Lely has booked a record profit in 2023, after writing red figures a year earlier due to an expensive settlement in the United States. The machine builder itself reported in February that turnover had increased by a quarter. Now, recently filed Chamber of Commerce data shows that this has also boosted profits.
From a turnover of almost €888 million, a net profit of €59,5 million is generated. This has never been so high and amounts to a neat net profit margin of 6,7%. In 2022, Lely incurred a loss of €18 million due to a settlement of no less than €49,5 million with dissatisfied American dairy farmers. CEO André van Troost already reported at the time that this was a one-off event and that the company was basically in good shape.
The solvency of 32% confirms this, although the balance sheet cannot be called rock solid. Because the profit in 2023 went entirely to the reserves, solvency nevertheless improved considerably. A year earlier, this was still around 15%, which can generally be considered weak. Due to the good figures and balance sheet improvement, the 75th anniversary which was extensively celebrated last summer, giving it an extra special touch.
Battle of the arm
At the beginning of this year CEO André van Troost looked still reserved ahead of the current year. The low milk price and high interest rate mean that 2024 would be a challenging year for sales, was his thought. In the meantime, milk prices are rising quite strongly and interest rates are falling, which in theory means that the willingness of dairy farmers to invest is improving.