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NCAB year-end report 2020

NCAB Group released their year-end report as of today. “Strong end to 2020 and positive trend moving into 2021”, says Peter Kruk, CEO NCAB Group.

The fourth quarter October – December 2020

  • Net sales increased by 22% to SEK 514.9 million (422.4). The increase is mainly a result of the acquisitions of Flatfield and Bare Board Group. In USD, net sales increased 32%. Excluding acquisitions, net sales decreased 6%, but increased 5% in USD.
  • Order intake increased 42% to SEK 681.4 million (479.7). In USD, the increase was 57%. Order intake has gradually improved during the quarter, partly due to orders with longer delivery times linked to announced price increases. The effect of this is estimated at between 10% and 20% of order intake for the quarter.
  •  EBITA increased to SEK 52.2 million (41.2), representing an EBITA margin of 10.1% (9.7).
  • Operating profit was SEK 50.1 million (40.7). Operating margin was 9.7% (9.6).
  • Profit after tax was SEK 35.2 million (31.7).
  • Earnings per share was SEK 1.88 (1.88).

January – December 2020

  • Net sales increased by 19% to SEK 2,115.2 million (1,781.2). This increase is from acquisitions. Growth in USD was 22%. Excluding the acquisitions, sales decreased 3% in SEK and 1% in USD.
  • Order intake increased 23% to SEK 2,243.4 million (1,818.3). In USD, order intake increased 27%.
  • EBITA increased to SEK 190.7 million (165.4), representing an EBITA margin of 9.0% (9.3). SEK 14.9 million was charged to EBITA relating to transaction costs for acquisitions. Excluding transaction costs, EBITA amounted to SEK 205.6 million, corresponding to an EBITA margin of 9.7%.
  • Operating profit was SEK 182.3 million (161.7). Operating margin was 8.6% (9.1).
  • Profit after tax was SEK 127.5 million (128.4).
  • Earnings per share was SEK 7.03 (7.61).
  • The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 5.00 (-) per share for the 2020 financial year.

Significant events during and after the quarter

  • Peter Kruk assumed the role of President and CEO on 1 October 2020.
  • On 22 February, 2021 PreventPCB in Italy was acquired.

Message from the CEO

Strong end to 2020 and positive trend moving into 2021

We leave 2020 behind us with a positive trend for order intake and increased activity among our customers. This augurs well for 2021. We are also continuing to invest in growing our market shares through further additions to our sales organisation, primarily in Germany and North America. Our portfolio grew in 2020 with many new customers and projects. This is partly due to acquisitions, but our ability to provide excellent service to customers during these difficult times has also secured us new business. The acquisition of PreventPCB will make us the leading supplier in Italy.

Order intake rose sharply, by 42 per cent during the fourth quarter and 57 per cent in USD. A large share of this is attributable to our acquisitions, although organic growth also accounted for a 27 per cent increase in USD. It is gratifying to see a recovery in many of our markets. There is for instance a rapid growth in solutions for electric car chargers. One contributing factor to our strong order intake is the decision by customers to bring orders forward to avoid the announced price increases from our suppliers. These price increases are the result of higher raw material prices and foreign exchange effects. We do not expect this to have an impact on NCAB’s margins.

Travel restrictions and restraints have kept costs lower, though we have now begun to recruit personnel for future growth.

In Nordic, order intake and margins have picked up again in the fourth quarter. The strong growth in Norway is particularly pleasing and is largely the result of various projects linked to electric car chargers. Europe has had a highly positive quarter. The automotive industry, which was weak earlier in the year, has now begun to accelerate and our German operations have continued their positive trend with many new customers and projects. The acquisition of Flatfield has now been integrated into NCAB and after the end of the quarter we completed the acquisition of Prevent PCB in Italy. The fact that North America reported another positive quarter is pleasing. We can see exciting opportunities to improve margins in the acquired company Bare Board Group. Sales in East were slightly weaker during the fourth quarter while margins remained at a high level. Order intake increased in China while Russia is still suffering from lockdowns.

NCAB has major opportunities for continued growth. Organic growth, with more new customers and projects, is something we will continue to strive for. We can also see further opportunities in market consolidation through acquisitions. The integration of last year’s acquisitions, Flatfield and Bare Board Group, has been successfully completed. Our balance sheet is strong and we are actively working with our pipeline of attractive acquisition candidates.

Peter Kruk
CEO and President, NCAB Group AB

This is an extract from the report. To read and download the whole report, visit our Investor site: