Traton reported a reasonable set of results in Q3. Sales and adjusted (adj.) EBIT beat consensus by 4% and 13%, respectively. Normalisation of demand after a strong 2022, some pull-back due to economic/financing headwinds in Europe and South America, and a limited opening of the order book for 2024 in the US impacted order inflow (-30% yoy). That said, management is confident of the overall demand situation and noted that the order backlog remains at high levels. While Traton reiterated its conservative sales and volume outlook for 2023, it raised its guidance for adj. EBIT margin and cash flow, indicating its confidence in managing costs, deliveries, and working capital. AlsterResearch’s analysts remain constructive on Traton’s investment case, backed by the brand strength of Navistar, Scania, and MAN and increasing synergies between brands. AlsterResearch’s analysts reiterate their BUY rating on the stock with an unchanged PT of EUR 27.00. The full update can be downloaded under https://www.research-hub.de/companies/Traton%20SE

SUESS MicroTec issued a profit warning for 2023 due to tighter export controls resulting in delivery delays to China. German authorities have intensified documentation and inspection efforts, resulting in pushouts of approximately EUR 23.5m in Q3. While SUESS MicroTec believes that it is not subject to any export restrictions, the German Export Control Agency is taking a tougher stance on China and dragging its feet in clearing exports. Q3 revenues are now expected to be around EUR 75m with a gross margin of 27% due to the unfavorable product mix caused by the delayed high margin systems. The company has revised its FY23 guidance for revenues, gross margin and EBIT margin. Despite the challenges, AlsterResearch’s analysts maintain their BUY rating with a new price target of EUR 30.00 (old EUR 34.00), reflecting a slightly more cautious stance following the negative news from the semiconductor industry. The full update can be downloaded under https://www.research-hub.de/companies/SUESS%20MicroTec%20SE

Aixtron's Q3 revenues and earnings slightly missed expectations. The company's gross margin improved to 46.2% on a more favourable product mix, for the first time exceeding the full-year guidance of 45%. Q3 order intake disappointed, but the company confirmed its guidance for FY23, suggesting a strong rebound both in revenues and order intake in Q4. Despite the weaker order intake in Q3, the long-term growth story for Aixtron remains intact, however, AlsterResearch’s analysts are adjusting the shape of their growth curve to be a bit more conservative. Based on the adjusted estimates, AlsterResearch’s analysts arrive at a new price target of EUR 38.00 (old: EUR 40.00) and reiterate their BUY recommendation. The full update can be downloaded under https://www.research-hub.de/companies/AIXTRON%20SE

Since its IPO on 7 July at EUR 20 per share, tk nucera has fallen 25% on very low trading volumes and is currently trading at EUR 15. This downtrend can be seen across the electrolysis sector and also among other growth companies. In the view of AlsterResearch’s analysts, it presents an excellent buying opportunity. It's important to note that the high growth potential of the hydrogen market and tk nucera's substantial order book of EUR 1.5bn should drive significant expansion. The large project in Saudi Arabia within the AWE segment is progressing well. In addition, tk nucera is well prepared for external crises with a robust CA segment, a solid balance sheet in 2023 with a high equity ratio of 57.7%, ample liquidity from the IPO and minimal debt of less than 2%. AlsterResearch maintains the BUY rating and the price target of EUR 24.00, which implies an upside of 60%. The full update can be downloaded under https://www.research-hub.de/companies/thyssenkrupp%20nucera%20AG%20&%20Co%20KGaA

Puma reported Q3 2023 results with no major surprises. Sales growth (yoy) on a currency adjusted (c.a.) basis was slightly ahead of consensus, although the reported sales print was in line. The gross margin was 20bps better than consensus while EBIT was 4% ahead and the EBIT margin was 30bps better. The company cited normalizing inventory levels, and sourcing and freight cost headwinds are gradually abating. While management confirmed its guidance for 2023, it had confident commentary for Q4, expecting a strong improvement in profitability as souring and freight costs ease further, providing more certainty to its near-term outlook. AlsterResearch’s analysts continue to hold a constructive view on Puma, as the underlying business remains strong, and steady brand initiatives and marketing activities should further underpin growth ahead. AlsterResearch reiterates the PT and BUY rating. The full update can be downloaded www.research-hub.de/companies/research/Puma%20SE

