth, and to ensure that the future viability, the robustness and the resilience of our company are continuously developed. Now, these are some of the goals for the years to come. So if we can say in 2030 that we achieved all of these goals, That would be a very successful implementation of our strategy. That means that we would have reached our goals. So we want to have a value-adding growth in this dynamic environment, especially in terms of processing and also at the international level. So our colleagues have already said in which direction we are intending to go. We need to have a successful decarbonization strategy, and we also need to make sure that we do this in an economically viable way. So we need to find the right business case for this decarbonization approach. And you're seeing that there are challenges in the area of mobility. There are also market shifts. We see this transformation as an opportunity and also as a chance to develop and grow. So on the one hand, we need to navigate the energy transition. in order to ensure that we meet our energy demand for the future. But we're also seeing that the energy industry itself is going through a transformation process, and this is a chance to sell our high-quality products to the energy industry. So I talked about the trade barriers that are coming up And there is no doubt that there will continue to be a further globalization and internationalization in this changed trading environment. So we want to be even closer to our customers in the global markets.

Let me give you one example.

We are producing warehouse technology parts for the U.S. market in the U.S., And this is exactly what we intend to do. We want to move closer to our customers in the various markets. So we want to have competitive production facilities. That is something that is necessary to ensure that our products, technologies, and production sites continue to be state-of-the-art. And I believe that this technology leadership position that we are striving to achieve is a focus on high-tech products. So we are not trying to grow in the commodity segment. So we want to continue to develop also at the international level. And what's really important is that First Alpine continues to be an attractive employer for highly qualified and motivated employees. We want to maintain and also expand this position of being a highly attractive employer. And now I'd like to show you one more slide to focus on that last point, talking about qualified employees.

So we know that...

Good employees are the pillar of our success. We are investing a lot in training and continuing professional development. So about 70 million euros were invested in training last year. And this has been a very good investment, I may say. And it will stay that way. Our focus is on ensuring that we grow our workforce from within. So you know the figures. We have about 1,600 apprentices that are currently undergoing training in our Marius plants. This is very important for me and for all of us to ensure that we attract more women to First Alpine. We are partially successful with that. So the number of women in technical... professions has been doubled in the past decade when it comes to apprentices and 26% of the young specialists are female but I think it is very important that as an industrial company we become even more attractive to women in order to attract more women to industry and technology. So we have set ourselves the goal to increase the share of women in management positions in the coming years. and to grow this rate significantly. Now, let me move on to the outlook for the coming business year. So this year, too, We are seeing quite varied developments, different patterns of development in the individual economic regions and market segments. So what we are seeing is that there's a continued positive market environment for rail infrastructure, aerospace, and warehouse technology. We are also seeing stable growth in the automotive industry and also stable development in energy segment even though in the past business year the energy industry has boomed but this has now leveled off there's a bit less exploration but we're selling more pipelines and in construction mechanical engineering and consumer goods we expect the business to remain at least at the current level So we're seeing that this is bottoming out and no further deterioration is in sight. So we... We want to consistently implement our group strategy, and you've seen the figures that my colleague Gerhard Meyer, our CFO, presented. We are also in a very good financial position and a good technological position. So our outlook for 2024 and 2025 is an EBITDA between 1.7 to 1.8 billion euros. So thank you very much for your attention, and I'm looking forward to your questions. Thank you very much, Herbert Eibensteiner, for the part of presenting the Strategy 2030 Plus and the outlook. When you see me with a tablet, you know that the Q&A session is about to start. You have several options of sending us your questions. Thank you very much. We have already received a few questions, and thank you very much for sticking around. We're almost on time, so it's 10.48. So the phone patch for journalists is already open, so please register. It takes maybe a minute or two for you to be registered. Then there's also the chat tool. If you follow us on the streaming website, we're going to read out your questions and give you a name and the company you're working for. And there's also the option of sending us your questions via email. So let's start with the chat tool. There's already a couple of questions there. Let me start with Mr. Löbauer. The question is on the planned divestment of the German subsidiary Poderos Edelstein. Mr. Neubauer, maybe you can give us a shorter idea of what this is about and whether we'll continue and go ahead with the divestment. There's a board resolution taken in March of this year. So in March, we decided to go ahead with the strategic repositioning of Budirus Edelstahl. That was turned into a divestment process, and that is in line with our strategy. High-performance metals is thus focusing its portfolio more on the high-tech segment. and we are consistently continuing along this line.

Okay, thank you.

