KSB continues its positive development in the first half of the year

2023 Half-year Financial Report

KSB continues its positive development in the
first half of the year

• Order intake up 8.2 % on the previous year
• Sales revenue up 21.0 % on the previous year
• Return on sales before one-time special factors increased to 7.3 %

FRANKENTHAL: The Frankenthal-based pump and valve manufacturer KSB continued to expand its order intake, sales revenue and earnings (EBIT) in the first half of 2023. In July, the company revised upwards its expectations for the financial year.

“Despite the global economic uncertainties, we have concluded a very positive first half of the year and exceeded expectations for all relevant key performance indicators. This is an undeniable success for KSB’s market-oriented organisation”, says CEO Dr Stephan Timmermann.

KSB recorded order intake of € 1,608.7 million in the first half of the year. This equates to growth of 8.2 % (+ € 121.4 million) compared with the prior-year period. The Pumps Segment recorded an increase of 3.8 % (+ € 32.2 million). The Valves and KSB SupremeServ Segments boosted growth significantly, with 12.7 % (+ € 24.8 million) and 14.4 % (+ € 64.4 million). The Mining and Energy Market Areas, which have a major focus on the project business, were particularly strong in terms of incoming orders. Order intake in the Standard Markets, especially in Building Services, slowed down in the second quarter, reflecting the economic downturn in Europe in particular. The largest percentage growth came from the Region Asia, followed by the Region Americas. Growth in Europe was more moderate and order intake in the Region Middle East / Africa / Russia was slightly lower than in the strong prior-year period.

Sales revenue increased considerably by 21.0 % (+ € 240.9 million) in the first six months to € 1,386.6 million. The Pumps Segment recorded the strongest performance with 22.6 % growth (+ € 137.6 million). The Valves Segment contributed 14.9 % (+ € 23.8 million) to sales revenue for the first half of the year. Service and spare parts benefited from the close after-sales customer service and achieved growth of 21.1 % (+ € 79.5 million). Almost all Regions posted double-digit percentage growth rates. 

KSB further increased its profitability year on year. With earnings before finance income / expense and income tax (EBIT) of € 112.1 million, the company generated a return on sales of 8.1 %. EBIT was positively influenced by insurance compensation of € 10.2 million for the hail damage incurred at a French plant in 2022. Excluding this extraordinary income, the operating return on sales in the first half of 2023 was 7.3 %.

“Although we notice a certain slowdown in the standard business, we know that KSB is optimally positioned and offsets fluctuations across many Market Areas and Regions. We are very confident about the second half of the year”, Stephan Timmermann explained. 

KSB is a leading international manufacturer of pumps and valves. The Frankenthal-based Group has a presence on five continents with its own sales and marketing organisations, manufacturing facilities and service operations. With a workforce of around 15,700, the KSB Group generated sales revenue of € 2.6 billion in 2022.