Nemetschek has published preliminary figures for Q3 23. In the third quarter, revenues increased by 8.4% yoy to EUR 219.8m. As a result, Q3 EBITDA grew faster than revenues by 13.6% yoy to EUR 71.4m. In addition to the better than planned operational development in Q3, catch-up effects from Q2 2023 as well as one-off effects in the Design and Build segments contributed to the higher-than-expected growth. Therefore, AlsterResearch’s analysts believe it's premature to assume a comprehensive, structural recovery in Nemetschek’s customer industries. The construction sector still suffers from several headwinds as well as cost inflation and the low expected economic growth is likely to continue to ensure restrained demand. AlsterResearch’s analysts are taking the updated guidance into account and fine-tune their model assumptions, which results in a slightly higher price target of EUR 61.00 (old EUR 58.00). Therefore, the rating is changed from SELL to HOLD. The full update can be downloaded under https://www.research-hub.de/companies/research/Nemetschek%20SE

SGT German Private Equity ("SGF") has released its H1'23 report, essentially confirming the preliminary numbers released in early September. The highlight of H1'23 was the announced acquisition of ELATEC, which is the company's second PE transaction to date. In the view of AlsterResearch’s analysts, the imminent closing of this transaction should push SGF's AuM above the USD 1bn threshold, setting the stage for increasing and recurring revenues and earnings. In contrast, SGF had to absorb losses of c. EUR 1m on its Heritage VC portfolio. Overall, SGF remained profitable in H1 with a net profit of EUR 0.2m, which however was a notch below AlsterResearch’s expectations. AlsterResearch’s experts therefore reiterate their BUY rating with an unchanged PT of EUR 3.00, representing an upside of around 90%. The full update can be downloaded under https://www.research-hub.de/companies/SGT%20German%20Private%20Equity

Enapter Co-CEO and founder Sebastian-Justus Schmidt and Co-CEO Dr Jürgen Laakmann presented at an AlsterResearch Roundtable. The presentation covered the specifications of Enapter's patented electrolysis technology (AEM) and its advantages and growth prospects compared to conventional electrolysers. With its cutting-edge electrolysis technology, the company is poised to revolutionise not only the hydrogen market but also the energy storage industry with the launch of AEM Multicore plants in the MW range. AlsterResearch’s analysts forecast revenues to double every year until 2025, driven by sales of scaled-up multi-core systems, with the potential for double-digit EBITDA margins by 2026. AlsterResearch’s recommendation is BUY with a price target of EUR 20.00. The full update can be downloaded under https://www.research-hub.de/companies/Enapter%20AG

tonies is scheduled to report Q3 revenues on November 11. AlsterResearch’s analysts expect tonies to report healthy year-on-year growth of around 37% in Q3, rebounding from a subdued Q2 growth rate of 25%. The DACH region is expected to return to growth of around 9% in Q3 after a negative reading in Q2, mainly due to a base effect as consumer confidence was extremely depressed in Q3 22. The US market should continue to show triple-digit growth, benefiting from an increasing presence in Target and Walmart stores. tonies is on track to achieve its full-year sales guidance, and AlsterResearch’s analysts reiterate to BUY with an unchanged price target of EUR 7.70. The full update can be downloaded under https://www.research-hub.de/companies/tonies%20SE

Atoss Software continued to show impressive performance and delivered strong Q3 results with 31% yoy sales growth and EBIT surging by 61%. Sales growth was mainly driven by the Software business, particularly by on-premises licenses and the cloud & subscription business. The disproportionate growth of operating profit translated to an expansion of EBIT-margin by 6.4 percentage points to 33.8% versus Q3 2022. Based on the strong results, the company again raised its sales outlook for the full year, now expecting FY revenues to exceed EUR 145m. AlsterResearch’s analysts are adjusting their forecasts and come to a new PT of EUR 208.00 (old: EUR 203.00). The rating remains HOLD. The full update can be downloaded under https://www.research-hub.de/companies/ATOSS%20Software%20AG