Despite the geopolitical tensions of the past year and the energy crisis that has completely affected the steel industry, Acerinox continued its upward growth in 2022 and is expected to continue at the same rate this year. There is only one negative note that can affect the company: the increase in the euro price. The price of the European currency increased by 1.79% last month. and threatens more than 50% of the steel group’s dollar-denominated EBITDA. “The company has a high exposure to the United States, which is the country with the highest export rate on its balance sheet,” they say from XTB. If analysts’ forecasts come true, the dollar will continue to lose momentum this year, partly because the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy has tightened more than European monetary policy.
Its business on the other side of the Atlantic is so important that the company will invest $244 million to increase its production capacity by 20%, which means an additional 200,000 tons at its Stainless steel plant in North America. In Acerinox’s last annual results, which set a new record in its history, Reflects most of the €1,276 million EBITDA recorded in 2022 This is due to the good performance of its main market, the United States. The company is one of the most important companies in the country, responsible for producing about 50% of the national stainless steel.
Thanks to the strength of its presence in the United States, Acerinox Forecasts an even better EBITDA for the first quarter of 2023 than the fourth quarter of the previous year, also due to the slight and notorious increase in market demand for alloys. In a statement from XTB, the company hopes the stainless steel niche will “continue the dynamics that 2023 started with and allow it to generate strong cash flows throughout the year.”
save results
Globally, the company maintains a positive pace attracting investors. The firm reported a result of € 556 million in 2022, after taxes and minorities; this represents a 2.8% decrease from the previous year and It increased its total turnover by 30% to 8,688 million units.. Another positive fact is the decrease in its indebtedness of 440 million euros. Acerinox has managed to reduce this figure from 578 million at the beginning of the year to 440 million today, becoming one of the four Ibex 35 companies with the lowest net financial debt-to-failure ratio (0.35).
These figures made it possible to increase the shareholder remuneration with an annual dividend of 0.6 Euros per share, 20% higher than previous data. The firm has confirmed that it will allocate 150 million euros to reward its shareholders at the end of 2022. payment Close to 18%.
Irregular citation
Related news
Although the company announced the best results in its history and forecasts point to an improvement in these figures until 2023, the value of its shares followed a fluctuating course. last year, Share price in the United States fell 11.82%although it has recovered with an increase of 25.94% in the last six months. In Spain, the stock is trading at 9.2 euros and has experienced several ups and downs in 2022, with a drop in September still recovering.
XTB analyst Adrian Hostaled said: The price of Acerinox shares remains in the range of 7.9 to 10.5 euros in the short to medium term. “Despite the volatility, a real catalyst will be needed in the steelmaker’s business for the stock to advance and break the €10.5 resistance,” he explains. If these forecasts are not met, the price will remain in this range for “a few more weeks”.