Aspocomp’s Interim Report January-September 2024: Net sales and operating result decreased in the third quarter, orders received, and order book turned to strong growth

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Aspocomp Group Plc
Aspocomp Group Plc

Aspocomp Group Plc, Interim Report, October 23, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. (Finnish time)


THIRD QUARTER 2024 HIGHLIGHTS

  • Net sales EUR 6.4 (8.1) million, decrease of 21%

  • Operating result EUR -1.2 (-0.7) million, -18.8% (-8.9%) of net sales

  • Earnings per share EUR -0.20 (-0.11)

  • Operative cash flow EUR -1.3 (0.7) million

  • Orders received EUR 14.1 (7.1) million, increase of 100%



JANUARY-SEPTEMBER 2024 HIGHLIGHTS

  • Net sales EUR 19.7 (26.4) million, decrease of 26%

  • Operating result EUR -4.0 (0.0) million, -20.6% (0.1%) of net sales

  • Earnings per share EUR -0.63 (-0.02)

  • Operative cash flow EUR -4.4 (1.6) million

  • Orders received EUR 28.3 (26.2) million, increase of 8%

  • Order book at the end of the review period EUR 19.1 (14.0) million, increase of 36%

  • Equity ratio 56.5% (66.4%)



OUTLOOK FOR 2024

The recovery in demand for Aspocomp’s products began during the third quarter of 2024. In particular, demand in the Semiconductor Industry customer segment grew strongly in the third quarter, and demand is expected to remain strong.

Aspocomp reiterates the guidance that was published on August 29, 2024. Aspocomp estimates that its net sales for 2024 will be below the 2023 level, and its operating result for 2024 will be clearly below the 2023 level. In 2023, net sales amounted to EUR 32.3 million and the operating result was a loss of EUR 1.7 million.


CEO’S REVIEW

“In the third quarter of 2024, net sales decreased by 21 percent year-on-year and amounted to EUR 6.4 million. The positive development in demand that started at the end of the second quarter continued and order intake grew strongly during the quarter, especially in the semiconductor industry segment. However, this was not yet reflected in net sales, because the customer segment’s demand was sluggish in the first half of the year.

The recruitments that began in the summer have progressed as planned, which enables full utilization of the capacity. However, the training and orientation of the new personnel are still in progress, so production throughput will be slower as the demand has grown more strongly than expected. This also had a significant impact on the low net sales.

The third-quarter operating result fell into the red and amounted to EUR –1.2 million. The decline in operating result was influenced by low net sales, the emphasis of net sales on customer segments with lower margins and the increased production personnel costs.

The recovery in demand for Aspocomp’s products expected during 2024 began during the third quarter, and the company’s order book grew strongly. In particular, the demand of the Semiconductor Industry customer segment turned to strong growth compared to the previous quarter, and globally the market has continued to grow compared to the previous year. Demand is expected to remain strong and expand to all customers in the segment.

We reiterate the guidance that was published on August 29, 2024, that Aspocomp’s net sales for 2024 will be below the 2023 level, and its operating result for 2024 will be clearly below the 2023 level.

Aspocomp has been in a challenging situation since the fall of last year when demand dropped significantly, and the company’s business has been loss-making since the second half of last year. In the second quarter of this year, we focused strongly on improving sales. This, together with the revival of demand in the Semiconductor Industry segment, has raised the company’s order book to a significantly better level. The personnel lay-offs that had been ongoing since the beginning of the year ended in June and we started recruitment to increase capacity. These measures and the end of the annual holiday season have brought the number of production personnel back to a level that enables full utilization of capacity. In the third quarter, we have focused on training and orientation for new personnel. The increase in capacity and the improvement in production throughput are expected to be fully reflected in production volumes only in the last quarter of the year. For the rest of the year, the focus will be on increasing and stabilizing production volumes. This makes it possible to improve the company’s profitability and cash flow.

Rapidly increasing production volumes increases net working capital along with the increase in net sales. In addition to increasing the credit limit, measures have been agreed with both customers and suppliers to improve the company’s cash flow.”


