BROMMA, SWEDEN – NCAB Group reported fourth quarter net sales increased 22% year-over-year to SEK 514.9 million (US$60.4 million).

The increase is mainly a result of the acquisitions of Flatfield and Bare Board Group. In US dollars, net sales increased 32%. Excluding acquisitions, net sales decreased 6%, but increased 5% in US dollars.

Profit after tax for the fourth quarter was SEK 35.2 million, up 11% year-over-year.

Operating profit was SEK 50.1 million, an increase of 23.1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

Orders increased 42% to SEK 681.4 million. In US dollars, the increase was 57%. Orders 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 orders for the period.

For 2020, net sales increased 19% to SEK 2.1 billion. This increase is from acquisitions. Growth in US dollars was 22%. Excluding the acquisitions, sales decreased 3% in SEK and 1% in US dollars. Profit after tax for the year was SEK 127.5 million, down 0.7% year-over-year. Operating profit was SEK 182.3 million, up 12.7%. Orders increased 23% to SEK 2.2 billion. In US dollars, orders increased 27%.

“We leave 2020 behind us with a positive trend for order intake and increased activity among our customers,” said CEO Peter Kruk. “This augurs well for 2021. We are also continuing to invest in growing our market shares through further additions to our sales organization, 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% during the fourth quarter and 57% in US dollars. A large share of this is attributable to our acquisitions, although organic growth also accounted for a 27% increase in US dollars. 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 PreventPCB 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 the 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.”

Ed.: SEK 1 = US$0.12