Interim report 2023, January - September - Seite 2

The quarter’s net sales amounted to a record level of SEK 789 million (624), which corresponds to an organic growth of 20% compared to the corresponding period last year. In the previous quarter, we reported delivery delays due to the roll out of a new business system (ERP). This is now remedied, and we are back to a satisfactory delivery capacity.

The order book amounts to SEK 1,106 million, which is a decrease of SEK 210 million compared to the previous quarter. On the long term, we estimate that a normal order book over time is approximately SEK 500-600 million.

THE US AHEAD OF EUROPE AND JAPAN IN NORMALIZING ORDERS
In general, we see a mixed picture of customer needs as lead times are now starting to normalize. Some customers want deliveries as quickly as possible, while others are waiting with new orders to manage their stocks.

Our largest market, Europe, is characterized by rapid change where we see the majority of large customers waiting to place orders. This is as expected, since they have already placed large orders in previous quarters. We also see a similar situation in Japan. In the US, we have seen this trend in the previous quarter, and we assess that inventory reduction and order normalization are beginning to be completed.

In China, which is a relatively small part of our sales, order intake continues to be at low levels, where the economy as a whole has developed significantly weaker compared to previous expectations.

STRONG PROFITABILITY
We continue to see a good development of our gross margin which amounts to 65.4% (63.6) driven by a combination of favorable currency situation, price adjustments and increased efficiency in our supply chain. Our operating expenses increased to SEK 293 million (225), corresponding to an organic increase of 24%. Last year’s planned investments to build a new base for future growth are now in place, and we assess that operating costs will increase at a slower pace going forward as we expect to see the effect of these investments. During the quarter, we reached a new record level for operating profit with SEK 223 million (179), corresponding to an operating margin of 28.2% (28.7). The quarter’s cash flow from current operations amounts to SEK 167 million (118), which is impacted by continued increased working capital, primarily related to our inventory.