Good morning, everyone, and EuroGroup Laminations Q3 and 9 Months 2024 Financial Results Presentation. Before I hand over to your host today, please be advised there will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation. In order to do so, please use the raise hand function on your screen, or for those signing in, it's star nine on your keypad. I now have pleasure handing over to Ilaria Candotti, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Ilaria, the floor to you.
Thank you very much, Rebecca, and thank you all that are connected. Welcome again EuroGroup Laminations Q3 and 9 Months 2024 Results Presentation. Together with me today, we have the Group CEO, Marco Arduini, the Deputy Group CEO, Isidoro Guardalà, and the Group CFO, Matteo Perna, that will illustrate the presentation. At the end, we will be glad to receive your questions. Please note that the support index, as well as the press release, are available as usual online EuroGroup Laminations website in the Investor Relations section. Now, I will leave the floor to our CEO, Marco Arduini. Please, Marco.
Good morning, everybody, and thank you as well from my part to join our session. I would like as well to welcome Ilaria, that is attending for the first time to this meeting, and thanks as well again, Matteo Piccinelli, that left our group for other jobs, but as well saying thanks to him for the work that he did with us. I am very pleased today for this meeting, and we are as well satisfied and proud of the results and the outlook that the group is performing. So I would like to just go through this page in order to explain to you the key points that we see on this. The results of these nine months confirm the growth path that undertaken by EGLA and our strategy of expansion in key markets as China, which continue to deliver excellent results in the EV and Automotive segment.
I would like to reinforce that our positioning is connected to the growing electrification trend, and we are not a pure Automotive supplier. So EGLA is a technological partner for all the players and sectors that are engaged in the Energy transition. We are not a pure supplier for the Automotive industry. If we look at the financial results, we reported in Q3 2024 another positive set of results, which allowed us to release at the end of September revenues and EBITDA, respectively, equal to EUR 649 million and EUR 82 million in line with the same period of 2023. In particular, both the group revenues and EBITDA reflect a strong growth of EVs and Automotive. While we still are seeing a delay in recovery of the Industrial segment, that's still affected as well by the demand weakness in Europe, which is enduring since Q2 of last year.
If we move to the order book and pipeline, we see the value of our order book and pipeline, respectively, to EUR 5.6 billion and EUR 5.1 billion at the end of September, and this reflects the number of discussions that we still have with all our customers in the EV region and as well the updated programs that our customers shared with us in the last months. There are as well important strategic initiatives that we are undertaking that refer to Asia and the upgrade that we want to realize in this area, in this growing area. Yesterday, we announced the closing of the Kumar Precision Stampings acquisition, and this was, of course, a key milestone in order to improve our strategy in the Industrial business unit and allowing us as well to enter in the very potential segment for the transformer business in India, but not only.
And we are progressing our hard work in China in terms of market development, in terms of improving our ecosystem, and finalizing all the discussions that are needed with our Japanese partners and with the Huzhou Washi. In view of these important steps, we are as well confirming our guidance for 2024 and in the low end of the range at around EUR 900 million revenues and EBITDA about EUR 120 million. And we are as well confirming our mid-term growth targets for the period 2024 and 2026, with the CAGR that we have as well indicated for the period in the range of 24%-27% growth. So based on this, I think we confirm our satisfaction, and I pass the word to Matteo in order to enter in the details of all the financial numbers.
Thank you very much, Marco, and hello to everybody. So moving to the next slide, please. You can see on a quarter-over-quarter evolution that over the last quarter, we have reported approximately EUR 227 million of revenues and EBITDA Adjusted of EUR 31 million, which is implying a growth in the revenues of approximately 19% and 21% looking at the EBITDA Adjusted if we make the comparison with the third quarter of 2023. It was expected the acceleration of the growth for the EV and Automotive business unit, which reported an increase of 29% compared to 2023 and 30% looking at the EBITDA Adjusted. There was as well an increase for the Industrial segment on a quarterly basis. So making the comparison versus the last quarter of 2024, so the second quarter, the evolution on a consolidated basis was 5% for the revenues and 16% for the EBITDA Adjusted.
This is implying a growth for the EV and Automotive of 12% and 44% for the EBITDA Adjusted. If we move to the next slide, if we see the result for the nine-month ending as of the end of September, so you see that overall we counterbalance the fact that we have seen over the last quarter. Now we are reporting revenues which are increasing compared to last year. The plus 1%, it's the sum of the evolution of the EV and Automotive business, which is reporting a 15% growth compared to the nine months of 2023 and a reduction for the Industrial business of approximately 17%. EBITDA, in absolute terms, EBITDA Adjusted, it's in the range of EUR 82 million. This is implying a 12.6% margin over the revenues, and this is mostly in line as per 2023.
