Koenig & Bauer AG (ETR:SKB) Just Released Its First-Quarter Earnings: Here's What Analysts Think

Last week, you might have seen that Koenig & Bauer AG (ETR:SKB) released its quarterly result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 8.9% to €12.02 in the past week. It was a credible result overall, with revenues of €253m and statutory earnings per share of €0.16 both in line with analyst estimates, showing that Koenig & Bauer is executing in line with expectations. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

See our latest analysis for Koenig & Bauer

Taking into account the latest results, Koenig & Bauer's six analysts currently expect revenues in 2024 to be €1.31b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Earnings are expected to improve, with Koenig & Bauer forecast to report a statutory profit of €0.52 per share. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of €1.32b and earnings per share (EPS) of €0.54 in 2024. So it looks like there's been a small decline in overall sentiment after the recent results - there's been no major change to revenue estimates, but the analysts did make a minor downgrade to their earnings per share forecasts.

The consensus price target held steady at €15.00, with the analysts seemingly voting that their lower forecast earnings are not expected to lead to a lower stock price in the foreseeable future. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Koenig & Bauer analyst has a price target of €18.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at €12.00. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Koenig & Bauer shareholders.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's clear from the latest estimates that Koenig & Bauer's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 1.5% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 0.8% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to see revenue growth of 4.3% annually. It seems obvious that, while the future growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, Koenig & Bauer is expected to grow slower than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Koenig & Bauer. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that Koenig & Bauer's revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at €15.00, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple Koenig & Bauer analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Koenig & Bauer you should be aware of.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.