Konecranes Plc: Financial statement release 2021

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KONECRANES PLC FINANCIAL STATEMENT RELEASE 2021 FEBRUARY 3, 2022 8:30 am EET

Konecranes Plc: Financial statement release 2021

Strong performance in all Business Areas

This release is a summary of Konecranes Plc’s Financial statement release 2021. The complete report is attached to this release in pdf format and is also available on Konecranes’ website at www.konecranes.com.

The figures presented in this report are unaudited. Figures in brackets, unless otherwise stated, refer to the same period a year earlier.

FOURTH QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

- Order intake EUR 892.3 million (843.3), +5.8 percent (+4.2 percent on a comparable currency basis)
- Service annual agreement base value increased 5.3 percent (+1.7 percent on a comparable currency basis) to EUR 290.4 million (275.7). Service order intake was EUR 307.7 million (233.6), +31.7 percent (+28.3 percent on a comparable currency basis), positively impacted by a large modernization project in the United States
- Order book EUR 2,036.8 million (1,715.5) at the end of December, +18.7 percent (+15.7 percent on a comparable currency basis)
- Sales EUR 948.9 million (936.8), +1.3 percent (-0.4 percent on a comparable currency basis), sales increased in Business Areas Service and Industrial Equipment but decreased in Port Solutions
- Adjusted EBITA margin 11.9 percent (10.9) and adjusted EBITA EUR 113.2 million (102.1); the increase in the adjusted EBITA margin was mainly driven by positive sales mix and continued focus on strategic initiatives
- Operating profit EUR 86.0 million (83.0), 9.1 percent of sales (8.9), restructuring and merger related costs totaled EUR 19.0 million (10.1)
- Earnings per share (diluted) EUR 0.86 (0.69)
- Free cash flow EUR 65.7 million (177.2)

FULL YEAR 2021 HIGHLIGHTS

- Order intake EUR 3,175.5 million (2,727.3), +16.4 percent (+17.0 percent on a comparable currency basis)
- Service order intake EUR 1,078.3 million (927.8), +16.2 percent (+17.2 percent on a comparable currency basis)
- Sales EUR 3,185.7 million (3,178.9), +0.2 percent (+0.7 percent on a comparable currency basis)
- Adjusted EBITA margin 9.8 percent (8.2) and adjusted EBITA EUR 312.2 million (260.8); the adjusted EBITA margin improved in all three Business Areas
- Operating profit EUR 220.0 million (173.8), 6.9 percent of sales (5.5), restructuring and merger related costs totaled EUR 59.1 million (51.1)
- Earnings per share (diluted) EUR 1.85 (1.54)
- Free cash flow EUR 137.7 million (366.1)
- Net debt EUR 541.6 million (577.1) and gearing 39.8 percent (46.1)
- The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of EUR 0.88 (0.88) per share for 2021

FIRST QUARTER DEMAND OUTLOOK

The worldwide demand picture remains subject to volatility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Europe and North America, the demand environment within the industrial customer segments is on a healthy level. In Asia-Pacific, the demand environment remains below Europe and North America.

Global container throughput continues to be at a record high, and long-term prospects related to global container handling remain good overall.

FINANCIAL GUIDANCE

Konecranes expects net sales to increase in full-year 2022 compared to 2021. Konecranes expects the full-year 2022 adjusted EBITA margin to improve from 2021.

KEY FIGURES

  Fourth quarter January - December
  10-12/
2021
10-12/
2020
Change% 1-12/
2021
1-12/
2020
Change%
Orders received, MEUR 892.3 843.3 5.8 3,175.5 2,727.3 16.4
Order book at end of period, MEUR       2,036.8 1,715.5 18.7
Sales total, MEUR 948.9 936.8 1.3 3,185.7 3,178.9 0.2
Adjusted EBITDA, MEUR 1 134.8 124.5 8.2 398.9 356.7 11.8
Adjusted EBITDA, % 1 14.2% 13.3%   12.5% 11.2%  
Adjusted EBITA, MEUR 2 113.2 102.1 10.9 312.2 260.8 19.7
Adjusted EBITA, % 2 11.9% 10.9%   9.8% 8.2%  
Adjusted operating profit, MEUR 1 105.0 93.1 12.8 279.1 224.9 24.1
Adjusted operating margin, % 1 11.1% 9.9%   8.8% 7.1%  
Operating profit, MEUR 86.0 83.0 3.6 220.0 173.8 26.6
Operating margin, % 9.1% 8.9%   6.9% 5.5%  
Profit before taxes, MEUR 81.6 76.3 7.0 192.5 170.3 13.0
Net profit for the period, MEUR 69.2 55.2 25.5 147.4 122.9 19.9
Earnings per share, basic, EUR 0.87 0.69 26.2 1.86 1.54 20.2
Earnings per share, diluted, EUR 0.86 0.69 24.6 1.85 1.54 19.5
Interest-bearing net debt / Equity, %       39.8% 46.1%  
Net debt / Adjusted EBITDA, R12M 1       1.4 1.6  
Return on capital employed, %       9.3% 8.3%  
Adjusted return on capital employed, % 3       13.4% 11.1%  
Free cash flow, MEUR 65.7 177.2   137.7 366.1  
Average number of personnel during the period       16,625 17,027 -2.4

1) Excluding adjustments, see also note 10 in the summary financial statements
2) Excluding adjustments and purchase price allocation amortization, see also note 10 in the summary financial statements
3) ROCE excluding adjustments, see also note 10 in the summary financial statements

INTERIM CEO TEO OTTOLA:

Konecranes ended 2021 on a strong note, and all our three Business Areas performed well. We continued to work hard to mitigate the impact of global component availability issues and posted our highest Q4 adjusted EBITA margin ever - 11.9%. Our record-high order book together with continued strong commitment and performance focus across our whole organization, provides a solid foundation for Konecranes’ 2022 performance.