It's important to consider and highlight that the EUR 54 million of the EBITDA for this year for the EV and Automotive business. It's including the ramp-up cost that we have experienced over the last nine months due to the start of eight new projects this year as of the end of September. EBIT now, it's 7.5%. This is implying EUR 42 million approximately of D&A compared to the 23 that we reported at the end of 2023. Of course, this is the result of the performance in the first half. If we look on a quarterly basis, the EBIT that we reported over the last quarter was in the range of EUR 18.4 million, which is implying an 8.1% over revenue, of course, due to the evolution of the top line and the EBITDA ever was as well a positive performance of the EBIT over the last quarter.
EUR 71 million, which more than 80% are the part related to the EV Automotive. And for the Industrial business, the remaining part, I have to say, it's only for maintenance CapEx. If we move on to the next slide, please. So in terms of revenues breakdown, you can see that now EV Automotive is represented approximately 64% over the total consolidated revenues of the company compared to the 56% as of the end of September 2023. And on a geographical basis, you can see that China is now representing approximately 13%, while India is now slightly below the 50%. North America is still in the range of approximately 40%. Moving to the next slide. So you see on EBITDA adjusted, as we said, EUR 82 million, 12.6% on a consolidated basis.
EV and Automotive for the nine months, it's reported 13%, implying as well, as we said, the impact of the ramp-up cost, while Industrial, it's slightly above last year. It now stands at 12%. EBIT, as we said, is impacted by the evolution of the D&A due to the evolution of the CapEx plan that we are executing. Moving to the next slide. Net working capital. Now, the total amount, it's in the range of EUR 240 million. This is the basis of inventory, EUR 350 million. So approximately EUR 40 million reduction compared to the data that we had as of the end of June. EUR 159 million, it's the part related to the receivables. And finally, the commercial debts towards suppliers stands in the range of EUR 268 million. So the net working capital reduction was in line with the expected seasonality evolution of our net working capital.
We do expect a further reduction in the last quarter of the year. Next slide, please. On net debt evolution, the total net debt as of the end of September was EUR 214 million. This is implying over the last 12 months EBITDA and net leverage of 1.9x . The EUR 214 million, it's implying EUR 49 million related to the IFRS 16 and EUR 19 million related to the dividend distribution executed in May and the completion of the buyback program that was completed on June 27. If we don't consider both the buyback and the dividends, net debt stands in the range of 1.7 times net leverage, implying a net debt of EUR 195 million. Financial expenses, I have to say, over the last quarter were approximately EUR 9 million.
The EUR 9 million is implying the financial expenses related to the new debt that we have withdrawn at the end of June, so the June 27. Approximately EUR 140 million financing package that was agreed and then negotiated with four different banks. And as well, it's impacted by the evolution of the mark-to-market of our derivatives, which was impacted by the evolution of the underlying reference interest rate. The impact on the financial expenses of the mark-to-market of the derivatives was in the range of EUR 2 million, while the part related to the additional financial expenses due to the new financing line was in the range of EUR 1 million over the last quarter. Good. I think that we can move to the next slide.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Matteo. I can, following the previous information that we saw, we can confirm that the guidance for this year are confirmed and also the mid-term guidance are confirmed. So we can see that the revenue will be in the range of EUR 900 million, sorry. The EBITDA will be in the range of EUR 120 million. The CapEx invested in the year will be in the range of EUR 80 million, and the net working capital we will assess to EUR 200 million. Connected to the mid-term target, in view also the Order Book and the situation, our positioning in the market, we can confirm our target for the next years.
Very good. Thank you, Isidoro, and so now we are available for the questions that are coming from the different participants to the call.
Thank you to the speakers today. We now have an opportunity for questions. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please use the raise hand function on your screen, or for those dialing in, hit star nine on your keypad. Once your name is announced, please unmute your line and say your company name before asking your question. Thank you. The first question that we have today comes from Giovanni Selvetti. Please, Giovanni, the floor to you.
Hello. Can you hear me?
Yes. Yeah. Giovanni from Berenberg. , everyone. I have a couple of questions on my side. The first one is on the recently announced acquisition of Kumar Precision Stampings. I was wondering what should we think about the contribution from Kumar this year and next year. And secondly, if the guidance is confirmed without, let's just say, the pro forma consolidation of Kumar. The second question is around China. I was wondering if you can give us an idea of, let's just say, how much of these EUR 38 million that you register in the third quarter, how much is the split between domestic OEMs and non-domestic OEMs. The third one is about the order book. As far as I can see, during the quarter, the order book went down by roughly EUR 500 million, while the pipeline has remained almost unchanged compared to June.
