Semperit raises 2024 earnings amid stable revenue

Vienna – Semperit Group has seen a double-digit increase in 2024 earnings (EBITDA) on flat overall revenue, the Austrian group has reported.

Earnings for the full-year rose 21.1% year-on-year to €85 million, while earnings after tax reached €11.5 million, up from a loss of €17.1 million in 2023.

Group sales came in at €677 million, down 0.8% compared to the year before, according to Semperit's 20 March results announcement.

“As expected, it was a challenging year, but one in which we achieved a very decent result,” commented Semperit’s outgoing CEO Karl Haider.

The group, he noted, fully withdrew from the glove business in 2024 and is now focused 100% on specialist elastomer products for industrial applications.

The year also saw the full integration of liquid silicone rubber (LSR) specialist Rico, and the group restructure into two divisions: Semperit Industrial Applications (SIA) and Semperit Engineered Applications (SEA).

“We thus achieved all milestones and kept what we promised despite headwinds from the market,” stated Haider.

In terms of financial performance, the two divisions developed differently depending on the market environment and customer sectors.

SIA, which includes hoses and profiles, saw “persistently challenging economic situation” which led to an 11.3% year-on-year decline in revenue to €293.5 million.

Earnings within the division, however, grew 11.4% to €52.2 million, primarily helped by cost-saving measures and efficiency improvements.

The SEA division, including form, belting, and Rico, increased revenue by 9.1% to €383.0 million; of which €94.6 million was attributable to five months of contribution by the LSR operation.

Earnings within the division were down 4.8% year-on-year to €48.1 million, with Rico accounting for €16 million of the amount.

Group expenses decreased by 3.6% year-on-year to €587.9 million, reflecting a 9.1% or €28 million decline in cost of materials.

As for the near-term outlook, Semperit's CEO said the market environment would “remain difficult” in the first half of the year.

To mitigate that, Semperit said countermeasures, initiated at an early stage, are taking effect and will continue to be implemented.

Those steps include improvements to product-mix towards higher-margin products, cost reductions and the streamlining of processes to increase operational efficiency.

Looking ahead, the group expects to report earnings of between €70 million and €90 million and €120 million by 2026.