Norbit ASA

OSE:NORBT

Earnings Call Transcript 2024-Q1

[Per Weisethaunet, executive]

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. Today, we are presenting the results of the 3 first months in a new strategy period. After reaching our 2024 targets 1 year early, we laid out our ambition towards 2027. This was announced as part of our Q4 '23 presentation.In addition to giving you insight into the Q1 [ '23 ] results today, we will also reiterate our upheld 2024 guidance and give you a quick reminder of our 2027 ambition. We recently announced a significant contract in connectivity, which we regard as a milestone on our path towards our 2027 ambition. While the customers will remain undisclosed for a few more weeks, we will elaborate a bit on the strategic alignment of this contract. The continued trust and high expectations from our customers drives us to innovate and grow.Let's dive into the details. First quarter 2024 ended at NOK 404 million in revenues, which represents 7% growth compared to the same quarter last year. We have seen growth both in PIR and Connectivity, while Ocean experienced a temporary decline during a seasonally weak quarter. The decline in EBIT going down to NOK 41 million was driven by lower margins realized in Oceans and PIR. In the Oceans segment, Q1 is typically a slow quarter. It's -- in this segment, we have some seasonality. Last year, 2023, it was quite strong. But this year, it has been slow. We'll go into some more of the details into that.As we continue to develop and prepare for the growth in line with our long-term ambitions, we also build our organization. So meaning that when the revenues was lower compared to last year, it was also on a somewhat higher cost base, which affects the margins. So -- and what you can see is that in the revenue split that what stands out is that it was a lower sales on Winghead in the quarter compared to 2023.In Connectivity, Q1 2024 is the second best quarter ever. It was delivered NOK 151 million in revenues and it's a strong demand, especially for enforcement modules for tachographs and for GNS-based tolling or satellite-based tolling. The EBIT margin on 28% is in the same range as we had in the same quarter last year. We have recently announced NOK 160 million order to a undisclosed European client, which is scheduled to be delivered in 2025.Yes. And as already said, the growth is very much driven by growth on several of our product lines. You see it's a decline on the onboard units. But despite that, it's growth on enforcement modules yielding a total growth. And I think this is also important to remind you that our strategy of broadening product offering, having products with different drivers behind is an important part of building a robust, diversified business, both in the different segments and between the segments themselves.So about this contract, I think in a few weeks, we will be in a position where we can tell you exactly what kind of product this is and to which client. But I think as it was indicated in the announcement we made recently, this contract is in line with both the strategy of broadening the product offering, meaning it's a new product and broadening customer base, meaning it's a new client.And then I think it's for NORBIT awesome to have already in place a first order on this to be delivered next year in the magnitude of NOK 160 million. So this is a element that helps us to keep on working hard and believing in our 2027 target.In the final segment, Product Innovation and Realization. We have good revenues up to NOK 145 million. The growth is primarily driven from a range of clients within contract manufacturing. The margins are somewhat affected by both some sales of inventory and on some product mix where there are some projects with subpar margins. So Per Kristian will give you some more comments on that in his part of the presentation.Yes, showing the split to see all the NOK 145 million in revenues, NOK 124 million of that being contract manufacturing. The remaining is R&D services.So with that, I'll leave the floor to Per Kristian to give you some more details behind the numbers.

[Per Reppe, executive]

