Last update on 2024-06-07

KION GROUP (KGX.DE) - Piotroski F-Score Analysis for Year 2023 (Final Score: 7/9)

Piotroski F-Score analysis for KION GROUP in 2023 with a final score of 7/9. Explore financial health and investment potential.

Short Analysis - Piotroski Score: 7

We're running KION GROUP (KGX.DE) against the Piotroski 9-criteria scoring system to assess profitability, liquidity, and operating efficiency:

The Piotroski F-Score for KION GROUP (KGX.DE) is 7 out of 9, indicating a relatively strong financial position. Key highlights include positive net income, strong operational cash flow, and an improved return on assets in 2023. The company has shown excellent recovery in terms of cash flow and net income. Despite a slight increase in leverage and a decrease in asset turnover efficiency, KION GROUP has demonstrated significant strengths in profitability, liquidity, and overall financial health.

Insights for Value Investors Seeking Stable Income

Based on the Piotroski F-Score analysis, KION GROUP (KGX.DE) shows potential as a strong investment opportunity. The high score suggests good profitability and operational efficiency, with notable recovery from past financial challenges. However, investors should also consider the industry's competition and KION GROUP's leverage while making a decision. Overall, it would be worthwhile for investors to look further into this stock, keeping an eye on continued improvements and market conditions.

For those who are interested in delving deeper into the specifics, the subsequent section provides a comprehensive exploration of the criteria.

Profitability of KION GROUP (KGX.DE)

Company has a positive net income?

Net income measures a company's total earnings. Positive net income indicates profitability, a crucial factor for long-term financial health.

The KION Group's net income for 2023 stands at €305.8 million, which is positive. Historically, the company's net income has fluctuated significantly. For example, from 2009 to 2012, it was negative, and it saw a significant rise in 2017, hitting €424.8 million. Most notably, the net income peaked in 2021 at €568.3 million but fell to €98 million in 2022 before recovering to €305.8 million in 2023. Thus, given the ability to rebound and maintain a positive net income despite recent fluctuations, this criterion scores 1 point.

Company has a positive cash flow?

Cash Flow from Operations (CFO) indicates the cash a company generates from its regular business operations, reflecting its ability to generate cash to maintain and grow its operations.

In 2023, KION GROUP (KGX.DE) reported a positive CFO of €1,144,000,000. This is a significant turn-around compared to the previous year's negative CFO of -€345,900,000. Noticeably, the company's CFO has not only recovered but also reached its highest point since 2009. This positive cash flow indicates strong operational efficiency and reliability of the company to generate sufficient cash internally. Historically, excluding 2022, KION GROUP has shown consistent strength in generating positive CFO, further solidifying positive investor sentiment. This criterion adds 1 point to the Piotroski score, reflecting good financial health.

Return on Assets (ROA) are growing?

This criterion evaluates if the Return on Assets (ROA) has increased compared to the previous year. ROA measures a company's profitability relative to its total assets and is a key metric to assess how efficiently a company is using its assets to generate earnings.

The ROA for KION GROUP (KGX.DE) increased from 0.006 in 2022 to 0.018 in 2023. This marks a significant improvement and warrants a score of 1 point for this criterion. The increase in ROA suggests enhanced profitability and a more efficient utilization of the company's assets over the past year. However, it is important to note that even with this increase, KION GROUP’s ROA in 2023 still trails considerably behind the industry median ROA, which stands at 0.2546. This indicates that while the company has made progress, it continues to lag behind its industry peers in terms of asset efficiency. In the context of historical performance, KION GROUP's operating cash flow presents a mixed yet upward trend, recording €1,144,000,000 in 2023 compared to a low of -€345,900,000 in 2022. Even though ROA has improved and operating cash flow has rebounded, sustained efforts are needed to bring the ROA closer to industry standards.

Operating Cashflow are higher than Netincome?

This criterion compares Operating Cash Flow (OCF) with Net Income to gauge the quality of earnings. A higher OCF suggests strong financial health as it indicates the company's capability to generate cash to sustain operations.

For the fiscal year 2023, KION GROUP (KGX.DE) reported an Operating Cash Flow of €1,144,000,000 and a Net Income of €305,800,000. The OCF being higher than the Net Income adds 1 point to the Piotroski F-Score, indicating solid cash-generating ability and a healthier earnings quality. Historically, while there have been fluctuations—including a notably negative OCF in 2022—the pattern shows consistent improvements, highlighting a growing operational efficiency. This trend is beneficial for the company's financial stability, reinforcing investor confidence.

Liquidity of KION GROUP (KGX.DE)

Leverage is declining?

Evaluating the change in leverage helps to understand how much the company relies on debt to finance its assets. Lesser leverage implies lower financial risk.

The leverage of KION GROUP (KGX.DE) has increased from 0.2691 in 2022 to 0.2881 in 2023. This change indicates an uptick in the company's reliance on debt financing, warranting a score of 0 for this particular criterion. Analysis of historical leverage trends over the last 15 years reveals significant improvement in the company's leverage ratios since 2009, where it stood at 0.6686. However, the recent increase still reflects a cautionary note on higher financial obligations, particularly as the higher leverage can expose the company to greater financial risk amid volatile market conditions.

Current Ratio is growing?

Explain the criterion for KION GROUP (KGX.DE) and why it is important to consider

The Current Ratio measures a company's ability to cover its short-term obligations with its short-term assets. A Current Ratio greater than 1 indicates that the company has more short-term assets than short-term liabilities, which is generally a good sign of financial health.

Number of shares not diluted?

Evaluating changes in shares outstanding is crucial for understanding potential dilution, which can affect earnings per share and shareholder value.

For KION GROUP (KGX.DE), the outstanding shares have remained constant from 2022 to 2023, at 131,100,000 shares. Based on this constancy, 0 points are added because there was no reduction in shares outstanding. Historically, KION GROUP's shares outstanding have had an increasing trend, from 64,403,789 in 2009 to 131,100,000 in recent years, reflective of shareholder dilution over this period. This trend suggests capital raises possibly via share issuances but could also be examined in light of how effectively this additional capital has been utilized by the company to generate returns on equity.

Operating of KION GROUP (KGX.DE)

Cross Margin is growing?

The Gross Margin compares sales revenue to the cost of goods sold, reflecting the efficiency of a company's core activities. An improving Gross Margin is essential as it signifies heightened productivity and potentially wider profit margins.

The KION GROUP's Gross Margin in 2023 is 0.2432, up from 0.1907 in 2022. This increase indicates improved efficiency in managing production costs relative to sales revenue. With a Gross Margin now closer to the industry median of 0.2546 than in 2022, this is a positive trend. Historically, KION has maintained a Gross Margin above the industry median until 2022, and this rebound is notable. Therefore, 1 point is added for an improved Gross Margin.

Asset Turnover Ratio is growing?

Asset turnover shows how efficiently a company uses its assets to generate sales. Higher asset turnover is better as it indicates efficient asset usage.

In 2023, the asset turnover for KION GROUP (KGX.DE) was 0.6728, slightly down from 0.6863 in 2022. This decrease suggests less efficient use of assets to generate revenue. Historical data over the last 20 years shows variability, with 2023's ratio close to the 20-year low. The decline from 2022, although small, means a 0 in this analysis as the asset turnover decreases.