Multiconsult ASA

OSE:MULTI

Earnings Call Analysis

Earnings Call Transcript 2023-Q4

[Grethe Bergly, executive]

Good morning, and welcome to the presentation for the results for the fourth quarter and the full year 2023 for Multiconsult. My name is Grethe Bergly, I'm the CEO, and with me today I also have our CFO, Ove Haupberg.These is the -- these are the figures, the KPIs for Multiconsult, the quarter and the full year, and this represents very good figures for Multiconsult, and I'm extremely pleased to see the increase in the billing ratio and the sum of all this is that the earnings per share for 2023 is NOK 11.56. It's been a good overall performance during 2023 and this quarter with improved earnings, strong organic growth and increased net operating revenues. We leave the quarter with a high billing ratio of 71.8%.During the quarter, we have experienced a stable demand for the services in the group, and we have also completed the successful initiative for increased co-ownership in the Multiconsult group. We have announced 4 acquisitions in the quarter and the Board of Directors will go to the General Assembly with a proposal of NOK 8 per share as dividend.Looking more closely at the market, we've had good sales in the quarter. There's a slight reduction compared to the fourth quarter in 2022, but this is within the normal fluctuations that we expect to see when it comes to sale.As you can see in the figure at the bottom here, we still have a good and stable order reserve, and again a good increase compared to 1 year ago. We have also a substantial project portfolio that is ongoing and creates a good stable foundation for the group. We also see that the pipeline is stable and robust, so we cannot see the reduction in the market that we hear a lot about at the present. But we repeat, the increased uncertainty that we also announced in the third quarter.New sales, 2 very important sales for us. The first 2 projects represent rail projects. After a very slow start at the beginning of 2023, we have now in the last period seen increased requests and we have won 2 large rail projects. We've also won a major road project and the last 2 projects represent the future in the sense that in Norway there's been a lot of uncertainty with regards to finance rules around fish farming. But as they have now been clarified, we see also a greater demand for these services and Andfjord Salmon represents 1 such onshore plant for fish farming.The last one is the feed for the carbon capture, and it's not storage here, but it's the plant. It's a plant in Oslo where they are planning now to capture carbon, export it to the Northern Light Plant which also has been part of the Multiconsult portfolio. The CCP project is one that we do in partnership with Aker Solutions. We also have, as you can see, a strong portfolio of larger ongoing projects.Looking at people and organization, we are now 3,749 employees in Multiconsult. It's an increase of 11.8%, roughly the same relationship for the FTEs as well. We have successfully integrated 225 new employees and over the year 2023, we welcomed 700 new people into the group.In the quarter, we have announced 4 M&As, 2 smaller ones in Norway and 2 in Sweden. And I'm particularly pleased that we are now seeing how we can build on the already successful business that we have in Iterio, the engineering, to bolt-on with companies that represent future business. We also, in Norway, maintain our position as the third most preferred employer amongst experienced engineering and technology people.When it comes to excellence, we have 2 projects that we would like to share with you. One is the nomination for the Global Award of Tunneling, where • The Fornebu project that we are part of was represented. But also 2 nominations with The Power Woman of the Year, I have to translate this too. And again, it shows that we have highly skilled people that are really part of the top of their professions.I mentioned the successful co-ownership program and we -- as we announced it in the third quarter, 80% of our employees are now co-owners, own share in the company. And the effect of that is also that we saw an increased participation in the annual share buy program that we've had. And we have now 47 of our employees decided to invest in the company. That's an increase from 24% in the last year.So with that, I hand you over to Ove.

[Ove Haupberg, executive]