Thank you, Per Jorgen. I will spend some minutes walking you through the financial highlights of the quarter. Revenues for the first quarter amounted to NOK 404.4 million, representing an increase of 7% from the corresponding period of last year. Of this growth, currency impacted revenues positively by 3 percentage points from first quarter last year. EBITDA for the quarter was NOK 73.1 million compared to NOK 104.3 million in the first quarter of 2023. This represents a margin of 18% compared to 28% in the same period of last year.Operating profit was NOK 41.1 million, resulting in a margin of 10%. Net finance expenses were negative NOK 0.7 million, impacted positively by foreign exchange gains. Tax expenses were $10.2 million, while net income for the period was NOK 30.2 million.In the first quarter, Oceans and PIR delivered weaker results and profitability year-over-year, while Connectivity delivered improved results, however, marginally better margins. Segment Oceans reported a revenue decline of 11% following less sales of Winghead sonars than in the corresponding quarter of 2023. Gross margin was 68% in the quarter, a decrease of 3 percentage points, largely due to product mix and higher share of third-party equipment sold where margins are significantly lower.Expenses was up $15.9 million in the quarter, of which a majority explained by growth in salaries following a strengthening of the organization during 2023 as well as 2 acquisitions made last year, in addition to an increase in amortizations. EBIT ended at NOK 9.7 million in the quarter.In Connectivity, revenues grew by 10% in the quarter, while gross margin was up 2 percentage points to 62%. Partly offsetting the gross profit increase was an increase in operating expenses of NOK 6 million, which is partly explained by an increase in payroll expenses, of which a majority relates to wage inflation in Hungary. The EBIT for the quarter was NOK 41.7 million.In segment PIR, reported revenues were up 29%. Adjusting for sale of inventory, the growth rate was, however, 16%. This was driven by higher sales of contract manufacturing towards industrial clients. Gross margin declined 13 percentage points. Margin was negatively impacted by sale of inventory at cost, lower utilization within the R&D department, customer mix as well as continued delivery of a low-margin project as communicated in the fourth quarter report. With an increased cost base of NOK 7.2 million, the EBIT ended at NOK 3.8 million in the quarter.Overall, the results in the quarter are not at an acceptable level. And as I communicated in today's report, we expect that the gross margin will increase towards a normalized level in the second quarter, which should drive improved profitability sequentially.Next, balance sheet and financial position. Property, plant and equipment, including right-of-use assets, increased NOK 5.3 million in the quarter following investments in machinery equipment as well as lease additions of a new production line. Intangible assets increased NOK 5.5 million to NOK 308.6 million. Inventories decreased NOK 65.4 million in the quarter following sale of inventory and improved inventory management. Improving the inventory turnover continues to remain high on our strategic agenda.Trade receivables increased NOK 2.3 million in the quarter and trade payables was down NOK 57.9 million following rebalancing of inventory and less purchases made. Net interest-bearing debt stood at NOK 132.6 million as per the end of March, a decrease from NOK 150.8 million at the end of the year 2023. Our equity ratio was 57% at quarter end.In the first quarter, our net interest-bearing debt-to-EBITDA ratio stood at 0.5, remaining stable from the end of prior quarter. Our balance sheet continues to remain strong. We have a solid liquidity buffer of approximately NOK 539 million to support organic growth ambitions, pursue strategic acquisitions as well as to distribute dividends to our shareholders, where approximately NOK 150 million will be paid to our shareholders tomorrow for the fiscal year 2023.Lastly, cash flow for the quarter. Cash flow from operations was NOK 53.9 million, explained by an EBITDA of NOK 73.1 million, a net increase in the working capital of NOK 13.5 million, taxes paid of NOK 5.2 million and NOK 0.7 million in net finance expenses. We invested NOK 31 million in the quarter, explained by NOK 22.6 million in R&D investments and NOK 8.4 million in investments in machinery and equipment.For 2024, we reiterate our expectations of investing between NOK 65 million and NOK 75 million in R&D, primarily allocating capital to the Oceans and Connectivity segments for new product innovations. Investments in fixed assets are guided to between NOK 90 million and NOK 100 million this year. Cash outflow from financing activities was NOK 19.6 million in the quarter.I will then give the floor back to Per Jorgen for the outlook section.

