JFrog stock rises as Cantor Fitzgerald maintains Overweight rating after strong Q2
Investing.com -- Kemira Oyj’s (HE:KEMIRA) stock dropped over 8% on Tuesday after the company reported a decline in its financial figures, primarily due to the divestment of its Oil & Gas portfolio earlier in the year.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Finnish chemicals company, which specializes in water treatment and industrial processes, saw its revenue decrease by 11% to €723.7 million, compared to €808.8 million in the same period last year.
Kemira’s revenue declined due to the February 2, 2024 sale of its Oil & Gas operations. Although reported EBITDA jumped 127% to €116.5 million (from €51.3 million in Q4 2023) due to a prior-year loss from the divestment, operative EBITDA, excluding the divestment’s impact, fell 17%, signaling continued challenges.
The company’s operative EBIT also saw a decline of 23%, amounting to €86.2 million, compared to €112.6 million last year. On a reported basis, EBIT improved to €67 million from €1.3 million in Q4 2023, once again due to the effects of the divestment.
Despite these declines, Kemira reported strong cash flow from operations, which amounted to €165.4 million, up from €133.3 million in the previous year. The company’s earnings per share (EPS) showed a improvement, rising by 259% to €0.31 from a loss of €0.20 in Q4 2023.
Looking at the full year, Kemira’s revenue for 2024 dropped by 13% to €2,948.1 million, compared to €3,383.7 million in 2023.
This drop, again, was attributed to the Oil & Gas divestment. However, the company saw an improvement in its operative EBITDA margin, which increased slightly to 19.9%, driven by stronger performance in the Industry & Water segments.
On a reported basis, EBITDA increased by 2% to €550.7 million. Similarly, operative EBIT for 2024 decreased by 14%, but the reported EBIT increased by 8% to €363.2 million.
Cash flow for the full year was also solid, amounting to €484.6 million, although it showed a slight decline from the €546 million posted in 2023.
The company reported a 25% increase in diluted EPS, reaching €1.61, up from €1.28 in 2023, despite the impact of the divestment on the prior-year figures.
Kemira forecasts lower revenue (€2.8 bln - €3.2 bln) and slightly lower operating EBITDA (€540 mln - €640 mln) for 2025 compared to 2024.