This takes us to the next question. I forgot the question was by Tanja Freidemann from the Neue Wechsler Zeitung. Let's move on to Kara Petelik-Profil. What is the impact of the carbon border adjustment mechanism on first Alpine? As far as CBAM is concerned, the carbon border adjustment mechanism, this is still in a trial operation, and in 2026 we're going to go live. But we have handed in numbers, so we are still in the start-up, in the ramp-up process. This increases, of course, the complexity and the efforts needed. There's still a lot we need to learn also from the authorities. But anyway, we are well aligned with them. And CBEM is supposed to ensure that any imports coming to Europe will reflect the CO2 costs incurred due to regulations here in Europe. And This is a very important tool for us going forward to ensure that we have a level playing field. so that we're all operating under the same conditions. So I think this is a very important tool. There's another question that is still being debated. What about exports and CBAM? So this is being discussed in Brussels because we are an export-oriented company, and as far as exports outside of Europe are concerned, we also need a level playing field there. So this still needs to be discussed. So this is still work in progress. It's an important tool. It also requires a lot of efforts, needs to be optimized and fine-tuned, so we need to learn to work with it so that we're ready when it goes live in 2026. So it's an important topic, how to handle exports to make sure that we can maintain our position outside of Europe as well. Thank you. In the chat tool, there's a lot of questions we're receiving. Telephone conference is still available, so press asterisk and one if you want to ask a question on the phone. Let's continue with Ingrid Gravenick from Der Börsianer. The question is, how do you deal with the trade barriers? And where are the trade barriers? Are there any imminent threats? Can you cite an example? And how does First Alpina deal with that? As you can see how we are dealing with trade barriers because there are some markets that we can only reach when we pay customs fees. But on the other hand we are also trying to produce locally in order to circumvent these trade barriers. This is why we try to produce, for example, directly in the US or in China, where we are producing locally for our local customers there. Next question comes from the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten newspaper in Upper Austria. There are several questions. Why are 120% dividend paid out? Is that sustainable? The second question is the court decision about the 220 kilovolt dividend. Our line is still missing. Could there be delays for the electric arc furnace project as a consequence? And the EU might levy import duties on Chinese electric vehicles. What do you think about that? And what do you think about the trade conflicts between the US and China in general? Well, let me refer to your first question as to the dividend.

Well,

The subject of the dividend is also a very important decision. On the one hand, the results of one-off effects or non-recurring effects and impairments needs to be considered. And we did that. On the other hand, what we are seeing is that we have a robust cash flow. So this is why we finally took the decision to pay a dividend of 70 cents per share. This is at least what we're going to suggest or propose to the annual general meeting. The 220 kilovolt line, what's the next question? Yes, I would like to answer that. Well, the 220 kilovolt line is a basic prerequisite for us. It is important for us to ensure that our electric arc furnace in Linz can be operated. This is an APG process, not ours, so there's a negotiation that took place a couple of weeks ago And we believe that this has been a very positive negotiation in the coming days. We expect that this decision will be confirmed, and we believe that it will be in our interest. And the current construction site for Fürst Alpine and APG, they're all underway, and there will be no delays. What about electric vehicles in China? I would like to answer that, if I may. Well, the way I see it is that we hope that there's a kind of learning effect. We know this from the past when Japanese OEMs or Korean OEMs started to sell their products to Europe and other geographic regions. So we started raising customs fees. We learned from this example of Japan and Korea that if they have a local production here in the various geographic regions, they will start producing in North America and in Europe. The Chinese are quite fast in doing that. BYD, for example, already said that they are planning to build a factory in Hungary, and that is a big opportunity for us. So if the Chinese OEMs are beginning to build their factories here in Europe, then this is a great potential for us, and we're ready to in touch with these OEMs to ensure that our high-quality and demanding products can be supplied to them.

Thank you.

That answers the first round of questions. Now let's move on to Birgit Kremser from the Austrian Press Agency before we have the first telephone question. Ms. Kremser sent us several questions. The first one is, could you explain these non-recurring effects that decreased the profits, then are you planning to dismiss workers? And has the number of jobs in Austria changed? And how has it evolved in Germany as of the 31st of March of 2024? I will gladly answer the first question about these non-recurring effects. Well, we heard that we're going to sell a Boudieros Edelstein. This is a divestment process that's underway. It was necessary to make an impairment in view of the price at which it will be sold, namely 180 million, more or less. There are also some company values that need to be subject to evaluation according to IFRS and if necessary impairments need to be made to the company value so this referred to two parts namely the metal forming division the automotive components segment and also Mr. Neubauer's high performance metals another impairment had to be made so in total it's 400 million impairment thank you

Let me answer the question concerning the headcount, the number of people employed in Austria.

