Interim report January-March 2021

A positive start to the year

Quarter 1, 2021

• Incoming orders amounted to SEK 1,035m (995), equivalent to a currency-neutral growth of 14.7 percent compared with the same period last year. Compared with the final quarter 2020, incoming orders increased by 12.7 percent.
• Net sales amounted to SEK 868m (981), equivalent to a currency-neutral decrease of of 2.7 percent compared with the same period last year.
• Operating profit was SEK 87.2m (64.2), giving an operating margin of 10.0 percent (6.5).
• Adjusted operating profit was SEK 87.4m (65.1), giving an adjusted operating margin of 10.1 percent (6.6).
• Net profit was SEK 57.2m (34.2).
• Earnings per share were SEK 1.63 (0.98).
   

CEO’s comments

”Nederman’s adjusted operating profit increased to SEK 87.4m (65.1), corresponding to an  adjusted operating margin of 10.1 percent (6.6) and the company’s strongest ever result for a first quarter. A year has now passed with a pandemic that in many different ways has changed the behaviour of people and companies throughout the world. In this new environment, we are seeing some positive signs in the market, while uncertainty remains high, with the risk that customers’ investments intentions may again be dampened.

In the first quarter of the year, we saw a strengthening of the sig­nals of increased demand that we had successively discerned at the end of last year. Orders received displayed organic growth of 15 percent, with all divisions contributing to this development. Lower costs and a favourable sales mix generated a strong result and for the second consecutive quarter, we achieved a margin of 10 percent. Although our long-term ambitions for profitability are higher than this, it is still strong considering our lower sales and negative currency effects. It is also satisfying that the consistent work we have conduc­ted to strengthen our cash flow is continuing to yield steady improve­ments. The organisation’s ability to successfully adapt to a new reali­ty in a global pandemic and to protect its profitability means that we have good opportunities to further advance our positions, not least by launching new products and continuing the development of our digital offering.

DEVELOPMENT BY DIVISION
Although restrictions and lockdowns are still present in many markets, we see clear signs of higher activity among our customers. There is a pent-up need for investment behind this, but also greater optimism regarding a recovery in the world’s economies. The division where these factors had a particularly strong impact during the quarter was Nederman Process Technology. At the beginning of 2021, the division’s orders received were considerably strengthened, primarily in the tex­tile segment, which has previously been under significant strain.

Nederman Extraction & Filtration Technology has a base consisting of product sales and its operations are usually a good indicator of the underlying market activity. During the first quarter, orders received and profitability increased despite negative currency effects.

Nederman Duct & Filter Technology continued its positive develop­ment from the end of last year, with many new small orders and cost-effective production, which generated a strong improvement in profi­tability for the quarter. The price of steel has risen dramatically in 2021, in the US it has doubled in a short space of time, but the division has successfully handled this development.

Nederman Monitoring & Control Technology is the one division that reported growth in 2020 despite the pandemic and the global eco­nomic decline. The division has also displayed strength at the start of 2021 in terms of orders received and profitability, with a steadily incre­asing interest in the division’s digital solutions.

OUTLOOK
The year began with a continuation of the recovery in demand that was noted in the fourth quarter of 2020. At the same time, we antici­pate that lockdowns and restrictions will have a continued dampening effect in several of our markets in the short term, but if the vaccination programmes that are now under way throughout the world are rolled out according to plan, we can look forward to a stronger second half of the year. There are good hopes that the vaccination programmes will have a positive effect on the global spread of infection as well as the readiness to invest and consume among private individuals and com­panies. We are monitoring developments carefully to be able to further accelerate our operations at the right time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put the focus on clean air. The shutdown of economies has shown what the world can look like when the air is not polluted by industrial emissions. The fact that this can be achieved without a paralysing pandemic, but with effective air filtration, is something that Nederman demonstrates every day, in each installa­tion we carry out. Many people understand what needs to be done, but what is also needed is political will throughout the world, to use regu­lations and incentives in efforts to reduce the risk of millions of people having to die prematurely from breathing in dirty and hazardous air.”

Sven Kristensson, CEO
 

For further information, please contact:

Sven Kristensson, CEO
Telephone: +46 42 18 87 00
e-mail: sven.kristensson@nederman.com

Matthew Cusick, CFO
Telephone: +46 42 18 87 00
e-mail: matthew.cusick@nederman.com
 

This information is information that Nederman Holding AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 a.m. CET on April 22, 2021.

About Nederman
Nederman is a global leader in industrial air filtration dedicated to capturing, measuring, controlling and cleaning air to make industrial production more efficient, safe and sustainable. Based on industry leading products, solutions and services in combination with an innovative IoT platform we deliver knowledge and facts needed to optimise performance and guarantee emissions compliance.

The Nederman Group is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. The Group has approximately 2200 employees and presence in more than 50 countries. Learn more at nedermangroup.com

Nederman Holding AB (publ), P.O. Box 602, SE-251 06 Helsingborg, Sweden. 
Corporate registration number: 556576-4205

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