[Per Weisethaunet, executive]

Okay. Thank you, [indiscernible]. So going into the outlook. We reiterate our 2024 target where the target is to deliver revenues in the range between NOK 1.7 billion and NOK 1.8 billion. We expect first half revenues to show slight growth compared to the level reported in the corresponding period of 2023. The growth is expected to be strongest in Oceans and PIR.I'd like to comment on that Oceans is currently experiencing a sharp increase in activity compared to Q1. This is supported by strong demand for sonars across multiple geographies. We expect to report growth in second quarter and first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year, also specifically for Oceans.In Connectivity, we expect a slow second quarter. There are some of the larger clients that want to do some rescheduling. So we expect to have revenues in the range around NOK 100 million. And so these clients are purchasing onboard units, the clients that want us to reschedule a bit.The activity level in PIR is expected to remain high. So -- and we expect to see revenues in the range of NOK 130 million to NOK 150 million. For 2024, our target remains as earlier announced, when it comes to EBIT that we target to have that in line with what we reported in 2023. And of course, we'll continue to explore value-accretive acquisitions to add to this organic growth targets.I'd like to also spend a few seconds to remind you of the recent announced 2027 ambition. As I said in the introduction, when we concluded 2023 with more than NOK 1.5 billion in revenues, that was initially our 2024 target. And that's when we laid out this plan. I think what's a change from earlier, as you've seen also during the reporting today is that our focus is shifted from EBITDA margin to EBIT margin and we're laying out our targets on EBIT margin.The CAGR for the period, the strategy period until 2027 is somewhat lower than we had in the previous period, but still quite significant growth with 16% per year.The leverage policy remains the same. Per Kristian reported already where we're at to-date and we have started to look more into return on capital employed. So targets for 2027 is NOK 2.75 billion revenues with an EBIT margin in the range of 20%. And -- yes. So maybe we could have a look, Per Kristian, if there are some questions.

[Per Reppe, executive]

Okay. There's a fair few questions. Let's start with the first one from [indiscernible] Securities. How firm are you on the EBIT 2024 guiding given the increased cost base in Oceans and potentially weak Connectivity quarter in Q2?

[Per Weisethaunet, executive]

So maybe the answer is that we have reiterated the guidance and that's the reason behind that.

[Per Reppe, executive]

Yes. A question on Oceans. Could you comment on the sonar product mix? What drives the strong legacy sonar sales growth versus Winghead?

[Per Weisethaunet, executive]

Yes. So I think it's -- in this segment, it's very diversified. It's a wide variety of different clients in the different regions. I think what was a strong driver in the Q1 2023, which yielded high Winghead sales was offshore wind. And I think we saw a strong demand also from the rental companies. We expect that to be important also going forward, but the demand from that sector has not been that high in Q1.

[Per Reppe, executive]

Third question. Looking at your organic growth for Q1 as well as '23, what is explained by price versus volume or new products? And in terms of price point, are you in a position to raise prices higher or is your focus on growth in volume? So I think the short answer to that is that the growth that you have seen and elaborated -- we have elaborated on is driven by volume and price.In terms of price points, are you in a position to raise prices higher? In some of our contracts, it's not usual to have very frequent price adjustments. It's usually frame agreements where prices are negotiated for a period of time. And obviously, raising prices is something that we try to avoid.But at the end, we also need to compensate for inflation, which has been quite elevated over the last couple of years, but now inflation has come down to a more normal level, which allows us to maintain prices rather than adjusting them up. So our focus is on growing volumes and that has certainly also been the most important growth driver for us over the last years.Yes. And there's a question here from -- in regards to the OBU product, but I think you've answered quite clearly on that.

[Per Weisethaunet, executive]

Yes. So I'm looking forward to come in a position where we could be more specific on that.

[Per Reppe, executive]

Okay. A little bit at the other end of the scale in terms of this question. But -- so this quarter marks the first since NORBIT launched its 2027 plan. In the journey of continuous improvement, how does NORBIT define quality in its products? And could you share how your philosophy integrates the pursuit of excellence, both in tangible aspects of your products and in the intangible aspects of your company's culture?

[Per Weisethaunet, executive]

I think I want to answer that by reminding the audience about our vision. So NORBIT vision is framed that NORBIT to be recognized as a world-class enabling people to explore more. And I think the importance in the most important word in this vision is this to be recognized as world-class. So it's not for us to judge. It's for the different stakeholders to judge if they recognize us as a world-class. And this goes for quality, it goes for all aspects by building this company further.

