Aumann AG
XETRA:AAG
Aumann AG
XETRA:AAG
Price:
17.36 EUR
1.52%
Market Closed
Updated:
Apr 28, 2024
Section:
Earnings Call Analysis
Summary
Q3-2023
Q3-2023
Aumann AG Boasts Strong Q3 2023 Growth
Aumann AG reported significant growth in Q3 2023, with revenues spiking by 32.7% to nearly EUR 200 million and EBITDA soaring by 145.3% to EUR 13.5 million. Profitability also improved, with the EBITDA margin increasing from 3.7% to 6.8%. Order intake reached EUR 249 million, eclipsing the previous year by over 10%, while the order backlog surged to EUR 308.9 million. The E-Mobility segment was the main growth driver, delivering EUR 152.1 million or three-quarters of total revenue. Due to strong performance, revenue guidance for 2023 has been elevated to over EUR 280 million, and EBITDA margin guidance is anticipated at the upper end of the 6-7% range.
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Good day, and on behalf of Montega, a warm welcome to today's earnings call of the Aumann AG following the publication of the Q3 figures of 2023. The CEO, Mr. Sebastian Roll; as well as the CFO, Mr. Jan-Henrik Pollitt, will speak in a moment and guide us through the presentation and the results. [Operator Instructions]So -- and with this, I guess, we just jump straight into the presentation. Mr. Roll, please. The stage is yours.
Yes. Good afternoon. Thank you for the kind introduction, and also a warm welcome from our side. So my name is Sebastian Roll, and I'm the CEO of Aumann. Together with my colleague, Jan-Henrik Pollitt, who is our CFO, I'm pleased that you are interested in Aumann and joining our earnings call.So, in the upcoming presentation, we would like to update you on Aumann's acquisition and the financial performance in the first 9 months of this year. So let's refresh quickly.What makes Aumann special. So as you know, we are transforming the automotive industry with our technologies. In our core business, we deliver fully automated production lines for all key components of the electro mobility. We are a reliable and innovative development part. All international players buy their production lines from Aumann.The who is who of the automotive industry and all of them are transforming their business towards E-Mobility. And therefore, our E-Mobility segment has grown by an average of 29% since 2016.So on this slide you can get an idea of our transformation. Over the years, Aumann has developed into a full range supplier for E-Mobility. Here, you can see the drivetrain of a fully electric car. Apart from the tires, all components can be manufactured on Aumann production lines.Of course, this requires a colorful mix of competencies. Therefore, we are pleased that we have expanded our technology portfolio with the acquisition of LACOM on the 1st of November. In addition to our core competencies, such as assembly, winding and automation, we are now also able to offer coating solutions. But before we come to the strategic advantages of the deal, I would like to give you some more information about the deal structure.LACOM is a leading laminating and coating specialist with a clear focus on electrode and MEA manufacturer. Aumann took over the business operations of LACOM as part of an [ asset year ] with effect from 1st November, 2023. The new company operates under the name Aumann Lauchheim and we expect a profitable sales in the low double-digit million range for next year.In the medium term, this strategic step bring us new growth areas. This acquisition gives us access to the technology needed for the early stages of making batteries and fuel cells. And of course, with this new technology, Aumann is facing new potential customers as well. Looking just at Europe and the German players presented here, our target becomes clear. We as Aumann would like to benefit from these growth opportunities.In this context, let us now turn to our battery portfolio. As you know, our rapid growth is mainly driven by our successful position in the area of battery systems. As a turnkey supplier, Aumann offers the complete range of battery modules, battery packs and even Cell-to-X solutions. Due to the acquisition, we are now able to upstream our business.Our new coating solution expand our existing portfolio. We are now in the position to enter into the electrode manufacturing. Also in the field of the fuel cells, the new acquisition fits perfectly into our existing Aumann technology portfolio. Aumann is now able to offer innovative production solutions from coating and stacking to the final assembly. This means Aumann can provide tailor-made solutions across the entire value chain.Last but not least, let's have a look on our electric drive unit. As you know, from the very beginning, Aumann plays a clear focus on the e-Drive unit.For over 170 years, the operation of an e-motor has remained more or less unchanged. However, each customer follows very different approaches in development. As pioneer in technology, Aumann provides all of the latest production solution for the electric drive unit, for example, solutions for the stator, rotor, inverter, and for sure, for the final assembly.Now I would like to hand over to Jan for the financials.
