Alstom's first half 2024/25: good commercial performance, confirmation of FY 2024/25 outlook
H1 2024/25 highlights: Book-to-bill ratio at 1.25 and organic sales up 5.6%1aEBIT2 of €515 million, up 18%, i.e. margin of 5.9% Free Cash Flow2 at €(138) million benefiting from favourable downpayments phasing Net financial debt at €(927) million down from €(2,994) million after deleveraging plan execution FY 2024/25 outlook Book-to-bill above 1 and sales organic growth around 5%aEBIT margin around 6.5%Free Cash Flow within the range €300 million to €500 million 13 November 2024 - In the first half of fiscal year 2024/25 (from 1st April to 30 September 2024), Alstom booked €10.9 billion of orders. The Group sales reached €8.8 billion, resulting in a book-to-bill ratio at 1.25.
The backlog is now €94.4 billion, providing strong visibility on future sales. Gross margin on backlog2 reached 17.8% as of 30 September 2024, compared to 17.5% on 31 March 2024.
In the first half of 2024/25, Alstom's adjusted EBIT was €515 million, up +18% versus last fiscal year, equivalent to a 5.9% margin (+70bps), and EBIT before PPA was €382 million. Adjusted net profit2 was €224 million, net income (group share) was €53 million, and free cash flow was €(138) million for the half-year.
"Demand remains robust, driven by green mobility policies, proving resilient to geopolitical tensions, and we had a solid commercial performance in this first half. We are making steady progress on our roadmap, with backlog margins returned to pre-merger levels and a focused shift towards Services and Signalling. With a strengthened balance sheet and an Investment grade rating with a stable outlook, we are focused on effectively managing our projects portfolio, amid supply chain challenges, while driving cost efficiencies to deliver on our financial trajectory" said Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chief Executive Officer of Alstom.
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Key figures3
Reported figures
(in € million) Half-year ended
30 September 2023 Half-year ended
30 September 2024 % Change Reported % Change Organic Orders received4 8,446 10,950 29.6% 30.0% Sales 8,443 8,775 3.9% 5.6% Adjusted EBIT4 438 515 17.6% Adjusted EBIT margin4 5.2% 5.9%
EBIT before PPA4 275 382 Adjusted net profit4 174 224 Free Cash Flow (1,119) (138)
(in € million) Full-year ended
31 March 2024 Half-year ended
30 September 2024 % Change Reported % Change Organic Backlog 91,900 94,369 2.7% 3.2% Gross margin % on backlog4 17.5% 17.8% ***
The €2 billion inorganic deleveraging plan fully delivered
The hybrid bond issuance for €750 million and the rights issue for €1 billion euros have been fully executed during this semester.
On 30 August 2024, Alstom sold its North American conventional Signalling business to Knorr-Bremse AG for a purchase price of USD 689 million, following the binding agreement signed on 19 April 2024.
Alstom has delivered all three components of the deleveraging plan, resulting in the stabilisation of its Investment Grade rating by Moody's on June 13, 2024.
Progress on Alstom's operational priorities
During the first half of fiscal year 2024/25, the Group mobilised around the commercial, operational and cost efficiency plans:
Quality of order intake during the first half supports continuous growth in the margin in backlog, now standing at 17.8% as of 30 September 2024, a +30bps improvement versus 31 March 2024, in line with the expected +50bps per year trajectory announced previously.With regards to production, the Group is focusing on the ramp-up of several projects in startup phase, with an expected output of 4,400 to 4,600 cars for the full year, despite the recent supply chain issues encountered. Costs efficiency programs have been progressing. SG&A over sales have reduced to 6.0% in September 2024 against the 6.6% baseline in March 2023.
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Business update
Growth by offering greater value to customers Orders In the first half of fiscal year 2024/25, the Group recorded €10.9 billion in orders, with commercial success across multiple geographies, notably in Europe and across various product lines, with a strong emphasis on Services. For the same period last fiscal year, Alstom reported an order intake of €8.4 billion. This 30% growth is largely attributed to the award of the €3.6 billion S-Bahn Cologne contract.
In Europe, Alstom achieved an order intake of €8.5 billion during the first half of fiscal year 2024/25, compared to €5.2 billion for the same period in the previous fiscal year.
