Interim report January-June 2017: Board of Directors proposing a 225 MSEK rights issue to accelerate development of the Group

Second quarter

• Order intake increased by 9% to 306.6 MSEK (280.2).
• Net sales increased by 7% to 304.0 MSEK (283.3).
• EBIT was 6.5 MSEK (4.2).
• Profit/loss after tax was 0.8 MSEK (-2.8).
• Earnings per share were 0.03 SEK (-0.14).
• AGM in April 2017 approved change of corporate name to Beijer Electronics Group AB.
• Board of Directors proposing a 225 MSEK rights issue with preferential rights for existing shareholders.

First half-year

• Order intake increased by 15% to 624.8 MSEK (545.1).
• Net sales rose by 5% to 594.2 MSEK (563.8).
• EBIT was 9.0 MSEK (-51.3). Year-2016 earnings were charged with non-recurring expenses of 50 MSEK.
• Profit/loss after tax was -3.0 MSEK (-44.7).
• Earnings per share were -0.19 SEK (-2.33).

Comments from President and CEO Per Samuelsson

“Beijer Electronics Group consolidated its positive trend during the second quarter, with increased order intake, higher sales and improved earnings. We are following the plan we set for our continuing operations, and see good potential to achieve our targets of minimum growth of 7% and a minimum operating margin of 10%, achievable in late-2018.

But we’re raising our level of ambition further now. The Board and management now see several opportunities to accelerate our evolution, by making some small-scale acquisitions, thus upping the Group’s development tempo, and creating more scope to act. Accordingly, with the support of several major shareholders, the Board has decided to propose a rights issue of some 225 MSEK with preferential rights for existing shareholders. The proposed rights issue is fully underwritten. More information on the rights issue is in a separate press release.

A 225 MSEK rights issue would significantly enhance the Group’s financial position. The Group’s current net debt and debt/equity ratio are limiting its scope for aggressive initiatives over and above the significant investments it is already executing within its recent strategy. With the substantial realignment over the past two years now essentially complete, and with stronger management capacity, the company regards its current position as favorable for more aggressive initiatives, while simultaneously safeguarding ongoing product development and sales initiatives.

Product development expenditure increased by 11% in the second quarter, and in the first half-year, these expenses amounted to some 75 MSEK, or 13% of sales. Over the next 12 months, Beijer Electronics Group will be releasing a number of new software products and services. We have also assigned more resources to marketing and sales. In the shorter perspective, this will affect earnings, which remain unacceptably low. But what is positive is that earnings are
progressively improving.

The Westermo business unit demonstrates that the major investment program of recent years is now starting to pay off. Order intake and sales are in brisk growth. Westermo’s order book was at a record level at the mid-point of the
year. Earnings more than doubled in the first half-year, and operating margin is converging on 10%.

The Beijer Electronics business unit reported healthy growth in the second quarter. Simultaneously, though, earnings are being affected in the short term by upscaled product development and sales initiatives. We think that they will have a positive and more visible effect in 2018. We also note that the launch of our new X2 operator panels has been successful to date. Sales are progressing well, while quality and delivery reliability are high.

The Korenix business unit had somewhat higher sales and improved earnings, albeit from an unacceptable level. 2017 can be considered something of a turnaround year for Korenix. A new President is in place, and a new management is being appointed. The focus is on creating a new and more sales-focused organization, better suited to the new product range.

We are reiterating our previous outlook for the full year 2017. We expect the Group to be able to achieve higher sales and better underlying EBIT compared to 2016."

INVITATION TO CONFERENCE CALL

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

Time:      Friday July 14, at 2.00 p.m. CET

To participate in the conference please dial:

From SE: +46856642509
From UK: +442030089806

To access the presentation please use this link:
http://www.anywhereconference.com?UserAudioMode=DATA&Name=&Conference=131689353&PIN=80588034

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
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 the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act and EU's Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). The information was submitted for publication at 13.00 CET, July 14, 2017. 
   

Beijer Electronics Group is a fast growing technology company with extensive experience of industrial automation and data communication. The company develops and markets competitive products and solutions that focus on the user. Since its start-up in 1981, Beijer Electronics Group has evolved into a multinational group with sales over 1.1 billion SEK 2016. The company is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Stockholm Small Cap list under the ticker BELE. www.beijergroup.com

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