Yes. Thank you, Sebastian, and also a warm welcome from my side. We are very glad to now share with you the recent financial figures of the first 9 months of 2023. The key figures on the right-hand side illustrate our dynamic performance in the first 9 months of the year. Our revenue increased by EUR 32.7 million -- by 32.7% to now almost EUR 200 million. At the same time, EBITDA has grown by impressive 145.3% to EUR 13.5 million.The margin increased again to now 6.8% coming from 3.7% in the previous year. And we are proud to confirm the continuous improvement of our profitability level. Our order intake reaches with EUR 249 million, a new 9-month high. This means we exceeded the previous year's strong level by more than 10%, and this is even more important at a very satisfactory price level.As a result, our order backlog has made another great leap forward and now amounts to EUR 308.9 million. With a liquidity position of EUR 113.5 million and an equity ratio of 53.9%, Aumann has a strong financial position and is excellently positioned for further profitable growth. Let us now jump into a few details.In the first 9 months of 2023, we reached a revenue of EUR 199.6 million, which represents an increase of 32.7%. With EUR 152.1 million, the E-Mobility segment is, of course, the main growth driver. The segment accounts for 3/4 of total revenue. Also, our profitability increased significantly. EBITDA more than doubled in absolute numbers from EUR 5.5 million to EUR 13.5 million.The EBITDA margin increased from 3.7% to 6.8%. The reasons for this margin improvement is -- and the reason for this margin improvement is that the higher margin orders from the last 3 -- few quarters are taking up increasingly larger share. However, this financial year still shows a mix effect in margins. But in 2024, the new margin level, which was acquired from 2022 onwards should then be fully visible in our P&L.Based on our strong performance, we adjusted our guidance for 2023. Revenue was originally forecasted to be over EUR 250 million. But based on our strong growth, it is now clear that we will over fulfill this guidance. That's why we have raised our forecast to over EUR 280 million revenue.At the same time, we have specified our EBITDA guidance and forecast now to achieve the existing guidance of 6% to 7% EBITDA margin at the upper end of the range. Both key figures are, of course, significantly higher than in the previous year and prove the development of our company.As already mentioned, order intake in the first 9 months of 2023 exceeded the previous year's strong figure by 11.6%. After Q3, with 81%, the main share of our order intake was acquired in the E-Mobility segment. Once again, in our sales department, we are still acting selectively, not with a focus on maximizing order intake, but margins. As a result, the order backlog remains very bullish over the EUR 300 million mark.The importance of the E-Mobility segment remains clearly visible. Also here, 81% of the order backlog is attributable to the E-Mobility segment. Let me now quickly show you both segments in detail.Let's start with the E-Mobility segment. Order intake of EUR 201.8 million in the first 9 months is 20.6% over the previous year, and this, as I said, at a very good margin level. While demand remains very high. The success of this segment is obvious. Order backlog, plus 31% to EUR 250.6 million. Revenue plus 58% to EUR 152.1 million, and EBITDA, plus EUR 3.6 million to EUR 11 million, and this means plus 3.5 percentage points to 7.3% EBITDA margin.As you can easily see from these numbers, further growth in this segment is already in our books, and so is further margin development. In summary, the E-Mobility market remains very strong and is our clear growth driver.Let's continue with our Classic segment. As you know, we operate this segment opportunistically. With the business mix of automotive, general industry and renewables and due to the high demand in E-Mobility, we, of course, allocated most of the capacity there.Order intake and revenue are, therefore, slightly below previous year's figures, but EBITDA increased to EUR 4.3 million, which means plus 2.4 percentage points to 9% EBITDA margin. In total, the Classic segment continues to be a secure second pillar with some attractive non-automotive orders and attractive margins.Let's summarize the financial figures and finally look at the balance sheet. With an equity ratio of 53.9%, a liquidity position of EUR 113.5 million and EUR 105 million net cash, our balance sheet remains absolutely solid.Let me now hand over to Sebastian again.
