Eventful quarter with improved cashflow

The quarter in summary

  • Doro’s net sales amounted to SEK 443.2 million (521.4), a decrease of 15.0 percent.
  • Net sales for business area Doro Care were SEK 124.2 million (119.1), an increase of 4.3 percent and for business area Doro Phones were SEK 319.0 million (402.3), a decrease of 20.7 percent.
  • Gross margin increased to 32.4 percent (31.1). For Doro Care, the gross margin increased to 40.8 percent (39.6) and for Doro Phones the gross margin increased to 29.1 percent (28.6).
  • EBITDA amounted to SEK 53.2 million (57.3), a decrease of 7.2 percent.
  • Operating profit (EBIT) amounted to SEK 31.7 million (33.8), excluding restructuring costs of SEK 6.7 million, corresponding to an operating margin of 7.2 percent (6.5). Including restructuring costs, EBIT amounted to SEK 25.0 million (33.8) with an operating margin of 5.6 percent (6.5).
  • Profit after tax for the period was SEK 18.7 million (23.0) and profit per share was SEK 0.79 (0.97).
  • Free cash flow before acquisitions was SEK 145.1 million (40.8).

Message from the CEO

It has been another eventful quarter for Doro, we have taken several important steps forward in our ambition to become European market leader in technology enabled care. During the quarter, we completed two acquisitions whilst working to restructure the business. I am proud of the fantastic work that the Doro team has done during this intense period. Without their efforts and commitment, this would not have been possible, and together we will take steps towards becoming the leading player in the market.

The current pandemic has accentuated and accelerated some key market trends that influence our strategy and execution. Within business area Doro Care the market starts to demand solutions that are more efficient and secure which enables increased safety for seniors. Therefore, we continue to expand our service offering and develop new, innovative solutions to meet our customers’ growing demand. During the quarter we accelerated our strategy, completed the acquisitions of Victrix and Eldercare, and launched our new welfare hub Eliza.

The acquisition of Victrix is a big step forward in our own software platform and strengthen our technical capability. Together with the launch of Eliza, we are a company with technology enabled care at the forefront. This enables us to offer more proactive solutions, create flexibility and speed with integrations to other systems and products. Victrix’s strong technical competence and extensive experience in technology enabled care fits well with our strategy and will be a great addition to Doro. Another key part of our strategy is to strengthen our position in the UK market. With the acquisition of Eldercare, we expand our geographical presence in the UK and are one of the largest players in the market. The geographical position of Eldercare enables us to reach out and support new customers and thereby help more people to live a safer and secured life.

During the past quarter, the slow market development within business area Doro Care has continued, with postponed procurements. This has resulted in a sales development that is below our target, which we are not satisfied with. By reorganizing into two different business areas, we can work more intensely and focused within both business areas – Doro Care and Doro Phones. With a strengthened team and a greater focus, we can gradually improve the development and generate the results we want.

Sales during the third quarter amounted to SEK 443.2 million (521.4), a decrease of 15.0 percent compared to the third quarter of 2019. We see an improvement compared to the previous quarter, which is a result of a gradual recovery in our key markets, even though sales are still lower than last year. With good cost control, we managed to deliver an EBIT of SEK 31.7 million, excluding restructuring costs, (33.8) and a positive cash flow during the third quarter. It is too early to determine how long our business will be affected by the pandemic and it is still uncertain how the market will develop. Recently, however, we have shown that we are well prepared and in an efficient way have adapted the business to the current situation.

Early in the quarter we announced that we had decided to restructure the business in order to maintain and consolidate our market leading position in Europe. With a declining market and an ongoing pandemic, we want to ensure a sustainable and long-term profitability. To achieve this, we will reduce our operating expenses, predominately within business area Doro Phones, by SEK 110-130 million. We have already reduced our costs by SEK 50 million and I have strong belief that we will reach our saving target. The restructuring will create space for new innovative solutions and offerings, while we lay a strong foundation for continued success in both business areas.

I am convinced that the important steps we have taken in our strategy during the quarter will support a profitable growth. I look forward to all the challenges and new opportunities we have ahead of us. Together we will create a better future for seniors.

Carl-Johan Zetterberg Boudrie, President and CEO

WEBCAST

A webcast conference call will be held on Friday 23 October at 9.00 am (CET) when President and CEO Carl-Johan Zetterberg Boudrie and CFO Linda Nilsson will present the report. The webcast is accessed at https://tv.streamfabriken.com/doro-q3-2020. The presentation material is available on Doro’s financial website http://www.doro.com/corporate. 

Telephone numbers:
Sweden: +46 8 56 64 26 92
United Kingdom: +44 33 33 00 92 64
USA: +1 83 32 49 84 03
France: +33 170 75 07 37

For more information, please contact:

Linda Nilsson, CFO, linda.nilsson@doro.com, +46 703 28 29 25
ir@doro.com

About Doro

Doro is a technology company focused on seniors. We develop services and products for seniors to live independent, fulfilling lives. Our wide portfolio of security and care solutions digitally connect generations and provide solutions for independent living, both inside and outside the home. Doro is the market leader in social alarms in Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom and the global market leader in mobile phones for seniors. Doro is a Swedish company with headquarters in Malmö and a sales operation in 27 countries. Doro’s shares are quoted on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange. The company has app. 1 000 co-workers and net sales of SEK 2,063 million (EUR 195.4 million) were reported for 2019. www.doro.com/corporate

This information is information that Doro AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 2020-10-23 08:00 CEST.

Attachments

Q3 2020 ENG

© Modular Finance, source Nordic Press Releases