Full Year Results 2004/05 1st April 2004 - 31st March 2005
31 May 2005
ALSTOM’s recovery is clearly reflected in the FY04/05 results:
Orders received of €15.8 billion, up 15 per cent on a comparable basis from FY03/04
Operating income at €550 million, multiplied by three on a comparable basis versus €168 million in the previous fiscal year; operating margin up from 1.2 per cent in FY03/04 to 4.0 per cent in FY04/05
Net losses cut in half to €0.86 billion from €1.84 billion in FY03/04 in spite of significant non-recurring charges
Net debt strongly reduced during the fiscal year, down to €1.4 billion from €3.7 billion
Free Cash Flow showing strong improvement at -€170 million versus -€1007 million in the last fiscal year
Liquidity reinforced due to the financial consolidation undertaken during the fiscal year
2005/06 objectives confirmed:
6 per cent operating margin leading to a return to profitability
Positive Free Cash Flow with continuing debt reduction
The Board, in its meeting held on 30th May 2005, has approved the accounts for the fiscal year 2004/05. Commenting on these results, Patrick Kron, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer said:
“The results we are presenting today clearly demonstrate the ongoing recovery of ALSTOM. All key indicators are in line with, or better than the guidance previously given. These results enable us to confirm the FY 2005/06 targets announced in March 2003 when we launched our recovery plan: an operating margin of 6 per cent leading to a return to profitability and a positive Free Cash Flow.
Customers’ renewed confidence in ALSTOM is clearly evidenced by €15.8 billion of orders, up 15 per cent on a comparable basis from FY03/04. This positive trend is not only quantitative but also qualitative. Margins on orders booked continue to improve; those in our current order book, which represents two years of sales, are in line with the profitability targets announced for the Group and its operational Sectors. On a geographical basis, the commercial success achieved in markets with strong growth potential is encouraging. Chinese orders reached €1.6 billion, more than twice the level of the previous year, and orders from India were close to €0.5 billion.
Our operational performance is greatly enhanced: the GT24/GT26 heavy-duty gas turbine issue is now resolved, with the remaining disbursements fully reserved.Agreements with our customers have been reached on 74 out of the 76 turbines sold. New orders – for a total of seven machines - have been secured in Spain and in Thailand, and new tenders are under review in several countries. We have actively pursued our cost-cutting programme; a set of restructuring measures, aimed at adapting our industrial and engineering capacity and improving our overall efficiency has led to a reduction of the workforce by 11,500 (8,000 departures to date), which should bring an annual reduction in costs of €500 million. We have focused on the improvement of contract execution, adapting our manpower, organisation and internal controls. These actions have allowed us, in spite of the low level of sales resulting from low order intake 12 to 18 months ago, to significantly increase our operational income, with the operating margin, on a comparable basis, rising from 1.2 per cent to 4 per cent. Our Free Cash Flow is also considerably better with net cash outflow reduced from €1,007 million last financial year to €170 million in 2004/05 – out of which €366 million were spent as part of the settlement of the GT24/26 problem.
Thanks to our ongoing disposal programme and to the capital increases which took place in July 2004, our net debt has been significantly reduced, from €3.7 billion to €1.4 billion in March 2005. The successful refinancing undertaken in February 2005 and our current headroom (our cash at holding company level and the available undrawn credit lines at 31 March 2005 stood at €2 billion) give us a considerable buffer to cover our future liquidity needs.
The progress achieved makes us confident for the future. The ambitious objectives we have set for March 2006 are thus confirmed: an operating margin of 6 per cent allowing for the return to profitability and a positive Free Cash Flow. Obviously we intend to further improve our performance beyond our current financial year: operating margin at the end March 2008 should be up by one or two percent, reaching 7 to 8 percent, and Free Cash Flow, thanks to a strict management of working capital, should also continue to show strong growth. Thus, from a significantly stronger base, ALSTOM will pursue an ambitious and profitable development strategy in its growing markets