We have about 24,000 employees here in Austria. And I assume that from today's perspective, this number will remain more or less constant.

I think, Ms.

Kremser, you asked me this last time as well. In the First Alpine Group, we also have the possibility of breeding, so to speak. So we have about 1,500 man-years of over time and more than 3,000 man-years of over time. agency workers, so we have the possibility to have some leeway or to breathe. 5,000 employees leave the company every year, so there's the possibility of making adjustments simply by reducing the overtime work, or if we don't fill any vacancies immediately, we can react and adjust the headcount. But I still believe that as far as the Austrian companies are concerned, At the end of the day, all things considered, we are going to have the same amount of employees.

Thank you.

That takes us to the phone conference. Claudia Haase from Planet Zeitung. Yes, hello. Good morning. Three questions have already been answered, so you can delete those. namely the 220 kV line. But I have a question for Mr. Eibensteiner, the CEO. In your outlook, why are you so conservative in terms of the EBITDA? Because you were quite upbeat and you said that things are looking up.

We are I think I wasn't cautious in my outlook.

It was quite realistic. So the outlook is similar as in the past business year. And I think it was a spot on landing.

There are some areas that are quite stable.

but there are also some segments that are showing a very moderate growth, such as the construction industry, the mechanical engineering industry, and the consumer goods industry. So we will see whether in the course of the year there will be an improvement or not. Let me remind you of the fact that the expectations of the Short-term interest rate cuts of the central banks were expected before the summer. Well, this hasn't happened so far, so there's still some uncertainties out there, and this is also one of the reasons why we have a stable outlook of the EBITDA of 1.7 to 1.8 billion euros. Or the way I know the cooperation, there's still some room for improvement there if the circumstances are favorable.

Was that a statement or a question?

I guess it was a statement, right? Well, you may contradict me if you like. Well, the outlook is what I presented. Well, on the 4th of June in 2025, we'll have the answer, I guess. Let me move on to the next question, asked from Barbara Kneidinger, Kronen Zeitung newspaper. Hello. I would like to know about the sale of Buderus. When do you think the closing will happen. Will this be in the first half of the year or maybe in the second half of the year? Any ideas? We are currently engaged in negotiations with interested parties and of course we are committed to secrecy and confidentiality, so I cannot answer your question when exactly the process is expected to close, but We are acting in line with the interests of the company and the employers, and we are trying to come to a rapid conclusion of the agreements. And a question for Mr. Eisensteiner. You emphasized that we need to move closer to our customers in light of the rising trading barriers. What does this mean for your strategy? Does this mean that existing sites will be expanded in other countries? as Ms. Richter said, or are we keeping our eyes open for any acquisitions going forward in order to maybe eliminate those trade barriers and to be closer to our customers, the local presence? Well, basically, First Alpina has internationalized its presence in the past by ever moving closer to our customers and I think that trade barriers are an additional trigger that induces us to invest in new markets. So we are trying to make sure that we are going to grow in those areas, and that's only logical. We are not trying to relocate, so we are investing 1.5 billion here in Austria in order to secure our assets here. But there's also a processing area that is very international in scope, and this international dimension is going to be expanded in the future. Before we move on to the next question from our conference call, maybe we can talk about Wetzlar, Mr. Lübauer. So we're in the process of a divestment process. We cannot divulge any further details because we have agreed to confidentiality. There's one more question from Germany, from Ms. Freidenmann. The sale of Poderos Edelstahl, It is in line with the consistent implementation of the strategy to focus on the highest quality of materials. So maybe Mr. Liebauer can answer that question concerning our strategy. Well, high-performance metals is working in the area of high-performance materials. And with the new building of the steel plant in Kapfenberg, we have taken a further step in this direction. Globally, we are a company that is working in the area of stainless steel, of special steel, and we are also investing a lot in high tech, whether it's tools deals. high-grade steels or nickel-based or other alloy-based steels for the aerospace industry or for the energy industry. So this is what we are referring to, that we want to continue to grow in those segments and move forward with these high-performance materials. Thank you. Let us switch back to the conference call. We have Chiara Holzheiser from Thomson Reuters.

I have a question on the dividend.

So the question was whether it is sustainable since there's a 120% payout ratio. So the dividend is below expectations in light of the very robust cash flow. So my question is, did the decarbonization strategy and your capex play a role here?

Of course, that also played a role.

