Panostaja Oyj Financial Statement Release December 13, 2018 9.00 am
August 1, 2018–October 31, 2018 (3 months)
- As a result of corporate acquisitions during the previous financial period, Grano's net sales for the review period increased by 6% from the corresponding period last year. EBIT increased to MEUR 2.6 from MEUR 1.9 in the reference period.
- Net sales increased in five of the nine segments. Overall, the Group’s net sales for the review period increased by 22% to MEUR 56.6 (MEUR 46.4).
- EBIT improved in six of the nine segments. The profit/loss for the review period includes a group goodwill impairment loss from the Helakeskus segment in the amount of MEUR 3.0, and the EBIT of the entire Group decreased from the reference period to MEUR 0.2 (MEUR 0.8).
- After the review period, Panostaja acquired a significant minority share in Gugguu Oy and sold its minority shareholding in Ecosir Group Oy.
- Earnings per share (undiluted) were -5.1 cents (6.8 cents).
November 1, 2017–October 31, 2018 (12 months)
- Net sales increased in five of the nine segments. Overall, the Group’s net sales for the review period increased by 32% to MEUR 199.7 (MEUR 150.7).
- EBIT improved in six of the nine segments, and the EBIT of the entire Group increased from MEUR 2.9 to MEUR 5.3.
- Panostaja divested itself of KotiSun and recorded a profit of MEUR 32.9 before taxes for the sale.
- Panostaja secured a majority shareholding in Carrot Palvelut Oy and Oscar Software.
- Panostaja paid off all of the parent company’s interest-bearing liabilities in the amount of MEUR 22.3 and made an agreement on a new MEUR 15.0 corporate acquisition limit.
- Earnings per share (undiluted) were 46.2 cents (3.5 cents)
Proposal for the distribution of profits: The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of EUR 0.05 per share be paid for the past financial period.
CEO Juha Sarsama: Gugguu – new minority shareholding
“We closed the year of active acquisitions with two minority ownership deals. After the end of the financial period, we invested in the shares of Gugguu Oy and made Panostaja a significant minority shareholder in the company. Gugguu is a rapidly-growing company established in 2012, which designs and manufactures first-rate children’s clothing from ecological high-quality materials. The company has begun the process of internationalization, and our goal is to accelerate its growth. Gugguu is the first segment we have entered as a minority shareholder. We see this investment model as an interesting addition to our operating model, and we believe that it will provide us with new and interesting investment opportunities.
After the conclusion of the financial period, we sold our minority shareholding in Ecosir to a group of international owners. We built an effective internationalization strategy for Ecosir, and the new owners will now support the next phase of its implementation. With regard to the deal, Panostaja will record a sales profit of about MEUR 1.4 before taxes in the profit/loss for November 2018.
During the review period, the total net sales of Panostaja’s segments increased by 22%. The strong growth stems from new segments and partially the effect of the corporate acquisitions made by Grano during the previous financial period. The slight decline in Helakeskus’ net sales continued during this review period, leading to the recording of an impairment loss of MEUR 3.0 on the goodwill assigned to Helakeskus, which dragged Panostaja’s EBIT for the period down to MEUR 0.2. Disregarding the goodwill impairment loss, however, Panostaja’s EBIT for the review period improved by MEUR 2.4 from the reference period. In addition to incurring the costs of the parent company’s corporate restructurings in the reference period, Grano was the segment that saw the most significant improvement in profitability.
Despite the improvement, however, Grano’s result was weaker than expected. The company has gone through a successful transformation from a printing house to a provider of comprehensive services, but the opportunities of the new service areas are yet to be fully realized. We still see possibilities in streamlining Grano’s operations and will continue our measures to improve the company’s profitability even further. CoreHW’s net sales in the review period were clearly better than the previous two quarters, which was also mirrored by the company’s profitability. We will continue to monitor the improvement of the company’s net sales.
The development measures in the investment targets continued. KL-Varaosat began the establishment of a new facility in Lahti, continuing its efforts to secure new growth. Megaklinikka updated its brand and changed its name to Hygga. Hygga also took a significant step in its own growth strategy by initiating a pilot project for expanding its ERP system to cover basic health care. We believe this will provide the company with significant growth opportunities on the new market. The development of CoreHW’s own products has proceeded as planned, and the preliminary test results are very promising.
Panostaja’s financial goal was to reach an earnings per share of EUR 0.80 over the five-year period from 2014 to 2018. The past quarter was the final stretch of the target period, and the cumulative earnings per share landed at exactly EUR 0.80, meaning that the goal set five years ago was achieved.
The corporate acquisitions market remained active in the period under review, and the availability of new opportunities has been high. The markets continue to provide opportunities for both new select acquisitions and divestments, and we will continue to actively explore new corporate acquisition opportunities.
