Prysmian's shares down as FY forecast increase mostly due to Encore acquisition
Sees FY adj EBITDA of 1.90-1.95 bln euros
Co completed Encore acquisition in July
FCF negative in H1, seen at 840-920 mln euros in FY
Adj EBITDA down 1% in H1 to 869 mln euros
H1 EBITDA margins broadly stable at 11.1%
Recasts; adds stock reaction, analyst comment, context
MILAN, Aug 1 (Reuters) -Prysmian PRY.MI on Thursday raised core profit and cash forecasts for this year, although mostly due to its $4.2 billion euro acquisition of Encore Wire, as the world's No.1 cable maker broadly met expectations with its first-half results.
The Italian group finalised last month the acquisition of U.S. firm Ecore Wire, a deal aimed at bolstering its position in its North American profit powerhouse.
Based on 2023 sales data, the deal increased Prysmian's size by over 15%.
"The upgraded guidance for the 2024 full year follows not only to our acquisition of Encore Wire ... but also our disciplined focus on profitability and sound cash generation," CEO Massimo Battaini said in a statement.
Prysmian guided for its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to grow this year to between 1.90 billion and 1.95 billion euros ($2.06 billion to 2.11 billion), versus a previous forecast of between 1.575 billion and 1.675 billion euros.
Battaini said in a post-earnings press conference that around two thirds, or 200 million euros, of the adjusted EBITDA forecast improvement was due to the addition of Encore to Prysmian, while only the remaining part came from a better outlook.
The Milan-listed shares in the company were down 3% in early trade, the worst performers among Italy's blue-chips.
Analysts at Citi said in a note that the guidance raise was "broadly in-line with expectations" and pointed to softer margins at Prysmian's electrification's business.
In the first half of 2024 the group's adjusted EBITDA was little changed at 869 million euros, meeting a company-provided analyst consensus of 864 million euros.
The electrification business was the main contributor to the result, but its performance fell from a year earlier, with its margin down by almost a percentage point to 9.5% in the first half.
The company posted a negative, although improved, free cash flow in the January-June period, but guided for a total cash generation of between 840 million and 920 million euros this year, versus a previous forecast of 675 million to 775 million euros.
($1 = 0.9236 euros)
Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Alvise Armellini and Christopher Cushing
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