2023-07-27 21:58:34
Aldo Kamper
According to insiders, the mood in the company has improved since the Kamper takeover.
(Photo: press photo)
Munich The new AMS-Osram boss Aldo Kamper wants to radically restructure the troubled group in view of high debts and losses. “The company undeniably has a strong substance,” Kamper told the Handelsblatt. But you have to reduce the risks, concentrate on the strengths and bring the company back to rest.
The situation at the lighting and sensor technology specialist is serious: The net financial debt, which results primarily from the takeover of the traditional Osram group by the smaller Austrian AMS, was recently around two billion euros. “We have a task ahead of us that requires humility,” said Kamper. The company needs to focus more and improve operational performance.
In the short term, the situation worsens. Kamper announced – non-cash – write-downs of 1.3 billion euros, which should have pushed the group deep into the red in the second quarter.
Ten percent of the group are to be given up
Kamper announced the further spin-off of parts of the group. “We’re saying goodbye to some businesses that we didn’t enjoy much and didn’t give us much pleasure.” “Areas apart from the core business with a sales volume of 300 to 400 million euros will be separated”. This corresponds to around ten percent of the total revenue. AMS-Osram wants to focus on intelligent sensors and emitters.
AMS took over Osram after a bidding war against initial resistance in Munich. AMS CEO Alexander Everke had increased AMS sales tenfold since 2006 with the help of the Osram takeover. However, his leadership style was controversial. He steered the company out of Premstätten, the share is listed in Switzerland.
Everke said on his departure: “Two years after the complete operational takeover of Osram, the integration of both companies into a joint group is well advanced.”
However, according to industry experts, the need for restructuring is great. The group had already sold a number of activities under Everke. For example, parts of the car lighting business were sold to France, and the plant cultivation lighting specialist Fluence went to the world lighting market leader Signify.
Two board members have to leave at the turn of the year
In the spring it was said that “all planned sales of businesses outside the strategic focus had been completed and the planned portfolio realignment after the Osram takeover had been successfully implemented”.
But now AMS Osram wants to concentrate on LED chips, sensors and the remaining automotive lamp business. For example, the group wants to part with passive optical components that were used in face recognition in cell phones, said Kamper. According to industry experts, Apple was also among the customers. “The business made AMS big, but that has since been replaced in many cases by cheaper technologies.”
But AMS also brings important parts into the new profile. “There are also pearls at AMS.” He was impressed by the medical technology business, and industrial sensor technology is also promising.
Kamper took over the management of the group on April 1st. He had worked for Osram for most of his professional life, but in the meantime managed the ailing Leoni group. He declared the return to AMS-Osram to be a matter of the heart.
The restructuring of the board of directors also shows that the Osram side is now gaining more weight again: This is to be reduced to two members on January 1st. Technology chief Thomas Stockmeier and board member Mark Hamersma, who both had careers at AMS, are leaving the board.
Important loans expire in 2025
The main problem of AMS-Osram are the high liabilities. “It will be a great challenge to reduce the debt burden,” says supervisory board circles. Solutions must be found by 2025, when larger loans expire and have to be refinanced.
AMS Osram has “a business model that actually works, but a bad balance sheet structure,” said an insider. The aim must be to survive the crisis as an independent company.
Last year, the net loss rose from 32 to 444 million euros. Sales fell from five to 4.8 billion euros, also due to portfolio changes. With the “Re-establish the Base” program, Kamper now wants to improve the operating result by 150 million euros a year by 2025. There are synergies between the two original companies, which are becoming increasingly important, said Kamper. “This is starting to bear fruit.”
The mood at least has improved according to estimates in the company under Kamper. “There are clear advances in the corporate culture,” say workers. Transparency has also improved.
More: “AMS Osram is a restructuring case”
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