Bufab AB (publ)

Good morning and good afternoon, everyone, and warm welcome to Bufab's Q3 report. My name is Erik Lindén, and I'm president and CEO of Bufab Group, and together with me here today, I have Per Iskog, my CFO. This presentation will be recorded, and by attending to this meeting, you agree to the recording. I will start this presentation to go through the highlights of the quarter, and then I will leave the word over to Per for some financial details before I sum up the performance in each region, and then at the end we will have time for Q&A. But before we start, I would like to share some insights about the background pictures you will see on today's presentation. At our last report in Q2, we showed pictures from our offering and services, and today you will see background pictures from our end customer products. As you all know, we create peace of mind in all kinds of industries and applications, and today's presentation will get the favor of the broad diversification we have by serving customers in more than 30 different industrial segments. And this picture you can see here on the screen is from our customer Respo in the Baltics. If we then go to the Q3 highlights to sum up the quarter, I would like to start to say that I'm overall pleased with our performance in the quarter, given the market situation. The demand in the quarter remained cautious, but we continue to see a large variation between different industries and regions. Our organic growth amounted to minus 2.6%, which is an improvement if compared to Q2 in all regions. We can see a decline in order intake, and this is explained by the divestment we did in July of Vufablan and Halborn. And if I adjust for this divestment, the water intake is in line with net sales for the group. I'm very pleased with our gross margin, and up on all-time high level, up by 1.6 points, reaching 30.6%. And this is in line with our strategy launched last year to gradually improve our customer product mix, develop our value creation for our customers. And in this quarter, we also saw some purchasing savings. We delivered a strong cash flow in the quarter, and we also improved our net debt EBITDA ratio, which is now on a level at 2.4. And we have a balance sheet that is ready for acquisitions. And what we do is also that we continue to invest in our customer offering, and we have done so also in this quarter. And at the end of this presentation, I will share one example on how we create value to our customers through our logistics solutions. I will now leave the word over to Per for some financial highlights. Please, Per.

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Some more details then on the financials. We start with net sales. We ended up at 1880 million SEC in the quarter, which is in total 9.2% lower than quarter three last year. where 2.6 is from negative organic growth, which is an improvement compared to organic growth in previous quarters. We also have a negative current impact of 3.1 and also then the effect of divestment of Bufabland and Hallborn. Then, next slide, please. Then, have a closer look at the gross margin. As Erik explained, we have an improvement of 1.6 points versus quarter three last year, and also a gradual improvement the last three quarters. And then if we look at the adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin, we can also see a gradual improvement in the last four quarters. Now ending up at 12.7, which is a result of focused work on our product mix and customer mix and also incoming sourcing savings. If we in the 12.7 Q3 number, UFA Blan and Halvon is not any longer in the consolidated number. that have an effect of 0.2% improvement because of the divestment of Bifurblan and Hallborn. Next slide, please. Then if we look at the operating expenses, they are gradually being reduced. This is an effect of our focus cost reduction activities that we've been working on the last four quarters. But we also have some one-time effects. We have a positive effect in quarter three this year from a remeasure of purchase consideration and also a negative impact in the comparison period last year of minus 40. So if we exclude these remeasures, the OPEX in percent of sales was 17.3 in the quarter versus 16.5. Yeah, next slide. Then going to cash flow, we had a stable cash flow coming from a solid operating profit, but also that we continue to see a networking capital reduction in the month. So in all in all, our cash flow from operating activities ended up at 322 million SEC in the quarter, which represents a cash conversion of 121%. Yet to date, our operating cash flow from operating activities was 974 million SEK, a cash conversion of 119%. And then in the investing activities in the cash flow statement, we also have the positive net effect from the divestment of Bufablanden Hallborn, which was 110 million SEK. Yeah, I move to the next slide, please. So looking at our net debt, it has been reduced by 380 million SEK in the quarter, which is a result of our solid cash flow, but also then from the cash effect from Bufablan Hallborn. Our leverage ended up at 2.4, an improvement versus last year of 2.7, but also versus last quarter 2.8.