Yes. Thank you very much, Jan. So let us sum up our presentation. So also in the first 9 months of the year, we moved forward again. We increased our revenues by more than 30%. Meanwhile, the EBITDA margin has almost doubled to 6.8%. Our order backlog has once again exceeded EUR 300 million.Based on this great development, we increased our current revenue forecast to over EUR 280 million with an EBITDA margin at the upper end of the original forecast, which was 6% to 7%. More than ever, Aumann stands there as a full range supplier for E-Mobility production solutions. Due to the acquisition, we are now able to upstream our business. This will bring us for sure additional opportunities in the near future. And as Jan said, thanks to our solid financials, we are well prepared for our growth journey ahead.Thank you very much for your attention, and we are now happy to answer your questions.
[Operator Instructions] And we already received a question from Mr. Glowa.
Congratulations for these great results. I have a couple of questions. Let's do them one on one. And my first question, I would like to ask you to [ provide ] please a ballpark breakdown of the E-mobility order intake by application? So how much of the order intake is related to battery system, how much is related to electronics and sensors and dry cleaners?
Yes, sure. I mean, as you know, the main part, 50% to 60% is right now due to battery and that's the reason why we were so interested in this acquisition as well. Then we have already, let's say, a very new topic, and I think we had spoken about it in the last conversation as well. This is inverter, so this is roughly a business where we especially had a success in the quarter 3, but also already in the quarter 4 this year. And the rest, like I said is sensors and electric drive unit.
And then maybe can you please speak to your current capacity utilization in E-mobility? And how much capacity you have added to the acquisition of LACOM?
Yes. The current capacity utilization is very good. So we are with our core business fully utilized and added about 5% organic capacities in this year. But additionally we increased our third-party suppliers. And -- yes, also -- and -- yes. So everybody is working. We are increasing the capacity level. And therefore, the overall capacity is able to turn over about EUR 300 million this year, and we added about 60 to 70 new employees with the acquisition of LACOM, which is also just the core competencies of the company, and the company will also be able to increase capacities by using third-party suppliers.
If you feel comfortable with your existing capacity to meet a sales level of EUR 350 million in sales, is that the right way to look at it?
Yes. So capacity increase is always done step-by-step in our business. And we did some steps in this year, and we will continue work on that. So we feel quite secure, and there are no bottlenecks in the capacity currently.
And then my last question will be on your acquisition. Can you speak a bit about LACOM and how far are they in their approach to receiving a potential order for one of these gigafactories which you have shown, which is about to be set up in Europe? And the ballpark number $10 million coming with 5% EBITDA margin next year, is that the right way to look at it?
Yes. I mean -- maybe starting from the end, I mean, we hope that we can do a little bit more revenues, to be honest, yes. We think that we have the capacity from EUR 10 million to EUR 20 million. And we have -- we are talking with all the current customers in the order backlog and try to convince them to do the business with us also in the near future, and they are quite interesting projects, upcoming projects we see already.So I think we should be closer to the EUR 20 million than to the EUR 10 million, honestly speaking. This is this one topic. The gigafactories, you are right. I mean, we showed the gigafactories in our presentation. But for sure, I mean this is a kind of opportunity we see. Right now, you can say that they are, let's say, more or less 3 types of equipment producers in these areas, yes. So we have some producers, some suppliers who supply prototype lines.We have [ series ] alliance for sure, where we include LACOM and then we have the large-scale [ series ] lines for the gigafactories. And as we can easily see in the current figures, LACOM is not delivering the gigafactories right now. But we think that we are very well positioned in the field of the serial lines production, and we also see this increasing demand in Europe.And once again, we think that it is becoming more and more important that there's also another type of quality, yes. So most of the large-scale [ series ] lines are coming right now from Asia, as you know. And the scrap rate is still a big topic, and it's become, especially in Europe, a big topic. So we think that LACOM can benefit from this increasing quality standard, and that's the reason why we should have a chance to step in.
And then just one follow-up before I jump back to queue. I think the holding company of LACOM comes from a [ distressed ] situation. Is there any potential investment pent-up demand for LACOM [ for ] you guys [ to ] do right now? Is that changing your CapEx yield for next year?
