Saab AB
STO:SAAB B

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Saab AB
STO:SAAB B
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Price: 560 SEK 0.05% Market Closed
Market Cap: kr299B

Q1-2025 Earnings Call

AI Summary
Earnings Call on Apr 25, 2025

Record Q1 Sales: The company reported its strongest ever first quarter, with revenue reaching SEK 15.8 billion, up 11%.

Profitability Up: Profitability improved to 9.2% from 8.4% in the prior Q1, driven by strong project execution and contributions from several business areas.

Strong Order Intake: Continued robust demand was seen, including large orders from Latvia and Germany and many smaller deals.

Guidance Reiterated: Full-year sales growth guidance of 12% to 16% was reaffirmed, with expectations for higher growth in upcoming quarters.

Improved Cash Flow: Cash flow improved in Q1, though management noted it was not very strong but remains confident in delivering positive cash flow for the year.

Geopolitical Environment: Management highlighted turbulence from tariffs and global uncertainty but feels well positioned, especially given increased European defense spending.

Revenue Growth

The company achieved its highest first-quarter sales ever, growing revenue by 11% year-on-year to SEK 15.8 billion. Management credited the performance to a healthy order flow, including both smaller deals and large contracts from Latvia and Germany.

Profitability & Margins

Profitability improved to 9.2% in the quarter, up from 8.4% in the same period last year. This was driven by effective project execution and completions, with all business areas contributing, and particularly strong results from the Dynamics, Kockums, and Aeronautics divisions.

Order Intake

The company saw continued strong demand, with many medium and small orders supplemented by major wins in Latvia and Germany. This momentum is supporting the company’s market position and future growth prospects.

Geopolitical Landscape

Management discussed the impact of recent geopolitical changes, including increased European defense spending and new tariffs. While the environment remains unpredictable and trade tensions are seen as negative, the company believes it is well positioned in Europe and continues to value its transatlantic presence.

Guidance & Outlook

Management reaffirmed its full-year sales growth outlook of 12% to 16%, anticipating even higher growth in the coming quarters. A strong backlog and planned deliveries support confidence in achieving these targets.

Cash Flow

Cash flow improved in the quarter, but management described it as not very strong, attributing some volatility to the timing of project milestones and payments. Nonetheless, they remain confident in delivering positive cash flow for the full year, even while investing in capacity to support growth.

Revenue
SEK 15.8 billion
Change: Up 11% YoY.
Guidance: Expected to grow 12% to 16% for the full year.
Profitability
9.2%
Change: Up from 8.4% in Q1 last year.
Revenue
SEK 15.8 billion
Change: Up 11% YoY.
Guidance: Expected to grow 12% to 16% for the full year.
Profitability
9.2%
Change: Up from 8.4% in Q1 last year.

Earnings Call Transcript

Transcript
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U
Unknown Analyst

Micael, it has been a solid start to the year, what are the highlights from Q1?

M
Micael Johansson
executive

Well, of course, we see continued strong interest in the market. We had many medium and small orders coming in and also a couple of big ones from Latvia and Germany. So that's a very good sort of continuation of the market positioning. And then we had the strongest quarter 1 ever, I think, when it comes to sales. So we did grow 11% and we have SEK 15.8 billion in revenue. That is also strong, but our profitability increased also. And that shows good execution in our projects and good deliveries. So we are at 9.2% now, which is excellent.

U
Unknown Analyst

I know your margins were very good in the quarter. What were the drivers of this improvement?

A
Anna Wijkander
executive

In general, we have good project execution on our backlog. We have several deliveries. We also had some project completions in the quarter. overall, we have an improvement in profitability in all our business areas where the main drivers came from Dynamics, Kockums and Aeronautics. And we landed the profitability of 9.2%, which is an improvement from 8.4% the previous quarter 1.

U
Unknown Analyst

Micael, there have been a number of changes in the geopolitical landscape recently with tariffs and more European focus on defense. So how are you navigating all of this?

M
Micael Johansson
executive

Well, I think we are well positioned. I think, of course, the European perspective of taking a big responsibility for sound security and defense is really important. And I think since Europe is outside Sweden, also our second strongest market -- we have a lot of opportunities in that. Many countries are spending more when it comes to defense.

But we also have an important operations and activity in the U.S. So I still believe the transatlantic link is important, but Europe has to take its own responsibility. I must admit it's hard to predict every day, every week now, what's happening. And tariffs and trade war is not good. Long term, that's also bad for our type of business, even though we are a bit more resilient. So it's turbulent times, but I think we're well positioned.

U
Unknown Analyst

And finally, Anna, you're reiterating your sales growth outlook for the full year -- with Q1 behind you, how do you see the rest of 2025?

A
Anna Wijkander
executive

I mean like Micael said, we are progressing according to plan, and we have a strong backlog and several deliveries and milestones to execute on during this year. So with the growth that we had of 11% this first quarter and the guidance for the year to grow 12% to 16%, yes, the growth is going to be higher in the remaining quarters. Maybe I should say something also about our cash flow. It improved this quarter, however, not very strong, but we remain confident that we're going to deliver a positive cash flow for this year despite that we are investing capacity and to be able to execute on our growth. So this is something that we want to emphasize.

But as we have said before, the cash flow for the quarter is fluctuating since that's the nature of our business. When the timing of the milestones are coming and payments are coming.

U
Unknown Analyst

Okay. Well, thank you both for your time.

M
Micael Johansson
executive

Thank you.

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