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Thyssenkrupp Nucera expects operating loss in 2024 on start-up costs
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
By Christoph Steitz and Tom Käckenhoff
FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) -Thyssenkrupp Nucera, which makes electrolysers needed to produce green hydrogen, expects an operating loss in its 2024 fiscal year, citing start-up costs for the division it expects will account for most of its growth in the future.
The company, which was listed in one of Europe’s biggest IPOs this year, said it expects a loss before interest and tax (EBIT) in the mid-double-digit million euro range, compared with an LSEG estimate for a 22.8 million euro ($25 million) loss.
EBIT will primarily be burdened by costs associated with alkaline water electrolysis, the company said, the part of its business that investors are most keen on as it can be scaled up quickly.
The company’s shares are down more than a third from the high reached a day after it listed in July, reflecting a more cautious approach investors have taken to a technology that is fairly new and depends on political support.
Thyssenkrupp Nucera, which competes with Norway’s Nel, Britain’s ITM Power, France’s McPhy Energy and U.S. company Plug Power, said its order intake fell by more than half to 613 million in 2022/23.
Its EBIT nearly tripled to 23.8 million euros in 2022/23, exceeding an LSEG analysts’ survey estimate of 16.5 million.
Electrolysers can use renewable energy to separate hydrogen from water, and the hydrogen can then be used as an alternative to fossil fuels in hard-to-decarbonise industries – making it a potential growth market in global efforts to cut emissions.
Sales in the year to Sept. 30 are expected to grow by a mid double-digit percentage from the 653 million generated in 2022/23, said the group, which is majority-owned by Thyssenkrupp, in line with a growth forecast of 51% from analysts polled by LSEG.
($1 = 0.9163 euros)
(Additional reporting by Rachel More; editing by Jacqueline Wong and Jason Neely)
EBIT stands for Earnings Before Interest and Taxes. It is a measure of a firm's profit that includes all incomes and expenses (except interest expenses and income tax expenses).
Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced using renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar power, to power the electrolysis of water, thereby separating hydrogen from oxygen.
Electrolysers are devices that use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. They are crucial for producing green hydrogen, which can replace fossil fuels in various industries.
An IPO, or Initial Public Offering, is the process through which a private company offers shares to the public for the first time, allowing it to raise capital from public investors.
Investor sentiment refers to the overall attitude of investors toward a particular security or financial market, which can influence market trends and stock prices.
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