Christian Berner Tech Trade: Softer sales and stronger margins end great '23 - ABG

Sales235m (-19% vs. ABGSCe), adj. EBITA 16m (-14% vs. ABGSCe)
Lower orders and sales, but stronger margins, strong backlog into '24
More impact from org. improvements to be seen, focus shift to M&A


Q4 results

Sales came in at SEK 235m (-19% vs. ABGSC 292m), -5% y-o-y (-5% organic). EBITA was 16m (-14% vs. ABGSC 18m), and adj. EBITA was 16m (-14% vs. ABGSC 18m) for a margin of +7% (ABGSC +6%). Adj. net income was 11m (-4% vs. ABGSC 11m) for a margin of +5% (ABGSC +4%). The company produced lease adj. FCF of 17m, +59% y-o-y. While order backlog conversion, and thus sales, was lower than expected, both EBITA and especially net margin were higher. Cash flow was also stronger than expected, allowing the company to pay off some debt, improving the financial net. Order intake was down -18% in the quarter, which management partially attributes to longer decision-making processes caused by the economic uncertainty. Management however also highlights that the company ended the year with a larger order book than it started with, ensuring prime conditions for coming quarters. The company also announced a dividend of SEK 0.90 (0.60), a yield of ~3%.

Länk till analysen i sin helhet: https://cr.abgsc.com/foretag/christian-berner-tech-trade/Equity-research/2024/2/christian-berner-tech-trade---softer-sales-and-stronger-margins-end-great-23/