At the end of the financial period, we announced that I will be stepping down as CEO on December 31, 2018. Our current Executive Vice President Tapio Tommila will assume my position from the beginning of next year. I am confident that Panostaja will continue improving under Tapio’s leadership, and I am very excited to continue my work with the familiar team in my new role as Chief Investment Officer, focusing on exploring new investment opportunities and developing our current investments.”
Key Figures
| MEUR | Q4 | Q4 | 12 months | 12 months |
| 8/18- 10/18 | 8/17– 10/17 | 11/17- 10/18 | 11/16- 10/17 | |
| Net sales, MEUR | 56.6 | 46.4 | 199.7 | 150.7 |
| EBIT, MEUR | 0.2 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 2.9 |
| Profit before taxes, MEUR | -0.8 | 0.2 | 2.7 | 1.2 |
| Profit/loss for the financial period, MEUR | -1.6 | 5.3 | 27.1 | 6.9 |
| Earnings per share, undiluted (EUR) | -0.05 | 0.07 | 0.46 | 0.04 |
| Equity per share (EUR) | 1.01 | 0.59 | 1.01 | 0.59 |
| Operating cash flow (MEUR) | 4.3 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 15.6 |
| Division of the net sales by segment MEUR | Q4 | Q4 | 12 months | 12 months |
| Net sales | 8/18- 10/18 | 8/17– 10/17 | 11/17- 10/18 | 11/16- 10/17 |
| Grano | 35.7 | 33.6 | 136.6 | 105.3 |
| KL-Varaosat | 3.8 | 3.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 |
| Selog | 2.6 | 2.8 | 9.4 | 10.8 |
| Helakeskus | 2.1 | 2.3 | 8.2 | 8.9 |
| Hygga | 1.3 | 1.3 | 5.4 | 6.0 |
| Heatmasters | 1.3 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 5.3 |
| CoreHW | 1.1 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 1.0 |
| Carrot | 6.3 | 13.0 | ||
| Oscar Software | 2.3 | 4.4 | ||
| Others | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Eliminations | -0.1 | 0.0 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
| Group in total | 56.6 | 46.4 | 199.7 | 150.7 |
| Division of EBIT by segment MEUR | Q4 | Q4 | 12 months | 12 months |
| EBIT | 8/18- 10/18 | 8/17– 10/17 | 11/17- 10/18 | 11/16- 10/17 |
| Grano | 2.6 | 1.9 | 8.4 | 6.3 |
| KL-Varaosat | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| Selog | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Helakeskus | -2.9 | 0.2 | -2.7 | 0.5 |
| Hygga | 0.0 | -0.2 | -0.2 | -1.6 |
| Heatmasters | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| CoreHW | 0.0 | 0.0 | -0.6 | 0.0 |
| Carrot | 0.1 | -0.1 | ||
| Oscar Software | 0.1 | 0.1 | ||
| Others | -0.5 | -1.7 | -1.8 | -4.0 |
| Group in total | 0.2 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 2.9 |
Panostaja Group’s business operations for the current review period are reported in ten segments: Grano, Selog, Helakeskus, KL-Varaosat, Heatmasters, Hygga, CoreHW, Carrot, Oscar Software and Others (parent company and associated companies).
In the review period, two associated companies, Ecosir Group Oy and Spectra Yhtiöt Oy, issued reports to the parent company. The result of the reported associated companies has developed well and its impact on profit/loss in the review period was MEUR 0.3 (MEUR 0.2), which is presented on a separate row under the EBIT in the consolidated income statement. During the period under review, Panostaja sold its shareholding in Juuri Partners Oy, which is a capital investment company making minority investments.
Outlook for the 2019 Financial Period
The corporate acquisitions market remained generally active in the period under review, and the availability of new opportunities has been good. The need to exploit ownership arrangements and growth opportunities in SMEs will continue, and as our own activity complements the supply of possible acquisitions from outside, there are plenty of possibilities for corporate acquisitions on the market. Panostaja aims to implement its growth strategy by means of controlled acquisitions in current investments, and new potential investments are also being actively studied. Divestment possibilities will also be assessed as part of the ownership strategies of the investment targets.
The demand situation for different investments is thought to develop in the short term as follows:
- the demand for Selog, Helakeskus, CoreHW, KL-Varaosat, Carrot and Oscar Software will remain good
- the demand for Grano and Heatmasters will remain satisfactory, while the demand for Hygga (formerly Megaklinikka) will improve to a satisfactory level (previously poor) as the focus on the licensing business increases
Panostaja Oyj
Board of Directors
For further information, contact CEO Juha Sarsama: tel. +358 (0)40 774 2099.
Panostaja Oyj
Juha Sarsama
CEO
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