Interim report January - March 2019: Continued healthy sales increase and significantly better earnings

• Order intake amounted to 369 MSEK (398).
• Net sales increased by 10% to 371 MSEK (337).
• EBIT up to 30.1 MSEK (18.1).
• Profit after tax increased to 20.0 MSEK (9.6).
• Earnings per share were 0.70 SEK (0.34).
    
  

Comments from CEO Per Samuelsson 

“BEIJER GROUP consolidated its positive trend with continued healthy organic growth and a sharp improvement to earnings in the first quarter. Sales rose by 10%, and EBIT by nearly 70%. This means an EBIT margin of over 8%, and that we’re gradually converging on the Group’s 10% target.

The earnings increase is backed by higher sales volumes and continued expansion of our gross margin. It is mainly our new products–the results of our initiatives in recent years–that are providing the increasing volumes. The higher gross margins are due to previous efficiency improvement and a better product mix.

Meanwhile, EBIT was charged with higher overheads, resulting in measures including more initiatives in the Westermo business entity, as announced in our fourthquarter Report. In the short-term, they impact earnings, but we view them as investments in continued high growth and capacity expansion, and eventually, higher margins.  

Order intake is favorable, given that the period did not include any major order, unlike the corresponding period of 2018. Adjusted for these orders, order intake made positive progress in the quarter. Order intake was also impacted by phase-outs of old products, which creates some irregularity between quarters. Meanwhile, our order book was 36% larger at the end of the quarter than at the same point of 2018, and we’re not seeing any immediate cyclical slowdown on our markets.

Once again, the Beijer Electronics business entity provided strong earnings gains. Growth is positive, and the business entity’s continued expansion is an important component of the Group’s long-term value creation. The Westermo business entity achieved a rapid recovery of EBIT margins after progressively poorer quarters in the latter part of 2018. Actions to relieve the capacity shortage and additional expenses have started to take their intended effect. Meanwhile, capacity has been expanded further to address continued high growth. The Korenix business entity had a somewhat poorer first quarter, but significantly better than the fourth quarter 2018. The business entity has continued to build out and improve its product portfolio, which we expect to attract forthcoming orders and sales. We are retaining our plan of Korenix achieving continued growth and achieving profitability in 2019.

For the full year 2019, we think the Group will still be able to increase sales and earnings compared to the figures for 2018.”
  

Invitation to conference call

Today, a conference call will be held for press and analysts, where President and CEO Per Samuelsson and EVP and CFO Joakim Laurén present the company and comment on the report.

Time:  Wednesday April 17, at 14.00 CEST

To participate in the conference please dial:

From SE: +46850558352
From UK: +443333009260

To access the presentation please use this link: https://www.anywhereconference.com?Conference=301284909&PIN=40835628&UserAudioMode=DATA 

The report and the presentation will be available at Beijer Electronics Group’s website www.beijergroup.com. A recording of the conference call will also be available here after the event.

Welcome!

For more information please contact:

President and CEO, Per Samuelsson, tel 46 (0)40 35 86 10, mobile 46 (0)708 58 54 40
Executive VP and CFO Joakim Laurén, tel 46 (0)40 35 84 96, mobile 46 (0)703 35 84 96.

This information is such that Beijer Electronics Group AB (publ) is required to disclose in accordance  with EU's Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). The information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact persons set out above at 13:00 CEST, April 17, 2019.

Beijer Electronics Group is a high-tech innovator active in smart automation and networks. The Group’s open software, hardware and IIoT solutions help customers optimize processes and create reliable secure communication, complete with leading-edge user experiences. Since its start-up in 1981, Beijer Electronics Group has evolved into a multinational group with sales 1.4 billion SEK 2018.  

The company is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm’s Small Cap list under the ticker BELE. www.beijergroup.com

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