I was wondering what's driving the difference. Let's just say, how much of this order book was executed and what happened to the remaining bit, and if you see any cancellation whatsoever? And the last one is about the guidance. Just by looking at the math, you basically have to do roughly EUR 250 million in Q4 with an EBITDA margin, which is more than two points above what you register in Q3. I was wondering if you can achieve this margin accretion only with more volumes, or if you believe you have to, let's just say, have like last year some sort of compensation from lower volumes from your clients? And that's it for me. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Giovanni. Kumar acquisition, the impact on 2024 fiscal will be negligible given that the company will be consolidated by mid-November.
So of course, it will not be a significant impact on 2024 figures. Going forward, I have to say that we will update the figures once the Indian project as a whole. So given that we have already said that this is the first step of our Indian strategy, and the Chinese discussion will be completed. So at that time, we will reflect both initiatives in our figures. Then the second question was on evolution in China. China, as of today, it's the vast majority towards non-Chinese local players. As we said, the first SOP with a Chinese OEM will be now in December of this year, out of the three different projects that we have gained over the last month in China. So now the very vast majority of the revenue is towards non-Chinese local players. Order book.
Order Book, it's of course impacted by the evolution of the revenues over the quarter. So approximately EUR 150 million were the revenues generated for the EV and Automotive over the last quarter. The rest is the result of the business awarded in the period, which ranged in approximately more than EUR 150 million. And then the remaining part, it's of course what have been either delayed or canceled according to the new program that we receive from our customers. I have to say that we have seen overall postponement expected between 2027 and 2028. And beside the postponement, I have to say that there were few, I can say, we count only two projects which were canceled, but they were not significant projects. So overall, the Order Book and the part expected to be executed between 2025 and 2026 remains in line with our previous figures.
The postponement is impacting after 2026.
On the guidance, of course, your math, it's correct.
Matteo, just to interrupt to see if I got it right. EUR 500 million difference, EUR 150 is of course the revenues in the quarter, and the remaining is.
So as we said, there was an increase of more than EUR 150 million due to the new orders, the new project that we have been awarded over the period. And then the rest is between postponement and cancellation given that it's a 17-month rolling order book.
Okay. Okay. Thank you.
The final part of your question was on the guidance, if I didn't miss any of your points. On the guidance, of course, on the revenues, we do expect, and this is backed by the evolution that we have already reported both in October and now mid-November, the growth for the EV and Automotive due to the evolution of the eight different SOP that we had over the last nine months. And we see we are in the ramp-up, and therefore we do see on a daily basis growing volumes compared to what we have experienced as of the end of September. We do see as well solid performance with respect to the projects, which were not new projects for this year. And for the Industrial business, we see a slight mid-single-digit increase compared to the last quarter. So that's the math then underlying our guidance.
But again, this is backed by the evolution of October and mid-November, plus the visibility that we have within the rest of the year. On the margin, you're right, we will see growing margin. So growing margin will be reported especially by the EV and Automotive business unit, given that we will have a lower impact on the ramp-up cost, given that we are now in an advanced stage of the ramp-up that we have experienced over the last nine months. Plus, of course, the different initiatives that we are taking in order to improve our margin. But frankly, I have to say that no significant compensation is expected to be part of our last quarter results, given that we do see ones which are in line with our expectation and our order book.
Okay. So, should we think about, thank you for your answer. Should we think about the margins, let's just say, without ramp-up in that region of 15% going forward? If I have to assume a platform with no ramp-up cost attached at full speed can run at a 15% EBITDA margin going forward, just to have an idea. Hello.
Hi, everyone. So I EuroGroup is just having a little connection problem, so we will just wait for them to come back. I'm sorry for this.
Hello. Can you confirm this is still a problem ongoing and it's nothing on my side?
Hi, Giovanni. Yes, so at the moment, EV's just having a little problem coming back, but they are coming back.
Okay.
Hi, everyone. So please stay on the line EuroGroup will just come back in a few moments. So I see that they have come back, but they just have a little problem with the audio connection. So I will try to connect them again. Hello. Can you hear us?
[Foreign language]?
Perfect. We can now hear you.
Okay. Sorry for the inconvenience, but we had an interruption of the Energy. Sorry.
No problem at all. Everybody stayed connected.
Okay. Very good.
