Kitron's 1Q22 – strong demand and record order backlog
The electronics manufacturer is reporting first-quarter results showing very strong demand and record order backlog, but also revenue constraints due to the component supply situation.
Kitron’s revenue for the first quarter amounted to NOK 1.4 billion (EUR 146.2 million), compared to NOK 938 million (EUR 95.15 million) last year. The revenue growth reflects the acquisition of the Danish EMS provider BB Electronics AS, which was consolidated effective 1 January. Adjusted for this, organic revenue growth was 4%.
The company says that demand is very strong, but that revenue growth was limited by the ongoing component shortages. Nevertheless, there was strong growth within the Connectivity market sector, which partly reflects BB Electronics’ strong position within this sector.
First quarter EBITDA was NOK 116.2 million (EUR 11.89 million), an increase of 29% compared to NOK 90.2 million (EUR 9.23 million) last year. Operating profit (EBIT) for the first quarter ended up at NOK 78.1 million (EUR 7.99 million), an increase of 19% from NOK 65.4 million (EUR 6.69 million) last year.
The order backlog ended at NOK 4.2 billion (EUR 431.8 million), an increase of 105%t compared to last year. This is a record and is impacted by the acquisition of BB Electronics. However, even excluding BB Electronics, the organic order backlog growth was 53%.
“Very strong demand and the acquisition of BB Electronics led to record revenue and order backlog in the first quarter, by a substantial margin. However, the material supply situation continues to limit revenue growth and cause operational inefficiencies. Given these challenges, I am pleased that Kitron delivered a solid first quarter, and I remain optimistic about the rest of 2022,” says Peter Nilsson, Kitron’s CEO, in the report.
For 2022, Kitron expects revenue between NOK 5.2 and 5.8 billion, including BB Electronics. Operating profit (EBIT) is expected to be between NOK 330 and 430 million.
