Bergman & Beving's Interim Report 1 April

Bergman & Beving's Interim Report 1 April–30 September 2021

Press release

Bergman & Beving's Interim Report 1 April–30 September 2021

Second quarter (1 July–30 September 2021)

Revenue amounted to MSEK 1,014 (1,013).
EBITA increased by 23 percent to MSEK 81 (66) and the EBITA margin improved to 8.0 percent (6.5).
Net profit rose by 25 percent to MSEK 50 (40).
Earnings per share increased to SEK 1.90 (1.45) before dilution and SEK 1.85 (1.45) after dilution.

Six months (1 April–30 September 2021)

Revenue increased by 5 percent to MSEK 2,207 (2,110).
EBITA increased by 22 percent to MSEK 159 (130) and the EBITA margin improved to 7.2 percent (6.2).
Net profit rose by 23 percent to MSEK 98 (80).
Earnings per share rose to SEK 3.65 (2.95).

Significant events since the start of the operating year

Magnus Söderlind took over as President & CEO for Bergman & Beving AB on 1 May 2021.
Three acquisitions have been carried out, with total annual revenue of approximately MSEK 70.
Niklas Stenberg was elected as a new Director at the Annual General Meeting on 31 August 2021.

CEO’s comments

The Group’s positive performance continued during the second quarter of the financial year, and we delivered our highest quarterly earnings and operating margin since the split in 2017. Operating profit (EBITA) increased by 23 percent to MSEK 81 (66), and the operating margin improved to 8.0 (6.5) percent. A significant organic increase in earnings was noted, with previously acquired companies developing according to plan and making a positive contribution to the result for the quarter.

The Tools & Consumables division accounted for a significant improvement in earnings and operating margin during the quarter, primarily due to stronger earnings in Luna as a result of a recovery in demand from industrial customers as well as increased sales of proprietary brands. The Workplace Safety division also improved its earnings and operating margin. It was particularly gratifying to note that the division’s largest unit, Skydda, was able to compensate for the positive effects of the pandemic in the preceding year and deliver earnings that were in line with the year-earlier period. At the same time, several of the division’s product companies strengthened their earnings. Building Materials’ performance was roughly on a par with the year-earlier period, despite a slightly weaker market, particularly for ESSVE.

During the first half of the year, we further strengthened our decentralisation, increased our focus on profitability and intensified our management by objectives. I believe that we have a strong management team in place who have what it takes to deliver on our ambition to double our operating profit within four to five years. Our priority going forward will be to increase our value generation in order to strengthen our margins and improve our profitability (P/WC). Our efforts during the first half of the year contributed to a higher margin and improved P/WC, despite our decision to selectively increase our inventory levels to safeguard our delivery capacity. We will continue to implement initiatives to improve our earnings through our decentralised governance model, with clear objectives transformed into tangible action plans for each company covering various areas, such as customers, product range, purchasing and inventories.

We have taken a step in the right direction, but there is further potential in all divisions, and demand in our main markets is expected to remain favourable. Along with our initiated improvement programmes, this gives me great confidence in our future, even though ongoing disruptions in supply chains and longer delivery times could impact the business situation. Our strong financial position gives us the opportunity to take a forward-looking approach in our companies and at the same time acquire highly profitable operations with strong positions in their niches.

Stockholm, October 2021

Magnus SöderlindPresident & CEO

For further information, please contact:Magnus Söderlind, President & CEO, Tel: +46 10 454 77 00Peter Schön, CFO, Tel: +46 70 339 89 99

This information is information that Bergman & Beving AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Swedish Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 7:45 a.m. CET on 20 October 2021.

Bergman & Beving consists of leading companies with niche products and brands for professional users in manufacturing and construction in northern Europe. The Group consists of about 20 operations in about 20 countries. Bergman & Beving is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and has about 1,200 employees and generates revenue of approximately SEK 4.5 billion. Read more on the company’s website: www.bergmanbeving.com.

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