So we will give the word back to Giovanni for his last question.
Very good. Thank you.
I mean, the last question, it was about margins. I was wondering if it's going forward, it's fair to assume that without ramp-up cost in the EV Automotive, you can reach, let's just say, an EBITDA margin in the region of 15%.
Frankly, you have to consider that approximately EUR 3.7 million of EBITDA ramp-up cost were reported as of the end of June. Approximately EUR 1 million had impacted the last quarter. Another improvement is expected in the last quarter of the year. Frankly, on the majority of the projects that we have now up and running and not in ramp-up phase, our EBITDA margin is above the 15%. It's a fair assumption what you're saying.
Thank you.
Thank you, Giovanni, for your questions. So we will now give the word to Monica Bosio. Please, Monica, the floor to you. Remember to unmute your line. Thank you.
Yes. Hi, good morning. Can you hear me?
Yes. Good morning, Monica.
Thanks for taking my question. Most of my questions have been already answered, but just to check, do the mid-term guidance account also for Kumar? And my second question is, I know that maybe it's too early, but can you comment on the expected start of the new SOP in full year 2025? And should we expect a different speed between first half and the second half? And the third question is on the pipeline. How much of the pipeline do you reasonably expect to transform into firm orders in 2025? Thank you very much.
Okay, Monica. On the mid-term target, as we said, this mid-term is not including the benefit derived from the initiatives that we are undertaking both in India and in China. Okay? So once the two projects will be completed, then we will update the figures accordingly. And on the new SOP for the next year, the total amount of SOP for the next year will be 10, of which 6 will be, according to the latest estimates, executed in the first half of 2025. 4 will be in the second half. On a geographical basis, we have a split of approximately 40% in Europe and 30% each between USMCA and Asia.
Of course, there will be a progress on a quarter-to-quarter evolution as well next year, given that due to ramp-up, which is the phase between the SOP and the time needed in order to reach the target volumes according to the project.
So we should expect a quarterly improvement, sequentially quarterly improvement across 2025. Is it correct?
Correct for the new project, but of course, we should consider as well that in light of the evolution expected over the last quarter of this year, will be the basis for the next quarters going forward.
Perfect. And maybe a follow-up before you answer on the pipeline. So it seems that EV and Automotive is accelerating. The worst maybe is behind. The Industrial is still a question mark. So excluding most of the analysts have already included Kumar in our 2025 estimates. But I was wondering, on a standalone basis, excluding Kumar, what could be your view on the Industrial business for 2025? Should we expect a flat trend?
We are considering that we will improve our product revenues in.
For the Industrial business, for the guidance for 2024, we do expect revenues which will be above EUR 300 million, as you can imagine. Of course, this is an embedded part of our guidance. Going forward, I have to say that for both 2025 and 2026, in our mid-term guidance, the Industrial is still considered in the low-mid single-digit rate growth compared to our consolidated guidance. Please, Marco, add some color on this. We still see Europe with low demand in line with what has been reported since the last quarter of the second quarter of 2023. We do not see any significant improvement to be registered in Europe, at least in the first half of the next year. Besides this, it is important to emphasize our global footprint, the expected evolution of our Industrial business in China and in the United States.
And frankly, we do expect then to post significant growth as well for the Industrial business once the figures will reflect as well the part related to India, which is for us a new business.
For sure.
Of course, the transformer initiative is as well very important.
Yeah. I want to.
Hello? I can't hear you. I can't hear you.
They're currently on mute, but they will come back in just a few moments.
Okay.
Thank you, Monica.
Thank you.
Okay. Can you hear us now?
Yes. I do.
Perfect.
Okay. Just to add that the growth that we see in the mid-term is expected in Asia and North America, so as well for the Industrial business at the moment.
Thank you. And for the pipeline to be converted part into firm order in 2025, can you share with us?
Yeah. I mean, of course, it's a difficult guess. Frankly, what we can see is that as of today, we do see a very positive evolution of certain discussions that we are having in China. So we do expect new orders to begin in China over the next weeks. And besides this, I have to say that we are still very well positioned to be able to convert a significant part of this pipeline into order book. And of course, we have two major points which must be emphasized: the global footprint, and the global footprint is not very common amongst our peers. The technology, because it's important to remember that we have installed all of our lamination technologies worldwide, and as well, the significant experience that we have gained over the last years, given that we were the first mover with respect to the electrification of the Automotive.
Okay. Thank you. Very clear. Thank you.
Thank you, Monica, for your questions. We will now move on to the next question, which is from Matteo Bonizzoni. Please, Matteo, the floor to you. Matteo, please remember to unmute your line as I can see that you're currently muted.
