Hungarian transport and logistics service provider Waberer's Group has reported its Q1 2023 financial results, revealing its highest-ever quarterly earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of €11.2 million and net income of €10.4 million.
The Q1 2023 revenue of Waberer’s Group increased by 11.2% year-on-year to reach EUR 176.7 million.
While previously it was the Regional Contract Logistics segment that drove the growth, in the first quarter of 2023, with its 16.9% revenue increase, the International Transport Segment (ITS) could also record significant success, benefiting from an increase in „multinational customers with high-quality expectations”, reads Waberer’s financial report.
This growth led to a higher average net price level, boosting the overall results.
Meanwhile, the company’s Regional Contract Logistics (RCL) segment faced some negative impacts due to the decline in domestic consumption, although this was offset by the expansion of logistics activity serving domestic investment activities. Though, RCL’s revenue still increased by 3.6% compared to the base period.
The company’s Insurance segment also performed well, with EBIT increasing by €2.7 million, mainly due to the higher results of financial investments resulting from increasing interest rates. Lower expected damage-related costs, partially attributed to the introduction of IFRS17 accounting principles at the insurance company, also contributed to the growth.
However, it must be noted that Waberer’s Group has also reported an increase in net debt to €164.4 million at the end of Q1 2023, compared to the end of 2022. This represents a rise of €14.4 million, and a €37.9 million increase compared to the end of Q1 2022.
According to the document, the increase was largely driven by the acquisition of vehicles as part of the fleet renewal program.
Looking ahead, Waberer’s management expects a more favourable energy cost environment and the results of transportation tenders in Q1 2023 to boost EBIT for 2023, exceeding the 2022 value of €33.3 million, excluding the one-off financial impact of an out-of-court agreement announced in April 2023.
Zsolt Barna, CEO of Waberer’s International Nyrt., expressed his satisfaction with the company’s performance, especially in the ITS segment, which had a successful tender season in recent months. The RCL segment faced some macroeconomic challenges due to declining consumer demand for food and FMCG products, but the company’s diversified activities helped offset the decline, Barna added.
In order to provide long-term growth opportunities for the RCL segment, the company is constructing its first modern warehouse and developing an ambitious warehouse concept to support the increase in competitiveness of its warehousing activity and provide infrastructure for further organic growth. The company sees potential growth in the logistics sector, especially in automotive investments in new countrywide locations.
