2020 proved to be GPV's best year yet - despite the pandemic

GPV emerged from 2020 in, not only good shape, but it's best every. For the financial year 2020, GPV reports revenue at a record DKK 2.89 billion (EUR 388.5 million), a 1% increase from DKK 2.86 billion (EUR 384.5 million) in 2019. EBITDA reached a record DKK 270 million (EUR 36.3 million), representing an increase of 38%. The fourth quarter in particular produced surprisingly positive results, propelling GPV to outperform its guidance. “Each quarter of 2020 developed differently. While some industries shut down, others were booming. We are privileged to supply a broad field of sectors, providing us with record results. We are very pleased with our performance, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank all our employees for an outstanding effort throughout the year,” says CEO Bo Lybæk, in a press release. GPV was awarded a large MedTech order in 2020. A major manufacturer of ventilators placed a significant order in the triple-digits of millions (DKK) for production and delivery over the course of just a few months in 2020. “The acute shortage of ventilators resulted in a very significant order for extremely fast delivery. Furthermore, it was a business-critical order for our customer, who had assigned a high-profile consultancy firm to monitor our processing of the order. At GPV, we were required to report on a weekly basis, so the customer would be sure to get the agreed shipments as scheduled. We were chosen, among other factors, because of our ability to deliver on time, for the quality of our products and based on our good reputation in the industry. Everything was delivered on time and on budget by our colleagues at our electronics production site in Switzerland,” explains Bo Lybæk adds. In contrast to the movement within the MedTech segment, the transportation segment was hit particularly hard during the coronavirus crisis as demand for, among other things, special-purpose trucks and construction equipment declined. CleanTech and Instruments & Industry, the latter being GPV’s largest customer segment, have both been through ups and downs. GPV estimates that the coronavirus pandemic will continue to impact the global market in 2021. Due to extremely high demand for electronic solutions for home offices, 5G network deployment, e-mobility and so on, which was partly caused by the coronavirus crisis, the new year has started out with a general shortage of electronic components. This has in turn led to both increased lead times and higher component prices: “So far, there are no clear indications of how 2021 will unfold. Visibility remains low, but we are seeing strong growth in the semicon industry, for example. On the other hand, we expect a drop in the MedTech segment after the all-time high in 2020,” the CEO says. GPV is continuing with its investment programmes and the ongoing development of the organisation. The extensions of the factories in Thailand and Sri Lanka, which were put on hold during 2020, are expected to restart during the year. “We will continue our consolidation and ambitious growth strategy, and we will also see a high level of investments in 2021. We’re experiencing rising demand in our core area of high-mix/low-medium volume production as well as additional sales to existing customers and an inflow of new customers,” Bo Lybæk concludes.