Many thanks, Grethe. And I will give you then further details on the financials for fourth quarter and the full year of 2023. And starting with the fourth quarter, we have a net operating revenue of NOK 1.3 billion. That is an increase of 20.8% from the same quarter last year. The organic growth was 16.1%. And on top of that, we have M&A activity representing a growth of 4.8%. And that was the acquisition of the company Roar Jørgensen at the end of fourth quarter 2022 and then 70% of the Arkitektur company A-lab from end of second quarter 2023. And then a small change on the calendar effect year-on-year on 0.1 percentage points.The main driver behind this growth are a higher number of employees, 396 or 362 full-time equivalents that we see in the graph as increased capacity. And on top of that, we have improved our project control and we also have higher billing rates that is shown as other revenue effects.The billing ratio for the quarter, 71.8%, that is an improvement of 1.5 percentage point from 2022. And that is the proof that we have been able to implement the new employees from third quarter into the business. And on top of that, we have had full focus on productive time throughout the group in this quarter.EBITDA for fourth quarter amounted to NOK 118.4 million that is an increase of 22.3% or NOK 21.6 million since last year. The margin for the quarter, 8.75 percent that is an increase of 0.1 percentage point from last year. And in that is that the increased capacity, hourly rates and the improved billing ratio more than compensate for the increase in employee benefit expenses per employee included the increased employee tax and the successful co-ownership program.Corrected for this co-ownership program and a write-down effect on a leasing contract that is reported as one-off effects, we see in the graph to the down right that we report and adjust the EBITDA of NOK 145.1 million, or an adjusted margin of 10.7%. The adjustment has a total of NOK 27 million.Order intake, NOK 1,431 million again, a strong number. And the order backlog, that is 35.4% better than last year of NOK 4,883 million.Other OpEx ratio decreased by 1.3 percentage point from 2022, 15.9% compared to 17.2%. And the savings is caused by good cost control, some delayed recruitment of support personnel and the change in principles on how we handle IT investments.Okay, moving to the full year of 2023. Net operating revenue for the year NOK 4,802 million, an increase of 14.6% from 2022 and in that, the organic growth 12.1% and M&A activity, the 2 companies as reported for the quarter, also increased their revenue by 3 percentage points. Year-on-year, a negative calendar effect of 0.5% due to 1 day less in 2023 compared to 2022. And the effect is NOK 23 million, also shown in the graph.Driving behind this graph, as in the quarter, higher number of employees, again, the same number, 396, but the full-time equivalence for the year is 254. We have the improved project control and higher rates per hour.Also for the year, the billing ratio has increased to 70.8%. And that is an increase of 0.2 percentage points. And the majority of the positive effect stems from this fourth quarter.For the full year, we deliver an EBITDA of NOK 419.5 million that is an increase of NOK 11 million from last year, or 2.7%. The margin on that is 8% -- 8.7%. That is a reduction from last year of 1.1%. And the main explanation on this change is the increase of employer benefit expenses per employee, but that includes the increased employer's tax and the co-ownership program.So also for the year, we make adjustment on the co-ownership program and the lease agreement, and that gives us an adjusted EBITDA on NOK 446 million, or a margin of 9.3%.Order intake for the full year, close to NOK 7 billion, and that is an increase of 33.3% from 2022. And also for the full year, an increase or an improvement on the other OpEx ratio by 0.5 percentage point. The cost increase is NOK 80 million, as you also can see in the graph. That is due to higher office expenses, including electricity insurance, some consultancy expenses, travel, and IT.The profit for the period, NOK 316.6 million that is an increase of NOK 13.6 million from 2022 and in that, there is some one-time effects on the financials, and that is the reversal of the earner obligation in connection with the purchase of Roar Jørgensen, and also a re-measurement of the A-lab put option obligation in this total amount of NOK 24.4 million. But in total, earnings per share, NOK 11.56, and that is the basis for the Board's proposal on a dividend of NOK 8 per share for 2023.Then we have a look at the results per quarter, and you see the quarterly graphs. They are marked in orange for fourth quarter, and these numbers are, as you probably can see, influenced by the number of calendar days in the different quarters.But starting top left, you see there the increase in net operating revenue, 20.8% year-on-year, and also that we have a growth in the rolling 12 months. Also, the billing ratio improvement of 1.5% in combination with increased number of employees that you can see down right, and this improved project control, somewhat offset by higher cost per employee, but that is causing, as you see down left, improvement on EBITDA percent year-on-year, and also you see the one-time effects in the shaded gray area on NOK 27 million, but with that correction, we have an EBITDA on 10.7%.So, some further comments on the different segments, and remind you