Year-end report 2019, January - December

Fourth quarter

• Net sales for the fourth quarter reached SEK 346 m (363), corresponding to a decrease of 5 %. Currency translations had a positive effect of SEK 15 m on net sales
• Order intake was SEK 337 m (387), corresponding to a decrease of 13 %
• Operating profit reached SEK 55 m (52) equal to a 15.9 % (14.3) operating margin
• Operating profit, adjusted for settlement regarding agreed additional purchase price related to Beck IPC and restructur­ing effect, amounted to SEK 33 m, corre­sponding to an operating margin of 9.5%
• The total tax for the quarter amounted to SEK +20 m, mainly related to retroactive tax reduction of SEK 28 m
• Profit after taxes totalled SEK 67 m (42) and earnings per share was SEK 1.46 (0.90). Adjusted profit after tax totaled SEK 31 m and adjusted earnings per share was SEK 0.68 SEK
• Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 61 m (49)

Yearly

• Net sales for the full year amounted to SEK 1,519 m (1,366), corresponding to an 11 % increase. Currency translations had a positive effect of SEK 73 m on net sales
• Order intake was SEK 1,470 m (1,433), corresponding to an increase of 3 %
• Operating profit was SEK 243 m (251), equal to a 16.0 % (18.4) operating margin
• Operating profit, adjusted for restruc­turing costs and settlement regard­ing agreed additional purchase price, reached SEK 246 m equal to a 16.2 % operating margin
• Profit after taxes totalled SEK 205 m (171) and earnings per share was SEK 4.43 (3.68). Adjusted profit after tax totalled SEK 188 m and adjusted earnings per share was SEK 4.06
• Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 254 m (193)
• The Board of Directors propose a dividend to the amount of SEK 1.90 (1.80) per share

Comment from the CEO

We conclude 2019 with a weak fourth quarter. The market situation is still challenging, and the quarter showed both weaker sales and order intake. Sales amounted to SEK 346 m, a decrease of 5 % from the corresponding period last year. Organically, the decrease is 10 %.

In Europe, mainly driven by Germany, the downturn has continued and we believe that the market will continue to be weak during the first part of 2020. The Americas and Asia also saw a weaker market during the quarter, although there are some positive indicators for the future. In general, the future demand in our markets is difficult to assess. On the product side, we can see that Anybus and also partly Ixxat are the main reasons for our weaker development. Especially our embedded products, which are dependent on investments in production, are affected when our customers have weak own demand and continue to reduce their stock. On the positive side, we can see that both Ewon and Intesis made a stronger quarter.