Yeah, thank you. Thanks, Per. I will then go into each of the regions, and I would like to start with Europe, North and East. The total growth amounted to minus 12% for the region, driven then by the divestment of Byfablanden-Hallborn, and organic growth was minus 0.9%. Order intake was affected by the divestment of Bufabland and Halborn. If we adjust for that, the order intake was slightly higher than net sales for the region. We continue to see weak demand in Bufab Poland and Bufab Finland, while improvement in demand for Atibendix, and also we see good levels from Bumax, mainly driven by new distribution agreements. We had a strong gross margin in the region, improved by 2.6 points, reaching 29.4. Mainly thanks to Sweden and due to our focus on developing the added value we deliver to our customers. And in addition to purchasing savings also in the region. We had a lower share of OPEX at 14.1%. Cost was impacted by a positive, we measured additional purchase considerations of 8 million SEK. Adjusted for this, the share of OPEX was 15.3%. And looking at operating margin, adjusted level was really good for the region and up on 14.2% compared to 11.5% in Q3 last year. If we continue then to region Europe and West, the total growth amounted to minus 6.8% with an organic growth of minus 2%. Defense and energy segment have continued to develop very well in the region. And we've also seen some higher activity from the automotive industry in the quarter. Weak demand for Bufab Germany, Jenny Waltlin, Austria, and Bufab Floss, but really strong performance and demand for Bufab Czech and France. Also here we can see gross demand improvement, 1.0 percentage points up, reaching 25.6% in the quarter. due to sourcing savings, price adjustments, and improved customer and product mix. We saw also a lower OPEX in absolute numbers, thanks to our cost reduction efforts in the region, and as a share of sales marginally higher at the 12.0. The adjusted operating margin improved to 13.7% for the region. If we then continue with America's tough demand for America's total growth amounted to minus 60% with an organic growth of minus 8.9%. What we see here in the region is continued weak demand in RV and trailer segment. but also in the automotive, especially then for our sister company, CSG. Also here, gross model improvement, one point reaching 35.2, mainly due to improved customer product mix. Lower OPEX in absolute numbers due to focus on cost reduction activities, but in relation to sales, OPEX was two points higher, reaching 22.7%. And the adjusted operating margin declined in the region to 12.5. If then go to region UK, Ireland, total growth amounted to 7.2 negative, and organic growth was negative 5.9. The decline was due to market prices, mainly for Apex and Timco, while before Ireland and before UK noted good demand in the quarter. Gross margin, marginally higher than last year, reaching 33.1%. And looking at the OPEX with a lower share at 20.6 due to revelation of additional purchase considerations last year of 40 million SEC. Adjusted for this, OPEX was in absolute numbers in line with last year. And here we end up on an operating margin adjusted of 12.5%. If we then finally go through the performer for Asia-Pacific, here we saw positive growth amounted to 10.4 and really strong organic growth of 13.2. In the region, we see strong demand in all sister companies, but especially China performed very well in the quarter. Both of India have had a challenging year before the election that took place in the fall now in India, but the markets are now stabilized after the election. And also Kian Soon in Singapore noted good demand and is showing growth numbers. Gross margin was lower than last year at 30.6 due to customer product mix. And looking at OPEX, it was a higher share of 21.6, mainly due to inflationary effects and investments in our customer offering, but also negative currency impact. Our adjusted operating margin declined to 9% for the region. So before we go and sum up the quarter, I would like to share some insights from the group, and this time I will talk about our logistics solutions. As I mentioned in my intro, we continue to invest in our offering to be able to create more value to our customers. And one way we're doing this is through our logistic solutions that we tailor-made for our customers. And our logistic solutions, we create peace of mind by helping them with their replenishment and keeping the right stock levels for our customers. And what we do is that we help them with sourcing, purchasing, and deliver each component to match our customers' consumption. Ensure that they don't need to do any manual ordering and don't need to do any inventory counts. They can enjoy a careful replenishment and they can focus on their core business while we take care of their sea parts completely. And it's very clear for us that our customers will appreciate our tailor-made logistic solutions. When we have those in place with our customers, we grow twice as fast. And it's also very clear that it strengthens our cooperation with our customers and increases our stickiness when we have those in place. And so far, 2024 has been a record year when it comes to the installment of logistic solutions. We have never installed as many logistic solutions as we've done year-to-date 2024. And of course, this is something we'll continue to invest in also going forward. And to give you an idea of what we can offer, you can see on this slide. And starting up to the left, we have our easy track. That is our cloud service that we provide to our customers. And that, you can say, is the heart of our solutions. With our solutions, we can easily find a cost-effective solution that fits each customer's situation. We also have our easy scan that the customer scans the empty bin and the order is sent to Bufab. We have our easy scale solutions that automatically order solutions by weight. And then we have RFID solutions, that is the bin. So the customer stacks the bin on a rubber mat. And then we're in an easy drop and the order is placed to Bufab and we take care of the rest. And also we have easy label. Automatically updated labels enables orders to be sent directly from the label with a simple keystroke. And the beauty here is that we tailor made our solution. So in the right corner here, you can see a local solution made by, in this case, by ABS in US to ensure that each customer gets what they need. And of course, those solutions is one way of adding more value to our customers and have helped us to also improving our gross margin during 2024. If we then sum up the quarter, look ahead and also our priorities. Once again, I'm really pleased with our performance this quarter, considering the quotients in the market. We deliver a strong gross margin, an all-time high level, but also a stable operating margin. We had a strong cash flow in the quarter, and we improved our net EBITDA ratio, reaching 2.4%. If you look at the demand in the market, there's still a lot of uncertainty in the market. However, we still see indications of improved demand from general industry, but most likely this will happen the first half of 2025. Looking ahead, we will continue to execute our strategy. So far, I'm pleased with the way we are executing our strategy during 2024 so far. And we will ensure that we continue taking market share now when it's a tough time for our customers and they often need to lower the total cost base and do consultations and see part suppliers. Continue to improve our margin. Focus, of course, to strengthen our gross margin by continuing to serve our customers and really add value to them. But also to ensure that we continue working on cost-saving initiatives where it makes sense. And then, of course, continue working on networking capital and secure a strong cash flow. That was it for today. I will now leave the floor open for Q&A.