In Germany, Alstom was awarded a contract to supply 90 Adessia Stream™ commuter trains to the local rail passenger transport authorities, go.Rheinland and Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR), for operation within the S-Bahn Köln network. This contract also encompasses a long-term full-service agreement lasting 34 years. Additionally, the Group entered into a framework agreement with Hamburger Hochbahn AG to provide up to 374 new metro trains and innovative signalling technology, with the first metro trains call-off under this agreement for the initial section of the U5 line valued at approximately €670 million.
In France, Alstom will supply 12 Avelia Horizon™ very high-speed trains to Proxima, a newly established private operator. This marks a turning point for the French railway market, as it opens the Atlantic coastlines to a private operator for the first time in history. Avelia Horizon reduces operating costs compared to other high-speed trains. The train has fewer bogies, which account for 30% of the cost of preventive maintenance. With the largest passenger capacity in the market, Avelia Horizon offers great level of service and comfort, and consequently lowers operating costs per seat. As part of this contract, Alstom will also provide maintenance for 15 years, offering operational performance while optimising the residual value to meet Proxima's specific needs. The total value of this order is nearly €850 million.
In Italy, the Group received a contract from Mercitalia Rail for the supply of 70 Traxx™ Universal locomotives, along with 12 years of comprehensive maintenance services. This contract is valued at over €323 million and includes the option to deliver an additional 30 locomotives and extend the maintenance services.
In the Americas, Alstom reported an order intake of €0.9 billion, compared to €1.5 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year, driven by the awarding of several small contracts. Last year's performance in the Americas was largely influenced by two significant contracts: one for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and the other for the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT).
In Asia/Pacific, the order intake reached €1 billion, as compared to €1.7 billion over the same period last fiscal year. In Australia, Alstom in partnership with DT Infrastructures has been awarded by the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA) a contract to provide the design, supply, construction, installation, testing, commissioning, and maintenance of high-capacity signalling technology for Perth's suburban rail network. Alstom's contract share is valued at approximately €0.7 billion.
In Africa/Middle East/Central Asia, the Group reported €0.5 billion order intake driven by a new services contract from an undisclosed customer, as compared to €35 million over the same period last fiscal year.
As of 30 September 2024, the backlog stood at €94.4 billion, providing the Group with strong visibility over future sales.
Sales
Alstom's sales amounted to €8,775 million for the first half of fiscal year 2024/25, representing a growth of 3.9% on a reported basis and a strong 5.6% on an organic basis compared with Alstom sales in the same period last fiscal year.
Rolling stock sales reached €4,531 million, representing an increase of 2% on a reported basis and 2% on an organic basis, driven by contracts ramp-up in France, Brazil and in Asia/Pacific, offsetting legacy German and UK contracts phasing out.
Services sales stood at €2,197 million, up 11% on a reported basis and 12% on an organic basis, benefiting from robust growth in Germany, Asia/Pacific and Middle East.
Signalling delivered consistent execution year-on-year, achieving sales of €1,247 million, stable on a reported basis and up 3% on an organic basis. The growth in Asia/Pacific compensated for the ramp down in Canada and in the US.
Systems sales grew 7% on a reported basis and 14% on an organic basis, and stood at €800 million, driven by a good performance of projects in Mexico compensating the successful completion of the Egyptian monorail.
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2. Innovation by Pioneering Smarter and Greener Mobility for All
As of end of September 2024, research and development gross costs amounted to €(326) million, i.e. 3.7% of sales, delivering on the Alstom In Motion strategy which is based on three pillars: Autonomous mobility, Data factory and Mobility orchestration. Net R&D amounts to €(256) million before PPA amortisation.
Rolling Stock: homologation tests of the Avelia Horizon™ double-deck high-speed trains are planned in 2024 to enable a start of revenue service in 2025 for SNCF in France. A new order for 12 trains based on the same product has been received from Proxima and the development of international configurations is ongoing.
Alstom is also continuously improving its single-deck high-speed train now branded Avelia Stream™.
Meanwhile, Alstom has also further extended the Coradia Stream™ range, with longer cars and 15kV traction chains, primarily in Germany. This range will also include a battery electric version.