No, there is no big CapEx for next year. We are in a rented factory, and there is no big CapEx which are needed.
So we will move on with the person who dialed in with the phone number ending 0739. [Operator Instructions]
So Yasmin Steilen from Berenberg.I have one question on the guidance. So you increased your guide -- increased guidance implies sales of around EUR 80 million in the last quarter and an adjusted EBIT margin in the ballpark of 6.9%. Could you remind me to what extent Q4 is still impacted by the legacy business from lower margin orders to be worked off? And as you already indicated, so we should see the steep increase then from the new order intake, the higher quality or higher margin order intake than as of next year? That will be my first question.And then the second question, could you shed some color on your intake development in Q4? So again, order intake split by the different applications, that will be highly appreciated.
Yes. Thank you, Yasmin for your questions. Yes, as you see in the higher or in the raised revenue guidance, we are about EUR 80 million away from the final figure, from the standpoint of end of Q3. So we estimate that we have -- 2 or 3 bigger production lines at the lower margins will have significant increase in revenues in the fourth quarter. And therefore, we used also the raised revenue guidance to say something about the EBITDA guidance, which we specify in the higher end of the range, 6% to 7%. But Q4 will not be a pure revenue coming from the new orders. And therefore, we see also a mixed effect in the Q4.But for next year, we have -- or still have the view that almost every of these lower-margin orders are worked off completely in this year. And therefore, we have, yes, very good situation for next year also in terms of margin development. Sebatian, do you want to say something about that?
Yes, sure. I mean, the last quarter is always a little bit tricky, honestly speaking. Last year, the last quarter was even a little bit better than quarter 3. This is something we hope we can also reach this year. And you also asked, okay, what might be the topics of the quarter? I mean we have already -- honestly speaking, we have already received a very nice project in the area of inverter technology, which is -- as I said, which is a new topic. And yes, we are quite happy about this. And now we have to see if we can finalize some other nice projects in the last quarter and we fight for this.
So just a quick follow-up. So you've -- there's even the chance that you could beat or be up sequentially and also year-over-year on the very high comps you have seen last year?
You mean if we can end up better than last year?
Yes.
Yes, I mean, for sure, we are already better, yes.
No, I mean, just comparing Q4 to Q4 in terms of the order intake development?
Yes.
[Operator Instructions] So in the meantime, there is another question. What's the sales and margin potential of LACOM in the short and medium term?
Yes. So as we took over the company, we, of course, had a very deep look on the financial figures. As we already discussed, this company is coming from a more -- or more or less critical situation due to the fact that the mother company was bankrupt and what we see in this company that this is a -- yes, a small and good managed company. We don't have too many fixed costs, and therefore, we have a good customer base.There are very interesting customers and projects. And therefore, we see that LACOM can easily reach in the next year the profitability level which we also expect for Aumann. And yes, over the next weeks and month, we will find out if there is more upside potential in that. And also the sales level, as Sebastian said, for next year, it's important to get the first stable approach of the company between EUR 10 million to EUR 20 million with additional information that this is not a gigafactory business right now.So there is a huge market, and we can -- yes, we position ourselves as a technological expert for the [ converging ] business and try to move on -- in big steps towards the gigafactory business.
So yes, by now we've received no further questions. We therefore come to the end of today's earnings call. Thank you, everyone, for joining, listening and your questions. And a big thank you also to the gentlemen for your presentation and the time you took to answer all these questions.Should further questions arise at a later time, please do not hesitate to contact Investor Relations or us. And with this, we say goodbye, stay safe and healthy due to the cold season. And I just hand over again to Mr. Roll for some final remarks.
Yes, thanks. So in general, as you might have recognized in the call, we are very satisfied with the progress we made so far. So the new acquisition fits perfectly into our E-Mobility strategy. All figures you have seen underlying our profitable growth. So we raised our revenue forecast. And moreover, the order backlog is making us very confident that there's even more to come from Aumann next year. So thank you very much for your interest, and we look forward to meet you in-person at one of the upcoming conferences. Thanks.