NKT A/S Q1 2021: Improved financial results driven by increased activity across the businesses
Company Announcement
19 May 2021
Announcement No. 8
NKT A/S Q1 2021: Improved financial results driven by increased activity across the businesses
NKT CEO Alexander Kara says:
- We had a satisfactory start to 2021. We saw increased activity across all business lines in NKT and NKT Photonics, and our target to improve profitability showed in the financial results. The market outlook for the NKT Group’s businesses is driven by several megatrends with the global green transformation being among the most prominent. Our revenue growth in Q1 2021 was a testimony to the potential driven by these megatrends.
Financial highlights
| NKT | NKT Photonics | |
| EURm | Q1 2021 | Q1 2021 |
| Revenue | 296.0* | 15.7 |
| Organic growth | 21% | 26% |
| Operational EBITDA | 30.2 | -1.2 |
| Operational EBITDA margin | 10.2%* | -7.6% |
* Std. metal prices
2021 financial outlook
In NKT, the financial outlook is unchanged from Company Announcement No. 2 of 24 February 2021. Revenue (in std. metal prices) is expected to be approx. EUR 1.1–1.2bn and the operational EBITDA is expected to be approx. EUR 80–110m.
In NKT Photonics, the organic revenue growth is expected to be approx. 0-10%, and the EBITDA margin is expected to be approx. 3-7%. Based on the financial performance in the first part of 2021, the expectation is that the organic revenue growth and the EBITDA margin will be in the upper end of these ranges.
NKT: Operational EBITDA almost tripled
NKT increased revenue (std. metal prices) from EUR 240m in Q1 2020 to EUR 296m in Q1 2021, corresponding to 21% organic growth with positive contribution from all three business lines. The earnings growth in 2020 continued in Q1 2021. Operational EBITDA increased for all three business lines, and almost tripled from EUR 10.2m in Q1 2020 to EUR 30.2m in Q1 2021. The quarter was characterized by a high level of activity across power cable types in Solutions and by record-high performance in Service & Accessories with a high level of repair work. Additionally, Applications continued to restore the profitability level.
At end-Q1 2021, NKT's high-voltage order backlog totalled EUR 2.95bn (EUR 2.48bn in std. metal prices). This was around EUR 120m lower than at end-2020. In a historical perspective, the order backlog remained at a high level, and significantly above levels seen before 2020. After end-Q1 2021, NKT was awarded a turnkey order to provide power from shore to Troll West in Norway. The contract value was approx. EUR 95m (approx. EUR 85m in std. metal prices).
NKT Photonics: Highest ever Q1 revenue
NKT Photonics’ revenue in Q1 2021 amounted to EUR 15.7m, up from EUR 12.7m in Q1 2020. This corresponded to organic growth of 26%. In Q1 2020, revenue was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Supported by the higher revenue, EBITDA increased to EUR -1.2m in Q1 2021 from EUR -1.8m in the same period of 2020, driven by a recovery in Industrial and continued growth in Medical & Life Science. Earnings in Q1 2021 were impacted negatively by redundancy costs of EUR 1.2m.
The Board of Directors intends to resume the strategic review of NKT Photonics when the business and financial performance is no longer materially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the general economic situation.
Teleconference
NKT A/S hosts a teleconference for investors and financial analysts at 10:00 am CET on 19 May 2021. It can be accessed at investors.nkt.com. The presentation for the call will be available before the teleconference. To attend, please dial in from (confirmation code: 8374729):
DK
UK +44 (0) 207 192 8338
US
Contacts
Investor Relations: Michael Nass Nielsen, Head of Investor Relations, tel:
Media Relations: Helle Gudiksen, Head of Group Communications, tel:
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