Interim report January–March 2021: Strong demand in building solutions in Europe and North America drive the increase in comparable operating profit
Uponor Corporation Stock exchange release 5 May 2021 08:00 EET
Interim report January–March 2021: Strong demand in building solutions in Europe and North America drive the increase in comparable operating profit
January-March 2021
- Net sales in January–March totalled €309.2 (277.4) million, a growth of 11.4%. Organic growth was 14.4% in constant currency terms.
- Comparable operating profit was €47.6 (29.5) million, a growth of 61.5%.
- Operating profit was €47.0 (28.6) million, a growth of 64.4%.
- Earnings per share were €0.43 (0.30).
- Return on investment was 29.6% (21.4) and gearing 9.2% (52.2).
- Cash flow from business operations was €6.1 (-11.3) million.
Guidance statement for 2021:
Updated on 16 April 2021: Excluding the impact of currencies, Uponor expects its net sales to increase from year 2020 and its comparable operating profit to stay at the level of year 2020.
Increase indicates a growth of 2.5% or more and stay at the level a range of +/- 2.5% in comparison to the year 2020.
Jyri Luomakoski, President and CEO, comments:
“As we stated on 16 April, demand has been strong in our key markets in Europe and North America. Activity in the residential market and demand for building solutions, in particular, were at a high level during the first quarter and we expect the positive trend to continue. The outlook for 2021 still involves uncertainties regarding the next phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and the speed of economic recovery in our markets, but we had a good start to the year and I expect us to reach last year’s comparable operating profit level.
The aftermath of Texas winter storms in February combined with globally increased demand of polymers has led to bottlenecks of supply in some polymers. These bottlenecks can impact our ability to source desired quantities of raw materials, restrict our production and hence cause delays in our service. Recent imbalances in supply and demand have increased price levels, which are already visible in parts of our markets. Even though we mitigate these impacts with price increases, we expect higher input costs to impact our profitability later during the year.
Building Solutions – Europe had a strong quarter. Demand in our main operating countries was at a good level and volume growth supported our comparable operating profit development. At the same time, the execution of the operational excellence programme continued according to plans and contributed to the division’s profitability development.
For Building Solutions – North America the first quarter was extremely strong. Demand in the residential market has remained at a high level and supported our net sales and operating profit development. As stated in February, we have placed emphasis on building healthy inventory levels and we are also planning some capacity expansions in 2021 to respond to the growth in demand.
Uponor Infra had a solid performance in the first quarter. Demand was good in system on stock sales. Sales in designed solutions projects also started to brighten up after project delays during 2020.
During the detailed planning and implementation of our operational excellence programme, we have identified more savings potential than earlier announced. Therefore, we have decided to extend the duration of the programme until the end of the first half of 2022 to generate in total annual savings of €25 million. We estimate that the originally announced annual savings of €20 million will be achieved by the end of this year as planned.
In April, we received approval from the Science Based Targets initiative for Uponor’s new greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. The new targets are based on the Paris Climate Agreement and aim to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C. We are committed to doing our part in safeguarding the planet for future generations.”
Uponor has changed its terminology and now refers to its reporting segments as business divisions, instead of business segments. The reporting structure and scope remain the same.
Key figures
| M€ | 1–3/2021 | 1–3/2020 | Change | 1–12/2020 |
| Net sales | 309.2 | 277.4 | 11.4% | 1,136.0 |
| Building Solutions – Europe | 139.7 | 128.8 | 8.5% | 499.5 |
| Building Solutions – North America | 113.2 | 92.7 | 22.2% | 389.1 |
| Uponor Infra | 57.5 | 57.2 | 0.5% | 252.0 |
| Operating expenses | 250.1 | 235.5 | 6.2% | 952.0 |
| Depreciation and impairments | 12.3 | 13.4 | -8.6% | 52.7 |
| Other operating income | 0.2 | 0.1 | 274.8% | 1.0 |
| Operating profit | 47.0 | 28.6 | 64.4% | 132.3 |
| Building Solutions – Europe | 22.8 | 11.9 | 91.3% | 45.1 |
| Building Solutions – North America | 23.6 | 16.8 | 40.4% | 74.5 |
| Uponor Infra | 2.0 | 1.7 | 17.9% | 19.0 |
| Comparable operating profit | 47.6 | 29.5 | 61.5% | 142.7 |
| Building Solutions – Europe | 23.3 | 12.8 | 82.9% | 55.1 |
| Building Solutions – North America | 23.6 | 16.8 | 40.8% | 74.6 |
| Uponor Infra | 2.0 | 1.7 | 17.9% | 19.0 |
| Financial income and expenses | -2.8 | 3.1 | -191.2% | -6.3 |
| Profit before taxes | 43.2 | 30.4 | 42.1% | 121.8 |
| Profit for the period | 31.7 | 22.3 | 42.1% | 96.1 |
| Earnings per share | 0.43 | 0.30 | 42.4% | 1.21 |
| 31 Mar | 31 Mar | Change | 31 Dec | |
| 2021 | 2020 | 2020 | ||
| Net working capital, M€ | 81.3 | 138.4 | -41.3% | 65.9 |
| Net-interest bearing debt, M€ | 37.9 | 180.5 | -79.0% | 15.1 |
| Solvency, % | 43.0 | 39.7 | 8.4% | 48.7 |
| Gearing, % | 9.2 | 52.2 | -82.4% | 3.6 |
| Return on investment, % | 29.6 | 21.4 | 38.6% | 21.8 |
Webcast of the results briefing and the presentation
A webcast of the news conference in English will be broadcast on 5 May at 10:00 EET. It can be viewed via our website at uponorgroup.com or via the Uponor IR mobile app. The recorded webcast can be viewed via the website or the app shortly after the live presentation. All presentation materials will be available at www.uponorgroup.com > Investors > Reports and presentations.
Uponor Corporation’s financial reporting in 2021
27 July 2021 Interim report 1–6/2021
28 Oct 2021 Interim report 1–9/2021
Uponor Corporation
For further information, please contact:
Jyri Luomakoski, President and CEO, tel. +358 20 129 2824
Minna Yrjönmäki, CFO, tel. +358 20 129 2036
Susanna Inkinen, Vice President, Communications and Corporate Responsibility, tel. +358 20 129 2081
DISTRIBUTION:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Media
www.uponorgroup.com
Uponor in brief
Uponor is rethinking water for future generations. Our offering, including safe drinking water delivery, energy-efficient radiant heating and cooling and reliable infrastructure, enables a more sustainable living environment. We help our customers in residential and commercial construction, municipalities and utilities, as well as different industries to work faster and smarter. Uponor employs about 3,700 professionals in 26 countries in Europe and North America. In 2020, Uponor's net sales totalled approximately €1.1 billion. Uponor Corporation is based in Finland and listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. www.uponorgroup.com
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