Fiskars interim report for January–September 2022

Fiskars Corporation
Interim report
October 28, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. (EEST)

Fiskars interim report for January–September 2022

Stable development in a challenging operating environment

This release is a summary of the Fiskars Corporation’s Interim report for January–September 2022 published today. The complete interim report with tables is attached to this release as a pdf-file. It is also available at http://fiskarsgroup.com/investors/reports-presentations/interim-reports and on the company website at www.fiskarsgroup.com. Investors should not rely on summaries of the interim reports only, but should review the complete interim reports with tables.

July-September 2022 in brief:

• Comparable net sales¹ were stable at EUR 292.6 million (Q3 2021: 292.0). Reported net sales were stable at EUR 292.6 million (291.8)
• Comparable EBIT² was relatively stable at EUR 33.2 million (34.1), or 11.4% (11.7%) of net sales. EBIT decreased to EUR 29.4 million (34.7)
• Cash flow from operating activities before financial items and taxes decreased to EUR -45.5 million (51.9)
• Free cash flow was EUR -64.2 million (39.4)
• Earnings per share (EPS) were EUR 0.28 (0.36)

January-September 2022 in brief:

• Comparable net sales¹ increased by 7.2% to EUR 944.3 million (Q1-Q3 2021: 881.1). Reported net sales increased by 4.8% to EUR 944.3 million (901.2)
• Comparable EBIT² was relatively stable at EUR 121.3 million (122.1), or 12.8% (13.5%) of net sales. EBIT decreased to EUR 110.3 million (119.0)
• Cash flow from operating activities before financial items and taxes decreased to EUR -85.3 million (109.3)
• Free cash flow was EUR -138.0 million (69.8)
• Earnings per share (EPS) were EUR 1.07 (0.84)
   

1) Comparable net sales excludes the impact of exchange rates, acquisitions and divestments

2) Items affecting comparability in EBIT include items such as restructuring costs, impairment or provisions charges and releases, integration-related costs, and gains and losses from the sale of businesses

Outlook for 2022 (unchanged):

Fiskars expects comparable EBIT to increase from 2021 (2021: EUR 154.2 million).

Fiskars closely monitors the development of consumer confidence, which has dropped to low levels in many of the company’s key markets and could impact the demand for its products in the fourth quarter more than anticipated. The fourth quarter is important especially for the Business Area Vita driven by the holiday season.

The cost environment continues to be dynamic with significant volatility, especially in energy prices. While the company has managed to mitigate the impacts of cost headwinds, they continue to pose a risk for 2022 performance.

President and CEO, Fiskars Group, Nathalie Ahlström:

In the third quarter, our comparable net sales amounted to EUR 293 million and were on a par with last year’s all-time high Q3 sales. This is a solid achievement given the turbulent operating environment. We are also at clearly higher sales levels than a few years ago, which illustrates that we are truly transforming the company.

While cost inflation and low consumer confidence affected demand in the Americas and Europe, we continued growing in Asia-Pacific. Our stable sales development during the quarter demonstrates the benefits of our wide geographical footprint and our strong and well-balanced brand portfolio. I would also like to thank the entire Fiskars Group team for their great work in continuously driving our Growth Strategy forward.

Despite lower volumes and continuing cost inflation resulting in flattish comparable EBIT of EUR 33 million, our actions to mitigate the impacts of cost increases delivered the expected results and our gross margin improved organically. The cost environment continues to be dynamic with significant volatility especially in energy prices, and we are constantly taking action to offset the impacts. While we are prudently managing our cost base, we continue to invest in our key strategic building blocks: direct-to-consumer and digital.  

Throughout the year, we have been able to serve our customers and avoid any major product availability challenges despite disruptions in global supply chains. This has required higher inventories, which has negatively impacted our cash flow. We have put measures in place to mitigate inventory growth, but do not expect any significant decline in inventories during the last quarter of the year.  

Our focus continues to be firmly on our Growth Strategy and its four transformation levers: commercial excellence, direct-to-consumer (DTC), the U.S., and China. We can see that this focus is delivering results. Looking at the first nine months of the year, our like-for-like gross margin, which is our key performance indicator for commercial excellence, was flattish despite broad-based cost inflation. During the year, DTC has grown by 10% amounting to 19% of the Group’s sales. In the U.S., our first nine months’ sales grew by 5%. In China, all three quarters have witnessed strong sales growth resulting in 34% growth for the year so far. 

Sustainability is one of the key enablers in our strategy, and we are constantly taking concrete actions to move toward our goals. One example is the EUR 10 million investment in our Iittala factory in Finland, where we will replace the factory’s existing natural gas powered furnaces with electricity-powered furnaces. These new furnaces incorporate high-technology solutions and will use renewable energy. With this investment, we will reduce Fiskars Group’s annual direct carbon dioxide emissions (Scope 1) by 26% by the end of 2026. 

With one quarter of the year remaining, we keep our guidance for the year 2022 intact and reiterate our expectation of comparable EBIT increasing from 2021. The last quarter of the year is important especially for our Business Area Vita, driven by the holiday season. The operating environment continues to be unpredictable and volatile affecting visibility. The low consumer confidence levels and rising inflation, especially in Europe and the U.S., could have larger impacts than we currently anticipate.

We continue to execute our Growth Strategy with confidence. Together with our talented team, our strategy is the key lever for delivering our guidance for the year and solid performance thereafter. 

Group key figures

1) Comparable net sales excludes the impact of exchange rates, acquisitions and divestments.

2) In Q3 2022, items affecting comparability were mainly related to a disposal of a subsidiary in Russia.

3) EBIT excluding items affecting comparability. Comparable EBIT is not adjusted to exclude the impact of acquisitions/divestments such as the divestment of the North American Watering business on February 1, 2022.

4) In Q1-Q3 2021, earnings per share includes a negative impact of EUR 0.35 per share related to a tax reassessment case from 2014 regarding forgiven intra-company loans from 2003, where the company was obliged to pay 28.3 million in additional tax, interest and punitive increases.

FISKARS CORPORATION

Nathalie Ahlström
President and CEO

Webcast

A webcast on the third quarter results will be held on October 28, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. (EEST). It will be held in English and can be followed at https://fiskars.videosync.fi/q3-2022

Presentation materials will be available at www.fiskarsgroup.com.

An on-demand version of the webcast will be available on the company website. Personal details gathered during the event will not be used for any other purpose.
 

Media and investor contacts:

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

Fiskars Group in brief

Fiskars Group (FSKRS, Nasdaq Helsinki) is the global home of design-driven brands for indoor and outdoor living. Our brands include Fiskars, Gerber, Iittala, Royal Copenhagen, Moomin by Arabia, Waterford, and Wedgwood. Our brands are present in more than 100 countries and we have more than 350 own stores. We have 7,000 employees and our global net sales in 2021 were EUR 1.3 billion.

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