Uzin Utz proves resilience and presents solid business figures

Gross sales revenue: 479.3 million euros (487.1 million euros in the previous year)

• EBIT: 34.5 million euros (36.3 million euros)
• EBIT-Marge: 7.2 % (7.5 %)
• Dividend proposal: 1.60 euros per share

Uzin Utz, a global full-service provider for flooring systems headquartered in Ulm, presented its business figures for 2023 today at the annual press conference. Despite declining growth in the construction industry in Uzin Utz's core markets, consolidated sales of 479.3 million euros were achieved. The record sales of the previous year of 487.1 million euros were almost achieved this year, with a minimal deviation of only 1.6%. At 34.5 million euros, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell slightly by 5.1% compared to the previous year (36.3 million euros).

Christian Richter, member of the Management Board of Uzin Utz SE, assessed the business development as essentially positive against the backdrop of the ongoing challenging economic conditions. While sales revenues in the growth and aspirant markets (emerging markets) were at the previous year's level, there was a slight decline in the core markets of Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. This led to a 1.6% reduction in Group sales to 479.3 million euros. The previous year's level (487.1 million euros) was therefore undercut by 7.8 million euros. At 34.5 million euros, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were 5.1% down on the previous year (36.3 million euros). The earnings trend was characterised by the same factors throughout the year. In addition to a disproportionately high increase in personnel expenses in relation to the rise in the number of employees, the earnings situation was influenced in particular by exchange rate effects and the increase in depreciation and amortisation. "The result for the last quarter of 2023 already showed positive effects from our cost-cutting measures. In order to sustainably optimise our business in the long term, we must further increase our resilience to external influences. We continue to expect headwinds in 2024. But our goal remains to grow profitably,“ said Christian Richter at the press event. The working capital optimisation measures that have been initiated will also be systematically continued. The first positive results of these efforts can be seen in inventories. We were able to reduce these by more than 20% compared to the previous year. Results like these motivate us to keep working on improvements.

Development in the construction industry

Philipp Utz, member of the Executive Board, emphasises that the shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry is currently less noticeable due to the decline in residential construction and the general construction sector. "Ongoing projects can currently be continued without major staff shortages. Furthermore, forecasts indicate that the construction industry will have bottomed out by mid-2025 at the latest," continues Philipp Utz. Although a further decline in construction activity is expected for 2024 due to inflation and higher interest rates, the renovation sector is higher overall than the new construction sector.

Strong focus on sustainable product developments

Uzin Utz strives to successively minimise its ecological footprint by developing resource-saving products and climate-optimised processes. The company has set itself the ambitious goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 25% by 2025. This commitment to sustainability goes beyond the legal requirements. The company is celebrating the latest award for its Pallmann product brand as a "Top 100 Innovator 2024". The product for preserving the value of parquet floors (Pallmann Magic Oil Change), based on hemp oil and over 90% renewable raw materials from the Würzburg region, thus stands for environmental awareness through significant CO2 reduction.

As a pioneer in the industry, the construction chemicals group is going one step further. For the first time, switchTec dry adhesives now come with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) as part of its products. These provide detailed information on environmental impact and are published by the Institute Building and Environment (IBE). "By publishing EPDs, we are helping building owners, architects and planners to fulfil the strict criteria for sustainable building certifications, such as DGNB or LEED, and thus achieve certain sustainability goals for construction projects," says Philipp Utz.

Innovations

Expenditure on research and development totalled 13.7 million euros in the 2023 financial year (previous year: 12.8 million euros), once again one of the highest sums since the company was founded over 111 years ago. Around 133 employees in international teams were able to drive forward 161 innovation projects at twelve development sites last year.

Ongoing investments

The company's investments in 2023 totalled 20.4 million euros (41.1). Following an intensive planning, construction and installation phase, the second dry mortar plant in Waco (USA) went into operation in April 2023. In addition, the filling line of the Polish production company was modernised and investments were made in a second 1C production plant in the Netherlands. At the site of Uzin Utz Tools GmbH & Co. KG site in Mettmann, renovation work was started on premises that will be used in future as a craftsmen's training academy for the sustainable use of products.

Employees

The Uzin Utz Group employs 1,480 people worldwide (excluding trainees), compared to 1,466 in the previous year. Of these, 699 were employed by companies abroad.

Outlook 2024

In view of the course of business to date and the current assessment of future developments, Uzin Utz once again faces challenges in the 2024 financial year. Macroeconomic factors, which have already had a negative impact on economic growth in recent years, are continuing. In addition, uncertainty is increasing due to geopolitical tensions. Nevertheless, slight sales growth is expected compared to the 2023 financial year. This assumption is based, among other things, on growth potential in the construction industry, where Uzin Utz's strengths lie. Group-wide defined starting points for optimising profitability contribute to the fact that a slight increase in earnings is also expected.

The Management Board and Supervisory Board propose a dividend payment of 1.60 euros per share

The Executive Board and Supervisory Board will propose a dividend of 1.60 euros per share at the Annual General Meeting on 22 May 2024 (2023: 1.60 euros).

Key figures of the Uzin Utz Group for the 2023 financial year