Services: Alstom is progressing on the development of its Maintenance Performance Centres in Europe, APAC and North America, where Alstom will bring together expertise in centralised locations to support multiple fleets, optimise maintenance processes and better serve its customers. Alstom has recently equipped the first trains from the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) fleet with new predictive maintenance technology, relying on AI algorithms to predict more accurately the behaviour and condition of critical components, such as doors and HVAC, to boost the overall operational performance and efficiency of the system.
Signalling: this product line further enhances its mainline portfolio and applications by accelerating Onvia™ for ETCS Level 2 on the German market, while working on ETCS onboard solutions for Level 2 and Level 3 including Automatic Train Operation. For metros and trams, Alstom continues to advance its train-centric CBTC solutions Urbalis™ (implemented in Paris L18, Torino L1). This offering is completed by operational control centres that support Alstom's extensive range of CBTC solutions.
Alstom Innovation has continued to develop its Autonomous Mobility solutions for passengers & freight trains, successfully demonstrating remote driving tests and autonomous driving & perception and remote driving capability with its customer LNVG during InnoTrans. The company continues to investigate on various fields, including Artificial Intelligence for applications such as predictive maintenance, autonomous systems, and operational efficiency, as well as simulations to test and validate new technologies and systems prior to their deployment in real-world scenarios.
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3. Profitability
The adjusted EBIT margin has progressed from 5.2% over the first semester of fiscal year 2023/24 to 5.9% over the first semester of fiscal year 2024/25, benefiting from an increased volume for 20bps, a favourable mix for 5bps, industrial efficiencies for 15bps as well as the costs savings programme positive effects for 35bps, partly offset by scope impact for negative (5)bps.
During the first half of fiscal year 2024/25, Alstom recorded €21 million capital gain mainly related to divestiture of the North American conventional Signalling business for €18 million.
Costs related to the integration of Bombardier Transportation were recorded for an amount of €(51) million. Other expenses were recorded for a total of €(31) million, of which €(13) million of legal fees.
Alstom's EBIT before amortisation and impairment of assets exclusively valued when determining the purchase price allocation ("PPA”) stood at €382 million. This compares to €275 million in the same period last fiscal year.
Net financial result of the period amounted to €(107) million as compared to €(98) million in the same period last fiscal year, driven by lower net interest expenses due to the execution of the deleveraging plan offset mainly by adverse FX Forward Points and bank fees.
The effective tax rate before PPA has increased temporarily, at 37% during this first half compared to 25% for the same period last fiscal year, due to a non-cash write down of some deferred tax assets in certain countries. Consistently with medium term plan, the structural effective tax rate estimated remains at around 27%.
The share in net income from equity investments amounted to €60 million - excluding the amortisation of the purchase price allocation ("PPA”) mainly from Chinese joint-ventures of €(6) million.
Adjusted net profit, representing the group's share of net profit from continued operations excluding PPA and impairment net of tax, amounts to €224 million for the first half of fiscal year 2024/25. This compares to an adjusted net profit of €174 million in the same period last fiscal year.
The Group's Net profit/(loss) (Group share) stood at €53 million for the first half of fiscal year 2024/25, compared to €1 million in the same period last fiscal year.
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4. Free cash flow generation
The Group's Free Cash Flow stands at €(138) million for the first half of fiscal year 2024/25 as compared to €(1,119) million during the same period last fiscal year.
Funds from Operations5 stand at €282 million, compared to €256 million in the same period last fiscal year, driven by improved EBIT before PPA of €382 million compared to €275 million in the same period last fiscal year and partially offset by an increase in capital expenditure.
Cash generation was impacted by an unfavourable €(420) million change in working capital compared to €(1,375) million in the same period last fiscal year. This is mostly due to the trade working capital5 build up by €(435) million, impacted by the increase in inventory levels notably to prepare the higher production in the second semester than in the first semester due to seasonality of production.
Additionally, the Contract Working Capital5 has improved by €15 million compared to €(645) million in the same period last fiscal year. This evolution is due to continued industrial activity, project working capital phasing and supported by the level of downpayments received over the first half of fiscal year 2024/25 and provisions usage.
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5. Financial structure
On 30 September 2024, the Group recorded a net debt position of €(927) million, compared to the €(2,994) million net debt that was reported on 31 March 2024, largely driven by the execution of deleveraging plan for €2,321 million including capital increase, issuance of subordinated perpetual securities and disposal of business.
