Kitron kicks off 2020 with new records

Kitron's revenue for the first quarter was NOK 878 million (EUR 76.44 million), an increase of 8% compared to last year. The order backlog ended at NOK 2 064 million (EUR 179.50 million), an increase of 41% compared to last year. Profitability expressed as EBIT margin was 6.7% in the first quarter, compared to 6.3% in the same quarter last year. “The first quarter 2020 has been a record quarter for Kitron in regards to revenue, profit, and order backlog. Kitron has been quick to adjust to the global environment caused by the outbreak of the corona pandemic. A number of actions have been in place since late February to minimize risk to our employees and our capacity. All Kitron sites are up and running at normal or high load. We can see that the demand outlook has changed compared to expectations coming into this year. Growth is stronger within medical devices, warehouse automation and defence communication. Growth is weaker to flat for products where demand is more directly driven by end consumer. All in all, we uphold our outlook for 2020,” says CEO Peter Nilsson. The company’s revenue in the first quarter amounted to NOK 878 million (EUR 76.39 million), compared to 813 million (EUR 70.73 million) in the same quarter last year. Revenue growth compared to the same quarter last year was particularly strong in the Defence/Aerospace sector. The order backlog increase was particularly strong in the Defence/ Aerospace, Energy/Telecoms and Medical devices market sectors. The increased order backlog in the Medical devices sector is partly related to the corona pandemic. First quarter operating profit (EBIT) was NOK 58.4 million (EUR 5.08 million), compared to NOK 51.2 million (EUR 4.45 million) last year. EBITDA was NOK 82.7 million (EUR 7.19 million), compared to NOK 68.6 million (EUR 5.96 million) last year. Profit after tax amounted to NOK 40.9 million (EUR 3.55 million), compared to 37.5 million (EUR 3.26 million) in the same quarter the previous year. While Kitron recognizes increased uncertainty and expect volatility, the company’s overall outlook for 2020 remains unchanged. For 2020, Kitron expects revenue to grow to between NOK 3 300 (EUR 287.16 million) and 3 700 million (EUR 321.97 million).