Wästbygg’s year-end report 2021 – strong order intake and a record high order backlog

“As usual, our three business areas have delivered many excellent projects to satisfied customers. Despite challenges posed by COVID, price rises and intensified market competition, our order intake during the year was very strong, totalling SEK 5.5 billion of which SEK 2.5 billion arose during Q4. This means that we go into 2022 with a record high order backlog of SEK 6.5 billion, which is double that of a year ago. While revenues for 2021 are on a par with the previous year at SEK 3.8 billion, we had an operating profit of SEK 277 million based on the segment reporting, which is 9 percent higher than in 2020. The operating margin was 7.3 percent, which is well above our long-term target of over 6 percent,” says Jörgen Andersson, CEO Wästbygg Group.

GROUP IN SUMMARY, IFRS:

1 January – 31 December 2021

• Revenue SEK 3,949 million (3,620)
• Operating profit SEK 235 million (223)
• Profit after tax SEK 241 million (234)
• Earnings per share SEK 7.42 (9.39)
• Cash flow from operating activities SEK -319 million (-237)
• Interest-bearing net cash (+) / net debt (-) SEK 151 million (252)
• Equity ratio 43% (50)
• The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting adopt a dividend of SEK 3.50 per share (3.30)

1 October – 31 December 2021

• Revenue SEK 1,231 million (924)
• Operating profit SEK 10 million (65)
• Profit after tax SEK 13 million (82)
• Earnings per share SEK 0.39 (2.66)
• Cash flow from operating activities SEK -192 million (-161)

GROUP IN SUMMARY, SEGMENT REPORTING:

1 January – 31 December 2021

• Revenue SEK 3,818 million (3,801)
• Operating profit SEK 277 million (254)
• Profit after tax SEK 290 million (268)
• Earnings per share SEK 8.94 (10.75)
• Cash flow from operating activities SEK -137 million (-95)
• Interest-bearing net cash (+) / net debt (-) SEK 794 million (877)
• Equity ratio 44% (57)
• New orders SEK 5,456 million (3,232)
• Order backlog 31 December SEK 6,572 million (3,201)

1 October – 31 December 2021

• Revenue SEK 1,271 million (1,002)
• Operating profit SEK 69 million (77)
• Profit after tax SEK 74 million (97)
• Earnings per share SEK 2.26 (3.16)
• Cash flow from operating activities SEK -212 million (97)
• New orders SEK 2,514 million (1,266)

Comparative figures in parentheses refer to profit items corresponding to the period 2020 and for balance sheet items corresponding to the balance sheet date 2020.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER

• The acquisition of Rekab Entreprenad AB was carried out on 28 October after being approved by the Swedish Competition Authority on 7 October, and the financing solution was decided on at an extraordinary general meeting of the Wästbygg Group on 21 October. The purchase price amounts to SEK 269 million, of which SEK 186 million is paid in cash and SEK 83 million through repurchase and transfer of own shares (consideration shares) The Board of Directors of Wästbygg Gruppen AB decided on 9 December to exercise the authorisation granted at the extraordinary general meeting to buy back company shares. The Wästbygg Group bought back 600,000 shares in December, arranged by Nordea Bank Abp. See note 8 on page 25 for further information.
• On 23 November, Wästbygg issued senior unsecured green bonds of SEK 500 million under a framework totalling SEK 800 million. The bond was listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s corporate bond list for sustainable bonds and the first trading day was 23 December.
• A contract was signed for the acquisition of a logistics and industrial site of roughly 266,000 sqm just north of Gardermoen Airport in Norway. The purchase price is approximately NOK 233 million. The acquisition will be carried out in three phases, which will be paid for with closing dates in 2022, 2023 and 2025. The acquisition is conditional upon the seller completing the preparatory work on the land according to the requirements of the local development plan, and upon the required electricity supply to the site being delivered within the agreed cost framework.
• A decision was taken to start production of three self-developed residential projects: Cityterrassen in Malmö, Hökälla Ängar 2 in Gothenburg and Slottshusen in Täby. The projects comprise a total of 299 apartments and the order value is SEK 742 million.
• Following a public procurement process, a Phase 1 cooperation agreement was signed with Region Västernorrland for the conversion and extension of the regional forensic psychiatric clinic in Sundsvall. The agreement regards joint planning and design to meet the client’s framework budget of approximately SEK 320 million, which is also a precondition for signing the construction contract. The estimated order value is included in the order intake and order backlog for Q4.
• The Wästbygg Group’s Head of Sustainability, Kristin Lundmark, resigned in December and will step down from her position on 15 February 2022. In connection with her resignment, she has also left the group management team.

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For further information, please contact:

Jörgen Andersson, CEO
Ph +46 703 23 32 02, e-mail jorgen.andersson@wastbygg.se,

Jonas Jönehall, CFO and Deputy CEO
Ph +46 739 20 19 01, e-mail jonas.jonehall@wastbygg.se

Marie Lindebäck, Head of IR and Deputy Head of Sustainability
Ph +46 73 -67 20 12, e-mail marie.lindeback@wastbygg.se

Today at 9:30 Jörgen Andersson, CEO, Jonas Jönehall, CFO and Deputy CEO and Marie Lindebäck, Head of IR and Deputy Head of Sustainability, will present and comment on the report.

Link to webcast: https://wbgr.se/en/q4-2021/

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About Wästbygg:

The Wästbygg Group is a listed construction and project development company that builds and develops residential, commercial buildings and community service properties, as well as logistics and industrial facilities – always with a strong focus on sustainability. With 500 employees, it comprises Wästbygg AB, Rekab Entreprenad AB, Logistic Contractor AB and Inwita Fastigheter AB.

The group operates in the most rapidly expanding markets in Sweden, with Logistic Contractor also providing services in Denmark, Norway and Finland.