ASSLAR (dpa-AFX) - Vacuum pump specialist Pfeiffer Vacuum generated lower operating profit than expected last year. According to preliminary calculations, operating profit rose by a good 28 percent to €119.4 million in 2022, but the operating profit margin (Ebit) of 13 percent was lower than the 14 percent recently forecast. This was mainly due to inventory adjustments and maintenance costs at the end of the year, it said, as well as higher IT operating costs and the assessment of investments to increase production capacity in Korea in the medium term. The stock fell moderately Tuesday morning.

The operating margin was a disappointment, Jefferies analyst Martin Comtesse wrote. Fourth-quarter operating profit missed market expectations by 20 percent, he said. The industry expert expects Pfeiffer Vaccum to announce muted sales and profit growth with a cautious forecast for 2023. He also said negative headlines from major semiconductor customers such as Samsung pointed to a slowdown in capital spending this year. The latter had reported a significant decline in its memory business in the fourth quarter due to weak consumer demand and destocking.

2022 Pfeiffer's consolidated sales rose by almost 19 percent to 916.7 million euros, reaching a record level, as the company announced on Monday evening based on preliminary figures in Asslar. Management had only raised its sales forecast again in December, holding out the prospect of 900 million euros. Order intake was also at a record level, rising by more than 14 percent to around 1.1 billion euros. The company plans to publish further details on March 21.

Investors reacted cautiously on Tuesday. The SDax-listed share was down just under one percent at 164.20 euros in early trading. The downward trend of recent weeks is thus continuing. At the beginning of November, takeover fantasies had catapulted the share price by more than a quarter, and since then it has moved in a fairly narrow range between 166 and 177 euros - albeit with a negative trend.

As majority shareholder, the Busch Group holds just under 64 percent of Pfeiffer shares via its subsidiary Pangea. At the beginning of November, the major shareholder had made public its plans for a domination agreement and announced corresponding negotiations. According to the agreement, coordination and decision-making processes are to be simplified between the corporate groups, which had already concluded a cooperation agreement in 2019 for areas such as purchasing, sales and service, research and development, and IT./lew

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