Mycronic AB: Year-end Report, January-December 2019

Strong development of order intake, net sales and EBIT

News provided by

Feb 06, 2020, 02:33 ET

STOCKHOLM, Feb. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- "I am pleased today to present another successful year for Mycronic, particularly in light of the global unrest and the slowdown in the electronics industry that characterized 2019. Order intake amounted to SEK 4,567 million, up 25 percent compared with the previous record year of 2018. In parallel, net sales increased 14 percent to SEK 4,307 million, with positive currency effects of SEK 171 million. EBIT rose 10 percent to SEK 1,124 million, with both business areas contributing to the improvement," says Anders Lindqvist, President and CEO.

Fourth quarter

Order intake increased 31 percent to SEK 1,706 (1,303) million
Net sales rose 12 percent to SEK 1,181 (1,052) million and 9 percent based on constant exchange rates
EBIT was SEK 204 (151) million, an increase of 35 percent. The EBIT margin was 17 (14) percent
The underlying EBIT was SEK 214 (186) million, an increase of 15 percent. The underlying EBIT margin was 18 (18) percent
Earnings per share were SEK 1.57 (1.33)

January-December

Order intake increased 25 percent to SEK 4,567 (3,642) million
Net sales rose 14 percent to SEK 4,307 (3,781) million and 9 percent based on constant exchange rates
EBIT was SEK 1,124 (1,020) million, an increase of 10 percent. The EBIT margin was 26 (27) percent
The underlying EBIT was SEK 1,169 (1,076) million, an increase of 9 percent. The underlying EBIT margin was 27 (28) percent
Earnings per share were SEK 8.74 (8.09)
The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 3.25 (3.00) per share to the 2020 Annual General Meeting

Outlook 2020

The Board's assessment is that consolidated net sales for 2020 will be at a level of SEK 4.1 billion, excluding any acquisitions made in 2020. Contrary to 2019, a majority of the mask writer deliveries will take place during the second half of the year.

Events after the end of the period

On January 16, Mycronic received an order for an SLX mask writer, Mycronic's first order for this recently launched product. On January 22, a new Group structure was announced, which will take effect on April 1, 2020.

CEO comments
I am pleased today to present another successful year for Mycronic, particularly in light of the global unrest and the slowdown in the electronics industry that characterized 2019. Order intake amounted to SEK 4,567 million, up 25 percent compared with the previous record year of 2018. In parallel, net sales increased 14 percent to SEK 4,307 million, with positive currency effects of SEK 171 million. EBIT rose 10 percent to SEK 1,124 million, with both business areas contributing to the improvement.

The fourth quarter marked a strong close to the year, with order intake increasing by 31 percent, sales by 12 percent and EBIT by 35 percent. In Pattern Generators, the increase of 44 percent in order intake was driven by several orders during the quarter. Sales were somewhat lower while EBIT was higher compared with the corresponding quarter last year on account of a more advantageous product mix. Order intake for Assembly Solutions rose 16 percent while net sales rose 25 percent, the primary driver behind both of which was the favorable performance of the Dispensing division in China.

For Mycronic, 2019 was also a year distinguished by launches of new products and offerings that prepare the ground for the future. Pattern Generators has expanded its customer offering of mask writers for displays with the launch of Prexision Lite 8 and with the launch of SLX we can now offer cost-efficient laser mask writers for the semiconductor industry. For both of these new products, we received orders shortly after launch, which is a confirmation that we are on the right track in terms of our customer-centric development.

In Assembly Solutions, we strengthened our overall offering to our customers during the year, adding new compact machine models for component mounting, a new and unique system that improves process quality upon application of solder paste and an upgraded platform for three dimensional inspections of circuit boards. In addition, we launched a flexible and high-accuracy die bonding machine for volume production of optoelectronics and new dispensing robots with advanced motion systems for dispensing mounting fluids in connection with the manufacture of mobile phones.

On January 22, 2020, we announced the introduction of a new Group structure aimed at enabling continued profitable growth and achieving an EBIT margin in excess of 10 percent in Assembly Solutions, which will be structured into three divisions: High Flex, High Volume and Global Technologies. The new structure is better aligned with the market and entails an increased customer focus with more rapid customer-centric decisions and an improved capability to adapt local operations to individual market needs.

Outlook 2020: The assessment of the Board and I is that consolidated net sales for 2020 will be at a level of SEK 4.1 billion, excluding any acquisitions. Despite the very strong order backlog, the first half of the year will be considerably weaker than the corresponding period in 2019, since a majority of planned mask writer deliveries will take place during the second half of the year. I confirm that Mycronic's financial goals stand firm, including the growth target to reach net sales of SEK 5 billion by 2023 at the latest.

Anders Lindqvist, President and CEO

Financial information

Mycronic AB (publ) is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm, Large Cap. The information in this report is published in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Swedish Securities Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the contact persons stated below on February 6, 2020, at 8:00 a.m.

Financial reports and press releases are published in Swedish and English and are available on www.mycronic.com.

For additional information, please contact

Anders Lindqvist
President and CEO
+46-8-638-52-00
[email protected]

Torbjörn Wingårdh
CFO
+46-8-638-52-00
[email protected]

Sven Chetkovich
Acting Director Investor Relations
+46-70-558-39-19
[email protected]