Yes, so welcome to this Q&A session. I would like to ask you to use the function Raise Your Hand if you have a question. And don't forget to unmute when it's your turn. We start with the first question from Henrik Hintze at ABG. Please ask your question.

Hi, everyone. So you say that you're seeing signs of improving demand, but it likely won't come until H1. At the same time, over the past two quarters, we've seen the rate of organic decline slow quite substantially. So based on this, how should we be thinking about Q4?

Yeah, no, you're absolutely right. We have seen negative organic growth, but we have also seen a gradual improvement if you look at the last quarters. And as you also know, we are early in the stage for our customers. And when we look at our forecast for our customers and also, of course, listen to them and talk to them, we see indications of improvement with higher volumes that will take place then next year. So that is the reason why we believe in that. And also, if you look at the trend that we have seen the last quarter, I think that's also an indication that this is going in that direction.

Right. One more from me, if that's okay. So given that you still are seeing an organic sales decline, I found the fact that you managed to increase the adjusted EBITDA margin year on year a bit surprising. Could you just explain in a bit more detail what enabled this? And if you could also specify what adjustments you made to EBITDA?

Sure, I can start then. First of all, what we're working a lot with is to improve our gross margin. As we communicated our capital markets day last year, one of the main opportunities we see is to further developing our services and offering to our customers to give them, as we call it, peace of mind and add more value to them. And one example was explained here today, for example, with the logistic solutions that we can provide them as one example. and as simple as that the more services and more value we provide the the more money we can get from a gross profit point of view and as we've been able to deliver that gradually now during 2024 and that is the biggest impact on our improved EBITDA on top of that we've also since Q4 last year continued with the cost activities savings activities So in sister where we think it makes sense, in sister companies where we think it makes sense, we have adjusted our cost base and lowered the cost base. And of course in others where we still see big chances for grabbing mortgage here in the short term here, we have also invested. But in many sisters we have done adjustments on our cost base. And that is helping us now in this quarter, improving our EBITDA.

