NEWS
Sales at ADS decline 6% while profits remain flat
US-based corrugated pipe manufacturer Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) reported flat profits – but reduced sales – for the financial year ending March 2024.
Sales fell by nearly 6% to
around US$2.9 billion, while pre-tax profit was almost static at US$513 million. The performance came on the back of a final quarter in which sales rose by 6% and pre-tax profit rose by nearly 11% to US$95m. “Fiscal 2024 was our ninth consecutive year of record profitability,” said Scott Barbour, president and CEO of ADS. “Profitabil-
pipe sales fell more than 10%, to around US$1.54bn. This decrease was caused by lower demand in the US construction and agriculture end markets in the first half of the year, said ADS. International sales fell around 6% to end at about US$208m.
Above: Barbour: “Profitability is impressive given the weaker demand in the first half of the year”
ity for the year is impressive given the weaker demand in the first half of the year, which drove a 6% decrease in net sales.” For the full year, domestic
ADS estimates net sales for 2025 at US$2.9bn-3.0bn – a rise of 7-11% – which the company said was made on the basis of “current visibility, backlog of existing orders and business trends”. In addition, it expects profitability – measured in terms of adjusted EBITDA – to rise by around 2%. �
www.ads-pipe.com
Qenos of Australia insolvent
Australia-based polyolefin producer Qenos has gone into voluntary administra- tion. The company produces
a range of polymer materials, including HDPE, LDPE and speciality polymers for applications including pipe extrusion. Eight Qenos units have been put into administra- tion – including Qenos Plastics, Qenos Elastomers and Qenos Resins – with McGrathNicol appointed as administrator. The company employs around 700 people at two plants – one in Altona, and the other in Botany. �
www.qenos.com
Simona announces fall in 2023 results
Germany-based Simona says that sales and profits both declined in 2023, due mainly to an “anaemic global economy”. Group revenue fell nearly 16% to €600 million (US$645m), while profitabil- ity (EBIT) declined by 2% to nearly €53m (US$57m). Sales in the EMEA region
fell by 19% compared to the previous year, and by more than 13% in the Americas – despite a rise in its aircraft interiors business.
Other than the ‘mobility’ division – which covers products used in train and aircraft interiors and saw sales increase by 10% to nearly €78m (US$84m) – the
company’s other businesses declined. “In 2023, we managed to
keep sales prices stable over the course of the year,” said Matthias Schönberg, CEO of Simona. “While this contributed to profitability, it had an adverse effect on overall volume – and therefore on revenue.”
He added that recent acquisitions – including Peak Pipe System – had also seen a “solid performance”. Simona anticipates sales
growth of around 5% in 2024, with a revenue of €620-640m (US$666-688m) – despite seeing a sales decline in the first quarter. �
www.simona.de
VDMA: machinery sales grew by 3% in 2023
Sales of German plastics and rubber machinery exceeded €12 billion (US$13bn) in 2023, an increase of around 4%. VDMA, the trade body that repre- sents manufacturers, also noted that exports rose by 7%. However, it added that incoming orders have fallen by
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around 22%. “After having to cope with a price- adjusted decline of 13% in 2022, we recorded 22% fewer orders on the books last year, after adjusting for price changes,” said Thorsten Kühmann, managing director of the Plastics and Rubber Machinery Association. “As a
result, many companies were forced to introduce reduced working hours.” Other key figures included: 86% capacity utilisation (down from 93%); no change in imports; and a 3% dip in the size of the domestic market.
https://www.vdma.org/plastics- rubber-machinery
Summer 2024 | PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION 5
IMAGE: ADS
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