After the decline in the Corona crisis, the engine manufacturer MTU is optimistic about the current financial year due to full order books. “We are well positioned to benefit from the expected market recovery in 2022,” said MTU boss Reiner Winkler on Wednesday. Demand is already increasing, especially in the freight sector. In addition, the airlines are preparing for a very strong summer season worldwide: “The only thing that is still weakening are the long-haul aircraft.”
The figures were well received on the stock exchange. The share, which is listed in the German share index Dax, increased by 4.9 percent to almost 210 euros, which is the highest level in six months. “We believe that MTU will come out of the Corona crisis in a strong position,” wrote the experts at JP Morgan. Equities should benefit from the fact that global air traffic is gradually increasing.
In the past year, the engine builder benefited above all from its austerity measures. The operating result improved by 13 percent to 468 million euros, the profit margin rose to 11.2 percent after 10.5 percent in 2020. Winkler spoke of a “successful financial year”. Sales, on the other hand, came in at just under EUR 4.2 billion, around EUR 100 million below the company’s expectations. There is no single reason for this, said CFO Peter Kameritsch; a number of orders have been postponed to the current year.
For 2022, MTU expects sales of between 5.2 and 5.4 billion euros. The company benefits from the high order backlog: At the end of 2021, there were orders with a volume of 22.2 billion euros on the books, more than ever before. In civil maintenance alone, orders of over 4.6 billion dollars were received. “Especially given the difficult market situation, this is proof of MTU’s strong market position,” said Winkler.
At the same time, MTU sees itself well prepared for the production ramp-up planned by Airbus. The European aircraft manufacturer is aiming for the production of the blockbuster A320 to increase to 65 machines per month by summer 2023, after just 40 machines per month at the peak of the pandemic. What is disputed is what will happen next. Suppliers and customers are slowing down Airbus, especially with the plan to then ramp up production to 70 or 75 machines per month. Engine builders have concerns about being able to keep up, and leasing companies warn of an oversupply that could ruin prices. “If the customer wants more engines, we won’t refuse,” said Winker. However, the machines would also have to be removed.