BRUNNTHAL (dpa-AFX) - Fuel cell supplier SFC Energy is becoming more optimistic for 2023 due to continued good business and better parts availability. Sales and operating profit (adjusted Ebitda) are each expected to reach the upper halves of the known ranges, management of the company, which is listed on the small-cap index SDax, announced Tuesday in Brunnthal near Munich. The proceeds are thus expected to be 107 to 111 million euros, after the lower end of the range had previously been 103 million. Operating profit is expected to reach 10.5 to 14.1 million euros (old 8.9 to 14.1).

In the completed second quarter, sales climbed 46 percent to 29.6 million euros. Of this, almost 4 million euros remained as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) adjusted for special effects and thus almost 73 percent more than in the previous year. SFC Energy explained the strong increase by a significant rise in gross profit and comparatively weaker increases in costs. The corresponding margin (Ebitda margin) improved by two percentage points to 13.4 percent. However, net income decreased by about 16 percent to 1.3 million euros./ngu/mis