Umicore: share price falls on lackluster results

(CercleFinance.com) - Umicore shares suffered the biggest drop in the BEL 20 index in Brussels on Friday morning following the presentation of sharply lower 2024 results.


The Belgian materials, chemicals and metallurgy group reported revenues of E3.5bn for last year, compared with E3.9bn for 2023.

Its adjusted Ebitda fell by 22% to E763m.

2024 will have been a disappointingly intense year for Umicore, marked by considerable challenges, including a slowdown in the growth of electric vehicles (EVs), multiple obstacles in the European industrial sector and growing geopolitical tensions, its CEO Bart Sap says.

Since his arrival last May, the group has launched a strategic review and deployed cost-cutting measures, while focusing on allocating its capital in a "disciplined" manner.

But Umicore points out that the global economic landscape continues to be disrupted by persistent geopolitical tensions, limiting visibility on end-market demand.

Against this backdrop, the company says it expects adjusted Ebitda for 2025 to be between E720 and E780 million, suggesting a further decline in earnings based on the mid-point (E750 million).

Umicore says it intends not only to cut costs, but also to reduce capital expenditure by 20%.

At its Investor Day, scheduled for 27 March in London, Umicore plans to present the results of the strategic review and the medium-term plan for the Battery Materials business, which saw revenues decline last year.

Meanwhile, the share was down more than 10% on Friday on Euronext Brussels,


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