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Klöckner & Co SE reports strong earnings and cash flow in fiscal year 2022 despite challenging economic environment

Klöckner & Co SE reports strong earnings and cash flow in fiscal year 2022 despite challenging economic environment
09.03.2023 / 07:00 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Klöckner & Co SE reports strong earnings and cash flow in fiscal year 2022 despite challenging economic environment

Strong operating income (EBITDA) of €417 million before material special effects (2021: €848 million)
Exceptionally high operating cash flow of €405 million due to consistent net working capital management (2021: negative cash flow of €306 million)
Sales increased by 26% to €9.4 billion (2021: €7.4 billion)
Strengthened role as pioneer of a sustainable steel and metal industry with launch of Nexigen^® brand and expansion of related product and service portfolio
Leading position in North America extended with agreed acquisition of National Material of Mexico by Kloeckner Metals Corporation
Dividend of €0.40 per share (2021: €1.00) to be proposed to Annual General Meeting
EBITDA before material special effects in Q1 2023 expected to be very considerably higher than in the preceding quarter at €40 million to €90 million; positive outlook for fiscal year 2023

Duisburg, Germany, March 9, 2023 – Despite the challenging economic environment, Klöckner & Co generated strong operating income (EBITDA) of €417 million before material special effects in 2022 (2021: €848 million). Driven by higher average price levels, Group sales increased significantly year-on-year from €7.4 billion in 2021 to €9.4 billion. Based on the positive net income of €259 million (2021: €629 million) and earnings per share of €2.54 (2021: €6.21), Klöckner & Co will propose a dividend of €0.40 (2021: €1.00) per share to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting.

As forecast, consistent net working capital management and an actively enforced inventory reduction in the second half of 2022 resulted in an exceptionally positive cash flow from operating activities of €405 million (2021: negative cash flow of €306 million). The equity ratio increased over the prior year’s level to 51% at the end of the year (2021: 47%).

Guido Kerkhoff, CEO of Klöckner & Co SE: “Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, we continued to successfully execute our corporate strategy in fiscal year 2022. We made significant progress toward our goal of becoming the leading one-stop shop for steel, other materials, equipment and processing services in Europe and the Americas. In addition, with Nexigen^® and the Product Carbon Footprint, we have further strengthened our role as pioneer of a sustainable steel industry.”

Further strengthening of role as sustainability pioneer

Klöckner & Co further expanded its range of sustainable products and services in the past year, thus strengthening its role as a pioneer in this regard. The Company brought together its CO₂-reduced products and services under the Nexigen^® brand launched in fiscal year 2022. This marked an important step in execution of the Group’s “Klöckner & Co 2025: Leveraging Strengths” strategy, in which sustainability plays a pivotal role as a strategic growth driver. With the new brand, the Company enables customers to reliably procure CO₂-reduced steel and metal products, providing them with full transparency about their CO₂-footprint. The past year saw Klöckner & Co already deliver the first quantities of CO₂-reduced steel to longstanding customers such as Mercedes-Benz and Siemens. Thanks to a partnership launched in 2022 with Outokumpu, the world’s leading supplier of sustainable stainless steel, Klöckner & Co now also supplies CO₂-reduced stainless steel in a further addition to the range of emission-reduced metals.

CO₂-categorization and Product Carbon Footprint for transparency on emissions

Combined with a comprehensive range of logistics solutions, circularity solutions and Sustainability Advisory Services (SAS), the Company supports customers in building sustainable value chains. To this end, Klöckner & Co further added to its CO₂-categorization offerings. From the beginning of 2023, in addition to the established five-category classification of CO₂-reduced steel, stainless steel and aluminum, customers can now have the individual Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) calculated for nearly all of the around 200,000 Klöckner products. The PCF reflects a product’s cumulative CO₂-emissions across the entire value chain, from resource extraction to production and delivery at the customer’s factory gate (“cradle to customer entry gate”) and is determined using the Nexigen^® PCF Algorithm, which has been certified by TÜV SÜD.

