Software firm Dassault Systemes cuts 2024 forecast again on auto sector slowdown
Adds share move in paragraph 4, analyst comments in paragraphs 10-12
By Anna Peverieri
Oct 24 (Reuters) -French software company Dassault Systemes DAST.PA cut its 2024 revenue growth forecast for the second time in four months on Thursday, citing the slowdown in the global automotive industry.
The group, which sells its software to carmakers, aircraft manufacturers and industrial companies, now sees 2024 total revenue growth in the range of 5% to 7%, compared to its earlier forecast of between 6% and 8%.
It reiterated the annual outlook for diluted earnings per share growth at 8% to 11%.
Its shares were down 1.4% at 0754 GMT.
The macroeconomic environment has worsened since Dassault Systemes last cut its forecasts in July, further impacting on its key end-markets.
The automotive sector is struggling, marked by recent profit warnings from carmakers such as Stellantis STLAM.MI and Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE, while key players in the aerospace industry face production challenges and delivery delays.
Dassault Systemes, one of France's leading IT groups, said its third-quarter revenue grew 4% to 4.46 billion euros ($4.81 billion), boosted by 8% growth in subscription revenue.
The group's automotive customers in Europe and the U.S. were impacted by a contraction in volumes in the late summer, weighing on its growth prospects, CEO Pascal Daloz said in the statement.
He added that momentum in Asia, and China in particular, had remained strong, with its software revenue growing 9% in the region in the third quarter.
Jefferies analysts said in a note that the results were "disappointing, though not entirely unexpected".
They also noted Dassault's larger peers like Siemens SIEGn.DE and Schneider Electric SCHN.PA were actively pursuing strategic acquisitions that could significantly alter the competitive dynamics in the industry.
This puts pressure on Dassault Systemes that faces the challenge of either entering costly bidding wars or potentially losing vital market opportunities, neither of which "feels optimal" for it, they said.
($1 = 0.9268 euros)
Reporting by Anna Peverieri in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi
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