Safran: profit taking as forecasts deemed too cautious
(CercleFinance.com) - Safran posted the biggest drop in the CAC 40 index on Thursday, a victim of profit-taking after posting forecasts deemed too cautious by analysts.
At around 11:30 a.m., the aircraft equipment supplier's shares, which had hit all-time highs yesterday, were down over 5%, while the CAC 40 was up by 0.4% at the same time.
At its Investor Day this morning, the group stated that it expects sales growth of around 10% by 2025, operating income before non-recurring items of between E4.7bn and E4.8bn, and free cash flow of E2.8bn to E3bn.
In the longer term, the high-tech group expects sales growth of 7% to 9% p.a. over 2024-28, operating income of E6bn to E6.5bn by 2028, and cumulative free cash flow generation of E15bn to E17bn over 2024-28.
These forecasts were deemed disappointing by analysts.
In a reaction note, Barclays analysts refer to a "particularly cautious" outlook to 2028.
The British investment bank points out that Safran's management team is known for setting cautious targets, but the financial forecasts for 2028 unveiled this morning go beyond this usual prudence.
Analysts at UBS refer to forecasts for both 2025 and 2028 as more cautious than expected, recalling that the consensus was looking for Ebit of E4.9bn for 2025 and sales of E6.9bn for 2028.
Those at Oddo BHF acknowledged that the targets for 2028 were indeed 'a little disappointing', but stressed that share buybacks had been announced and that the desire to prune the portfolio had been clearly evoked.
Safran has announced that it plans to redistribute to its shareholders around 70% of its free cash flow generated over 2024-28, in the form of dividends and share buybacks, totaling E5bn between 2025 and 2028.
Copyright (c) 2024 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
At around 11:30 a.m., the aircraft equipment supplier's shares, which had hit all-time highs yesterday, were down over 5%, while the CAC 40 was up by 0.4% at the same time.
At its Investor Day this morning, the group stated that it expects sales growth of around 10% by 2025, operating income before non-recurring items of between E4.7bn and E4.8bn, and free cash flow of E2.8bn to E3bn.
In the longer term, the high-tech group expects sales growth of 7% to 9% p.a. over 2024-28, operating income of E6bn to E6.5bn by 2028, and cumulative free cash flow generation of E15bn to E17bn over 2024-28.
These forecasts were deemed disappointing by analysts.
In a reaction note, Barclays analysts refer to a "particularly cautious" outlook to 2028.
The British investment bank points out that Safran's management team is known for setting cautious targets, but the financial forecasts for 2028 unveiled this morning go beyond this usual prudence.
Analysts at UBS refer to forecasts for both 2025 and 2028 as more cautious than expected, recalling that the consensus was looking for Ebit of E4.9bn for 2025 and sales of E6.9bn for 2028.
Those at Oddo BHF acknowledged that the targets for 2028 were indeed 'a little disappointing', but stressed that share buybacks had been announced and that the desire to prune the portfolio had been clearly evoked.
Safran has announced that it plans to redistribute to its shareholders around 70% of its free cash flow generated over 2024-28, in the form of dividends and share buybacks, totaling E5bn between 2025 and 2028.
Copyright (c) 2024 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.