Interim report January-September 2018: Positive trend of high volumes continues and earnings improve

Third quarter

• Order intake rose by 25% to 372 MSEK (297).
• Net sales increased by 17% to 338 MSEK (289).
• EBIT was 17.7 MSEK (5.6).
• Profit after tax increased to 11.0 MSEK (-2.2).
• Earnings per share increased to 0.38 SEK (-0.09).

Nine months

• Order intake rose by 24% to 1,141 MSEK (922).
• Net sales increased by 17% to 1,036 MSEK (883).
• EBIT was 53.7 MSEK (14.6).
• Profit/loss after tax increased to 31.1 MSEK (-5.2).
• Earnings per share increased to 1.08 SEK (-0.22).

COMMENTS FROM CEO PER SAMUELSSON

”The progress of Beijer Electronics Group in the third quarter underscored the positive trend of the first halfyear. The pattern is similar, with order intake and sales increasing in the period. Gross margin increased somewhat, and combined with good control of overheads, this meant EBIT improved.

Our financial performance confirms that we are delivering as planned.

The Group’s different operations have progressively stabilised, and the organisation is steady after its major transformation. I can conclude that the high order intake in the year has been a positive surprise for us, but this obviously brings challenges to our delivery organisation.

We beat our long-term growth targets, and growth is still a high priority. With increased volumes, we’re getting a good pay-off and gradually increasing EBIT margins, even if they may fluctuate between quarters.

The EBIT margin, given the circumstances, is developing in the right direction. Our organisation is still delivering on a professional footing, and combined with an excellent tempo of order intake, this offers us good potential to achieve our earnings target of a 10% EBIT margin going forward. Cash flow improved in the quarter year on year, but remains unsatisfactory.

The Beijer Electronics business entity continued as planned, with positive progress in the quarter. Most markets achieved good growth, especially the US. Our new X2 series has achieved more successes in Europe and the US. In Asia, conversion to the new terminal has now commenced, and will continue at full speed in 2019.

Beijer Electronics has concluded the test phase of its new Fast track to the cloud solution for some 20 different customers. This solution is a clear example of the Group’s investment in the growing IIoT market. The solution has been very well received by customers, with acceptance fully satisfying our high expectations. The plan is to roll out the commercial launch of this solution progressively through 2019.

The Westermo business entity is achieving impressive order intake and sales growth, which beat our estimates with a good margin, with increases of nearly 60% and 30% respectively in the third quarter. The train side is making the main positive progress, but other segments and off-the-shelf products are in good growth. Westermo has now definitively secured status as a major, competitive global player with key customers across North America, Europe and Asia.

Obviously, this progress is positive, but simultaneously presents our organisation with several challenges.

A component shortage, and bottlenecks at the supplier level and in manufacturing, have also impacted our delivery capacity. Our priority has been on securing shipments to customers and expanding capacity, which has resulted in increased expenses temporarily, and impacted the EBIT margin in the quarter.

The Korenix business entity made mixed progress in the third quarter. Sales were up by 20%, while order intake increased marginally simultaneous with losses narrowing, nearly to break-even. The business entity continued to work on its new organisation, addressing new customers and major product sales. After its transformation in 2017, Korenix is focused on recovery in 2018, with the aim of becoming profitable in 2019.

For the Group overall, sales and earnings rose sharply in the first three quarters of the year, compared to the corresponding period of 2017. We expect the Group to Increase sales and earnings again in the fourth quarter compared to the corresponding period of 2017.”

INVITATION TO CONFERENCE CALL

Today, October 24, a conference call will be held for press and analysts, where President and CEO Per Samuelsson and Executive VP and CFO Joakim Laurén present the company and comment on the report.

Time:  Wednesday October 24, at 09.30 a.m. CEST

To participate in the conference please dial:

From SE: +46851999031
From UK: +442030089803

To access the presentation please use this link: http://www.anywhereconference.com?UserAudioMode=DATA&Name=&Conference=131699574&PIN=83691013 

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 08:00 CEST, October 24, 2018. 
   

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 1.2 billion SEK 2017.  

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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