As announced at the time of the rights issue, existing short-term debt as of 31 March 2024 was fully repaid for a total amount of €1,208 million.
The Group's cash and cash equivalents amounted to €1,789 million on 30 September 2024, of which €949 million were invested in cash equivalents.
In addition, the Group benefits from strong liquidity with:
€1.75 billion short term Revolving Credit Facility maturing in January 2027 €2.5 billion Revolving Credit Facility maturing in January 2029. On 30 September 2024, both Revolving Credit Facility lines remained undrawn.
As per Group's conservative liquidity policy, the €2.5 billion Revolving Credit Facility serves as a back-up of the Group €2.5 billion NEU CP program in place.
Alstom has successfully executed its deleveraging plan resulting in the termination of the additional €2.25 billion credit facility agreement as announced previously.
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6. One Alstom team - Agile, Inclusive and Responsible
Decarbonization is at the heart of Alstom's strategy. The Group is reducing its own direct and indirect emissions (Scope 1 & 2) and is also committed to work with suppliers and customers (Scope 3) to contribute to Net Zero carbon in the mobility sector. Thus, Alstom has signed a collaboration agreement with green steel supplier SSAB which will support the objective of recycled content materials in projects.
The Group confirmed its ambitious commitment to use 100% of electricity from renewable energy sources by end of 2025, as part of its global initiative to reduce its environmental footprint. At the end of September 2024, the supply of electricity from renewable sources reached 79%6 thanks to new green certificates used in Canada on sites as La Pocatière and Saint-Bruno and in Australia. In addition, Alstom continues installation of solar panels on relevant sites.
Alstom's Corporate Social Responsibility performance is regularly evaluated by various rating agencies; the Group maintained its presence among the CAC40 ESG index for the 4th consecutive year. Alstom strongly improved its scoring to ECOVADIS questionnaire with a score of 86/100, complemented by a "Platinum” distinction, ranking Alstom in the top 1% of the most engaged companies in environmental, sustainable procurement, ethics, human rights, and social terms. Alstom kept an AA score with the MSCI agency and is part of the 2024 Global 100 ranking from Corporate Knights. Those results reflect its strong position and strategy on sustainability.
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FY 2024/25 outlook
Following the full execution of the deleveraging plan, outlook for FY 2024/25 is based on following main assumptions:
Supportive market demand FY 2024/25 downpayments consistent with FY 2023/24End of integration of Bombardier Transportation in FY 2024/25
Outlook for FY 2024/25:
Book to bill above 1Sales organic growth: around 5%aEBIT margin around 6.5 %Free Cash Flow generation within the €300 million to €500 million range ***
Mid to long-term ambitions are confirmed as per the May 8, 2024, full year announcement.
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Financial calendar
21 January 2025 FY 2024/25 Third Quarter - Orders & Sales 13 May 2025 FY 2024/25 Full-Year results ***
Conference Call
Alstom is pleased to invite the analysts to a conference call presenting its half year results for fiscal year 2024/25 on Wednesday 13 November at 6:30 pm (Paris local time), hosted by Henri Poupart-Lafarge, CEO and Bernard Delpit, EVP and CFO.
A live audiocast will also be available on Alstom's website: Alstom's Half Year results for FY 2024/25.
To participate in the Q&A session (audio only), please use the dial-in numbers below:
France: +33 (0) 1 7037 7166UK: +44 (0) 33 0551 0200USA: +1 786 697 3501Canada: 1 866 378 3566 (toll free) Quote ALSTOM to the operator to be transferred to the appropriate conference.
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The Board of Directors met on November 13th, 2024, and reviewed the interim financial statements and the management report as end of September 30th, 2024. The limited review procedures on the condensed interim consolidated financial statements were carried out by the statutory auditors. Their report is currently being prepared. The consolidated financial statements and notes related to this press release are available on the www.alstom.com website.
ALSTOM™, Avelia™, Coradia™, Coradia Stream™ and Traxx™ are protected trademarks of the Alstom Group.
