Relais Group Plc Interim Report January-September 2024 (unaudited): continued profitable growth
Relais Group Plc
Stock Exchange Release 7 November 2024, 9:00 a.m. EET
This release is a summary of Relais Group's Interim Report January-September 2024. The full report is attached to this release and is available on our website at https://relais.fi/en/investors/.
JULY-SEPTEMBER 2024 IN BRIEF
- Net sales totalled EUR 74.9 million (July-September 2023: 70.3), change +7%
- Comparable EBITA was EUR 9.2 (8.6) million, change +6%
- Comparable EBITA margin was 12.2 (12.3) %
- Earnings per share, basic was EUR 0.26 (0.24)
- Net cash flow from operations was EUR 4.3 (4.5) million
- At comparable EUR/SEK exchange rates, EBITA would have been approximately EUR 0.0 (0.5) million higher than reported *)
JANUARY-SEPTEMBER 2024 IN BRIEF
- Net sales totalled EUR 231.9 million (January-September 2023: 203.3), change +14%
- Comparable EBITA was EUR 26.2 (21.0) million, change +24%
- Comparable EBITA margin was 11.3 (10.4) %
- Earnings per share, basic was EUR 0.65 (0.41)
- Net cash flow from operations was EUR 18.5 (22.2) million
- At comparable EUR/SEK exchange rates, EBITA would have been approximately EUR 0.1 (1.3) million higher than reported *)
*) The EUR/SEK impact has been calculated by converting the SEK denominated EBITA of the Swedish entities to EUR with the reporting period average EUR/SEK rate as well as the comparison period average EUR/SEK rate and comparing these two (translation difference).
2024 OUTLOOK AND LONG-TERM FINANCIAL TARGET
Relais Group does not provide a numeric guidance for the financial year 2024. The company has a long-term financial target, according to which it aims to reach a proforma comparable EBITA of EUR 50 million by the end of the year 2025.
KEY FIGURES
| (EUR 1,000 unless stated otherwise) | 7–9/ 2024 |
7–9/ 2023 |
Change | 1-9/ 2024 |
1-9/ 2023 |
Change | 12 months rolling | Change | 1–12/2023 |
| Net sales | 74,908 | 70,259 | +7% | 231,924 | 203,310 | +14% | 312,866 | +10% | 284,252 |
| Gross profit | 36,031 | 32,275 | +12% | 109,623 | 93,635 | +17% | 144,911 | +12% | 128,923 |
| Gross margin | 48.1% | 45.9% | 47.3% | 46.1% | 46.3% | 45.4% | |||
| EBITDA | 13,012 | 12,122 | +7% | 37,569 | 31,804 | +18% | 49,308 | +13% | 43,542 |
| Comparable EBITDA | 13,026 | 12,325 | +6% | 37,612 | 32,095 | +17% | 49,358 | +13% | 43,841 |
| EBITA | 9,141 | 8,405 | +9% | 26,117 | 20,758 | +26% | 33,911 | +19% | 28,552 |
| EBITA margin | 12.2% | 12.0% | 11.3% | 10.2% | 10.8% | 10.0% | |||
| Comparable EBITA | 9,155 | 8,607 | +6% | 26,160 | 21,049 | +24% | 33,962 | +18% | 28,851 |
| Comparable EBITA margin | 12.2% | 12.3% | 11.3% | 10.4% | 10.9% | 10.1% | |||
| Operating profit | 8,399 | 7,559 | +11% | 23,948 | 18,174 | +32% | 30,920 | +23% | 25,147 |
| Profit for the period | 4,642 | 4,336 | +7% | 11,800 | 7,435 | +59% | 18,104 | +32% | 13,739 |
| Earnings per share, basic | 0.26 | 0.24 | +7% | 0.65 | 0.41 | +59% | 1.00 | +32% | 0.76 |
| Cash flow from operations | 4,340 | 4,528 | -4% | 18,472 | 22,161 | -17% | 30,598 | ||
| Net working capital | 67,434 | 58,367 | +16% | 67,068 | |||||
| Net working capital turnover |
4.8 | 4.9 | -1% | 4.7 | 4.7 | +1% | 4.7 | +0% | 4.7 |
| Interest-bearing net debt | 146,556 | 148,486 | -1% | 151,010 | |||||
| Net Debt to EBITDA, LTM | 2.97 | 3.55 | -16% | 3.47 | |||||
| Equity ratio | 33.4% | 31.2% | 33.6% | ||||||
| Return on net working capital | 51.1% | 45.6% | 47.4% | ||||||
| Return on equity | 14.1% | 9.6% | 12.8% | ||||||
| Return on capital employed | 12.7% | 10.3% | 10.0% |
The change percentages in the tables have been calculated on exact figures before the amounts were rounded to millions of euros.