Now it's okay. Can you hear me?
Yes.
Yes.
Thank you. Thank you very much, so the first question relates, in general, the market environment for battery-electric vehicles is pretty difficult to interpret because there are contrasting, let's say, signs which we receive. On one side, Tesla, which I think is still a relevant customer for you, maybe not as large as it was in the IPO, but still relevant, guided well for 2025 with expected volume growth in the range of 20%-30%, which was above market expectation. On the other side, correct me if I'm wrong, but the majority of Western OEMs, and particularly some European ones, are putting a sort of brake on the development of the battery-electric vehicles and maybe reconsidering hybrids, and so you have reconfirmed your mid-term guidance.
Consensus for next year has, in fact, 20%-25% growth for your revenues and EBITDA, but it's not immediate and not easy to understand if the overall market situation is allowing you to get there. So the question is, can you comment a little bit more and provide a little bit more of your view on what's happening on your reference market? It should be helpful to provide more color. The second question is on the capital intensity of your business. So back in the IPO, you were guiding CapEx on sales ratio already started from 2024, if I'm correct, to go down to a range between 4.5% and 5%. In fact, in 2024, the revenue growth has been below, and also, I would say, 2023 expectation, but CapEx has not come down.
So it's very important in my view for your business model not only to model the top-line growth and EBITDA growth, but also to have a view on the capital intensity to understand if the return on capital is going up or down, or in any case, what are the returns on the CapEx which you are doing. So my question is, should we expect 2025 and 2026 to go down finally from a CapEx on sales ratio, which this year remains above 8%, so materially higher than the guidance, to a range, let's say, in the region of 5%? Yes or no? Thanks.
Thank you. I replied to the first question, and then Matteo can discuss about the capital intensity. So with regards to the sales expected, we see, of course, the pure players in the electric car that are increasing everywhere their sales. So you commented the Tesla, but we know very well as well that the Chinese OEMs that are pure players in the electric vehicle are as well forecasting growth in the next years. What we see related as well to the eur opean and American, but as well Chinese, is the increase in any case of the plug-in hybrid version. So this kind of, we can call mild electrification, is in any case requiring a motor core because you have a motor for the traction that is in any case used in the car.
You know as well that this kind of mild solution is as well reinforced with the so-called range extender that is an additional solution in order to provide the possibility to charge the battery that they have in the plug-in hybrid vehicle. As well in the range extender, there are motors. So overall, the general trend of electrification in the Automotive is growing. It's growing for the pure player, but it's growing as well in terms of segment for the legacy OEM, the traditional OEM. This trend of growth is expected in all the regions, so in China, in Europe, and in North America. This is a new trend compared to what we saw, let's say, two, three years ago. Two, three years ago, the legacy OEM were merely concentrated in the pure electric vehicle.
Since, let's say, last year, they started to push more this solution of plug-in hybrid vehicles in the region. So this kind of trend is, in any case, increasing the electrified car that are expected to be sold in Eur ope, in North America, and as well in China. So this trend is progressing.
Yeah. On this, let me add a couple of considerations. So we have increased overall our market share this year because if you consider the United States, we have increased our market share. In Eur ope, we have increased as well the market share given that the platforms which have suffered the most were not part of our order book. And I make a reference, for instance, to other platforms for which certain Industrial plants will be closed between the end of the year and the next year. And frankly, we have gained as well a significant market share in China. So overall, we have seen our market share progressing compared to the IPO. And that was important. It was a significant recognition as well of our value proposition. Besides this, as Marco said, you should consider the market as the market for the electrification.
So battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid, mild hybrid, range extender, so all of the different technologies which are now available on the market where an electric engine is needed. And this market is still growing. It's still growing significantly as well in certain regions as China. On the capital intensity, I have to say that, of course, if you make the comparison versus CapEx versus the revenues, you should as well consider the part related to the deflation of the electrical steel, which impacted, as you know, the Industrial business. This year, as of the end of September, the impact on the price, you know that in light of the pass-through, which is not having an impact on EBITDA in absolute terms, was in the range of 13%.
Because I can confirm to you that the CapEx that were part of our 2022, 2026 plan are progressing accordingly to the original plan in absolute terms. Of course, making the comparison, it's impacted by the evolution of the electrical steel price. On net working capital, you should divide between the two business units. On Automotive business, it's impacted by the new project and the ramp-up of the existing project, plus the new SOP. So, of course, this is having an impact because once the target values will be reached, then in the capital employment in terms of working capital for the Automotive business, it's better compared to the Industrial business. On the Industrial business side, we are running a certain project to improve our net working capital, especially on the inventory side. And we do expect our return on capital employed to be improved going forward.
