Nolato AB
STO:NOLA B

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STO:NOLA B
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Earnings Call Transcript

Earnings Call Transcript
2020-Q3

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Operator

Welcome to the Nolato AB Q3 Report 2020. [Operator Instructions] Today, I'm pleased to present Christer Wahlquist, CEO. Please begin your meeting.

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

Thank you, and good afternoon to all your participants, and thank you for being interested in the presentation on Nolato third quarter 2020. This is Christer Wahlquist speaking, CEO of Nolato Group. If we summarize the third quarter for the group, we had a good growth, excellent even during this quarter, totaling 22% organic growth adjusted for currency acquisitions and sales totaled up on SEK 2.5 billion. The GW Plastics acquisition was consolidated from 1st of September. So it's 1 month in this quarter. During this quarter, we saw growth across all business areas. Our EBITA operating profit rose to SEK 303 million -- SEK 304 million if we exclude the nonrecurring item of SEK 17 million, giving us a margin of 12.2%. And that is a strong margin for the group. Cash flow after investments, excluding acquisition, was SEK 82 million, so we sustained a strong financial position, including after acquisition within equity/assets ratio of 40%. And if you look on the graph there, you can see the 20-year trend of Nolato Group growing. If we then turn to Page 3. And since this is the first quarter after our acquisitions of GW Plastics, it's sort of summarizing the key things behind that acquisition. The net sales on an annual basis is approximately SEK 1.8 billion, with the margin around 7%. GW Plastics has around 1,100 employees, 7 production plants across -- most of them or 5 of them in North America, one in Ireland and one in China, giving the Nolato Group an excellent positioning on the 3 important continents. Out of the GW Plastics sales, just over 4/5 is related to medical devices and the remainder, mainly Automotive industry. We have consolidated GW Plastics from 1st of September, and it contributed with SEK 145 million in sales for 1 month in the third quarter. Turning to Page 4, showing the different business area and the group figures. And the 3 different business areas creates synergies across business areas with the uniqueness of the individual businesses. And with, of course, in the base of the industry or business, we have, using the same material technology, solution-oriented development partner and the common production technology, giving us an advantage towards the different customer status in the different business areas. Turning to Page 5, going into the Medical Solutions business area. During the third quarter, we had sales close to SEK 800 million and an EBITA of SEK 103 million, giving us a strong margin of 12.9%. And on the graph here, you see the long-term growth of the Medical business area. So we've seen consecutive growth now for 20 years, targeting for global expansion. On Page 6 of the slide deck, you can -- you will find the focused product areas within the Medical Solutions business area. So these are, of course, Drug Deliveries, In Vitro Diagnostics products, Endoscopy & General Surgery products, Cardiology, Continence Care and Pharma Packaging, which are the most interesting areas that we operate within. Turning to Page 7, summarizing up the Medical Solutions' third quarter. We saw a 30% increase in sales, but if we adjust for the currency and acquisition, we saw a 12% growth, which is very strong. And during the quarter, GW Plastics acquisition contributed to SEK 127 million, and integration of GW Plastics is proceeding according to plan. During the quarter, we saw strong growth in our production volumes. We see high demand in segments such as diagnostic and respiratory, which increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our margin ended up at 12.9% due to high capacity utilization and a positive sales mix that had a beneficial effect, and of course, the acquisition affected 1 month on the margin. We will expand our production capacity in Switzerland. If we then turn to Page 8, going into Integrated Solutions. Within Integrated Solutions, we are in a mode of expanding to new market segments. And we've been doing that for some years now with good success. And if we look on Page 9, you will see the 2 different parts of the business area, Integrated Solutions, and the larger portion is, of course, Consumer Electronics with the VHP area and the connected WiFi systems, wearables, mobile phones and so on. And then we have the smaller portion of the business area called EMC and Thermal, which is sheathing solutions for electric influences and with good growth and nice margins. If we then turn to Page 10, looking into the figures of Integrated Solutions. We saw a strong increase in sales, 34%. But if we adjust for currency acquisitions, we had an exceptional 40% growth and it was driven by high demands within the VHP sector. We see good growth for 2020, but volumes have historically fluctuated between quarters. We have also made cost reductions in the supply chain together with the customers, affecting approximately 10% of both price and cost reduction towards that segment. During the fourth quarter, we will see sales more in line with the first quarter 2020. During the quarter, EMC had solid sales, and we also saw a continued low mobile phone volumes. We had a very strong margin during the quarter of 13.8%. And due to the situation with high volumes. So the sales in the quarter ended up at SEK 1.158 billion and an EBITA of SEK 160 million. If we then look into Industrial Solutions business area on Page 11, here, we are on a technology and geographical expansion journey. And if we look in -- on Page 12, the 2 different segments to the Industrial Solutions business area, we have the General Industry, which is the largest portion, with hygiene products and forest equipment, furniture and so on. And then we have the Automotive part of the business areas, which is, of course, then the smaller portion of this business area. Page 13. We saw a growth for Industrial Solutions during the quarter, and it turned up. After adjusted for currency and acquisitions, we saw a 4% growth. We saw a gradual increase in demand from the Automotive industry during the quarter and good volumes in other segments. The margin ended up at 8.8% due to gradual increase in volumes and cost savings implemented during the quarter.