In Q4, overall market sentiment continued stable and relatively similar to the previous quarter, although with the new Omicron variant, COVID-19 related market volatility is not over. Year-on-year, Konecranes’ Q4 orders received grew 4.2% in comparable currencies. After three strong quarters, order intake in our short-cycle products has stabilized, and component orders declined sequentially in Q4.

Component availability, customer delays and other supply chain constraints continued to affect our sales in Q4, but with our mitigating actions we managed to prevent the late backlog from growing from Q3. Despite these challenges, we maintained good sales execution and our Q4 sales increased 1.3% year-on-year. As a result of our strong Q4 order intake, our order book broke again a new record of EUR 2,036.8 million at the end of December.

We set a new Q4 profitability record with our adjusted EBITA margin of 11.9 percent, beating the previous record from year-ago. This is an excellent achievement given global component and other supply chain issues and the disruptions the pandemic keeps causing. All our three Business Areas improved their profitability year-on-year, and sales mix was favorable.

As for our Q4 performance by each Business Area, Service order intake improved by 28.3% year-on-year in comparable currencies, largely driven by a big modernization order received in the US at the end of the year. Although component shortages and logistics delays impacted Service sales, the adjusted EBITA margin of 21.0% was all-time high. The agreement base value grew by 1.7% from the previous year in comparable currencies.

Industrial Equipment’s external order intake grew by 9.3% in comparable currencies. Net sales grew year-over-year despite continued customer delays and supply chain constraints. We continued to make good progress with our strategic initiatives, and as a result, Industrial Equipment’s adjusted EBITA margin was 6.2% versus 5.8% a year ago, supported by a positive sales mix.

Within ports, activity remained high. In Q3, the timing of customers’ decision-making led to lower orders, nevertheless, Port Solutions ended the year with a strong Q4 order intake of EUR 354.9 million, and we saw good order intake in automation projects. Sales execution in Port Solutions continued good, although mobile equipment sales were somewhat impacted by component shortages. Port Solutions’ adjusted EBITA margin totaled 8.5% and was 0.4 percentage points ahead of last year.

Turning to 2022, we expect the market volatility to continue due to the pandemic and global supply chain constraints. We have updated our demand outlook for Q1 to reflect the current market sentiment. We have also given new financial guidance. We expect our net sales to increase in full-year 2022 compared to 2021 and our full-year adjusted EBITA margin to improve from 2021. As for the component availability, customer delays and other supply chain constraints, we expect them to continue and to impact our net sales during the first half of 2022. 

Our announced merger with Cargotec remains in process with merger control filings and integration planning ongoing. In November, Konecranes and Cargotec announced the planned operating model of the Future Company, as well as several planned Leadership Team selections. In December, the two companies submitted commitments to the European Commission aiming to satisfy competition concerns and offered a remedy package comprising a commitment to divest Konecranes’ Lift Truck business and Cargotec’s Kalmar Automation Solutions. Further investigations regarding the proposed remedies and negotiations with relevant competition authorities regarding anti-trust concerns continue, and Konecranes and Cargotec are awaiting their decisions. We continue to work towards the merger being completed by the end of H1 2022. Until all merger closing conditions are met and the deal is completed, both companies continue to operate fully separately and independently.

Finally, as I have now started as Interim CEO, I would like to thank the whole Konecranes organization for the excellent Q4 and full-year 2021 results, and I look forward to the coming months. Our team’s continued strong commitment and performance focus, as well as our record-high orderbook provides a solid foundation for the year that has just begun. In 2022, Konecranes will maintain its commitment to business excellence, continuous improvement, and sustainability. Despite the pandemic and global supply chain constrains, I am confident that we have all the ingredients in place for another successful year.

ANALYST AND PRESS BRIEFING

A live international webcast for analysts, investors and media will be held on February 3, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. EET. The financial statement release will be presented by Konecranes’ CFO and interim CEO Teo Ottola.

Please see the press release dated January 20, 2022 for the conference call details.

NEXT REPORT

Konecranes Plc plans to publish Interim report January-March 2022 on April 27, 2022.

KONECRANES PLC
Kiira Fröberg
Vice President, Investor Relations

FURTHER INFORMATION
Kiira Fröberg,
Vice President, Investor Relations,
tel. +358 (0) 20 427 2050

IMPORTANT NOTICE

The Merger and the merger consideration securities have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act, and may not be offered, sold or delivered within or into the United States, except pursuant to an applicable exemption of, or in a transaction not subject to, the U.S. Securities Act.

The information in this release is not directed to, or intended for distribution to or use by, any person or entity that is a citizen or resident of, or located in, any locality, state, country or other jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would require any registration or licensing within such jurisdiction and it does not constitute an offer of or an invitation by or on behalf of, Konecranes, or any other person, to purchase any securities.

The information in this release contains forward-looking statements, which are information on Konecranes’ current expectations and projections relating to its financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as “target,” “believe,” “expect,” “aim,” “intend,” “may,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “will,” “can have,” “likely,” “should,” “would,” “could” and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond Konecranes’ control that could cause Konecranes’ actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the expected results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding Konecranes’ present and future business strategies and the environment in which it will operate in the future.


Konecranes is a world-leading group of Lifting Businesses™, serving a broad range of customers, including manufacturing and process industries, shipyards, ports and terminals. Konecranes provides productivity enhancing lifting solutions as well as services for lifting equipment of all makes. In 2021, Group sales totaled EUR 3.2 billion. The Group has around 16,600 employees in 50 countries. Konecranes shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki (symbol: KCR).

DISTRIBUTION
Nasdaq Helsinki
Major media
www.konecranes.com