Alimak Group AB (publ)

STO:ALIG

Earnings Call Transcript 2021-Q4

[Operator]

Good morning. My name is April, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome you to the Alimak Group Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]I would like to hand over to Chief Executive Officer of Alimak Group, Mr. Ole Kristian Jodahl. Mr. Jodahl, you may now proceed.

[Ole Kristian Jodahl, President, CEO & Director]

Thank you, and welcome to this quarter 4 call for Alimak Group. And with me today I have, as always, Thomas Hendel, our CFO.So if we turn to the next page, we see the agenda. And we will as usual then go into the quarter and also have a look at the full year, and end off with a Q&A session.So turning to next page, please, and the business highlights for the quarter. The #1 priority for the year has been to deliver margin improvements. And I'm happy to say that we could also do this in quarter 4, which means that we have delivered the second set of the New Heights Program, the margin improvements.But this was also the year where we started to implement the division strategies, leading us on to the Phase 3 of this New Heights Program, where we should be in a profitable growth phase then, as we said from 2022 towards 2025.And the focus will continue to be as we have been driving it now for some time on of course further profit developments, organic growth and also acquire growth going forward.We launched, as I also briefly mentioned in quarter 3, then this new scaffolding transportation system within the construction division. It's a system which helps provide scaffolders with a more effective installation and dismantling of scaffoldings that I'm coming a little bit back to this later.We also continue to drive our BMU business improvement program and I'm happy to see that we had some positive developments also further then in the quarter. And as announced yesterday, we are then also launching a strategic review of the Wind Division, which could also include the potential divestment and I'm coming back to this little bit later.So then if we turn to next page, and the group quarterly summary. Overall then as I said, a solid and good quarter, but also as expected, order intake increased 8%, up 5% organically and driven by very strong organic growth in Construction and Industrial.We also have strong organic growth on the service side, was up 14% in the quarter, while Wind reported a drop as expected, as we have seen throughout the year and again driven by the exit of tower internals and also a challenging market in China.Revenues increased by 10%, up 7% organically, strong organic increase in Construction, Industrial and BMU and again Wind due to the lower order intake throughout the year also having a negative effect in this quarter.EBITDA increased to SEK 143 million, up from SEK 86 million last year and margin improved to 13.9% in the quarter, very close to our financial target range. And it's mostly driven by higher volumes and of course the strong cost control, but also our ability to take care of our pricing and secure a strong gross margin. SEK 42 million should be noted was booked in quarter 4 2020 for the New Heights Program.If we turn page and then we move into BMU. Overall, I would say, a solid quarter for BMU, order intake increased by 7%, up 2% organically. Good equipment order intake in Europe, but a little bit softer order intake in general in the quarter. But we should also note that this is as with also most of our other divisions.We have quite significant swings months to months and quarter to quarter, so you shouldn't readout too much. The overall importance is the trend and that is still continuing in very solid way. And service has been a very important part for BMU throughout the full year.Revenues increased by 33%, up 26% organically, driven by strong equipment revenues in Europe, but also higher service revenues across all regions. EBITA ended at SEK 29 million, up from a loss of SEK 3 million last year, giving us a margin of 8.7%, and again driven by higher volumes and good cost control.But we also do have a positive one-off factor of SEK 5 million in the quarter. So yes, so there is also some swings there quarter-by-quarter important to note, but it's a positive and a solid trend in the right direction.Then if we turn page and some further business update on the BMU side. We continue of course to drive our activities to improve sales and profitability. We are far away on the profitability side from where we would like this division to be and also to have a stable and solid more order intake and business development. And that's why we're also now increasing our efforts with products for low- and mid-rise buildings.As the division has been focusing more on the high rises, that is vulnerability of course, so this will give us a better and a broader addressable market within this business. Further, as of 1st of January now, I have assumed the interim head role of this division. Cameron Reid, which was interim for a while, he was intended to -- initially to be head of sales in Construction, and we wanted to start to drive that stronger now. Therefore, he has moved there. And I will lead this division while we then are searching for the permanent solution.Further, we have also decided that we will rename the division name from BMU, Building Maintenance Unit to Facade Access, which is now -- as of now you can say to better reflect what we're actually doing within this division.So then if we turn to next page and Construction. Another solid quarter for the Construction division. Order intake increased by 5%, up 3% organically. We had strong part sales in Europe and also a continuing strong development in rental. Revenues increased to 13%, up 12% organically and strong equipment revenues in Americas and part deliveries in Europe is mainly the reasons behind this and strong EBITA of SEK 55 million, up from SEK 25 million last year and a margin of 19.1% and supported by higher volumes and our good cost