The Company’s wide-ranging sustainability activities have also been recognized by external sources. December 2022 saw Klöckner & Co win the German Sustainability Award 2023 in the Climate Transformation category. In addition, in April 2022, Klöckner & Co became the first company in the world to have all of its net zero carbon targets, including its decarbonization path, recognized as science-based in the standard validation process in accordance with the latest Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) standards.

Expansion of product portfolio with acquisitions in North America and Europe

With the acquisition of National Material of Mexico (NMM) by the US subsidiary Kloeckner Metals Corporation (KMC) announced at the end of 2022, Klöckner & Co is strengthening its leading position in steel and metals distribution and the steel service business in North America. Customers stand to benefit from the transaction with improved access to steel, aluminum and stainless steel in Mexico. NMM and KMC notably complement each other in terms of regional coverage, customer segments and in view of NMM’s strong position in the automotive sector. In addition, the acquisition represents an attractive opportunity to enter the exclusive electrical steel market, which has considerable growth potential. Mexico is also highly attractive for KMC due to its proximity to the US and to the highly qualified local labor market. All of the world’s major automotive manufacturers produce in the country and the number of vehicles made there is expected to increase significantly in the future. As a combined player, Klöckner & Co will be ideally positioned to meet the resulting demand. The transaction is subject to the necessary antitrust approvals and is expected to close before summer 2023.

In addition, Klöckner & Co has further strengthened its partnership with US steel producer Nucor and is investing in a heavy plate processing plant on the site of the new Nucor steel mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky. Nucor Steel Brandenburg is a state-of-the-art electric steel mill where scrap is recycled into new heavy plate for offshore wind turbines and other infrastructure projects. With this investment, Klöckner & Co is driving ahead the development of sustainable, innovative and complex solutions for the entire supply chain and extending its portfolio of higher value-added services.

The Company has also made selective acquisitions to expand its product and service range in Europe. The acquisition of Hernandez Stainless GmbH and RSC Rostfrei Coil Center GmbH by the German subsidiary Becker Stahl-Service marked Klöckner & Co’s entry into stainless steel processing in a further addition to its product and service portfolio.

Focus on internal process digitalization

Klöckner & Co also continued to forge ahead in the strategic focus areas of digitalization and automation. In fiscal year 2022, the Company launched additional initiatives to streamline, harmonize and modernize the Group IT landscape. These initiatives lay the groundwork for further digitalization and automation of processes between sales and processing and enhance internal operational efficiency. By improving supply chain transparency, Klöckner & Co is also enhancing the shopping experience for customers, for example with real-time order tracking. This gives Klöckner & Co a competitive edge over smaller competitors. In order to continue developing innovative digital solutions in the future, the digital innovation hub kloeckner.i is to be tied in even more closely with the operating business and will intensify internal collaboration with other units.

Outlook

Although the economic environment remains challenging, the Company expects that the global steel market will increasingly normalize this year. A stronger demand trend in the Company’s key European and US markets is thus expected to bring a considerable increase in shipments compared to fiscal year 2022. Despite the rise in steel prices at the beginning of 2023, Klöckner & Co expects a lower price level overall compared to the prior-year period and correspondingly lower sales. Given the overall considerable improvement in the Company’s operational positioning, substance and profitability base, Klöckner & Co is targeting EBITDA before material special effects at a strong level, albeit below the prior-year figure, which was significantly positively impacted by price effects.

Due to a strong improvement in the macroeconomic environment, a positive price trend and very rigorous net working capital management, the Company expects that first-quarter EBITDA before material special effects will be very considerably higher than in the preceding quarter, at €40 million to €90 million.

About Klöckner & Co:

Klöckner & Co is one of the largest producer-independent distributors of steel and metal products and one of the leading steel service companies worldwide. Based on its distribution and service network of around 150 sites in 13 countries, Klöckner & Co supplies more than 90,000 customers. Currently, the Group has around 7,300 employees. Klöckner & Co had sales of some €9.4 billion in fiscal year 2022. With the expansion of its portfolio of CO₂-reduced materials, services and logistics options under the new Nexigen^® umbrella brand, the company is underscoring its role as a pioneer of a sustainable steel industry. At the same time, Klöckner & Co leads the way in the steel industry’s digital transformation and has set itself the target of digitalizing and largely automating its supply and service chain. In this way, the Company aims to develop into the leading one-stop shop for steel, other materials, equipment and processing services in Europe and the Americas.

