MIDSONA - INTERIM REPORT JANUARY-JUNE 2020

Organic and acquired sales growth with significantly improved EBITDA margin

April-June 2020 (second quarter)

• Net sales amounted to SEK 859 million (705).
• EBITDA amounted to SEK 97 million (59) before items affecting comparability, corresponding to a margin of 11.3 percent (8.4).
• Profit for the period amounted to SEK 40 million (23), corresponding to earnings per share of SEK 0.62 (0.50) before and after dilution.
• Free cash flow amounted to SEK 84 million (75).
• Gainomax, a leader in sports nutrition, was acquired.
• As a result of Covid-19, Midsona experienced continued raised demand for its organic products in several geographic markets, but also some supply chain disruption.

January-June 2020 (six months)

• Net sales amounted to SEK 1,805 million (1,491).
• EBITDA amounted to SEK 204 million (132) before items affecting comparability, corresponding to a margin of 11.3 percent (8.9).
• Profit for the period was SEK 87 million (27), corresponding to earnings per share of SEK 1.34 (0.58) before dilution and SEK 1.33 (0.58) after dilution.
• Free cash flow amounted to SEK 86 million (33).

Significant event following the end of the report period

• Max Bokander was appointed as Midsona’s new CFO. Joining Midsona from the Trelleborg Group, he will step into his new role by January 2021, also becoming a member of Group Management at that time.
   

Comment by the CEO

Strong earnings in unusual times, healthy trends here to stay
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic continued to affect operations in the second quarter. Unlike the first quarter, in which the effects were predominantly positive, the effects in the second quarter were mixed. We believe, however, that the pandemic has helped increase interest in healthy choices in what seems to be a durable way. With consumers demanding healthier products, we have experienced highly favourable development, particularly among our organic brands. During the quarter, we secured new listings among several leading FMCG players in the key German, French and Spanish markets, and gradually achieved a breakthrough among consumers with our new platform for our Nordic organic brands. Towards the end of the quarter, sales normalized at higher levels and, for the Group as a whole, sales rose by 22 percent compared with the corresponding period last year.

Mixed effects of the pandemic
Early in the quarter, we experienced a continued increase in demand as people increased their at-home consumption due to the pandemic. The greater the extent of the lock-down, the greater the increase in sales. As restrictions were lifted, the increase in demand abated and, in May, the hoarding phase among both customers and consumers shifted over to some phasing out of inventories, leading to a temporary reduction in sales. Nonetheless, people appear, on the whole, to have increased their consumption of Midsona’s organic, healthy and natural foods over the period. Combined, these effects resulted in a very strong sales trend for North Europe and South Europe. The Nordics showed a weaker trend, partly attributable to shortages of certain raw materials due to closures in, for example, India and Sri Lanka, partly because of reduced demand for certain product groups, primarily associated with outdoor activities, social gatherings and sports. Towards the end of the quarter, sales improved in all regions.

Continued strong development for priority brands
On the whole, our priority brands are showing strong organic growth: increasing by 12 percent for the quarter, with the largest growth in the organic products category. This was primarily attributable to the success of targeted measures, but also to positive effects of the pandemic. Firstly, we have been successful in rolling out a wide range of organic products in the European FMCG segment, with new listings among several leading players – the Davert brand in the DACH region grew by 38 percent and Happy Bio in France and Spain grew by 84 percent in quarter. Secondly, our new, shared Nordic communication platform for organic brands, One-Organic, gradually broke through in the stores. Among other things, we managed to reverse the negative trend in Helios, which developed strongly in the quarter, while we also saw particularly strong growth for Urtekram’s most profitable beauty care products. Sales of Kung Markatta products decreased, however, due to the negative impact of reduced sales to the Food services sector, although a certain increase could be discerned among packaged consumer products.

Improved earnings and strict cost control
The strong earnings trend continued in the second quarter: EBITDA before items affecting comparability, increased by 64 percent to SEK 97 million. The EBITDA margin increased to 11.3 percent (8.4), brushing against the previous record and particularly strong given that the second quarter is usually our weakest seasonally. A lower cost base and good cost control were factors contributing to the sharp improvement in margin. The cost base was lowered by implementing previously announced cost-saving programmes and targeted measures during the pandemic. At an early stage, we activated a soft embargo on new recruitment, as well as several selective personnel measures. We optimised our campaign and marketing plans and cut our administrative costs by strictly limiting travel, for example. Towards the end of the quarter, we also experienced a certain positive currency effect from the strengthening of the Swedish and Norwegian currencies (SEK and NOK) against the euro (EUR).

Effective handling and thawing acquisition market
Overall, I am proud of how well the organisation has navigated through this health crisis. The parameters that the organisation has been able to influence have been handled extremely well. Despite some bottlenecks in production, Midsona has maintained a high pace. Although we have had some problems finding sufficient numbers of qualified production employees at short notice, through heroic efforts by existing personnel, we have managed to break previous production records at our facilities. We have fostered favourable conditions for the future and consumers have clearly demonstrated their appreciation of healthy products.
We have a strong financial position and continued to assess possible acquisitions in Europe. Towards the end of the quarter, we announced our acquisition of the Gainomax brand, strengthening our position in sports nutrition while securing an excellent platform from which to grow. My impression is that the acquisition market has begun to thaw from its late spring iciness and we perceive favourable acquisition opportunities in the wake of the pandemic. In accordance with our strategy, I hope we will be able to make further complementary acquisitions in one of our three regions in the autumn. We stand by our humbly optimistic outlook for the future and I look forward to getting back to you with more news.

Peter Åsberg, President and CEO
 

For more information, please contact MD and CEO Peter Åsberg, telephone +46 (0)730 26 16 32, or CFO Lennart Svensson, telephone +46(0)767 74 33 04.

This is information of the type that Midsona AB is obligated to make public in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Market Act. The information was submitted for publication through the agency of Lennart Svensson on 21 July 2020 at 8am CET.

About Midsona AB
Midsona develops and markets strong brands within health and well-being, with products that help people live a healthier and more sustainable life, with an increased understanding of the origin of the raw material and with transparency as to the content.  The Midsona share is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm, Mid Cap. For more information www.midsona.com/en

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