About Wojciech Kowalczyk
Wojciech Kowalczyk, CEO of Boryszew SA, has described the company's recent performance as stable despite a difficult macroeconomic environment. In April 2025, he cited a slowdown in Western Europe, particularly in Germany, weakness in the automotive sector, and geopolitical risks as key factors affecting the business. He stated that the company expects improvements in 2025, including a roughly 50% increase in EBIT from the automotive segment and a more than 40 million złoty boost from cost-cutting measures. Kowalczyk also noted that the company is in advanced talks for new contracts and plans to update its strategy in May 2025.
In earlier appearances, Kowalczyk characterized 2023 results as "stable" and "good" given the challenging conditions, and he highlighted the company's diversification as a competitive advantage. He has pointed to a significant recovery in electric vehicle production expected by 2026, and has discussed the company's focus on expanding into energy transmission, circular economy, and energy storage segments. Kowalczyk has also noted that the company manages energy and gas price risks through a dedicated team and hedging, while acknowledging that supply risks remain dependent on government policy.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Wojciech Kowalczyk's recent appearances.
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Transcript (3 segments)
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Narrator0:00
Subscribe to our channel to receive the latest comments from management boards of listed companies, analysts, and investment experts. The program's partner is M Foods SA, the largest Polish producer and distributor of honey from around the world, as well as Excellence SA, the largest Polish producer of juices and beverages listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
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Wojciech Kowalczyk0:31
The results for the first half of 2022 for the group were very good. We used all our competitive advantages, one of the main ones being our diversification. The main driver of financial results was our metals segment, which contributed over 70% of the result. Chemicals were stable, automotive was below expectations and below budget values. A few words about automotive: this was due to the closure of Volkswagen's plant in March in Europe, lower order volumes, and a jump in raw material prices in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the trend reversed. We expect the automotive segment to be significantly better for the group's results in the second half of the year. CAPEX is divided into investment and maintenance. The first half of the year saw over PLN 100 million at a similar level. We expect the same level in the second half and next year, depending on supplies and contractor availability. Some projects may be postponed and accumulate at the beginning of next year. Maintenance CAPEX is mainly in the metals segment: Huta Bankowa and Huta Batory. Investment CAPEX includes the waste incineration plant at our waste management facility and automation of production processes in our automotive segment. In the first half of the year we were well prepared; I think it will not have a significant impact on our results by year-end. We have a special team that trades energy and gas and hedges our companies during contracting. We immediately hedge gas and energy prices. Going forward, there is certainly a risk of gas supply shortages, but we cannot hedge against that. We count on government policy, we hope that gas will still be available. We are flexible, we change production profiles, we study the energy consumption of each workstation to reduce costs. A good example is switching the steel plant from continuous operation to two-week cycles of 24 hours, and our pipe mill also adjusted its work cycle. We are striving to be energy efficient, we invest in green energy, we install photovoltaic panels wherever possible. We have connections ready. So far we have managed to pass on higher gas and energy costs to end customers, maintaining good margins. The goal is certainly to bring net debt/EBITDA well below 1; currently after the first half of the year it is at 1.3x. We use all available financial instruments: payment guarantees, full factoring, off-balance sheet factoring. Our goal is to accelerate turnover, we do not want to extend payment terms. When necessary, we use factoring at current financing costs. Naturally, we reduce debt. Regarding the metals segment, we expect stabilization but at last year's levels; the record results of the first half will probably not be repeated. We expect significant growth by year-end in the automotive segment, especially late Q3 and Q4. Chemicals should be stable.
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Narrator5:03
The program's partner was M Foods SA, the largest listed Polish producer and distributor of honey from around the world, as well as Excellence SA, the largest Polish producer of juices and beverages listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
