NRC Group ASA – Q4 2022 results

NRC Group today published its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022.

CEO Henning Olsen and CFO Ole Anton Gulsvik will present the results at 09:00 am (CET) at House of Oslo, Ruseløkkveien 34, Oslo.

The presentation will also be webcast live on the following link:

https://channel.royalcast.com/landingpage/hegnarmedia/20230221_2/

The presentation will be followed by a live Q&A-session. Investors, analysts and journalists are welcome to participate at House of Oslo or follow the presentation digitally, where questions can be submitted during the event.

Below you will find a summary and highlights from the report:

Key figures Q4 2022

• Revenue: NOK 2.0 billion vs NOK 1.6 billion in Q4 2021
• EBITA*: NOK 31 million vs NOK 50 million in Q4 2021
• EBITA* margin: 1.6% vs 3.1% in Q4 2021
• Order intake: NOK 1.3 billion vs NOK 1.9 billion in Q4 2021
• Operating cash flow: NOK 160 million vs NOK 149 in Q4 2021
• Order backlog: NOK 7.8 billion vs NOK 7.8 billion in Q4 2021

* Before other income and expenses (M&A expenses)

Strong growth with reduced margins

The fourth quarter revenue was NOK 1,954 million compared to NOK 1,601 million for the same period of 2021. The
revenue increased with 22% in the quarter, due to strong growth in Norway and Sweden. Adjusted for currency effects, the growth was 21%.

The Group’s operational profit, measured in EBITA* was NOK 31 million in the fourth quarter, down from NOK 50 million in the same quarter last year. The result included profit from sale of fixed assets totalling NOK 1 million, compared to NOK 23 million in the same quarter last year.

EBITA* margin ended at 1.6% compared to 3.1% in the same quarter last year. The cash flow from operations was NOK 160 million compared to NOK 149 million in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for 2022 was NOK 7,030 million, an increase of 18% from same period last year, mainly explained by strong growth in Norway and Sweden. EBITA* amounted to NOK 151 million compared with NOK 139 million in 2021. The EBITA* included profit from sale of fixed assets totalling NOK 32 million in 2022, compared to NOK 75 million in 2021. The EBITA* margin was 2.1% in 2022, compared to 2.3% in 2021. The cash flow from operations in 2022 was NOK 235 million, down from NOK 358 million in 2021.

Finland had a revenue of NOK 677 million compared to NOK 706 million in the fourth quarter last year. Adjusted for currency effects the organic growth was -8%, driven by reduced volumes in Light Rail and Maintenance, and partly offset by higher volumes in Rail construction. The EBITA* was NOK 34 million compared to NOK 59 million in the same period of 2021, leading to an EBITA* margin of 5.0% for the quarter, down from 8.3% last year. The reduction is mainly related to net gain from sale of machinery at NOK 16 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to NOK 0 million in this quarter. Good profitability in Rail construction and Light rail, was partly offset by weak results in Maintenance.

Revenue from the Swedish operation amounted to NOK 646 million for the quarter compared to NOK 398 million in the same period of 2021. Adjusted for currency, the organic growth in the quarter was 69%, with strong growth in Rail construction. The EBITA* for the quarter was NOK -30 million compared to -21 million for the same quarter last year. Improved results in Rail construction and Maintenance were offset by weak results in Civil construction.

Revenue in Norway was NOK 635 million compared to NOK 508 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. The organic growth was 25% in the quarter, driven by improvements within Rail construction and partly offset by lower volumes in Civil construction. EBITA* was NOK 31 million compared to NOK 21 million in the same period of 2021, which resulted in an EBITA* margin of 4.9% in the quarter, up from 4.2% for the same quarter last year. Profitability was driven by strong results from Environment and improved results in Rail construction.

Amortisation and impairment for the fourth quarter totalled NOK -361 million, compared to NOK -19 million for the same period last year. This included goodwill impairment charges of NOK -352 million in the fourth quarter, related to the Swedish business.