P
Per-Ola Holmstrom

Good afternoon. I'm Per-Ola Holmstrom, CFO, commenting on Page 14, group financial highlights. Sales in the quarter, SEK 2.5 billion, an increase with 22% if we exclude currency and acquisitions. The operating profit EBITA was SEK 287 million, and the margin is then 11.5%. Those numbers including the nonrecurring SEK 17 million. In rolling 12-month base, then sales are SEK 9.1 billion, and we were just about SEK 1 billion in operating profit EBITA. The tax rate for accumulated 9 months is stable, 20.1%, in line with the same period last year. Cash flow after investments, excluding the acquisition and disposals, that is SEK 82 million compared to minus SEK 4 million last year. The net investment, excluding acquisitions, again, is SEK 112 million in the quarter compared to SEK 87 million the same quarter last year. We expect investment this year to be about SEK 400 million. So that is an increasing level in the second half of this year. Looking into next year, what we see right now is an increasing level of investments. Of course, we include GW Plastics. And then we estimate investments to be between SEK 550 million and SEK 600 million during 2021. The earnings per share were SEK 7.96. And if we exclude amortization of intangible assets from acquisitions, the earnings are SEK 8.05. The difference between those 2 is, of course, increasing as we add a depreciation or amortization from the new acquisition. And if we also exclude nonrecurring items in the quarter, earnings per share are SEK 8.57. The net financial liabilities, they are SEK 535 million end of the quarter, that is the financial liabilities. And if we include pension and lease liabilities, the net debt is SEK 1.77 billion. Even after the acquisition, we have a strong financial position. The equity assets ratio is 40%.

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

If we then turn to Page 15, and some comments about our current situation per business area. If we start with Medical Solutions, we have our maintained growth strategy, growing faster than the market. We focus a lot on innovation, built on strong customer relationship. We have seen and see impact of the pandemic, and we are working according to plan with the integration of acquisition. Within the Integrated Solutions, we have established a position in the new product areas, continued strong position within the EMC and thermal. We have, in our base, of course, the flexible production structure. And within the VHP sector, we have cost reduction throughout the supply chain together with the customers. Within Industrial Solutions, we have advanced our market positions. The cost savings is implemented, and we have an impact of the pandemic, and we are working on integration of acquisitions. Now we're opening for questions and comments.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Erik Cassel at ABG Sundal Collier.

E
Erik Cassel
Analyst

So the VHP products are continuing to drive growth. And for this quarter, given that you're guiding down for Q4, is it still inventory buildup? Because it seems like the expected volumes for Q4 just shifted into Q3 and then it kind of evens out.

P
Per-Ola Holmstrom

I think you could say that there are elements of inventory buildup in Q3 adding to that and maybe the opposite situation in Q4, yes.

E
Erik Cassel
Analyst

And then so I just wanted to ask, you have not changed your view for normalized volumes going forward then. So it's the same as communicated earlier?

P
Per-Ola Holmstrom

I would say that we have not given, let's say, more definite numbers. We have commented that we think we are in an interesting area with those products, and we work together with an interesting customer in this arena. And we see this as a growth business, but we have been clear about the fourth quarter in this report. And we have usually a good view of the next quarter coming up, and we are trying to give some guidance about that, and we have done that previously as well.

E
Erik Cassel
Analyst

Yes. And then can we tell expected margins in the same region as this quarter? Or will that too go down once volumes go down to the 13% region? Or does the new VHP products just have better margins?

P
Per-Ola Holmstrom

The margins are similar and the margins, going forward, is -- or they are, of course, dependent on the volume situation. So I would say the decrease in volume is also affected -- affecting the margin a bit down by the volume itself.

E
Erik Cassel
Analyst

All right. And then the favorable sales mix for Medical Solution. I assume that still from corona related sales. And if so, do you expect to see continued volumes from corona devices and such? And/or are they kind of fading away right now?

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

In that sense, I would -- there are parts of the Medical business area, which have an increased demand due to the pandemic. And we -- and it's relating mostly to, of course, IVD and those kind of testing. And we see continuously high volumes on those sides. On the other hand, we've seen little bit of lower volumes on the Surgical side during the pandemic due to the situation that a lot of surgery has been postponed. And we expect that to sort of come back a little bit, maybe late in the fourth quarter or next year. So I think those 2 effects will, maybe even out.

E
Erik Cassel
Analyst

All right. And then a last one for me. The production expansion in Switzerland, what kind of the capacity increase could we be seeing in relation to current lows?