control, which leads through a good drop-through.If we turn page, and we have the launch of the new scaffolding transportation system that I mentioned. And for all divisions, product development is now very important and always for the Construction division.And we have as a group a leading position within the highest range within the construction market. But we do have a lot of potential within the areas we call transport platforms and [ marked ] climbers. So this is clearly an area we are now focusing on to develop, but also of course other type of relevant products. And then this STS 300 scaffolding transportation system is one example of what I think we can do as a group forward in being closer to our customers and providing solutions which make their day more safe and productive.So this is a new system where you actually can use these trolleys or cages to move all the way from a storage place, we talked about to the construction site and there you're connected to the mask. You lift it up, you empty them and you send them down again and up with the next one and the same system going back and forth. So it's basically the full flow from a storage place to the construction site and back again.And this reduces the need for people and it would also make it much more safe. And yes, we have already started to taking orders and of course have a big hope for the forward. And I think it's a good -- where you also displaying what we expect to see more in the coming years.So then we turn page to Industrial. Industrial also delivering a solid quarter 4. Order intake increased by 33%, up 29% organically. Higher order intake in both new equipment and service, good contribution from emerging markets and we see solid demand in most customer segments and geographies.Revenues increased by 11%, up 10% organically. Higher volumes in both new equipment and services globally and of course they've [indiscernible] good order intake as they've had throughout the year. EBITA increased to SEK 53 million and a margin of 19.6%, up from 17.1% same quarter last year and also here growth supported by good volumes and our cost control.And you see there is some volatility from quarter-to-quarter. And this is what I'm pointing at, it reflects all divisions and it reflects the group that you will see due to the contract and project type of business that we're having, you will see some volatility also going forward. But the underlying trend is positive. And yes, we expect that also to continue.Next page, please. SL-H, yes, also of course for Industrial product development is important. But also this division is focused towards a lot of different segments. So that segment and customer perspective becomes very, very important. And this is an example of where we then launched -- we designed and launched a product manufactured in China for the Chinese market and the neighboring markets and focusing on segments, steelworks and power plants.So it's a product for a specific geography and for specific segments. And when we do it like this, we see that we are successful in a very strong way. We have sold much more than what we actually thought we could do and the trend is just continuing. So it's very encouraging.In addition, we also have traction technology in the group through an acquisition made in Norway, 2014. And that we're also putting more focus into now. And we have had some very nice orders and good development also in that business. So we see really that that focus and the way you're driving the business is paying off.Then we move page and we turn to Wind. Wind continues to face challenging market conditions in China. And we also have still the effect of our decision in the beginning of the year to take out to the tower internal business. The order intake decreased 15%, less than what we have seen throughout the year, but down 18% organically. And again, driven by tower internals and the effect in the quarter was SEK 20 million, and the full year effect was SEK 82 million.On the revenue side, the reduction was 25%, of course driven down by the low order intake beginning or throughout the year. And the tower internal impact in the quarter was SEK 24 million, and it's SEK 111 million full year.We still -- we have now taken most of this, but we still will have some effects in quarter 1. EBITA ended at SEK 6 million, down from SEK 21 million last year and a margin of 4.7%, of course very disappointing. But we also do have some one-offs in this result. So operationally, it's actually quite a bit better. But of course it is with the lower volumes. It is tough to positively offset, but we are continuing, and we are determined that we can manage that going forward in a good way.Turning page, as announced yesterday and also as I've said before, we evaluate the group's business portfolio on a regular basis focusing on profitable growth, long-term value creation and strategic fit with the group. And it's now become the view of the Board and also group management that the Wind division may have then a better and more favorable development with a different ownership. So that's something we would like to explore. The Wind division has a strong and leading position within its business. It delivers solid profits within the wind sector, and it's also part of the renewable energy sector, which is of course as we all know having a very bright future.But the Wind division as we see, it has a little strategic and operational fit with the other divisions in the group. And we also believe that it might be better for the wind industry to consolidate within that industry that this maybe more belong there. And that's why we now have initiated this strategy review, which could then lead to a potential divestment. And the aim is to have concluded this by the end of the year, and then we will see how and when that -- we have something more to say, we will come back on that.And with that, I leave to Thomas, we turn page to the financial summary, and Thomas will take us through some pages.

