2020 financial performance in line with guidance – Revenue growth of -7.5% to DKK 2,830m and an operating profit margin before special items of 5.8%
Performance highlights for the fourth quarter 2020
- Revenue decreased by 6.5% to DKK 749m in comparison to Q4 2019. Positively, revenue from Life Sciences international increased by 37% (24% organic) to DKK 136m whilst revenue from Life Sciences Denmark increased by 6.3% to DKK 67m
- Revenue from the Novo Nordisk Group declined as expected by 12% compared to Q4 2019. The share of NNIT’s revenue from customers outside the Novo Nordisk Group was 72% compared to 70% in Q4 2019
- The COVID-19 situation continued to impact performance in Q4 2020 with uncertainty leading to delays of tenders and projects
- Operating profit margin before special items at 7.3% compared to 10% in Q4 2019
- Net profit at DKK 18m compared to DKK 58m in Q4 2019 due to a lower operating profit, increase in special items and adjustment of an earn-out agreement
- Order backlog for 2021 at the beginning of Q1 2021 at DKK 1,999m, an underlying increase of around 1.5% compared to the same time last year
- Outlook for 2021:
In 2021, growth is expected to return driven by Life Sciences international and traction in Winning Solutions. The Private & Public segment is expected to be challenged by delays in project work and tenders partly due to the COVID-19 situation. Hence, we see significant guidance sensitivities despite having secured a solid backlog. Our guidance for 2021 is specified as follows in reported currencies:
- Revenue growth of 1-4%
- Operating profit margin before special items of 6-7%
- Investment level of 5-7% of total revenue excluding acquisitions
- Due to low leverage and positive cash flow generation, the Board of Directors proposes to pay out DKK 3.00 per share corresponding to DKK 74m which includes the interim dividend for 2020 (DKK 49m) paid in August 2020. This corresponds to a pay-out ratio of net profit of 97% and a dividend yield of 2.5%
Per Kogut, CEO at NNIT comments: “NNIT concluded 2020 in-line with the financial guidance. Q4 contributed an organic double digit, profitable growth within the Life Sciences international business. The acquisition of Excellis positively added further growth. As expected, the Novo Nordisk Group impacted growth and margin development negatively and the P&P business contracted partly due to the COVID-19 situation. We have focused on the execution of the set strategy in the challenging times of 2020 and are looking forward to a hopefully more normalized 2021”
Conference call details
NNIT will host a teleconference January 29, 2021 at 9:30 CET about the financial report for 2020. Please visit the NNIT webpage at www.nnit.com to access the teleconference, which can be found under ‘Investors – Events & presentations’. Presentation material will be available on the website approximately one hour prior to the start of the presentation.
Conference call details
https://streams.eventcdn.net/nnit/fy2020/
Participant telephone numbers:
Denmark: +45 45 7815 0110
United Kingdom: +44 333 300 9273
Sweden: +46 850 558 356
United States: +1 833 823 0587
Financial Calendar 2021
March 10, 2021 Annual General Meeting
May 7, 2021 Interim report for the first three months of 2021
August 12, 2021 Interim report for the first six months of 2021
November 3, 2021 Interim report for the first nine months of 2021
Contacts for further information
Investor relations: Media relations:
Jens Binger Tina Joanne Hindsbo
Head of Investor Relations Media Relatoins Manager
Tel: +45 3079 9222 Tel: +45 3077 9578
jblb@nnit.com tnjh@nnit.com
Forward-looking statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. Words such as ‘believe’, ‘expect’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘plan’, ‘strategy’, ‘prospect’, ‘foresee’, ‘estimate’, ‘project’, ‘anticipate’, ‘can’, ‘intend’, ‘outlook’, ‘guidance’, ‘target’ and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the future are subject to risks and uncertainties that may result in considerable deviations from the outlook set forth. Furthermore, some of these expectations are based on assumptions regarding future events which may prove incorrect.
Please also refer to the overview of risk factors in the ‘risk management’ section on page 41-43 in the Annual Report 2020.
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