According to the report, Waberer’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBIDTA) increased by 11% to 21.7 million euros in Q2 compared to the year before.
In the first six months of this year, the group’s sales revenue was 332.1 million euros, a rise of 13.6% on the same period in 2021.
The International Transportation Segment contributed to the increase in sales in this quarter (it achieved a 24% increase compared to the same period in 2021).
The increase in sales revenue is partly due to the automatic repricing effect of the higher fuel prices compared to the base period. However, the company adds:
“We were also able to successfully increase our net price level (i.e. the price level reduced by fuel costs and road tolls), so we are able to cover the increase in other direct and indirect costs, including the change in the minimum wage, the wage increase necessary to retain the workforce, and also the unfavourable change in the taxation rules burdening the wage.”
The sales revenue of the Regional Contract Logistics segment increased by 10.4% compared to the second quarter of 2021 , and the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) reached 4.0 million euros in the second quarter of 2022, which represents a performance lower by 0.1 million euros compared to the same period of the previous year (although it is an EBIT improvement of 0.3 million euros compared to Q2 2022).
Waberer’s net income was 2.5 million euros in the second quarter of 2022, which means a deterioration of 3.6 million euros compared to the same period in 2021.
“The reason for the lower net profit was the unrealized, non-cash flow financial loss resulting from the change in currency exchange rates (3.5 million euros), the higher interest costs generated by the bond issue, and the increase in latent tax also not associated with cash flow (0.6 million euros) . The net result for the first half of 2022 reached 4.2 million euros,” states the report.
In the second quarter of 2022, as part of the announced fleet replacement program, 465 new vehicles started operation at the company – the total value of this investment was 28.9 million euros. According to the company’s report, during the first half of the year, a total of 611 tractors and 130 trailers were replaced, mainly through financial leasing, and also in the amount of 8.5 million euros for cash.
However, due to the fleet modernisation and the change in the capitalization of the warehouse rent, the company’s debt also increased significantly. It grew by more than 33 million euros compared to the second quarter of 2021 (the debt thus amounted to 149 million euros at the end of June 2022, while at the end of June 2021 it was 115 million euros).
Zsolt Barna, the company’s CEO, said that the first group of overseas drivers arrived from India during this period, with whom they found a long-term solution to the labour market challenges.
“The arrival of the first group of overseas drivers from India during the quarter was an important step in the life of the Group. It opens the door to a labour market of a size that can offer a long-term solution to the challenges of the labour market. Our new colleagues are highly committed to Waberer’s and to their work. After learning the European transportation specialities, they will be useful members of our community and can provide a long-term solution to the labour shortage, which is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the industry today. It can be a competitive advantage for Waberer’s to be able to recruit colleagues from regions that our competitors with smaller operations cannot.”
According to the report, in the first half of 2022, neither the war in Ukraine nor the rising inflation caused a significant drop in industrial production or residential consumption in the European countries relevant to Waberer’s, so the company was able to fully handle temporary demand delays by taking advantage of its diversified customer and service portfolio.
The announced financial plan is considered achievable, and the previous year’s group-level EBIT performance will be reached in 2022, according to the report.
Waberer’s shares are traded in the premium category on the Budapest Stock Exchange. In the past year, the highest exchange rate for the paper was 2,870 Hungarian forints (approx 7.75 euros), and the lowest was 1,520 forints (approx 3.85 euros). On Thursday, when the financial report was published, it closed at 2,270 forints (approx 5.75 euros).
Photo credits @ Waberer’s