that the segment energy was incorporated in the figures for the Oslo and the Norway region from Q4 2022, and also that the historical numbers were reworked. We also introduced a new segment architecture from second quarter, including both LINK and A-lab, and all numbers are for the fourth quarter compared to the same quarter last year.So, to the left, region Oslo, a strong growth in net operating revenue, 24.2%, or close to NOK 104 million, and a strengthened EBITDA on NOK 86.5 million, with a margin of 16.2%, and the growth is primarily caused by the improved project control, and also the improved billing rates, and you also see that the billing ratio has increased due to the successful integration of the new hires from third quarter.Then, moving one step to the right, to the region Norway, net operating income increased by NOK 63.4 million, increase of 13.3%, and also here, the prime driver, increased number of employees, and also improved project control. The margin, 8.7%, and the EBITDA of 47%, is affected by the increased competition and pressure on margin due to lower investment levels in some districts and markets. But also here, the integration of the new hires has improved their billing ratio, with also a high focus on billable hours in the quarter.Also, comment that the 2 companies, Roar Jørgensen and the new Board company Planteknikk, is part of these results, and that the T2 project was -- is part of the balance sheet at year end.Then, segment architecture. The growth in net operating revenue of NOK 47 million, or 30.7%, is mainly caused by the incorporation of all of numbers in this segment. But first, some comments on LINK's starting with Norway. The underlying performance has strengthened caused by the improvement program that we launched at the end of 2022, and that has focused on all aspects on P&L. Unfortunately, the challenging market in part of the country, and also business areas, has made us have some temporary layoffs at the end of the quarter.In LINK Sweden, we see that the result has improved from very good levels last year, that is 2022, and also that they see how compensation on the cancellation of the hospital in Vesterås that is positively affecting our results this year. And that has a continuous strong cost control still in the business.In LINK Denmark, we are faced with a substantially weaker performance than in 2022. The turnaround process led by the new CEO and her management team has caused improvements in the billing ratio and savings on other costs. But this quarter, we see some one-time personnel costs due to a reduction on number of employees. And just to remind you that in 2022, settlement on contracts and write-up in projects in their closing phase had a very positive effect on the numbers.A-lab, the last one in architecture, is faced with a more demanding market causing reduced sales. A-lab is focusing more on the early phase market, whereas LINK is more in the public sector.So to compensate for the sales loss, there are unfortunately also there a number of temporary layoffs. In total in the segment, we see a reduction in the number of personnel by 8, and also 30 temporary layoffs in the quarter.To the right, we see international net operating revenue increased by 31% to NOK 92.2 million, and the currency effect in that is NOK 10.5 million or 14.9%. And the main driver for the growth is caused by Multiconsult Polska, some slightly weaker results from Iterio in Sweden, with a more demanding market and pressures on prices and margin.But again, improved billing ratios in both these companies are compensating for the increased personnel costs. And also to remind you that the Helm companies is part of the balance sheet in this segment.Then some comments on the financial position, starting to the left on the cash situation. Starting the year with a positive cash NOK 115 million, then we have a positive cash flow from the operation included IFRS 16 effect, that is NOK 591 million. You see a negative effect on working capital that is mainly due to some dragging effects on few customers, and we have commented one of them in the report relating to Sotra Link. But you have to say that, the bad debt provisions is kept at the same low level as previous quarters.Cash flow from investments, an equal split between M&A activity and also fixed assets, including the first investments in the new drilling vessel. Cash flow from financing, positive NOK 125 million, a negative effect is the payout of dividend to NOK 47 million. That is positive for your shareholders, but it's a negative cash effect and purchase of own shares. But we have a deducted on loan NOK 450 million, give us this positive NOK 125 million. So we end cash at the year at NOK 278 million, included this IFRS 16 effects.And also at the end of the year, as you see down right, still have a very low gearing ratio on 0.38, but the long-term debt level is increased by NOK 244 million from last year due to the payout on dividend and M&A activities.So the last slide from my side on the free cash flow. In the dark blue column, you see the positive cash flow from operating activity of a total NOK 416 million. And the cash from investment activities, excluding acquisition, negative by 22%, give us a net positive effect of NOK 394 million for the quarter. And also then a free cash flow of last 12 months, positive on NOK 323 million.So, I guess you have seen the numbers now. So I hand it back to the Grethe for some closing remarks on the business areas.