From a financial standpoint, I remember to you that according to the plan, approximately EUR 140 million of CapEx will be executed over the next two years according to the plan, and this is part of our mid-term guidance, but next year will be the year when we will post a positive free cash flow as well.
Thank you for this question. Our next question today comes from Alberto Jegra. Please, Alberto, the floor to you.
Hi. Good morning, everybody. So my first question is on 2025, if you can share your early view on next year in the sense how do you see the growth at company level compared to your 2024, 2027 CAGR for the next two years? Then on EV, can you comment on the pricing negotiation with OEMs in the Automotive segment as we are hearing higher and higher attention that they are paying to cost control? Then my question is on current geopolitical scenario. As your EV sales in North America is basically coming from your Mexican plant, are you planning to shift at least part of the production in the US? And maybe if more broadly, you can give us your view on the potential impact on higher duties?
Then my last one on Industrial, your projection for the next quarters are just related to a weak, let's say, end demand recovery, or you still expect some destocking at your customers? Thank you.
Thank you to you. So we divide the question. Matteo first.
Yeah.
You give the first.
On the guidance on the expectations for 2025, frankly, we are at the bottom of the expected growth rate compared to the medium-term growth rate that we identified for 2025 versus 2024. This is why we do expect an Industrial business, again, to be in the range of mid-single- to low-digit growth rate next year. Then the rest will come from the evolution of the EV and Automotive business. Again, on the basis of our current expectations, we do expect Industrial business to remain in such a range as per next year. On the EV and Automotive side, as we said, we do expect the running business to continue in line with what we have on the program that we have already updated and received by the customer.
And then the impact deriving from the new projects expected for next year, plus the evolution of the ramp-up phases for the project which started in 2024. On the price negotiation on the Automotive, Marco, if you want to address this.
Of course, these are becoming, in view of the overall situation of the Automotive industry, these negotiations are becoming tougher and tougher. There is, of course, an expectation from the OEMs to improve cost. We are, of course, offering them new technological solutions in order to reach this. So we are answering to this request in a constructive manner, but offering them technological solutions that could secure this target. With regards to the shift that could happen between Mexico and the US, as you said, we have always followed the local-to-local strategy and securing more and well-diversified plants in order to cover the need of each market. We have the flexibility that we can, of course, secure, transfer production from one plant to the other if needed. I think this will require some time before everything will be clear.
But we have the full flexibility to transfer or move production from one plant to the other if needed. And this is one of the strengths of our network that is capable to secure this kind of flexibility according to the customer requirement and as well the duties that could, let's say, be used by some state to protect. And this is as well even strengthened by our new project that we are doing in India. India has as well this role to secure synergy, but as well to improve even more the flexibility that we can have in our footprint.
This could be as well somehow an opportunity for us, given that we are the only one in our industry with such a global footprint. Of course, for the rest of our competitors, this would be an even tougher problem compared to what could be the impact on the duties for us, so this is important to be emphasized, and of course, this is part of our value proposition. On the destocking on the Industrial side, we do see certain in the discussion that we're having with certain Industrial customers in Eur ope, especially there are certain of our customers we start still talking about that we're still in the destocking phase, but frankly, the destocking was impacted as well by the evolution of the underlying demand for the Industrial business, which was, as we said, weak over the last month.
Yeah. And I think I reinforced that on the Industrial, we are, let's say, we have prepared this year the growth that we expect out of Europe, so in Asia and North America. So we are playing on the safe side in Europe because the situation in Europe is very delicate. And the growth that is expected is expected out of Europe, so in North America and in Asia.
And it's important that, for instance, one of the few segments that we do see as well this year increasing in terms of volume, it's the part related to the HVAC system for the data center creation, which, of course, it's a positive growing underlying market. And as well, the part related to the logistics, which is still growing as well this year compared to last year.
Thank you. Just a quick follow-up on Industrial. What is the current utilization of Industrial plants? Thank you.
Overall, on a global basis, we are slightly above the 60%. Frankly, our utilization rate in Eur ope, it's slightly below the 60%. Of course, we are now improving as well the utilization rate through the synergies that we activated between Industrial and the Automotive. Of course, we are continuing now to offset the lower utilization rate for the Industrial business, shifting people from Industrial to the EV and Automotive. Of course, these synergies are very important. This has allowed us to grow on the Automotive side without increasing the global headcount.