1 3.9% on a reported basis
2 Non - GAAP. See definition in the appendix.
3 Geographic and product breakdowns of reported orders and sales are provided in Appendix 1
4 Non - GAAP. See definition in the appendix.
5 Non - GAAP. See definition in the appendix.
6 12 months rolling
About Alstom
Alstom commits to contribute to a low carbon future by developing and promoting innovative and sustainable transportation solutions that people enjoy riding. From high-speed trains, metros, monorails, trams, to turnkey systems, services, infrastructure, Signalling and digital mobility, Alstom offers its diverse customers the broadest portfolio in the industry. With its presence in 64 countries and a talent base of over 84,700 people from 184 nationalities, the company focuses its design, innovation, and project management skills to where mobility solutions are needed most. Listed in France, Alstom generated revenues of €17.6 billion for the fiscal year ending on 31 March 2024.
For more information, please visit www.alstom.com Contacts Press:
Philippe MOLITOR - Tel.: +33 (0) 7 76 00 97 79
philippe.molitor@alstomgroup.com
Thomas ANTOINE - Tel. : +33 (0) 6 11 47 28 60
thomas.antoine@alstomgroup.com
Investor relations :
Martin VAUJOUR - Tel. : +33 (0) 6 88 40 17 57
martin.vaujour@alstomgroup.com
Estelle MATURELL ANDINO - Tel.: +33 (0) 6 71 37 47 56
estelle.maturell@alstomgroup.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current plans and forecasts of Alstom's management. Such forward-looking statements are relevant to the current scope of activity and are by their nature subject to a number of important risks and uncertainty factors (such as those described in the documents filed by Alstom with the French AMF) that could cause reported results to differ from the plans, objectives and expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and Alstom undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This press release does not constitute or form part of a prospectus or any offer or invitation for the sale or issue of, or any offer or inducement to purchase or subscribe for, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any shares or other securities in the Company in France, the United Kingdom, the United States or any other jurisdiction. Any offer of the Company's securities may only be made in France pursuant to a prospectus having received the approval from the AMF or, outside France, pursuant to an offering document prepared for such purpose. The information does not constitute any form of commitment on the part of the Company or any other person. Neither the information nor any other written or oral information made available to any recipient, or its advisers will form the basis of any contract or commitment whatsoever. In particular, in furnishing the information, the Company, the Joint Global Coordinators, their affiliates, shareholders, and their respective directors, officers, advisers, employees or representatives undertake no obligation to provide the recipient with access to any additional information.
APPENDIX 1A - GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN
Reported figures H1 % H1 % (in € million) 2023/24 Contrib. 2024/25 Contrib. Europe 5,232 62% 8,511 78% Americas 1,456 17% 887 8% Asia/Pacific 1,723 21% 1,022 9% Middle East/Africa/Central Asia 35 0% 530 5% Orders by destination 8,446 100% 10,950 100%
Reported figures H1 % H1 % (in € million) 2023/24 Contrib. 2024/25 Contrib. Europe 4,875 58% 4,911 56% Americas 1,664 20% 1,813 21% Asia/Pacific 1,165 14% 1,312 15% Middle East/Africa/Central Asia 739 8% 739 8% Sales by destination 8,443 100% 8,775 100% APPENDIX 1B - PRODUCT BREAKDOWN
Reported figures H1 % H1 % (in € million) 2023/24 Contrib. 2024/25 Contrib. Rolling stock 3,818 45% 4,415 40% Services 2,141 26% 4,111 38% Systems 1,548 18% 443 4% Signalling 939 11% 1,981 18% Orders by product line 8,446 100% 10,950 100%
Reported figures H1 % H1 % (in € million) 2023/24 Contrib. 2024/25 Contrib. Rolling stock 4,463 53% 4,531 52% Services 1,986 23% 2,197 25% Systems 751 9% 800 9% Signalling 1,243 15% 1,247 14% Sales by product line 8,443 100% 8,775 100% APPENDIX 2 - INCOME STATEMENT
Reported figures Half-Year ended Half-Year ended (in € million) 30 September 2023 30 September 2024 Sales 8,443 8,775 Adjusted Gross Margin before PPA* 1,165 1,228 Adjusted Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (aEBIT)* 438 515 Capital gain and other non-operating income 1 21 Restructuring and rationalisation costs (7) (1) Integration, impairments, and other costs
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