09.08.2024

Recovery should continue + Infineon makes good progress + Eli Lilly takes off + Bechtle earns less + LEG Immobilien makes another loss + Jenoptik increases revenue and profit

Rising prices on the stock markets in the USA and China are also likely to have an impact on the stock markets in Europe on Friday and thus on the DAX will be supported. At a price of 17,676 points, the broker IG assessed the leading German index two hours before the start of Xetra trading with hardly any percentage change near the previous day's close. Recession worries in the USA had eased somewhat following encouraging data from the job market, the market said. In China, meanwhile, higher inflation boosted share prices on hopes of a recovery in domestic demand.

The shares of Eli Lilly $LLY (+0,39%) rose 10% after the drugmaker raised its full-year profit forecast and sales of its popular weight-loss drug Zepbound topped 1 billion dollars for the first time in a quarter.

The German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon $IFX (+1,56%) is considering takeovers despite the current tech crisis and wants to continue building its planned factories. "We are always looking at the market, but it has to fit strategically, financially and culturally. There are always places where we could complement each other, especially in the USA and Europe," Infineon CEO Jochen Hanebeck told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. "We could afford acquisitions worth a few billion euros," he added. According to Hanebeck, construction of the new Infineon factory in Dresden is progressing well. The machines should arrive from September next year, with production starting in 2026. "So we are right on schedule," said Hanebeck. This also applies to the new Dresden factory of the Taiwanese group TSMC, in which Infineon holds a 10 percent stake. (Süddeutsche Zeitung)

The IT service provider Bechtle $BC8 (+3,29%) made less profit in the second quarter due to the tense economic situation. Earnings after taxes fell by almost ten percent to 59.7 million euros compared to the same period last year, as the MDax company announced in Neckarsulm on Friday. There was a lack of demand from SMEs throughout the quarter and particularly in June, said CEO Thomas Olemotz. "In addition, public-sector customers in Germany were still unusually cautious as a result of the lengthy budget debate," he added. Due to the subdued development, the manager had already cut his forecast for the year in mid-July with preliminary quarterly figures and expects revenue, pre-tax earnings and pre-tax margin to be at the previous year's level. However, he was optimistic for the medium and long term, saying that Bechtle should benefit from a greater willingness to invest in IT as the general economic conditions improve. Revenue fell by 2.3 percent to 1.47 billion euros in the second quarter. Pre-tax profit fell by 10.6 percent to EUR 83.8 million and was therefore slightly higher than forecast in the key figures. At 5.7 percent, the margin was also slightly higher than the preliminary figure.

The real estate group LEG $LEG (-1,1%) once again made a loss in the second quarter. Due to a slight devaluation of the real estate portfolio, the bottom line was a loss of a good 143 million euros, as the MDax group announced in Düsseldorf on Friday. A year earlier, a loss in the billions had been recorded. The company reported that the value of its real estate portfolio had fallen by 1.6 percent. Cumulatively, LEG's portfolio has lost almost 17 percent in value since its peak in mid-2022. The real estate group is more confident about its operating profit for the year as a whole. Meanwhile, LEG continues to benefit from high demand for residential space in metropolitan areas. Net cold rent increased by 2.8 percent to around 214 million euros in the second quarter to the end of June. Like-for-like rental income rose by 2.9 percent to EUR 6.72 per square meter. By contrast, the company's key earnings indicator AFFO (cash flow from operating activities adjusted for capitalized investments) fell by 4.1% to EUR 61.1 million. In the previous year, the company had benefited from the forward sale of green electricity. Management raised its operating profit forecast for the current year. LEG is now aiming for an AFFO of EUR 190 to 210 million in 2024 - that is EUR 10 million more than recently targeted.

The technology group Jenoptik $JEN (-0,58%) earned more in the second quarter thanks to higher demand in Europe. The company performed better than experts had expected. "Demand improved in the second quarter after a subdued start to the year," said CEO Stefan Traeger in a statement on Friday. The momentum in demand should continue in the second half of the year thanks to a strong positioning in the core markets and a strong customer base. He confirmed the targets for the year as a whole. In the three months to the end of June, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 3.5 percent year-on-year to 56.9 million euros, as the company announced in Jena. The bottom line was a profit of 24.8 million euros after 20.9 million euros in the same period last year. The Thuringian company's sales climbed by 5.1 percent to 284.7 million euros in the reporting period. In 2024, the Jenoptik Executive Board led by CEO Stefan Traeger expects further growth due to good business with the semiconductor industry. In view of the order backlog, sales are expected to increase by a mid-single-digit percentage. Of this, 19.5 to 20 percent is expected to remain as an operating result (EBITDA). This includes an expected charge of around 0.5 percentage points for the relocation to the new semiconductor site in Dresden. In the previous year, the margin amounted to 19.7 percent.

Friday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

Singapore stock exchange holiday

ex-dividend of individual stocks

USU Software EUR 0.55

Hyrican Information Systems EUR 0.04

Mühlbauer 1.00 EUR

Wurmtal Beteiligungen 0.35 EUR

Ahold Delhaize EUR 0.50

Visa (A) 0.52 USD

IBM USD 1.67

Quarterly figures / company dates Europe

07:00 Lanxess | Stratec | Lanxess | LEG Immobilien Quarterly figures

07:30 Bechtle half-year figures

07:35 Jenoptik | Assicurazioni Generali Half-year figures

07:45 Jungheinrich | Eckert & Ziegler Quarterly figures

08:00 RTL | Hawesko Half-year figures

09:00 EnBW half-year figures | RTL PK

10:00 EnBW | Lanxess PK

11:00 Jenoptik PK

13:00 EnBW | Lanxess Analysts' Conference

Untimed: Thyssenkrupp-Stahl: Supervisory Board discusses realignment

Economic data

• 07:30 FR: Unemployment rate 2Q PROGNOSE: 7.5% previous: 7.5%
• 08:00 DE: Consumer prices (final) July PROGNOSE: +0.3% yoy/+2.3% yoy Preliminary: +0.3% yoy/+2.3% yoy Previous: +0.1% yoy/+2.2% yoy HICP PROGNOSE: +0.5% yoy/+2.6% yoy Preliminary: +0.5% yoy/+2.6% yoy Previous: +0.2% yoy/+2.5% yoy