CEO ARNI EKHOLM COMMENTS THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2024
Continued profitable growth
“Our profitable growth continued also during the third quarter of this year. The quarter marked our seventh consecutive quarter with EBITA growth vs. the previous year. The Group’s EBITA reached EUR 9,1 million representing a growth of 9% from the third quarter in 2023. The EBITA margin grew from last year’s 12.0% to 12.2%. Net sales grew with 7% to EUR 74.9 million and the organic growth was 4%. The Group’s gross margin grew by 2.2 percentage points to 48.1%. The gross margin growth comes from the increased weight of our Commercial Vehicle Repair and Maintenance business as well as from improved sales margins in the Technical Wholesale and Products business.
On segment level, net sales growth was strongest in Finland 10% and organic growth 3%. In Scandinavia the growth was 4% coming entirely from organic growth.
On a business area level, the strongest net sales growth (19%, organic 9%) came from our Commercial Vehicle Repair and Maintenance business. The growth was especially robust in Finland, where our group company Raskone managed to increase its market share and capacity utilization compared to last year. The acquisition of M. Ahlqvist in Finland carried out in May contributed also positively to the result.
The Technical Wholesale and Products business had a stable quarter reaching a sales growth of 1%, all organic. The vehicle lighting product season has started 1-2 weeks later compared to previous years. This had a temporary decreasing effect on sales during the latter part of the third quarter. Market demand has clearly picked up to normal levels after the end of the review period.
We continue scanning the market for good acquisition opportunities and have currently several discussions ongoing with potential target companies. We see good opportunities for further acquisitions in all our geographies and business areas during the coming quarters.
The outlook for the rest of the year looks stable. The vehicle aftermarket is defensive by nature and compared to many other businesses it is a sector with less cyclicality. Our inventory and resource situation is good, allowing us to meet the customer demand for our products and services.
Lastly, I am especially pleased with the positive development of our earnings per share, which during the first nine months of the year has risen from 0.41 EUR to 0.65, reaching a rolling 12-month level of 1.0 EUR per share. Our aim is to create value to our shareholders by continuous earnings growth. Our strong financial performance enables us to continue pursuing our strategic goals also moving forward.
I want to warmly thank all our over 1,200 professionals for the extremely strong performance and contribution during the first nine months of the year. I also want to thank our customers, shareholders and business partners for the continued support.”
EVENTS AFTER THE REVIEW PERIOD
Completion of the Acquisition of Team Verkstad Sverige AB
On 1 October 2024 Relais Group notified that its' group company STS Sydhamnens Trailer Service AB has successfully completed the acquisition of the entire share capital of Team Verkstad Sverige AB from Vy Buss AB, as announced on 5 July 2024.
Team Verkstad Sverige AB therefore became part of Relais Group as of 1 October 2024. After the closing, the acquired company and the workshops will keep the Team Verkstad name for a transition period of up to one year.
Ending of share buy-back program
On 6 November 2024 Relais Group notified that it has completed the share buy-back program initiated on 8 May 2024.
A total of 71,735 shares were repurchased at a total value of EUR 999,971.55. The average purchase price per share was EUR 13.94.
The repurchased 71,735 shares will be cancelled in accordance with the procedure set out in the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act. Following the repurchases, Relais Group holds a total of 71,785 own shares, which represents approximately 0.40 per cent of the total number of the Company's shares, which is 18,132,308.
FINANCIAL CALENDAR FOR 2025
Relais Group Plc will publish the following financial reports during 2025:
- Financial Statements Review 2024, on Thursday, 13 February 2025
- Interim Report January-March 2025, on Tuesday, 13 May 2025
- Half-Year Financial Report January-June 2025, on Thursday, 14 August 2025
- Interim Report January-September 2025, on Wednesday, 22 October 2025
The reports will be published at approximately 9:00 a.m. Finnish time on the above dates.
Relais Group Plc's Annual Reporting package 2024 will be published on Friday, 14 March 2025 on the Company's website.
The Annual General Meeting 2025 is planned to be held on Thursday, 10 April 2025.
INVITATION TO THE WEBCAST
Relais Group's CEO Arni Ekholm and CFO Thomas Ekström will present the result to the media, investors and analysts at a webcast on 7 November 2024, at 10:00 a.m. EET. The webcast can be followed at https://relais.videosync.fi/q3-2024.
Presentation material and video will be available on the company's website at https://relais.fi/en/ after the event.
Relais Group Plc
Board of Directors
Further information:
Arni Ekholm, CEO
Phone: +358 40 760 3323
E-mail: arni.ekholm@relais.fi
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Key Media
www.relais.fi
Relais Group
Relais Group is a leading consolidator and acquisition platform on the vehicle aftermarket in the Nordic and Baltic countries. We have a sector focus in vehicle life cycle enhancement and related services. We also serve as a growth platform for the companies we own.
We are a profitable company seeking strong growth. We carry out targeted acquisitions in line with our growth strategy and want to be an active player in the consolidation of the aftermarket in our area of operation. Our acquisitions are targeted at companies having a good strategic fit with our group companies.
Our net sales in 2023 was EUR 284.3 (2022: 260.7) million. During 2023, we completed a total of four acquisitions. We employ approximately 1,000 professionals in six different countries. The Relais Group share is listed on the Main Market of Nasdaq Helsinki with the stock symbol RELAIS.