Company Announcement
No. 15/2022
Copenhagen, 8 March 2022
Full-year report, 1 January - 31 December 2021
Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S reports record full year 2021 result and expects 2022 organic EBITDA growth in the range of 0-6%
For the full year of 2021 Scandinavian Tobacco Group delivered a 18.4% organic EBITDA growth in line with the guidance of a 16-20% growth, a free cash-flow before acquisitions at DKK 1.4 billion (DKK 1.0-1.3 billion) and an increase in adjusted Earnings Per Share of 51% (>35%). The expectation for organic EBITDA growth in 2022 is in the range of 0-6%. Approval of a new share buy-back programme of up to DKK 700 million.
For the fourth quarter of 2021 organic net sales increased by 2% and organic EBITDA grew 14%. The results were driven by continued strong demand for handmade cigars in the US, price increases across most product categories and continued cost efficiencies. The integration of Agio Cigars approaches completion.
Q4 Highlights
- Net sales were DKK 2,012 million (DKK 1,922 million) with 1.8% organic growth.
- EBITDA before special items was DKK 474 million (DKK 397 million) with 14.2% organic growth. The EBITDA margin was 23.5% (20.7%).
- Adjusted Earnings Per Share (EPS) were DKK 3.1 (DKK 1.3).
- Free cash flow before acquisitions was DKK 307 million (DKK 238 million).
- Return on Invested Capital was 14.5% (7.7%).
- For the full year of 2021, net sales grew by 4.5% organically to DKK 8,233 million (DKK 8,006 million), and EBITDA before special items grew by 18.4% organically to DKK 2,233 million (DKK 1,826 million) with free cash flow before acquisitions stable at DKK 1,393 million (DKK 1,394 million).
CEO Niels Frederiksen: “We deliver particularly strong financial results for 2021 based on a strong demand for handmade cigars in the US, Agio synergies and a favorable market mix. During the year we showed good progress on our strategy “Rolling Towards 2025” across the business and edged closer to our vision of becoming the undisputed, global leader in cigars”.
Dividend for 2021 and approval of new share buy-back programme in 2022
At the Annual General Meeting on 31 March 2022, the Board of Directors will propose an increase in the ordinary dividend of 15% to DKK 7.50 per share. Furthermore, the Board of Directors has approved a new share buy-back programme of a total value of up to DKK 700 million. The purpose of the share buy-back programme is to adjust the capital structure and meet obligations relating to the Group´s share-based incentive programme. Further details of the share buy-back including the specific starting date will be communicated in a separate Company Announcement.
Financial Guidance 2022
- EBITDA: Organic growth in the range 0-6%
- Free cash flow before acquisitions in the range DKK 1.1-1.4 billion
- Adjusted EPS >5% increase
The Annual Report for 2021 is available for download on: investor.st-group.com.
For further information, please contact:
Investors: Torben Sand, Head of IR, phone +45 5084 7222 or torben.sand@st-group.com
Media: Simon Mehl Augustesen, Director of Group Communications, phone: +1 484-379-8725 or
simon.augustesen@st-group.com
A conference call will be held on 9 March 2022 at 10.00 CEST. Dial-in information and an accompanying presentation will be available at investor.st-group.com around 09:00 CEST.
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