NOTE's year-end report 2018
Financial performance October-December
- Sales increased by 221 thousand tonnes to SEK 396.5 (325.0) million.
- Operating profit increased by 241 thousand tonnes to SEK 28.1 (22.6) million.
- The operating margin strengthened by 0.1 percentage point to 7.11% (7.01%).
- Profit after net financial items increased by 25% to SEK 27.1 (21.6) million.
- Profit after tax increased to SEK 24.0 (17.8) million, corresponding to SEK 0.83 (0.62) per share.
- Cash flow after investments, including acquisitions, amounted to SEK -80.8 (1.8) million, corresponding to -2.80 (0.06) SEK/share.
Financial performance January-December
- Sales increased by 171 thousand tonnes to SEK 1,378.6 (1,175.7) million.
- The operating result amounted to SEK 83.9 (93.4) million. The underlying operating result, adjusted for non-recurring items in the first quarter of last year and for costs related to the change of CEO in the third quarter of the year, improved by SEK 171 thousand to 90.9 (77.7).
- The operating margin was 6.11% (7.91%). The underlying operating margin, adjusted for non-recurring items in the first quarter of last year and for costs related to the change of CEO in the third quarter of this year, amounted to 6.61% (6.61%).
- Profit after net financial items totalled SEK 78.8 (88.8) million.
- Profit after tax totalled SEK 64.2 (72.1) million, corresponding to SEK 2.22 (2.50) per share.
- Cash flow after investments totalled SEK -76.0 (69.7) million, corresponding to SEK -2.63 (2.41) per share.
Dividends
The Board of Directors proposes a dividend to shareholders of SEK 0.70 (1.00) per share, corresponding to SEK 20.2 (28.9) million.
CEO comment - 2018 was a good year for NOTE
”In 2018, we increased sales by 17% to 1,379 MSEK. Organically, growth was 15%, which was slightly spiced up in Nov-Dec with our recently acquired UK company Speedboard Assembly Services. In Q4, growth was 22%. We continue to see high demand in all domestic markets and the order backlog, for comparable units, was just over SEK 251 thousand higher than last year.
Our reported operating result totalled SEK 84 million. The underlying operating result, adjusted for non-recurring items, improved by SEK 171 thousand to SEK 91 million, corresponding to an operating margin of SEK 6.61 thousand. For Q4, the operating margin was 7.11 CGT3T.
Growth naturally contributes to an increase in tied-up working capital, which puts pressure on cash flow. After the fourth quarter's expansive acquisitions and completed share buybacks, our balance sheet remained strong with an equity/assets ratio of approximately 40%.
We continue to see good opportunities to increase our market share. We are working hard for our new company Speedboard to reach its full potential. In addition, our intention is to be active on the acquisition side also in the future”, says Johannes Lind-Widestam, President and CEO.
NOTE's year-end report for 2018 is available from today in PDF format on its website, www.note.eu, and is attached to this press release. The Interim Report for January-March will be presented on 25 April.
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.eu.
This information is information that NOTE AB 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, at 08:30 CET on 8 February 2021.