Alstom SA (ALSMY) Full Year 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Order Intake and Robust Cash ...

In This Article:

  • Orders: EUR19.8 billion for the year, with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1.

  • Sales: EUR18.5 billion, representing 6.6% organic growth.

  • Adjusted EBIT: EUR1.2 billion, up 18% year-on-year, with a 6.4% margin.

  • Free Cash Flow: EUR502 million, at the top of the guided range.

  • Backlog Margin: Close to 18%, reflecting quality order intake.

  • Gross Margin: 14.1%, a decrease of 20 bps due to legacy projects and scope.

  • Net Income: Adjusted net profit of EUR498 million.

  • Net Financial Debt: Decreased to EUR434 million from EUR3 billion.

  • Trade Working Capital: 34 days of sales, stable at EUR1.7 billion.

  • Contract Working Capital: 89 days of sales, representing EUR4.5 billion.

  • Effective Tax Rate: 35%, expected to revert to 27%-25% next year.

  • Scope 1+2 Emissions: 128 KtonCO2, an 8% decrease year-on-year.

  • Adjusted EBITDA: Nearly EUR1.5 billion, representing 8% of sales.

Release Date: May 14, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

  • Alstom SA (ALSMY) reported strong order intake of EUR19.8 billion, with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1, indicating healthy demand.

  • Sales exceeded expectations, reaching EUR18.5 billion, representing a 6.6% organic growth.

  • Adjusted EBIT increased by 18% year-over-year to nearly EUR1.2 billion, with a margin improvement from 5.7% to 6.4%.

  • Free cash flow was robust at EUR502 million, at the top of the guided range, demonstrating effective cash management.

  • The backlog margin improved to 18%, reflecting a favorable mix towards services and Signalling, and the completion of legacy contracts.

Negative Points

  • There were delays in large rolling stock orders, impacting the order intake slightly below the EUR20 billion mark.

  • The gross margin decreased by 20 basis points to 14.1% due to legacy projects and scope changes.

  • The company anticipates a more pronounced seasonality in free cash flow for fiscal year '26, with potential headwinds in working capital.

  • The effective tax rate stood at 35%, higher than the expected range of 27% to 25% for the next year.

  • Challenges remain in ramping up production in Germany and adapting to supply chain constraints, although improvements have been made.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you provide more details on the contract working capital changes for FY '26 and the impact of delayed contracts? A: The increase in contract assets is largely due to the mobilization of resources for services and Signalling, which represent roughly two-thirds of the increase, with rolling stock making up the rest. The TGVM in France and the AMTRAK project in the US are significant contributors. Delayed contracts are not a major factor, and the R&D increase is mostly due to phasing, not capitalization changes.