Dormakaba sees half-year organic growth of slightly above 3% to 5%

(Reuters) - Swiss security group Dormakaba Holding said on Wednesday it expected organic growth slightly above its mid-term target range of 3% to 5%, but added the guidance applied only to the first half of the 2022/23 financial year, as geopolitical and macroeconomic risks increase.

The first-half growth guidance is below the organic sales growth of 7.7% Dormakaba reported for the fiscal year ended June 30.

It said the soaring inflation due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and higher labour costs particularly in the Americas could only partly be offset with price increases in the short term.

Supply chain constraints exacerbated by the war and strict COVID-19 lockdowns in China have led to shortages in raw materials and key electronic components such as chips, hurting sales of locking devices.

The company said it expected an adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of around 13% in the first half of the financial year.

In the twelve months ended June 30, Dormakaba's EBITDA margin came in at 13.5%, compared to a margin of 14.5% a year earlier.

The company said it would propose a dividend of 11.50 Swiss francs per share, below the 12.50 francs per share it paid for the previous year.

(Reporting by Bartosz Dabrowski in Gdansk; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Milla Nissi)