NOTE's year-end report 2020
Financial developments in October-December
- Sales decreased by 41,000 tonnes to SEK 466m (483). Adjusted for currency effects, sales were at the same level as last year.
- Operating profit increased by 8% to SEK 38 (35) million.
- The operating margin strengthened by 0.9 percentage points to 8.31% (7.41%).
- Profit after net financial items increased by SEK 171 thousand to SEK 40 (33) million.
- Profit after tax increased by 21% to SEK 32 (26) million, corresponding to SEK 1.12 (0.94) per share.
- Cash flow after investments totalled SEK 44 (96) million, corresponding to SEK 1.55 (3.44) per share.
Financial performance in January-December
- Sales increased by 61,000,000 tonnes to SEK 1,874m (1,760). Adjusted for currency effects, growth was approximately 71 FTEs.
- Operating profit increased by 20% to SEK 149 (124) million.
- The operating margin strengthened by 0.9 percentage points to 8.01% (7.11%).
- Profit after net financial items increased by SEK 231 thousand to SEK 143 (116) million.
- Profit after tax increased by 25% to SEK 116 (92) million, corresponding to SEK 4.11 (3.31) per share.
- Cash flow after investments totalled SEK 172 (75) million, corresponding to SEK 6.06 (2.69) per share.
Dividends
To ensure maximum financial manoeuvrability in early 2021 to actively participate in the ongoing structural transformation of the sector, the Board of Directors is currently proposing that no dividend is paid for 2020. However, the Board of Directors may return later in the year and propose a dividend, given NOTE's strong Balance Sheet.
CEO comment - 2020 was a record year for NOTE with continued good growth, 20% increased operating profit and very strong cash flow.
”In 2020, we increased sales by 6% to a new record level of SEK 1,874 million. Including exchange rate fluctuations, organic growth was 7%. We continue to see great interest in our flexible and broad customer offering. Focusing on the market and technology areas where we are already strong, we won several of our largest deals ever, both in engineering and medical technology.
It is also gratifying that, despite a difficult market situation (COVID-19), we managed to continue our positive earnings trend. Operating profit increased by SEK 201 thousand to SEK 149 million and the operating margin strengthened by 0.9 percentage points to SEK 8.01 thousand, which in both cases are our highest levels ever. Earnings per share increased to SEK 4.11(3.31).
Continued efficiency improvements in our working capital utilisation, combined with our positive earnings trend, contributed to an improvement in cash flow, after investments, to SEK 172 million, corresponding to SEK 6.06 per share, which is also our highest level ever.
We are winning new customers and projects in a convincing way and the order backlog at the end of the year was about 20% higher than last year. Based on the current market situation, I see very good opportunities to reach our growth target of at least 101,000,000 euros in 2021 and continue our positive earnings trend.”, says Johannes Lind-Widestam, President and CEO.
NOTE's year-end report is available from today in pdf format on its website, www.note-ems.com, and is attached to this press release. NOTE is organising a presentation for analysts, media and investors at 10:00 a.m. CET today, where President and CEO Johannes Lind-Widestam will present the report. The Interim Report for January-March will be presented on 23 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-ems.com.
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 30 January 2023.