Eltel Group: Full-year report January–December 2015

January - December 2015

• Net sales EUR 1,254.9 million (1,242.1), at comparable exchange rates up 2.9%*; organic net sales increased 4.5%*
• Operative EBITA EUR 62.2 million (61.3) or 5.0% of net sales (4.9)
• Non-recurring items EUR -1.7 million (-22.7), mainly IPO related
• EBITA EUR 60.5 million (38.6) or 4.8% of net sales (3.1)
• Net financial expenses decreased to EUR 14.4 million (19.0)
• Net result EUR 43.2 million (11.1)
• Earnings per share EUR 0.69 (0.12)
• Operative cash flow EUR 45.8 million (88.9), negatively impacted by IPO-related cash payments in 2015
• The Board proposes a dividend of EUR 0.24 per share for the year 2015

October - December 2015

• Net sales EUR 397.3 million (352.3), at comparable exchange rates up 15.4%*; organic net sales increased 4.5%*
• Operative EBITA EUR 20.5 million (17.7) or 5.2% of net sales (5.0)
• No non-recurring items (EUR -6.7 million)
• EBITA EUR 20.5 million (11.0) or 5.2% of net sales (3.1)
• Net financial expenses decreased to EUR 2.2 million (4.2)
• Net result EUR 17.3 million (8.7)
• Earnings per share EUR 0.27 (0.17)
• Operative cash flow EUR 90.4 million (66.3)

Unless otherwise stated, figures in brackets refer to the same period in the previous year* Organic net sales do not include Norwegian communication business and the Edi.Son, Sønnico and Vete acquisitions in 2015 and are presented at comparable exchange rates. For net sales comparability, see table on page 4 and Communication segment on page 7.

Comments by the CEO

Strong growth in the fourth quarter ended a record year for Eltel

The positive long-term trends in the Infranet market continued in the last quarter of 2015. We managed to capitalise on the favourable market conditions and recorded a clear increase in orders in the fourth quarter in all of Eltel’s segments – Power, Communication and Transport & Security.

We won a significant amount of contracts, especially in our business related to major projects, where we had somewhat weaker order bookings in the beginning of 2015 - reflecting the cyclical nature of this part of our operations. Many of the new project contracts were strategically important smart meter rollout projects that will be executed in coming years. The year 2015 was also very good within maintenance and upgrades, which represent approximately two thirds of our business, as we renewed and signed several new multi-year frame agreements, including a renewed major five-year contract with TeliaSonera in Sweden. When closing the books for 2015, Eltel’s committed order backlog was at the highest level in the company’s history at approximately EUR 920 million an increase of 35% compared to the end of the year 2014. We are now disclosing this figure for the first time, which will hopefully improve understanding of our long-term predictability and potential.

Moreover, Eltel showed strong double digit growth in net sales in the fourth quarter, mainly driven by the successfully completed acquisitions in Germany and Norway during the year but also by healthy organic growth. For the full year 2015, organic growth amounted to 4.5% and growth from acquisitions to 8.7% - these combined well exceeded our growth target of 10%. The Group’s profitability also continued to improve, showing an operative EBITA margin above 5% for the quarter and 5% for the full year. Our cash generation in the fourth quarter was again strong and the adjusted cash conversion rate for 2015 was above 120%, proving our cash efficient and asset-light business model.

In the fourth quarter, our Power segment showed very strong organic growth mainly as a result of the good performance in the power distribution business. The Communication segment continued to perform well with the strong performance in fibre and mobile roll-outs also continuing in the last quarter of 2015. In the Transport & Security business segment, net sales were impacted by lower volumes and weaker business performance, although several new orders in the rail sector were signed in the last months of 2015.

Eltel’s one-year journey as a listed company has been very interesting. We experience that the listing has improved knowledge and transparency of both Eltel and the Infranet industry. The Industry is an important contributor to modern society with growing needs for available and crucial Infranets. By capitalising on scale and our international platform, combined with great customer relations, Eltel will continue to be the pioneer in transforming the Infranet Industry from a domestic technical industry to a dynamic value-creating global contributor.

In order to deliver on our mid-term targets for profitable growth and cash generation, our focus in 2016 will be on continued operational efficiency while at the same time continuing to grow, both organically and through acquisitions. We still see room for improvements especially in our power transmission and rail business. Particular focus areas in terms of operational efficiency are health and safety and people development. Our growth ambitions continue to be well supported by a strong market outlook combined with attractive M&A alternatives in all our markets and segments.

–Axel Hjärne, President and CEO

For further information:
Ingela Ulfves
VP – Investor Relations and Group Communications
Tel: +358 40 311 3009, ingela.ulfves@eltelnetworks.com

About Eltel
Eltel is a leading European provider of technical services for critical infrastructure networks – Infranets – in the segments of Power, Communication and Transport & Security, with operations throughout the Nordic and Baltic regions, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom and Africa. Eltel provides a broad and integrated range of services, spanning from maintenance and upgrade services to project deliveries. Eltel has a diverse contract portfolio and a loyal and growing customer base of large network owners. In 2015 Eltel net sales amounted to EUR 1,255 million. The current number of employees is approximately 9,600. Since February 2015, Eltel AB is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.