Thank you.
Thank you, Alberto, for your questions. Our next question today comes from Emanuele Negri. Please, Emanuele, the floor to you.
Good afternoon, everybody, and thanks for the presentation and for taking my question. I have a couple. The first one is kind of a follow-up from the previous one, and it is on the geopolitical scenario. Everyone is talking about potential impact on the electric vehicles market, mainly in North America, but also globally from the election of Mr. Trump. You actually have great visibility, I think, on the market. So can you give us an idea, some feelings you have on potential impact? This may have positive or negative, and the second one is on the memorandum of understanding you signed at the end of July or beginning of August in China. Do you have any update on this? Thank you.
Okay. With regards to the geopolitical situation and the visibility that we have on the market, as we said, we see, and I think that was recalled as well today, that one big player in the EV is foreseeing a growth for 20% for next year. And we know as well that this player has a strong connection to the geopolitical situation. So this is, for me, reassuring that we still see this electrification trend in the Automotive growing for the BEV, so for the full electric vehicle, but as well for all the other solutions that the OEM are announcing in the launches that they are planning for next year. We see more vehicles that are announced and planned to be launched in the market in Eur ope and in North America that are using the plug-in technologies, the range extender technology, which use more electric motors.
So we remain positive for the growing trend that there is in this electrification of the car. With regards to the memorandum.
Yeah. As Emanuele, you were saying, we signed a preliminary MOU with Huzhou Washi at the end of, I mean, it was the beginning of August, frankly. And then we are discussing on two sides, basically. One, we are progressing the discussion with them for the definition of our shareholder agreement between the parties. And you know that the project is aimed to strengthen our local ecosystem in China through the setup of a new plant in the Shandong area, a new innovation center, and then, of course, important commercial synergies with Chinese OEMs. Besides the discussion that we're having with a potential new Chinese partner, we are still having discussion with our Japanese partner, which, of course, now have 31% of our two operating companies in China. So as you can imagine, the discussion is on two different parallel sides, and we are progressing very well on both sides.
It's important as well to emphasize that following the announcement of the closing of the Kumar acquisition, you know that the Kumar acquisition was one part of our strategy in India, and we are now in discussion as well for a new initiative with respect to the EV Automotive business.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Thank you for these questions. We now have a question from Michele Baldelli. Please, Michele, the floor to you. Please, Michele, I can see that you're muted, so remember to unmute your line in order to talk. I see that Michele is having some problems, so we will give the word to Monica Bosio and then come back to Michele for the questions.
Yes. Hi. Sorry. Just an announcement from my side. At the operating level, the execution was fine and in line with our expectations. At the bottom-line level, we had two items, one bit more of depreciation and amortization. That's fine, and higher impact from the financial costs due also to Forex. Can you just give us a rough indication by your end just for modeling purposes? Thank you.
Yeah. On the Depreciation and Amortization, we are in line with our expectation, and this is the result of the execution of our CapEx plan. So EUR 42 million were perfectly in line with our expectation. On the financial expenses, as I said, we had the negative impact of approximately EUR 2 million related to the mark-to-market of our derivatives, which was the result of the evolution of the underlying interest rate. And of course, this is not expected to be again reached over the next month. And besides this, I have to say that we are in line as well for the financial expenses evolution. And frankly, overall, we are now seeing a decrease of the overall cost of the debt, which is now more in the range of 4%. On the, let's say, below the EBIT, there was as well the impact due to the Forex evolution.
It's important to remember that the U.S. exchange rate at the end of September, 30 September exchange rate was approximately EUR 1.12. Now we do stand in the range of EUR 1.05. And of course, we could have a very positive impact on our bottom line in our P&L.
Yes, it should revert.
Yeah.
Okay. Perfect. Thank you.
Thank you, Monica, for these questions. So we will try to go to Michele Baldelli again and see if his line works.
Hi. Can you hear me?
Yes. Eventually.
So I have several questions. The first one relates to the minorities. If you can explain a little bit what's moving that number because it's increasing. So I imagine they are China and the U.S., but just to have some more details if both are contributing to the increase or just China, you can give some comments. Questions relate to the free cash flow. You said, if I'm not wrong, that in 2025, the free cash flow can be positive. Just a confirmation, please. And then another question relates to the sales increase that you have made this year in the last couple of quarters. How much of the increase in the Automotive sales comes from new platforms outside of China? So I just want to know the new platforms outside of China, how much they contributed to the sales growth in Automotive. Thank you.
