Electrification and industry sectors drive growth for Kitron

“We continue to capitalize on two of the most fundamental changes in the global economy: the move to renewable energy and electrification and the rapid growth in machine-to-machine communications,” says CEO Peter Nilsson in the report. He continues to say that while demand is very strong, the general material supply situation is challenging which means that Kitron's operations will have to be flexible to deliver the demand. Kitron’s revenue for the first quarter was NOK 938 million (EUR 93.4 million), an increase of 7% from NOK 878 million during the same quarter last year. Growth adjusted for foreign exchange effects in consolidation was 9%. If look at the contribution of each sector we se that ‘Connectivity’ sector contributed with NOK 86.6 million; ‘Electrification’ did its part with NOK 296.8 million; ‘Industry’ added NOK 218.9 million; ‘Medical’ accounted for NOK 147.2 million and ‘Defense & Areospace’ contributed with NOK 187.9 million. First quarter operating profit (EBIT) was NOK 65.4 million (EUR 6.5 million), compared to 58.4 million last year. EBITDA was NOK 90.2 million (EUR 8.9 million), compared to 82.7 million last year. Profit after tax was NOK 43.4 million (EUR 4.3 million) compared to 40.9 million in the same quarter the previous year. The order backlog ended at NOK 2.06 billion (EUR 205 million), virtually unchanged from last year. The order backlog increased within the Electrification, Connectivity and Industry sectors. As expected, the order backlog within Medical devices declined. Adjusted for changes in currency rates, the order backlog increase was 8% compared to last year. For 2021, Kitron expects revenue between NOK 3.90 and 4.20 billion (EUR 388 - 418 million). EBIT margin is expected to be between 6.8% and 7.4%. The outlook for 2021 implies that Kitron is back on its long term trajectory for revenue and profitability after exceptional growth in 2020, largely driven by Corona-related demand within the Medical devices sector, the latest quarterly report reads. Growth is driven by Connectivity, Electrification, and Industry sectors. The Medical devices sector is expected to be normalised and in line with previous years. The outlook for Defence/Aerospace is slightly down.