And when it comes to the adjustments to EBITDA, there are two areas. One is the remesherment of additional purchase consideration. And in Q3, we had a positive adjustment. And also, we have adjusted for the... the profit from the divestment of uh halberd and land uh we had uh we had uh it was not a huge effect there was no material effect on on the earnings but it was still a positive impact all right thank you that's all for me thank you uh carl maria from seb welcome to ask a question

Yes, good morning. A couple of questions here. First one on the cost base here. I noticed that you have lowered the number of personnel quite dramatically here in Q3 versus Q2. Can you tell us a little bit more about in which areas you have reduced headcounts?

Yeah, hi, good morning. It's Perri. Yeah, the big effect is, of course, from Halvon Land, where they are not any longer in the numbers. But then we have also an impact of FTE reduction in our organization. At the same time as we're communicating, we also invest in FTE, in Salesforce, but the net effect on reduction and addition is negative. But the major part is coming from Halvon Land.

Yeah. Excluding for that, how many employees have you reduced, you think, sequentially from Q2 to Q3?

Oh, I don't have that number off my head. I will have to look that up.

It's okay. Then just a question here also on the order intake. You mentioned that it was in line with NetSales adjusting for a divestment. Can you explain a little bit how that works? Because I would have assumed that if you divest it, you take it out of both the sales numbers and the order intake numbers. Yeah.

Yeah, you could argue that that's one way of doing it. The way we did it was that we took out the order book or it was booked as zero order book as we don't have halberdlammen any longer. I guess you can do it both ways. This was the way we did it and we tried to explain it. But when we take that out from the equation on the group level, it's in line with net sales, the order book, order intake. And in the region, north and east, the order intake is slightly higher than net sales.

Yeah, that's clear. That's clear. And then my question on pricing here in the quarter. I listened into Fastenal's conference call and they mentioned that they see some increased price pressure on the Fastenal segments. Are you seeing the same and how are you handling it? I mean, Grossmardin is very impressive. So it would be interesting to hear what you're doing there.

Yes, we see some cost pressure as well from some customers and some segments. But I think we handle that well overall. First of all, I think that we can also take advantage of the purchasing that we get now from Asia with the lower level. So that is helping and helping us to balance this. And secondly, I think that we have overall strength in our business. offering quite well to many customers adding more value. So in this discussion, I think we quite easily can explain why we have a certain price level and we need to keep that price level because of the value we provide. And that has been working quite well when we explain the way we can lower the total cost, so to say. So, yes, we see the same thing, but I think we managed that very well. Okay.

But would you say that pricing is still a little negative here in the quarter or price impact maybe year over year?

It's very close to zero.

Okay. And just the last question on the acquisition side. I noticed one of your European competitors has made some quite sizable acquisitions here in the recent months. My question is, have you looked at the same ones? And if in addition to that, what would you say is how is the M&A pipeline looking?

Yes, it is a small world, so to say. So, of course, we know which companies are out there. And this specific case you're referring to is a quite big company. So, we know them, of course. Talking about the pipeline, I think we have a good pipeline. And as we've communicated already this year, it's a lot of activity when it comes to M&A right now in the market. So, yes. That is part of our plan still to do acquisitions. And as you can see in our numbers now, I think we have a balance sheet that is more than ready for acquisition. So time will tell.

Yeah, very clear. Thank you for taking my questions and have a good day. Thank you.

Robert from Carnegie, please ask your question.

Yeah, I know. I guess my questions have been answered. It was about this order intake. So any order intake in London and Halborn, it was deducted. And sales, I guess, was up until the consolidation. When were those divestments effective?

Yeah, it was 3rd of July. So we have three days of sales from Halban Alam in the numbers for the quarter.

Okay. All right. Thanks. Thank you. Okay. No further questions.

Thanks a lot for joining our call. Wish you all a good day ahead. Thank you.