The shares of Klöckner & Co SE are admitted to trading on the regulated market segment (Regulierter Markt) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) with further post-admission obligations (Prime Standard). Klöckner & Co shares are listed in the SDAX^® index of Deutsche Börse.

ISIN: DE000KC01000; WKN: KC0100; Common Code: 025808576.

Contact Klöckner & Co SE:

Press
Christian Pokropp – Press spokesman
Head of Corporate Communications | Head of Group HR
+49 203 307-2050

Investors
Felix Schmitz
Head of Investor Relations | Head of Strategic Sustainability
+49 203 307-2295

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Disclaimer
All transaction are carrying out by SiLLC, a private portfolio management assembly. This document is not an offer of securities for sale or investment advisory services. This document contains general information only and is not intended to represent general or specific investment advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and targets are not guaranteed. Certain statements and forecasted data are based on current expectations, current market and economic conditions, estimates, projections, opinions and beliefs of SiLLC and/or its members. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements or in any of the case studies or forecasts. All references to SiLLC’s advisory activities relates to SiLLC Assembly International.

Neptune Announces an Additional 53,000 Terahash of Bitcoin Mining Machines Are Now Operational

Neptune Announces an Additional 53,000 Terahash of Bitcoin Mining Machines Are Now Operational

Vancouver, British Columbia–September 21, 2022 – Neptune Digital Assets Corp. (TSXV: NDA) (OTC Pink: NPPTF) (FSE: 1NW) (“Neptune” or the “Company“), a blockchain technology and cryptocurrency leader in Canada, is pleased to announce that it has brought an additional 53 petahash per second (PH/s) of mining capacity online and these machines are now producing bitcoin.

New Bitcoin ASIC Mining Machines

These Antminer S19 Pro Bitcoin mining machines have been tested, installed, and are now producing Bitcoin. The Antminer S19 Pro is the latest generation Bitcoin ASIC miner produced by leading hardware manufacturer Bitmain. The Antminer S19 Pro’s mining SHA-256 algorithm boasts a hashrate ranging from 96 to 104 terahash per second (TH/s) with an energy efficiency of 29.5 joules per terahash (J/TH) and a power consumption of 3250W. The Bitcoin mining machine deployment collectively produces a total of 52,496 terahash per second. The new Bitcoin mining machines are deployed using the Luxor mining pool and are hosted in a state-of-the-art facility in the USA owned and operated by Aspen Creek Digital Corporation (ACDC). Launched in 2022, ACDC’s mission is to catalyze the decarbonization of power generation by building the world’s leading fleet of renewably powered high-performance computing facilities.

“We are happy we can finally bring on the additional 53 petahash of mining capacity purchased in late 2021. The mining business has been challenging over the last 12 months, however it does still remain profitable and we will continue to carefully grow these operations while focused on cost savings and profit margins. We look forward to a fruitful partnership with Aspen where we can grow our renewable focused mining operations. We are fortunate to have the financial means to take advantage of the current bear market and acquire assets at a discount using cash raised at the peak of the bull cycle,” stated Cale Moodie, Neptune’s CEO.

Stock Option Issuance

The Company announces the grant of stock options to purchase up 2,000,000 common shares in the capital of the Company to certain directors and officers of the Company in accordance with the terms of the Company’s stock option plan. The stock options will be exercisable at $0.23 per common share and for a period of 10 years from the date of issuance.

About Neptune Digital Assets Corp.
Neptune Digital Assets (TSXV: NDA) is one of the first publicly-traded blockchain companies in Canada and is a cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure leader with operations across the digital asset ecosystem including Bitcoin mining, proof-of-stake mining, blockchain nodes, decentralized finance (DeFi), and other associated blockchain technologies.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Cale Moodie, President and CEO
Neptune Digital Assets Corp.
1-800-545-0941
www.neptunedigitalassets.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX ‎Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.‎

