By Giulia Petroni
Alstom reported a rise sales in the first half boosted by rolling stock but said that production ramp up weighted on cash flow.
The French trainmaker said Wednesday that, according to preliminary results, sales came in at 8.3 billion euros ($8.69 billion) in the period ended Sept. 30, up 6.5% on year organically. Guidance for organic sales growth above 5% for the fiscal year was confirmed.
Free cash flow stood at negative EUR1.15 billion from negative EUR45 million in the same period last year due to an acceleration of the production ramp-up, an order delay in the U.K., and a decrease in the level of downpayments.
The company expects cash flow to improve in the second half but adjusted its full-year expectations, saying it now sees free cash flow in a range of minus EUR500 million to minus EUR750 million in fiscal 2023-24. It previously said it expected free cash flow to be “significantly positive.”
Orders fell to EUR8.4 billion in the first half from EUR10.1 billion in the year-earlier period, when the company booked a supply contract worth EUR2.5 billion in Germany. The adjusted earnings before interest and taxes margin stood at 5.2%, compared with 4.9% a year earlier.
Write to Giulia Petroni at [email protected]
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