Fiskars Group recognizes negative goodwill from the Georg Jensen acquisition and records a gain of EUR 25.4 million as items affecting comparability – no impact on guidance for 2023

Fiskars Corporation
Stock exchange release
January 9, 2024 at 3.40 p.m.

Fiskars Group recognizes negative goodwill from the Georg Jensen acquisition and records a gain of EUR 25.4 million as items affecting comparability – no impact on guidance for 2023

Fiskars Group has finalized[1] the purchase price allocation of the Georg Jensen acquisition and recognizes negative goodwill from it. As a result, the company records a gain of EUR 25.4 million as items affecting comparability (IAC) in Q4 2023. As the negative goodwill will be recorded as IAC in other operating income, it will not impact Fiskars Group’s comparable EBIT in 2023 or the company’s guidance for 2023. The negative goodwill is generated as the purchase price was lower than the fair value of acquired net assets.

On October 12, 2023 the company informed about the impacts of the Georg Jensen acquisition, and as announced earlier, the net impact from the acquisition on Fiskars Group’s comparable EBIT in 2023 is expected to be positive. The brand’s fourth quarter EBIT contribution is expected to exceed the negative impacts from those purchase price allocation items which are included in comparable EBIT, i.e. depreciation and amortization.

The income statement impacts of the purchase price allocation in Q4 2023 and in 2024 are presented in the table below (all non-cash items). In addition to the negative goodwill, the other main items from the purchase price allocation with income statement impact are fair valuation of inventory and intangible assets.

* Depreciation and amortization over the expected useful lives of 20 years.

Given the generated negative goodwill, the acquisition does not dilute earnings per share in 2023.

Fiskars Group informed about the acquisition of the Danish luxury lifestyle brand Georg Jensen on September 14, 2023 and its completion on October 1, 2023. The debt free, cash free purchase price (enterprise value) was EUR 155 million[2] (USD 165 million). The enterprise value represents EV/EBITDA (LTM) multiples of 9.5x on a stand-alone basis and 4.7x with expected cost synergies of approximately EUR 18 million and net of integration costs. The final price paid for net assets was EUR 125 million after post completion adjustment based on the level of net working capital and cash and debt in the acquired business on the closing date. 

“I’m very pleased with how we have proceeded with this acquisition. We were able to complete the deal in two weeks after it was signed and to fully consolidate Georg Jensen’s fourth quarter, the brand’s most important quarter, to Fiskars Group. Now, our focus is on integration and it is progressing well,” says Nathalie Ahlström, President and CEO of Fiskars Group.

Fiskars Corporation will publish its Financial Statement Release for 2023 on February 8, 2024 at approximately 8.30 a.m. EET.

FISKARS CORPORATION

Further information:
Essi Lipponen, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 829 1192

About Fiskars Group

Fiskars Group (FSKRS, Nasdaq Helsinki) is the global home of design-driven brands for indoor and outdoor living. Our brands include Fiskars, Georg Jensen, Gerber, Iittala, Moomin Arabia, Royal Copenhagen, Waterford, and Wedgwood. In 2022, our brands were present in more than 100 countries, we had approximately 350 own stores and close to 7,000 employees. Our global net sales were EUR 1.2 billion in 2022.

We are driven by our common purpose: Pioneering design to make the everyday extraordinary. Since 1649, we have designed products of timeless, purposeful, and functional beauty, while driving innovation and sustainable growth.

Read more: fiskarsgroup.com