Okay. On the minorities, you're right. The evolution of the minorities is impacted by the positive evolution of our results for the Chinese operating company where Marubeni-Itochu Steel holds a 31% stake in both Euro-Misi Laminations Jiaxing and Euro-Misi Technology companies. And as well, the evolution of Eurotranciatura Mexico where Marubeni holds a 12.4% stake. But again, the majority of the minorities' evolution is related to the very good performance of our Chinese business. On the free cash flow, I confirm what we said. So we'll be positive next year. And of course, it will be mainly driven by the reduction in the CapEx that we have experienced over the last years, plus the expected evolution on EBITDA side.
On the sales increase, well, I have to say that if the vast majority of the growth in the sales was frankly pertaining to China with respect to the new projects which have started this year, but I don't know, Marco, if you have more color on this on Europe and the Mexican side?
Yeah. I can say that in Europe, we remain in line with the product revenues of last year. While in North America, we were capable to grow in the range of 6%. So apart from Asia, the growing area remains North America. And Europe is remaining flat in view of the difficulties that we all know.
Okay. Thank you very much. Just another point. Can you provide us the volumes decline in the Industrial division in the nine months? And also in the nine months, if I look just to Eur ope, how much were down the two divisions, Auto and the Industrial space?
Okay. Let's get started from the volumes evolution for the Industrial business. As we said, overall, the total volume reduction in 2024 versus 2023 was in the range of 7%, for which Eur ope is approximately 12%. The rest of geographies posted a positive evolution for the volumes. And yeah, and this is again what we reported from the Industrial business. On the volumes, of course, you should not consider the kilograms for the EV in Automotive business. What we can say is that as of the end of September, we have sold approximately 2.8 million motor cores compared to the total amount of approximately 2.4 that we reported in the full year 2023. And we do expect to be in the range of 4 million motor cores to be sold by year-end.
Yeah. So in terms of volume, I can say that we are growing in terms of sets that are, of course, in the range between 20% and 30%, depending on, of course, on the different type of products. This is for the EV in Automotive. And this is, of course, so volume in general in EV and Automotive are growing in terms of motor core or in terms of kilos of products that we sell. With regards to the Industrial, Matteo already mentioned the situation. So I didn't have anything to add.
Yeah. If you want more color on the evolution of the volumes, as we said, we are registering an increase for both logistics and part of the HVAC, as we said, related to the data center. In terms of volumes, I have to say that Energy reported a decrease of approximately 5% as per last year. And as well, Home reported a decrease in the range of 13%.
Thank you, Michele, for your questions. We will now give the word to Alberto Jegra. Please, Alberto, the floor to you.
Hi. So I have a follow-up on China. You will end fiscal year 2024, I think, at about EUR 120 million sales for both the division. In the past, if I'm not wrong, you mentioned a mid-term target of 30% on sales. What could we imagine for 2025 if we do not consider the potential upside of new orders? So just considering the platforms that are running today and those that will start that are already in your order book.
Okay. In absolute terms, frankly, if we consider only the traction business, we do expect revenues this year to be above the EUR 100 million. So then if we include as well the Auto core and the Industrial business, we should be slightly above the EUR 120 million that you were making reference before. With respect to the next year, frankly, I have to say that, of course, China will continue to grow. But we do expect growth as well to be achieved in the United States, so in North America, due to the three important projects that will start next year in our Mexican plant. So these three projects will be the most significant part of our growth next year.
Thank you.
Thank you. So we will take the last question of the day. Please, Monica Bosio, the floor to you.
Sorry, I forgot to lower my hand. I have no more questions. Sorry.
Okay. Perfect. So in that case, I'm sorry, everyone, but we have run out of time for today. So I will give the word back to the speakers for any final comments before bringing this presentation to a close. Thank you.
Yeah. Thank you very much to all of you for all the questions and the interest in EGLA. As we said at the beginning, we are very satisfied and proud of the performance of the group in view of the overall situation that you know very well that we have around us, and we are as well very positive about the premises that we set for the outlook of the group for the next years, so beside, let's say, the Automotive and the positive trend that there is in electrification, we are diversifying the legs of growth that we can use for the future. So for sure, the positive evolution that we see is in Asia, in China, and in India, where we are working very hard in order to reinforce our presence.
And as well in North America, where, in any case, we see a lot of chances in view of the strength that this economy is playing. We remain, I have to say, prudent on Europe in order to secure that in our growth, we have solid assumption in order to secure the growth that we expect. Thanks again to all of you. And we remain available for any further request or need of clarification that you may need. Thank you to everyone.
Good afternoon.
This presentation will now come to a close. Thank you.