[Thomas Hendel, Chief Financial Officer]

Thank you, Ole. As always, a recap of the performance in the quarter and full year now. And highlight in this fourth quarter I must say is the revenue and what we -- the strong deliveries that we managed to do. This is actually the highest revenue quarter since Q4 2019. So it's a strong quarter also in a historical perspective.And also, as Ole mentioned, the drop-through is nice down to the EBITA margin of 13.9% in the quarter, which is very good and a strong performance also the bottom line and continues strong cash flow, which is very important. I will come back to that.Going into -- looking to the full year, now with this, you can see that the full year volumes picked up during the year and also now which is very positive, and I'm very happy to report that we have a gross margin improvement throughout the year, which will also with this, let's say challenging circumstances and conditions, it's very good that we have been able to keep up and even improve the gross margin level, which is a key for us and improved bottom line approaching our financial targets after this year.Next page, please, earnings summary. EBITA strong, a combination of the gross margin and also the SG&A level lower than the year before, so -- which comes down to the bottom line there. The financial net in the quarter is not representative. It's actually some negative currency effect, but the interest net year-over-year is improved. The tax rate for the full year has ended up at 25% compared to 24% the year before, but it's actually reflecting our country profit distribution.Next page, please, results for the period. Yes, simply to look into the earnings per share, it's actually up 68% now for the full year, which is a good development. But of course, not the level that we will -- we are happy with during the long run, we should continue to improve from this, but this has been a good year with improved EPS growth.Next page, please, cash flow. Cash flow from operations SEK 139 million in the quarter, mainly from improved EBITDA in the quarter and for the full year. But for the full year, it's a combination of a strong EBITDA and a reduction of net working capital. And also we have been able to reduce some of the overdue receivables in the quarter, which is [indiscernible] and we continue to focus on our payment terms and new contracts.And so that is basically our summary of the cash management actions, high attention on the overdues and also execute payment license in our projects, which we have been successful in. And also, once again, a very good cash conversion for the full year, which I'm very happy with.Next page, please, net debt. Net debt now we have the leverage with end of the year of SEK 0.55 million, which is historically very, very good level and a strong lever for this company. It's a combination of the lower net debt from -- coming from the operational cash flow, but also the higher EBITDA result.And now we have more than SEK 2 billion in unutilized credit facilities. The dividend proposal, as you might have seen, is the SEK 3.30 per share versus the SEK 3 per share that we had last year as the proposal. Then we have the repurchase of the 450,000 shares done according to our mandate just to report back on that.And finally, a very important messaging for us -- from us is that our capital allocation priorities remains. Investing in profitable growth is #1, to continue to work and also in more intense with M&A activities and also that we will continue to pay out according to our dividend policy. This time, it's actually 58% of net income with our proposed dividend for the AGM. So by that, thank you, and back to Ole. Next page, please.

[Ole Kristian Jodahl, President, CEO & Director]

Thank you, Thomas. Then we are at the summary. So yes, I'm pleased with the quarter and the group is moving in the right direction. We promised margin improvements, and that was the aim for the New Heights Program Phase 2 and that we have delivered. And we feel now that we are good actually both from a capital structure, from a financial perspective, a result perspective, but also from a stability more in the organization to start to move into Phase 3 and driving stronger profitable growth.The strategic review of the Wind division is of course something that we will now focus on going forward. So that will be an important activity for us. But else is also -- we are now set for growth. And the focus going forward, even though there is of course still a continued uncertain macro environment, both with the risk for further inflation, of course, interest increases, but also effects on the supply chain.But I think in the main areas, we will still manage it in a decent way. And we will continue to focus on the basics for our business, driving the product development side, increasing our range and the speed in product development. We will continue to drive our service penetration, then have the strong year in service and they've had a good -- as a group good developments over time. But still, it's a lot of potential, and we will continue to further drive this, accelerating further our efforts in R&D and digitalization.We believe that is very crucial also for our industries. We have made some nice steps this year and that will continue. And with our balance sheet and capital structure now, we really feel that we are also ready to do much more on the M&A side, and that will be an important part for us also now entering 2022.Our most important asset in the group is the people, and they are the ones that have actually made this year. And I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for delivering a solid quarter 4 and also that we delivered upon our plan for this year with the New Heights Program. And with that team onboard, I'm sure we are well set for 2022.So with that, I say thank you. We move to next page and Q&A.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] There are no further questions at this time. Mr. Jodahl, I turn the call back over to you.

[Ole Kristian Jodahl, President, CEO & Director]

Okay. Thank you. And thank you, everyone, for listening in and see you next time. Thank you.

[Operator]

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.