Topic: MAX released soft Q1 numbers due to a weak macro environment and project postponements. Despite this, the FY25e guidance was confirmed, as management expects a stronger H2.  

Q1 sales came in at € 69.5m (eNuW: € 81m), 23% below last year, due to project postponements in the low double-digit €m amount, mainly for ELWEMA and Vecoplan. However, there is relatively high visibility that these projects will be realized in Q3 or Q4’25e.

bdtronic’s topline decreased 47% yoy to € 15.8m due to a continued weak EV market. Whereas Q1’24 still benefited from a solid order backlog (end of FY23 € 52m vs. € 34m in FY’24) thanks to an exceptionally strong demand in FY23, Q1’25 successively reflected the current market weakness. To preserve the company’s profitability, bdtronic is reducing its capacity to a sales scenario of € 75-85m for FY25e. Nevertheless, as the business is highly cyclical and the demand situation can change quickly, bdtronic will keep its capacity at a reasonable level to benefit from a potential rebound.

Vecoplan’s sales declined 13.8% yoy to € 33.3m resulting from an overall softer US business and postponements of larger projects which are seen to be realized in H2’25e. Order intake continued to be strong and grew by 34% yoy to € 45m. While demand in the Recycling/Waste segment (eNuW: 45% of sales) developed nicely, order intake in Wood/Biomass (eNuW: 22% of sales) picked up only slightly.

Order intake overall decreased by 14.2% yoy to € 77m, leading to an order backlog of € 161m (-18% yoy). Main contributor was a strong decrease in order intake for ELWEMA compared to the previous year due to project postponements. However, significant orders could already be secured during Q2.

EBITDA came in at € 0.1m (eNuW: € 2.4m; € 7.9m in Q1’24), noticeably below last year due to lower sales and high fixed costs. Personnel expenses declined only slightly by 2.1% to € 32.5m. On the other hand, cost of materials decreased disproportionately by 29% yoy, with a cost ratio of 44.2% (-3.6pp yoy).

Guidance confirmed. Management confirmed its guidance of € 340-400m sales (eNuW: € 364m) and € 21-28m EBITDA (eNuW: € 25m), despite the subdued start into the year. Considering the postponement of major projects into the second half of the year, the guidance looks still plausible in our view.

Reiterate BUY with an unchanged PT of € 7.00 based on DCF.