Europe Movers: Aroundtown, CTS Eventim, Deutsche Wohnen, H&M, Next Plc, Wacker Neuson

Inga Muller
27 Mar, 2025
Frankfurt

H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB dropped 1.8% to 130.45 krona after the fashion apparel retailer reported results for the fiscal first quarter of 2025 ending in February.

Net sales increased to SEK 55.33 billion from SEK 53.67 billion, profit slumped to SEK 590 million from SEK 1.24 billion, and earnings per share fell to 37 cents from 77 cents a year ago.

The number of stores declined by 40 stores to 4,213 from 4,338 a year earlier.

The company guided for March 2025 group sales to increase by 1% in local currencies compared to the same month the previous year.

Next Plc. surged 6.2% to 10.610 pence after the UK-based clothing retailer reported increased revenue in fiscal 2024 ending in January.

Revenue jumped to £5.49 billion from £5.03 billion, profit edged up to £802.3 million from £711.7 million, and diluted earnings per share rose to 655.9 pence from 570.5 pence a year ago.

“Full-price sales in the first eight weeks of the year have been ahead of our expectations,” the company said in a release to investors.

The company upgraded its sales guidance for the first half of 2025 to be up 6.5% from the previous estimate for 3.5% growth.

Same-store sales in the year ahead are expected to decline by 2%.

For the full year, pre-tax profit guidance is increased by £20 million to £1.07 billion, up 5.4%, and accounting for anticipated share buybacks, the company expects post-tax earnings per share to be up 8.5%.

Next, it proposed a final dividend of 158 pence per share, payable on August 1 to shareholders on record as of July 4, taking the total dividends for the year to 233 pence per share.

Shares will trade ex-dividend from July 3.

In addition, Next intends to return £316 million of surplus cash to shareholders by way of share buybacks in 2025-2026.

CTS Eventim AG gained 0.4% to €100.70 ahead of the company’s earnings release in the afternoon. 

According to preliminary data issued by the German ticketing and live entertainment company, revenue in 2024 increased to €2.81 billion from €2.4 billion a year ago, helped by a strong fourth quarter and international acquisitions.

The company will distribute a dividend of €1.66 per share for 2024, compared to €1.43 per share in 2023.

Aroundtown SA surged 3.5% to €2.43 after the real estate company reported results for 2024.

Revenue declined to €1.54 billion from €1.60 billion, profit came up at €52.9 million compared to a loss of €1.99 billion, and diluted earnings per share were 5 cents compared to a loss of €1.82 a year ago.

The company guided for fiscal 2025 funds from operations to range between €280 million and €310 million, compared to €316 million in 2024.

FFO per share is estimated to be between 26 cents and 28 cents, compared to 29 cents in 2024.

Deutsche Wohnen SE gained 0.6% to €19.86 after the German property management company reported higher sales in 2024.

Revenue from property management edged up to €1.38 billion from €1.31 billion, net loss shrank to €590.5 million from a loss of €2.70 billion, and loss per share declined to €1.49 from a loss of €6.80 a year ago.

Residential real estate company Vonovia SE holds 86.87% of the shares of Deutsche Wohnen, indirectly and directly, as of the end of December, while 12.3% of the shares were in free float as defined by the German stock exchange.

Deutsche Wohnen’s own shares account for 0.84%.

The company plans to distribute a dividend of 4 cents per share for 2024.

Wacker Neuson SE surged 2.6% to €21.85 after the Germany-based construction equipment provider reported lower earnings and sales in 2024 amid weak market demand.

Revenue declined to €2.23 billion from €2.65 billion, profit slumped to €70.2 million from €185.9 million, and diluted earnings per share dropped to €1.03 from €2.73 a year ago.

The company lowered its dividend by 48% to 60 cents per share from €1.15 in 2023.

“Incoming order intake has been positive since the beginning of the year,” the company said in a release to investors.

“After a weak first quarter of 2025, revenue and EBIT are expected to improve increasingly over the course of the year,” the company added in the statement.

Wacker Neuson guided for the full year 2025 revenue to range between €2.10 billion and €2.30 billion and EBIT margin between 6.5% and 7.5%, compared to 5.5% in 2024.