NET SALES AND EARNINGS

July-September 2024

Third-quarter net sales amounted to EUR 6.4 (8.1) million. Net sales decreased year-on-year by 21%. The development of net sales was impacted especially by sluggish demand in the Semiconductor Industry segment in the first half of the year, and the extended production lead times. During the quarter, 14% more personnel were hired for production, but their training and orientation are still in progress, so production throughput weakened as growth in demand outpaced expectations.

The Semiconductor Industry customer segment’s third-quarter net sales decreased year-on-year by 49% to EUR 1.5 (2.9) million. The net sales of the customer segment turned to moderate growth compared to the second quarter, and demand swung to strong growth.

The Industrial Electronics customer segment’s third-quarter net sales decreased year-on-year by 27% to EUR 0.7 (1.0) million.

The Security, Defense and Aerospace customer segment’s third-quarter net sales increased by 9% year-on-year and amounted to EUR 1.6 (1.5) million.

The Automotive customer segment’s third-quarter net sales decreased by 7% year-on-year and amounted to EUR 1.8 (2.0) million.

The Telecommunication customer segment’s third-quarter net sales remained on par with the comparison period and amounted to EUR 0.7 (0.7) million.

The five largest customers accounted for 61% (43%) of net sales. In geographical terms, 75% (87%) of net sales were generated in Europe and 25% (13%) on other continents.

The operating result for the third quarter amounted to EUR -1.2 (-0.7) million. The decline in the operating result was influenced by low net sales and the emphasis of net sales on customer segments with lower margins, extended production throughput times, and personnel costs due to the increase in production personnel.

Operating result was -18.8% (-8.9%) of net sales.

Net financial expenses amounted to EUR 0.2 (0.1) million. Earnings per share were EUR -0.20 (-0.11).


January - September 2024
January-September net sales amounted to EUR 19.7 (26.4) million, a year-on-year decrease of 26 percent. The development of net sales was impacted especially by sluggish demand in the Semiconductor Industry segment in the first half of the year, and the extended production lead times.

The Semiconductor Industry customer segment’s net sales decreased by 61% to EUR 4.0 (10.2) million. The slow recovery of the semiconductor industry and high inventory levels in the value chain led to sluggish demand in the first half of the year. However, demand and received orders turned to strong growth during the third quarter.

The Industrial Electronics customer segment’s net sales remained on par with the comparison period and amounted to EUR 2.9 (2.9) million.

The Security, Defense and Aerospace customer segment’s net sales increased by 7% to EUR 5.0 (4.6) million. The number of customer contacts in the customer segment increased, but the order cycles are long, and the results are visible with a delay.

The Automotive customer segment’s net sales remained on par with the comparison period and amounted to EUR 5.9 (5.9) million.

The Telecommunication customer segment’s net sales amounted to EUR 2.0 (2.9) million, a year-on-year decrease of 32%. The decrease in net sales was due to the weak demand situation among end customers.

The five largest customers accounted for 56 (56) percent of net sales. In geographical terms, 78 (85) percent of net sales were generated in Europe and 22 (15) percent on other continents.

The January-September operating result amounted to EUR -4.0 (0.0) million. The operating result fell short of the comparison period due to the decrease in net sales, the emphasis of net sales on lower-margin customer segments, and the extended production throughput times. During the third quarter, 14% more personnel were hired for production, but their training and orientation are still in progress, so production throughput weakened as growth in demand outpaced expectations. During the first months of the year, the deterioration of the operating result was also affected by the additional costs of quality assurance caused by the production process failure that continued until the end of 2023.

January-September operating result was -20.6 (0.0) percent of net sales.

Net financial expenses amounted to EUR 0.3 (0.1) million. Earnings per share were EUR -0.63 (-0.02).

The order book at the end of the review period was EUR 19.1 (14.0) million. The order book grew especially due to strong demand from the Semiconductor Industry customer segment.