NOTE's interim report January-March 2024

Financial performance in January-March
- Sales totalled SEK 1,055 (1,051) million. Adjusted for acquisitions and currency effects, organic growth was -4%.
- Operating profit totalled SEK 91 (112) million. Adjusted operating profit totalled SEK 93 (107) million, adjusted for revaluations of operating assets and liabilities in foreign currencies.
- The operating margin was 8.61% (10.71%). The adjusted operating margin, adjusted for currency revaluations, amounted to 8.81% (10.21%).
- Profit after net financial items totalled SEK 78 (104) million.
- Profit after tax totalled SEK 64 (85) million, corresponding to SEK 2.20 (2.92) per share.
- Total cash flow after investments, including acquisitions, amounted to SEK 84 (49) million, corresponding to SEK 2.90 (1.69) per share. Adjusted for acquisition-related payments in the first quarter of the previous year, operating cash flow after investments was SEK 84 (72) million.

CEO comment - Despite a cautious start to the year, we have managed to strengthen the operating margin compared to the end of last year. We have higher ambitions and continue to believe in a gradual strengthening during the year.

" For the first quarter, we reached sales of SEK 1,055 million, which was in line with sales for the first quarter of the previous year. This was in line with our expectations and at the lower end of the guidance we provided in our Q4 report where we anticipated a cautious start to 2024. The weaker economic situation that affected our demand in the second half of 2023 has continued to have an effect on our customers' aggregate demand.

In the first quarter, an underlying operating margin of 8.8% was achieved. We see it as positive that we have strengthened our operating margin from the previous quarter, but our ambitions for our operating margin are clearly higher than that. The fact that sales came in at the lower end of our guidance had a significant effect on profitability. Growth brings profitability and when the growth that our customers have signalled and placed orders for fails to materialise, it naturally has an impact. We have factories that planned staffing and resources based on a level that was not achieved due to unusually large shifts in customer orders.

It is gratifying that we continue to deliver positive cash flows in line with our plans. The inventory build-up that affected us during the shortage situation for electronic components has been reversed and we continue to see that inventory levels in our factories are decreasing. For the first quarter, operating cash flow totalled SEK 84 million.

The cautious start to the year that we saw in the first quarter is expected to continue well into the second quarter. For the second quarter, sales are expected to amount to SEK 1,025-1,075 million. We continue to believe in a gradual strengthening during the year and estimate that sales for the full year 2024 will amount to SEK 4.3-4.7 billion and that the operating margin will amount to 9.5-10.5%.” says Johannes Lind-Widestam, President and CEO.

NOTE's Interim Report for Q1 2024 is available from today in PDF format on its website, www.note-ems.com, and is attached to this press release. Today at 12.00 CET NOTE will organise
a presentation for analysts, media and investors where President and CEO Johannes Lind-Widestam presents the report. The interim report for January-June will be presented on 15 July.

About NOTE
NOTE manufactures printed circuit boards (PCBA), sub-assemblies and complete products (box build). NOTE is a competitive electronics manufacturer and a stable business partner to customers with high standards. Its products are found in complex systems for electronic control, monitoring and security, for example.

The business model is based on offering advanced manufacturing, customised logistics solutions and advice at the best possible total cost through long-term customer relationships and partnerships. The customer offering covers the entire product life cycle, from design to aftermarket. Customers are primarily large companies operating on the global market, but also companies with their primary sales in northern Europe.

NOTE is established in Sweden, Finland, the UK, Estonia, Bulgaria and China. Sales in the last 12 months totalled SEK 3,849 million and the group has some 1,450 employees. NOTE is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. For more information, please visit www.note-ems.com.

Interim report Q1 2024