Umicore: economic environment to impact 2019 growth
(CercleFinance.com) - Umicore's earnings growth in 2019 will be tempered by subdued demand in the automotive and consumer electronics sectors, the Belgian group warned on Friday.
The metals and speciality materials maker said it expected the less favourable macro-economic environment to impact its recurring operating profit (REBIT) this year.
The company also warned against increased depreciation charges, R&D and startup costs, as well as the timing of new capacity.
Regarding 2018, revenues rose by 17% to 3.3 billion euros, with recurring EBIT up 29% at 514 million euros.
Umicore also said that it would raise it annual dividend to 0.75 euro per share, from 0.70 euro in 2017.
Still, these results failed to reassure investors today.
"2019 is facing numerous headwinds," say UBS analysts. According to the broker, consensus EBIT growth for 2019 now looks "challenging to achieve."
Unsurprisingly, the shares of Umicore were down 3.8% at 45 euros on Friday morning.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
The metals and speciality materials maker said it expected the less favourable macro-economic environment to impact its recurring operating profit (REBIT) this year.
The company also warned against increased depreciation charges, R&D and startup costs, as well as the timing of new capacity.
Regarding 2018, revenues rose by 17% to 3.3 billion euros, with recurring EBIT up 29% at 514 million euros.
Umicore also said that it would raise it annual dividend to 0.75 euro per share, from 0.70 euro in 2017.
Still, these results failed to reassure investors today.
"2019 is facing numerous headwinds," say UBS analysts. According to the broker, consensus EBIT growth for 2019 now looks "challenging to achieve."
Unsurprisingly, the shares of Umicore were down 3.8% at 45 euros on Friday morning.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.