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

We are looking at expanding, maybe 10% to 15% of store space.

Operator

The next question is from the line of Carl Ragnerstam of Nordea.

C
Carl Ragnerstam
Analyst

It's Carl here from Nordea. I have a couple of questions. Firstly, could you please repeat your comment on the 10% cost reductions and you mentioned something on the pricing as well. Is it that your customer have told you to lower the price per unit and you, by that, push down your production cost by 10%? And, yes, what do you mean by that?

P
Per-Ola Holmstrom

Yes. In our value proposition to our customers, we have something that we call cost out method. And we are constantly looking for ways to drive away cost from the total. And in this case, we have been able to drive away approximately 10% of cost. And in this case, we will also decrease the price for the customer by 10% approximately.

C
Carl Ragnerstam
Analyst

Okay. And would we see a lag effect there impacting margins for Q4?

P
Per-Ola Holmstrom

That effect of the supply chain reduced cost, we don't see we'll have any margin effects. The margins would be similar after that. So margins are more, as I commented earlier, a volume effect, if any.

C
Carl Ragnerstam
Analyst

Okay. Perfect. And that will come in Q4, right? Start of Q4, I guess? Or the 10% cost reduction?

P
Per-Ola Holmstrom

Yes.

C
Carl Ragnerstam
Analyst

Okay. Perfect. And also on -- I wonder, have you seen any sort of sequentially recovery within the Surgical area? Or what do you see there?

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

Not really, I would not say. We -- the Surgical situation is more like it was in second quarter.

C
Carl Ragnerstam
Analyst

Okay. Okay. Perfect. And also, could you Per-Ola, maybe please give us some guidance on the margins from the consolidated volumes from the GW Plastics?

P
Per-Ola Holmstrom

Yes. We have commented the margins going forward and how we look upon them, especially going into next year. And it has been only 1 month, and as you have seen, the volumes and sales were very much in line with what we have commented earlier. And we didn't see any a major changes in the expectations from the margins either. Slightly on the lower side, I would say, that we had the situation. Volumes were a bit behind and margins as well. But everything is going according to plan when it comes to the integration, and it's a positive feeling and a positive situation with GW Plastics.

C
Carl Ragnerstam
Analyst

Okay. Perfect. And I just wonder, you are both taking out cost in the supply chain similar to the fact that you're guiding down Q4. Do you -- I mean maybe it's speculations, but could it be that the underlying volumes are quite soft for your customer and that they want to gain market shares by pricing themselves lower than competitors?

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

I think it should be seen in the bigger picture. And of course, as I said, in our value proposition to customers, it's always to try to create win-win situation by driving away cost. So I would rather see it in that line.

C
Carl Ragnerstam
Analyst

Is it the first time in your partnership with the customer that you have lowered your price?

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

No.

P
Per-Ola Holmstrom

Okay. So it's nothing new?

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

No.

Operator

And there is one further question in the queue so far. [Operator Instructions] Next question in the queue comes from the line of Mikael Laséen of Carnegie.

M
Mikael Laséen

All right. Yes. I was wondering about GW Plastics and how they were impacted by COVID-19? And they have quite a lot of Surgical -- quite high Surgical exposure, I believe, and also a slight Automotive exposure. But they are still at a run rate of about SEK 1.75 billion in revenue. So if you can say something about they -- how they are developing right now.

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

That is correct that they are exposed in Surgical and Automotive. And those segments are affected by the COVID-19 situation. So that has some sort of an impact. It was, of course, something that we knew ahead of time when we -- before we made the acquisition. So it's in our plans.

M
Mikael Laséen

Yes. Exactly. But the Surgical side should maybe have a more normalized revenue level. And it's maybe subdued right now. Any thoughts about that?

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

I didn't really catch the question, but I'll try to answer what I thought you asked. And yes, the Surgical volumes are a little bit lower at the moment, affecting, not dramatically, but to some extent.

M
Mikael Laséen

Okay. Okay. Fair enough. And I was also just wondering about this cost reduction measures that you have done. Why did you do it right now?

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

It was an opportunity we saw, and we're constantly working on it, and we got some good effects and then it happened.

M
Mikael Laséen

Okay. But how should we think about the base? Did you have any impact from this in Q3 already?

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

This is something that started in the later part of third quarter.

M
Mikael Laséen

Okay. So just simply put everything else equal, we should assume 10% revenue reduction in -- based on the current run rates going forward?

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

Yes. Correct.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Okay. As there are no further questions coming though, I'll hand out to our speakers for the closing comments.

C
Christer Wahlquist
President & CEO

Thank you for your interest in Nolato and the presentation of our third quarter, and I wish you a great weekend later today. Thank you.

Operator

This now concludes the conference. Thank you all very much for attending. You may now disconnect your lines.