[Per Reppe, executive]

Could you provide more detail on the higher share of low-margin third-party equipment delivered in Q1 2024? This is for Oceans. Specifically, what type of products are included in this category and which customer segments are primarily driving this demand?So as some of you know, our primary offering is in -- within the acoustics. So we sell the sonar. And to some extent, our -- some of our clients would like to also buy third-party accessories outside of the sonar, which we sell, which could include both hardware and software.And then in addition to that, we also have partners that we work with that we can offer a more integrated offering with. And in this case, in this quarter, we had some more of that as a percent of the revenues. So that probably explains this question.Yes. And the last question from the same person. In '24, we shifted from -- focus from EBITDA to EBIT. Could you explain the rationale behind the shift in focus and how it aligns NORBIT's strategy for providing a more accurate representation of our company's health and performance?

[Per Weisethaunet, executive]

So I think I, in some other occasions, said that for us it feels like taking one step to mature the company. I mean, depreciation and amortization also ends up being an expense, even if for quite some years, it's been quite balanced, what we CapEx into the balance sheet than what we amortize.But I think really looking on the final results and also having a more active focus on the balance sheet has been a way of taking a step in maturing the company a bit more. I think this is important for us in our own organization to ensure that our very good colleagues also takes part of reviewing the growth with these financial goals.

[Per Reppe, executive]

Question on Connectivity. When do you expect to deliver the rescheduled orders within Connectivity?

[Per Weisethaunet, executive]

We haven't shared details on that. So I think it's given in our guidance where we said something about where to expect the steepest growth this year in which segments. And it's all taken into account behind that guidance.

[Per Reppe, executive]

A question on the strategic agenda. Could you give some color on your M&A pipeline? What geographies and segments are most interesting? Should we expect any deals during 2024?

[Per Weisethaunet, executive]

At least you can expect then when it's a deal, we will have announced it. But I can comment on geographies. And I think it's in the nature of the business. So Connectivity is a very European business. Hence, our M&A search is primarily within Europe. For Oceans, it's a little bit different because that's our very global business. So it makes sense also to look more globally when it comes to M&A.

[Per Reppe, executive]

Could you give some guidance on hedging, FX exposure and/or influence on the outlook? I think we have said something around our foreign exchange exposure at some earlier presentations. I could reiterate that. So generally, in the group, we are long euros and slightly short on dollar. Obviously, with the strong euro versus Norwegian krone, which is the functional currency of us, we have some benefit of that. The effect is starting to be less as the Norwegian krone has, to some extent, stabilized a bit against the euro.When it comes to hedging the [indiscernible], we do rebalancing of our currency exposure within the short-term outlook. And then we occasionally also consider doing longer hedging over a longer period of time, but typically within a 6-month period. Generally, visibility, as some of you know, in Oceans is quite low, which means that it's challenging to have a lot of FX hedging in the portfolio. But on euros, we have occasionally made some adjustments to our hedging strategy.Question on PIR. What is the level of normalized gross margins? So when we refer to normalized gross margins, I would maybe refer back to what type of margins we delivered last year. So if you look on our gross margins last year, they were in excess of 40%. And if you even go back to '22 and adjust for all this customer reimbursements, that affected our gross margins quite a lot last year. Adjusting for that, the gross margin was also in line with what we delivered in 2023. So that is the level that we would guide on when in terms of using the expression normalized.Question again from [indiscernible]. How is your inventory after the sale in PIR? Do you expect further sale of inventory or are you at healthy levels now?

[Per Weisethaunet, executive]

I think you commented a bit on that during your presentation also, but...

[Per Reppe, executive]

So yes, I think we said something about that in the presentation that tuning the inventory is always of high importance and it's still high on the strategic agenda. Whether we expect further sale of inventory, I won't comment on that in detail.But what our focus is on making sure that we are rebalancing the inventory and making sure that we have a high turnover and that is our focus. Healthy levels with reference to that, I would say that there is still potential for further optimization and that is also the target that we are working on internally.So I think that -- if there's no further questions.

[Per Weisethaunet, executive]

Okay. So then that concludes today's presentation. Thank you for those visiting and also for you watching on the webcast. Thank you.