Director of the Alstom Valenciennes production plant seen in front of a car being delivered to the Regie des Transports de Marseille) technical centre.
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Shares of French train manufacturer Alstom plummeted 35% on Thursday, according to LSEG data, after the company slashed its free cash flow forecast.
In unaudited half-year results released on Wednesday evening, the company said its free cash flow had fallen from negative 45 million euros ($47 million) to negative 1.15 billion euros. It also said it now expects free cash flow in a range of negative 500-750 million euros for the full year, compared to a prior forecast of “significantly positive.”
Trading of Alstom shares was briefly suspended at the open of the Paris Stock Exchange.
The fall puts the company on course for its worst trading day in at least 20 years, according to LSEG data. The share decline wiped roughly 2.6 billion euros ($2.73 billion) from Alstom’s market value, Reuters found.
“Supported by a positive market momentum, Alstom is accelerating on its organic growth trajectory. We are engaged in a steep ramp-up, in particular in the rolling stock activity. This, combined with legacy projects being finalized at the same time, is weighing on the free cash flow in this first half,” the company said in a statement.
UBS analyst Supriya Subramanian said in a note that free cash flow was the “key miss” from the Wednesday update, while Alstom orders and sales also came in below expectations.
Subramanian nonetheless reiterated a 12-month “buy” rating on the stock and projected improvements for the second half of the year, including an easing of production challenges.