And this is also due to the non-recurring effects and due to the good cash flow that we then decided to make a full dividend payment. But Of course, it is also clear that we are also keeping an eye on how the company will develop in the future. So the 70 cents per share dividend will be proposed to the annual general meeting. Okay, so let us take a look at what answers have already been answered. Dr. Seiser, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, so Poderos has been addressed. The second part of the question refers to the first European strategy, a question for Mr. Mayer, which EBIT margins are you striving to achieve in the medium term? Well, we are thinking in terms of return on capital employed. And the guidance is about 12%. And we want to achieve this in the long term, medium term. So this is a figure that I can give you here, 12%.

Thank you.

Then a question from Günter Strobl from Der Standard. What personnel measures are you planning to take in the individual sectors? I think you already referred to personnel-related measures in the individual sectors, right? I think we already said that we are seeing some leeway there. We're breathing, so to speak. So that has already been addressed. And Bernhard Egger, the North American share of total revenue has gone from 17% to 14%. Is this due to the deconsolidation of the Texas assets? Well, that was the most significant part here. So the answer is yes. Let's take a look at the conference call. So if you want to ask any questions on the conference call, then please register now and press asterisk and then one. Then you can enter your question. Claudia Haase with a subsequent question. I have a completely different question. I would like to know about the strategy 2030 plus and the years until there. Do you have any CapEx figures? How much are you planning to spend per year or in total?

Well,

If I had to present the midterm plan to you, I think this would go beyond the scope of this press conference. But let me give an example anyway. I think 900 million... I think 800 million worth of depreciations, and we are now investing 1.5 billion until...

2027.

So this means that in the coming years we are going to have more than 1 billion capex every year.

On the one hand this is

the green tech steel project implementation. And on the other hand, there's also repair and maintenance to a certain extent, but also the further development of our downstream assets. So that means that we'll have more write-downs, more depreciation. But anyway, this is taken into account in our planning. Thank you.

Thank you for the question.

There's another question in the chat tool. A question from Mr. Eibensteiner. You said that we need to move closer to our customers. One example you gave was the U.S. What is the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRA? Basically, the Inflation Reduction Act is very smart, very intelligently done. So the U.S. assumed that if investments are made, that the business case will pay off.

So they offer a tax reduction.

So that's a very positive outlook. So this means there will be less cash out in future. So in Europe, you get subsidies for projects that are not really economically viable. So I like the Inflation Reduction Act approach much better. But anyway, I think the purpose of the question is, to find out how we think in terms of our investments in the U.S. So basically it's always about where we see a market, where our customers are at, and this constitutes the basis of our decisions because we want to produce for local.

Thank you.

Let me check whether there's any other questions. Let's go back to the conference call. And if there's any questions in the chat tool, we've almost worked off all the questions. So if there's any last-minute questions, pose them now. And in the conference call, we have Kellin Steele, Christian Kühl. Good morning, everybody. Two short questions. In Germany, ThyssenKrupp is reducing capacities. Is Alpina also going to do this in the medium term? My second question concerns trade barriers or safeguards of the European Union, which raised these barriers, restricting imports further last week. So does this mean that in the medium term or maybe even the short term, the European steel prices might stabilize and go up. And how quickly could this happen and for which products would this apply? Of course, I am following what Thyssen is planning to do. We are all familiar with the market, so I assume that these decisions depend on the market. I'm not going to further comment the approach used by Thyssen. As far as these safeguards are concerned, well, they have been around for many years, and the European steel market is used to importing 30 million tons of steel in the framework of these safeguard measures. So I believe it is important to say that these safeguard measures are actually extended. Then there's a question for Gerhard Meyer by Ms. Sizer. She would like to have an EBIT margin forecast. Well, it's 9% for the cycle, so 9% for this strategy, 2030 plus. Okay, 9% EBIT margin. Okay, so I think that takes us to the end. Any questions received via email? No, there are none. So let me give you some moments for any further questions. On the 3rd of July, there will be the biggest annual general meeting in the Design Center. Media representatives are welcome to register. So if you want to participate, you need to register. And on the 7th of August, there will be the Q1 figures for the current business year 2024-2025. Now, one last look at whether there's any last-minute questions. If not, that winds up our earnings call for the full year results of 2023-2024. Seeing none, that winds up our press conference for this year. I'd like to thank you very much for your participation and your questions. I'd also like to thank my team in the background. I'd like to thank the board members for the presentation and for answering the questions. And we'll see you on the 7th of August with the figures for the first quarter. Meanwhile, have a wonderful summer. The weather is also looking up now. Thank you very much and all the best.