With its results, the new Kontron AG (https://www.kontron.com, ISIN AT0000A0E9W5, WKN A0X9EJ, KTN) underlines the strength it has gained by focusing on the IoT market. In the second quarter, a gross margin of over 40% was achieved for the first time in the company's history. The driving force behind this margin growth was once again the “Software + Solutions” segment, with a gross margin of 65.9%. Net income from continuing operations after non-controlling interests, EUR 17.4 million or 6.2% of revenue, also reached a record level.
With an order entry of EUR 310.2 million and a resulting book-to-bill ratio of 1.1, the encouraging trend continued in the second quarter of 2023. The positive development of operative cash flow seen in the first quarter continued with EUR 2.1 million, and Kontron was able to turn the negative operative cash flow of EUR 71.1 million from the first half of 2022 around to record a positive figure. Further, a record dividend of EUR 1 per share was paid out to the shareholders of Kontron AG in the second quarter of 2023. With the acquisition of the Cellular Automotive Module Unit of Telit Inc, a specialist in 5G machine networking, and the Swiss-based firm Comlab AG, a specialist for data communication for railways, two companies with an IoT focus joined the Kontron Group. Several more transactions in the IoT segment “Software + Solutions” are planned before the end of 2024.
Hannes Niederhauser, CEO of Kontron AG: “We expect 2023 to be a very good year for Kontron. Despite fears of a recession and our customers’ high stock levels, we once again achieved a high order entry in the second quarter of EUR 310 million compared to EUR 283 million in revenue. The order backlog of the new Kontron thus rose by EUR 140 million to EUR 1,600 million in 2023. This means that all planned revenues for 2023 and around 80% of the revenues for 2024 have already been covered. The new Kontron aims to increase the company’s profitability. At the end of March, Kontron raised the net income guidance to EUR 66 million, with an EBITDA margin of 11%. This represents an increase of more than 20% compared to the previous year. After a strong first half year, we are even likely to exceed this profit. With the planned acquisitions, we are well on track for our target of EUR 2,000 million in revenue in 2025 – at the same time significantly increasing profitability.”