[Grethe Bergly, executive]

Thank you, Ove. Looking at revenue from the market area, this figure shows the distribution of revenue between the different business areas that we operate in. And as you can see, there's been a positive development when it comes to revenue in all of the areas, giving us on the -- for the full quarter, NOK 1.6 billion, and an increase of 21% year-over-year.And as you can also see, this positive development within Energy & Industry continues. It's by far the strongest increase and an area that we also expect to have a strong market going forward.This time, we would like to take a deep dive into the areas where we've talked about a few times now, where we see growth. And it's a lot to talk about the green shift. The green shift will have effects on how property owners and how people who have assets think about taking care of what they have. There are new regulations coming. We see at least in Norway, there's a lot of underinvestment when it comes to looking after what's already built. And we would like now to show you an insight into how Multiconsult is positioned within the area of rehabilitation, conversion and extensions.Start with this one. This is a whole new city being developed just outside Drammen. Multiconsult and LINK Arkitektur have been part of this, a whole new way of thinking. When you start from scratch, you can really take into all the demands and requirements for how a future city will look like. And Multiconsult and LINK together have all the skills and knowledge that it takes to develop. It's a city for the future.Lilleakerbyen, it's another big city development in Oslo. A-lab is part of the group who's looking at how do you transform an industrial area, into a modern city, looking into all the requirements when it comes to recycling, sustainability. How do you take care of the water? We are expecting a climate that will be wilder and wetter and to prepare for that and have that skills. Again, A-lab has the skills for the big areas and when it gets to more details, they will also need the inclusion of Multiconsult's engineers.Another example is Oslo Atrium. I think 10 years ago, this building would just have been demolished. Now they think very differently. How do we look after it? How do we rehabilitate with modern technology, using all the technical skills that we have. We are here in a contract with the contractor Veidekke to upgrade this building to a BREEAM in-use good standard.Another example, a Destillery in Sweden. How do you transform a factory into housing? Again, recycling using all the facade at the same time creating a modern building and housing with the respect to the demands that you have on daylight and facilities and creating value really for the owners of the building.Another example is this one. This is a waterfall on the West Coast of Norway. It's been upgraded and rehabilitated, increasing the capacity from 1.8 gigawatts to 14 gigawatts. It's a tremendous increase in the value also for the owner of this. At the same time, taking care and making a good solution for the fish migration that happens, of course, in all these waterfalls in Norway.Another example is within rails. There's a lot of investment needed in the railway system in Norway. This is one example on the Bergen Line that goes from the West Coast to Oslo. Huge investments needed. We have a lot of these projects has been won also in the last quarter. And again, we have the skills and the references to be part of the investment that will take place also going forward.Last but not least bridges, Norway has we have a frame agreement with the road authorities in Norway for bridge inspection and also solutions for how you have rehabilitate. This is new technology being used. We are able to give solutions now both to modern bridges but also to this one as you can see an example of that several hundred years old, again, important skills positioning us well for the future. One picture, just showing what we already have confirmed the proposal for NOK 8 for a dividend. And you see here the history of dividend since 2015.So, closing then with outlook. Overall market outlook remains stable. There are still variations across the various geographical and business areas, but the pipeline of upcoming projects also remain robust.Architecture is still very challenging across the Scandinavian countries. There are some positive signs, but we are very careful to say anything about when we think the uplift will come. We are expecting growth in areas of defense, rehabilitation, transformation, but also in investments in renewable energy going forward. We are well positioned for the future, high volume of ongoing projects, diverse portfolio and a high order backlog gives us that foundation. And we have also experienced a good sale at the start of 2024.And with that, showing you the date for the next presentation. We finish the presentation here, and we open-up for questions.

[Pal-Sverre Jørgensen, executive]

Yes, I'm going to repeat the questions that you got in the Norwegian presentation earlier this morning. So Martine Kverne from Nordea. She asked, how do you look at the billing ratio development going into 2024 and forward? And secondly, how do you look at the hourly rate development going into 2024 and forward? And thirdly, with regards to the order backlog, can you please put some flavor on the time aspect when it comes to this?

[Grethe Bergly, executive]

Yes. Starting with the billing ratio, we believe that with the order backlog that we see that we should be able to maintain a high level for the billing ratio. Hourly rates is under pressure. We've noticed that change really since the third quarter, competitive market. Our contracts are such that there are KPIs when it comes to adjusting and historically that has made us being able to -- to follow the development of salaries and the rates. But in new contracts now, we do expect a higher level of competition.When it comes to the order backlog, it's a mixed picture, I would say. We have some very large projects that we expect to run over 2, 3 years, but there is also parts of the order backlog that has a very short horizon.

[Pal-Sverre Jørgensen, executive]

Okay. And then some questions from Bengt Jonassen at ABG Sundal Collier. Can you please comment on the volume of frame agreements and the size of this volume compared to the same period last year? Second question. You commented that you have had a focus on -- focus and deliver better control in projects. Is there a structural change that has been made or what do you put in this? Third question. You commented that you had costs related to restructuring. Can you please outline? And the last question with regards to IT investments and how you handle IT costs. Can you outline this, please?

[Grethe Bergly, executive]

Yes. Repeat the first one for me.

[Pal-Sverre Jørgensen, executive]

Volume on frame agreements.

[Grethe Bergly, executive]

Yes. We are still in almost the same frame agreements that we had at the start of the year. So we expect roughly the same, at least through 2024. And I think I'll let Ove answer the other ones.

[Ove Haupberg, executive]

Yes. And I guess the second one was on project control. Yes. So this is a real improvement year-on-year. And we have a principle that we follow every year. And basically, when we come at the end of the year, we see the total result and we can make an adjustment. And we have been better in 2023 compared to the years before. And so this is a real improvement in our projects. And then there was a question on IT cost.

[Pal-Sverre Jørgensen, executive]

You had a question about cost related to restructuring -- recruiting, sorry.

[Ove Haupberg, executive]

Yes. Yes. So exactly. So we have some delayed recruitment on support personnel that we expect will come into 2024. But a good focus on other operating costs for the year. And that will continue also into the New Year. And then we have a change in principle on how we handle IT costs. When we know basically put this to the balance sheet and do as we normally do on that, we allocate this cost on the years, 3 to 5 years. So basically, over the years, we will have coming back to a normal level again.

[Pal-Sverre Jørgensen, executive]

Thank you. I don't think, there was no questions on the webcast. So that's, then you can sum it up.

[Grethe Bergly, executive]

Okay. And we finish this presentation, and wish you all a nice day.

[Ove Haupberg, executive]

Thank you.