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains certain “forward looking statements” and certain “forward-looking information” as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “plans”, “proposes” or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, Company’s operations and sustainable future profitability; potential further improvements to the profitability and efficiency across operations by optimizing cryptocurrency mining output, continuing to lower direct mining operations cost structure, and maximizing existing electrical and infrastructure capacity including with new mining equipment; continued adoption of cryptocurrency; the efficacy of the Antminer S19 Pro Bitcoin mining machines; the estimated hashrate ranging from 96 to 104 terahash per second (TH/s) with an energy efficiency of 29.5 joules ‎per terahash (J/TH), a power consumption of 3250W and the deployment ‎collectively producing a total of 52,496 terahash per second; any statements related to the grant of stock options to certain Neptune directors and officers. Forward-looking statements and information are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that, while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, and contingencies. Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of the Company to control or predict, that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, including but not limited to: the inherent risks involved in the cryptocurrency and general securities markets; the Company’s ability to successfully mine digital currency; revenue of the Company may not increase as currently anticipated, or at all; the Company may not be able to profitably liquidate its current digital currency inventory, or at all; a decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative impact on the Company’s operations; the volatility of digital currency prices; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions, liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-looking information represents management’s best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.

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Ballard receives order from Siemens Mobility to power 7 trains and signs LOI for up to an additional 200 modules over the next six years

VANCOUVER, BC and MUNICH, Sept. 22, 2022 – Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP) (TSX: BLDP) today announced an order for 14 x 200 kW fuel cell modules from Siemens Mobility GmbH (“Siemens Mobility”; www.mobility.siemens.com), a leading supplier in the development of alternative drives, to power a fleet of seven Mireo Plus H passenger trains. Delivery of the 14 fuel cell modules is expected to start in 2023 with the fleet planned to be in service in Berlin-Brandenburg region in late 2024.

In addition to the initial order of 14 fuel cell modules, Siemens Mobility also signed a letter of intent with Ballard for the supply of 200 fuel cell modules totaling 40 MW over the next six years, including a firm commitment on 100 of the fuel cell modules totaling 20MW. The modules will be used for Siemen’s Mireo Plus H trains.

“This is a significant milestone for our multi-year collaboration efforts with Siemens Mobility and the future of zero-emission commuter rail in Europe. Our fuel cell technology is an ideal solution to support the heavy payload, long range and rapid refueling requirements of Siemen Mobility’s passenger train fleet. We look forward to our continued collaboration and are excited for the opportunity to support the Berlin and Brandenburg region’s first hydrogen powered rail network,” said David Mucciacciaro, Ballard Chief Commercial Officer. “We will continue our work to secure platform wins with key partners in our core verticals and to support their scaling plans to achieve decarbonization.”

“We can only meet climate change targets by increasing rail transportation. Our first order for a fleet of hydrogen-powered trains will enable emission-free rail transport on non-electrified routes in Germany,” said Jochen Steinbauer, Platform Director H₂ Technologies at Siemens Mobility. “Our Mireo Plus H is a next-generation hydrogen train, featuring longer range, faster acceleration and state-of-the-art technologies, setting new standards in zero-emission passenger transport.”

About Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems’ (NASDAQ: BLDP;TSX: BLDP) vision is to deliver fuel cell power for a sustainable planet. Ballard zero-emission PEM fuel cells are enabling electrification of mobility, including buses, commercial trucks, trains, marine vessels, and stationary power. To learn more about Ballard, please visit www.ballard.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements concerning anticipated product performance and other characteristics, product deliveries and deployments. These forward-looking statements reflect Ballard’s current expectations as contemplated under section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any such forward-looking statements are based on Ballard’s assumptions relating to its financial forecasts and expectations regarding its product development efforts, manufacturing capacity, and market demand.

These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause Ballard’s actual results to be materially different, including general economic and regulatory changes, detrimental reliance on third parties, successfully achieving our business plans and achieving and sustaining profitability. For a detailed discussion of these and other risk factors that could affect Ballard’s future performance, please refer to Ballard’s most recent Annual Information Form. Readers should not place undue reliance on Ballard’s forward-looking statements and Ballard assumes no obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements, other than as required under applicable legislation.

SOURCE Ballard Power Systems Inc.

For further information: Ballard Power Systems: Kate Charlton – VP Corporate Finance & Investor Relations +1.604.453.3939 or

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