NOTE's interim report January-September 2021
Financial performance Q3 (July-September)
- Sales increased by 581 FTEs to SEK 685 million (433). Adjusted for acquisitions and currency effects, growth was 341 thousand SEKt.
- Operating profit increased by 781 thousand tonnes to SEK 64 million (36).
- The operating margin increased by 1.1 percentage points to 9.41% (8.31%).
- Profit after net financial items increased by SEK 751 thousand to SEK 59 (33) million.
- Profit after tax increased by SEK 72% to SEK 48 (28) million, corresponding to SEK 1.68 (0.98) per share.
- Cash flow after investments was negatively impacted by a deliberate build-up of inventory to support growth and amounted to SEK -49 (1) million, corresponding to SEK -1.71 (0.04) per share.
Financial performance January-September
- Sales increased by 301 thousand tonnes to SEK 1,829 million (1,408). Adjusted for acquisitions and currency effects, growth was 231,000,000 SEKt.
- Operating profit increased by 481 thousand tonnes to SEK 164 million (111).
- The operating margin increased by 1.1 percentage points to 9.01% (7.91%).
- Profit after net financial items increased by SEK 501 thousand to SEK 155 (103) million.
- Profit after tax increased by 50% to SEK 126 (84) million, corresponding to SEK 4.42 (2.99) per share.
- Cash flow after investments and acquisitions amounted to SEK -98 (128) million, corresponding to SEK -3.43 (4.51) per share. The payment for the acquisition of iPRO affected cash flow by SEK -68 million.
CEO comment - New record quarter and greatly improved outlook.
”We are experiencing increasingly strong demand. The order backlog for delivery in the coming quarters and for comparable units was at a record high level and more than 70% above last year. Sales in the first three quarters increased by 301 TSEK to SEK 1,829 million. Adjusted for acquisitions and currency effects, organic growth was TSEK 231 thousand. The positive trend was further strengthened in Q3 with growth of 581 FTEs, of which 341 FTEs were organic.
Growth this year is taking place in a market for electronic components, including semiconductors, which is under strong pressure in terms of availability and lead times. We estimate that the challenges in the component market led to delivery delays in Q3 of at least SEK 50 million with increased capital tied up in inventory as a result, which temporarily limited cash flow.
In terms of earnings, our positive trend continued, mainly due to strong growth, stable margins in ongoing customer assignments and good cost development as a result of implemented efficiency programmes. During the first three quarters of the year, operating profit increased by SEK 481 thousand to SEK 164 million. In Q3, the increase in profit was 781,000,000 SEK and the operating margin strengthened to 9.41,000,000 SEK - our highest level ever.
NOTE has very strong operational momentum, and we're still in a clear expansion phase. Including iPRO, which we acquired in June, our pro forma sales over the past 12 months are over SEK 2.5 billion. In light of our strong order situation, and despite the difficult situation on the component market, we still see good opportunities to continue to achieve total growth in the order of 50% over the next few quarters. The conditions for continuing our positive earnings trend are very good.”, says Johannes Lind-Widestam, President and CEO.
NOTE's Interim Report for January-September is available from today in PDF format on the group's website, www.note-ems.com, and is attached to this press release. NOTE is organising a conference call for analysts, media and investors at 10:00 a.m. CET today, where President and CEO Johannes Lind-Widestam will present the report. The year-end report for 2022 will be presented on 27 January 2023.
For further information, please contact:
Johannes Lind-Widestam, President and CEO, tel. 070-541 72 22
Henrik Nygren, Chief Financial Officer, tel. 070-977 06 86
About NOTE
NOTE is one of northern Europe's leading partners for electronics manufacturing. NOTE manufactures printed circuit boards (PCBA), sub-assemblies and complete products (box build). Its customer offering covers the whole product lifecycle, from design to after-sales. NOTE is established in Sweden, Finland, the UK, Estonia, Bulgaria and China. Sales in the last 12 months were SEK 3,687 million and the group has some 1,400 employees. NOTE is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. For more information, please visit www.note-ems.com.
This information is information that NOTE AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of Johannes Lind-Widestam, on 17 October 2021 at 08.30 CET.