The Group’s operating profit (EBIT) for the fourth quarter was NOK -332 million, a reduction from NOK 10 million last year. The EBIT for 2022 was NOK -240 million compared to NOK 42 million last year. Net financial items amounted to NOK -15 million for the quarter, compared to NOK -16 million for the same period last year. This included a reduction in net interest expenses from NOK 16 million to NOK 14 million due to debt instalments in the period. The Group has a NIBOR hedge linked to the outstanding bond, which partly offsets increased market interest rates. The share of profit from associated companies totalled a loss of NOK 6 million for the fourth quarter 2022, compared to NOK 0 million in the same period last year. Net financial items in 2022 was NOK -58 million compared to NOK -66 million in 2021.

Earnings before tax (EBT) for the fourth quarter was NOK -353 million compared to NOK -6 million last year. In 2022, EBT was NOK -313 million compared to NOK -24 million last year. Net profit was NOK -393 million in the quarter compared to NOK -9 million last year, with earnings per share (EPS) of NOK -5.40 compared to NOK -0.12 same period last year. In 2022, the net profit was NOK -364 million compared to NOK -27 million last year, with EPS of NOK -4.99 compared to NOK -0.38 last year.

ORDER INTAKE

The order intake in the fourth quarter was NOK 1,254 million, with a split between announced contracts of NOK 223 million and unannounced contracts of NOK 1,031 million. The book-to-bill ratio was 0.6 in the quarter and 1.0 in 2022.

The order backlog amounted to NOK 7,795 million at the end of December, a decrease of NOK 814 million from last quarter, including a negative currency adjustment of NOK -114 million.  The order backlog for production in 2023 amounted to NOK 3,740 million at the end of December, compared to NOK 4,101 million for 2022 at the end of fourth quarter 2021.

ANNOUNCED ORDERS

NRC Group Sweden was appointed by The Swedish Transport Administration to a contract for catenary works on the railway connection between Kville and Uddevalla. The contract is valued at approximately SEK 134 million and will involve rail services such as electro and groundwork. The work will commence in January 2023 and is scheduled for completion in April 2024. The Swedish Transport Administration decided in the fourth quarter to exercise the contract option for the maintenance contract between Hallsberg and Laxå, and Hallsberg Railway yard. The contract option is valued at approximately SEK 101 million, and will involve rail services such as track, signal and electro. The contract option will commence in September 2024 and is scheduled for completion in August 2026.

TENDER PIPELINE

The Group has identified an addressable tender pipeline of approximately NOK 26.5 billion for the next nine months. This compares to a NOK 21.3 billion tender pipeline three months ago and NOK 19.0 billion at the same time in 2021.

The tender pipeline in Finland is approximately NOK 5.8 billion, an increase of approximately NOK 4.1 billion compared to the tender pipeline three months ago and the tender pipeline is approximately NOK 4.2 billion higher than in the same period last year due to more tenders in all divisions.

The tender pipeline in Norway is approximately NOK 10.2 billion, an increase of NOK 3.2 billion compared to the tender pipeline three months ago. The increase is mainly explained by increased number of tenders in the market for Rail construction, and to some extent also for Civil construction and Environment service. The tender pipeline has increased by approximately NOK 1.3 billion compared with the same time last year. The increase is mainly related to Civil construction and Environment services.

In Sweden, the tender pipeline is approximately NOK 10.6 billion, with NOK 4.6 billion for Rail construction, NOK 3.2 billion for Civil Construction and NOK 2.9 billion for Maintenance. The tender pipeline decreased by NOK 2.1 billion compared to three months ago. The decrease is explained by a reduction in both Rail construction and Maintenance. The tender pipeline is NOK 2.0 billion above the same period last year, which is mainly related to increased level of tenders in Civil construction while Rail construction and Maintenance is unchanged.

OUTLOOK

NRC Group is strongly positioned in a growing market with a substantial tender pipeline. In 2023, NRC Group expects investments in rail to be at same level as in 2022, based on proposals in national budgets and national transportation plans in Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Uncertainty in the world economy has had limited impact on NRC Group per date. The uncertain situation has led to an evaluation of the public investments in infrastructure going forward in the Nordics and can impact rail funding in certain projects.

NRC Group continues its focus on measures to improve profitability. For 2023, we expect continued positive operational and financial development with a slight decrease in revenue and moderate increase in EBITA* margins.

The fourth quarter 2022 result report and result presentation can be found attached and will be available on the company’s homepage: www.nrcgroup.com

This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

This stock exchange announcement was published by Charlotte Krog, Communication, NRC Group ASA., on 21 February 2023.