15.05.2024
Vossloh Annual General Meeting approves all proposed resolutions by a large majority
- Review of an extremely successful financial year 2023
- Further improvement in earnings and profitability expected for 2024
- Dividend of €1.05 per share (previous year: €1.00) resolved
Vossloh AG today held its Annual General Meeting as a physical event in Düsseldorf. CEO Oliver Schuster looked back on selected aspects of the company's successful development in the past financial year 2023. In addition to product and technology innovations, digital-based solutions played a central role, such as the market launch of the cloud-based digital platform Vossloh connect. Vossloh is not only part of the transformation of the rail industry, but is actively shaping it.
Despite adverse conditions due to numerous crises around the world, Vossloh achieved excellent results in the 2023 financial year. The Group was able to increase its Sales revenues compared to the previous year , at €1.21 billion, and exceeded the sales record from 2022 by 16.1 percent. EBIT even increased by 26.2 percent to a remarkable €98.5 million and Free cash flow more than doubled from €27.9 million to €70.9 million. Schuster sees the decisive reason for the company's successful development in its forward-looking, sustainable and crisis-resistant business model as well as in Vossloh's unique positioning: "Through the increased use of digital analysis processes and our unique understanding of track, we have evolved from a pure supplier of high-quality products and services to a system house for the rail track and holistic problem solver for our customers," Oliver Schuster made clear in his speech, adding: "This will enable us to benefit from new business models and further differentiate ourselves from our competitors."
The start to the current financial year 2024 has also been very positive. "Compared to the same period last year, we were able to further improve all key financial figures. Orders received were again at a record level at €350.1 million, while Sales revenues exceeded the record figure from the same quarter of the previous year by 4.9 percent and amounted to €268.8 million. At €17.9 million, EBIT in the first quarter of 2024 exceeded the previous year's figure by 27.4 percent. Overall, we have every reason to look ahead with great confidence," emphasized Dr. Thomas Triska, CFO of Vossloh AG, in his subsequent speech.
70.81 percent of the share capital was represented at today's Annual General Meeting. The shareholders approved all agenda items proposed by the Executive Board and Supervisory Board with a clear majority. This included the proposal to distribute a dividend of €1.05 per share, which corresponds to a total dividend payout of €18.4 million or a payout ratio – based on earnings per share – of around 48 percent. The Executive Board was also authorized to use instruments such as convertible bonds or bonds with warrants in the future to finance the company's further growth. Finally, the shareholders also approved the authorization to buy back the company's own shares by a large majority.
All speeches given at the Annual General Meeting, the presentations shown and the detailed voting results are available on Vossloh AG's website in the Investor Relations section under Annual General Meeting .
Werdohl, May 15, 2024
Contact details for the media:
Andreas Friedemann
Phone: +49 (0) 2392 52-608
Email:
presse@vossloh.com
Contact details for investors:
Dr. Daniel Gavranovic
Phone: +49 (0) 2392 52-609
Email:
investor.relations@vossloh.com
Vossloh is a global technology group which for around 140 years has stood for quality, safety, customer focus, reliability and innovative strength. With its comprehensive range of rail-related products and services, Vossloh ranks among the world market leaders in this sector. Vossloh offers a uniquely broad range of products and services under one roof: Rail fastening systems, concrete ties, switch systems and crossings, as well as innovative and increasingly digital-based services for the entire life cycle of rails and switches. Vossloh uses its systemic understanding of the track to address the central customer need of "availability of the rail track".
Vossloh products and services are in use in more than 100 countries. With some 75 Group companies in almost 30 countries and over 40 production locations, Vossloh is active locally worldwide. Vossloh is committed to sustainable corporate governance and climate protection and with its products and services makes an important contribution to the sustainable mobility of people and goods.
The Group's activities are organized into the three divisions Core Components, Customized Modules and Lifecycle Solutions. In the 2023 financial year, Vossloh generated sales revenues of €1,214.3 million with around 4,000 employees.