Fiskars Corporation’s interim report for January-September 2023

Fiskars Corporation
Interim report
October 26, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. (EEST)

Fiskars Corporation’s interim report for January-September 2023

Sales and EBIT declined in a challenging operating environment, cash flow and gross margin improved

This release is a summary of Fiskars Corporation’s Interim Report for January-September 2023 published today. The complete Interim Report with tables is attached to this release as a pdf-file. It is also available at http://fiskarsgroup.com/investors/reports-presentations/interim-reports and on the company website at www.fiskarsgroup.com. Investors should not rely on summaries of financial reports only, but should review the complete reports with tables.

July-September 2023 in brief

Comparable net sales¹ decreased by 12.7% to EUR 241.3 million (Q3 2022: 276.3). Reported net sales decreased by 17.6% to EUR 241.3 million (292.6)
Comparable EBIT²decreased to EUR 17.9 million (33.2), or 7.4% (11.4%) of net sales. EBIT decreased to EUR 13.7 million (29.4)
Cash flow from operating activities before financial items and taxes increased to EUR 67.9 million (-45.5)
Free cash flow turned clearly positive and was EUR 52.9 million (-64.2), improving by EUR 117.1 million
Earnings per share (EPS) were EUR 0.11 (0.28)

January-September 2023 in brief:

Comparable net sales¹ decreased by 12.9% to EUR 784.0 million (Q1-Q3 2022: 900.5). Reported net sales decreased by 17.0% to EUR 784.0 million (944.3)
Comparable EBIT² decreased to EUR 72.6 million (121.3), or 9.3% (12.8%) of net sales. EBIT decreased to EUR 64.9 million (110.3)
Cash flow from operating activities before financial items and taxes increased to EUR 146.1 million (-85.3)
Free cash flow turned clearly positive and was EUR 107.4 million (-138.0), improving by EUR 245.4 million
Earnings per share (EPS) were EUR 0.52 (1.07)

1) Comparable net sales excludes the impact of exchange rates, acquisitions and divestments

2) Items affecting comparability in EBIT include items such as restructuring costs, impairment or provisions charges and releases, acquisition related costs, and gains and losses from the sale of businesses

Guidance for 2023 (updated on October 12, 2023):

Fiskars Corporation expects comparable EBIT to be in the range of EUR 100-120 million (2022: EUR 151.0 million).

Assumptions behind the guidance:

Challenging and volatile market conditions are expected to continue in the fourth quarter, which is typically the most important season for Business Area Vita. Fiskars Corporation expects that low consumer confidence in the company’s main markets, as well as retailer customers’ focus on inventory management, will negatively affect demand and sales. At the same time, Georg Jensen will be consolidated to the Group in the fourth quarter, and the impact on the comparable EBIT is expected to be positive.

In January 2023, the company announced targeted organizational changes, which are expected to result in savings supporting EBIT in 2023. Whilst the changes have been completed according to plans, the savings are partially offset by accelerated inflation in general and administrative expenses. The company also announced organizational changes in September 2023, but the majority of the savings related to these changes will not be realized until 2024.

Whilst the company remains focused on prudent cost management, it also continues to invest in key strategic building blocks.

President and CEO, Fiskars Group, Nathalie Ahlström:

Challenging market conditions continued in the third quarter and affected demand negatively. As a result, volumes dropped significantly, and comparable net sales declined by 13%. We were able to mitigate part of the impact from lower volumes with prudent cost management, but as inflation impacted general and administrative expenses at the same time, our comparable EBIT declined to EUR 18 million.

Although the overall sales volume development has not been satisfactory in recent quarters, the bright spot has been our direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. DTC sales have shown solid growth throughout the year and grew by 6% in the third quarter, especially driven by e-commerce globally. Gross margin also continued to improve, demonstrating our successful actions in commercial excellence, and cash flow increased significantly thanks to systematic inventory management.

During the third quarter, we continued to accelerate the execution of our Growth Strategy and took several leaps forward. We expanded our portfolio of luxury brands by acquiring the renowned Danish lifestyle brand Georg Jensen. As an iconic brand with a strong heritage and a focus on pioneering design, Georg Jensen is a good fit to Fiskars Group’s family of brands, both strategically and culturally. We are delighted to welcome the Georg Jensen team to Fiskars Group and start working together in further elevating this renowned brand in its core markets and in China.

To further drive the continued transformation of the company and increase efficiency, we also announced that we are simplifying our organizational structure. As of October 2023, we have two Business Areas; Vita and Fiskars. Business Area Fiskars combines the previous Business Areas Terra and Crea and brings all Fiskars brand product categories into the same Business Area. This enables unlocking the full potential of our largest brand Fiskars and is in line with our Growth Strategy, which focuses on making the big brands bigger. Furthermore, the planned organizational changes included delayering some of the Group’s central functions, in particular the global supply chain, to increase efficiency and ensure competitiveness. The planned changes are expected to lead to a reduction of 400 roles globally. Information sharing and consultation with employees and their representatives are progressing and are expected to be completed by the end of November. The changes are expected to lead to total annual cost savings of EUR 25 million, out of which the majority would realize during 2024.

Looking at the first nine months of the year, we saw good progress in three of the strategy’s transformation levers: commercial excellence; direct-to-consumer; and China. Our like-for-like gross margin, which is our key performance indicator for commercial excellence, increased by 220 basis points in January-September. DTC sales increased by 6%, amounting to 22% of the Group’s sales. In China, sales increased by 25%. In the U.S., which is the fourth transformation lever, sales decreased by 16% in January-September as retailers’ focus on inventory management continued to affect demand.

During the quarter, we were thrilled to see the Fiskars brand ranked as the most valued brand in Finland for the fifth consecutive year according to a survey by the market research company Taloustutkimus. Our brands Arabia (#4) and Iittala (#9) also made it into the top 10. In addition, Fiskars Group was ranked as the fifth most reputable company in Finland according to a survey by reputation research company T-Media. These recognitions, coupled with the constant steady growth in sales from our direct-to-consumer channels, demonstrate the power and breadth of our brand portfolio.

On October 12, 2023, we lowered our guidance and now expect comparable EBIT in 2023 to be in the range of EUR 100-120 million. Challenging and volatile market conditions are expected to continue in the fourth quarter, and low consumer confidence in our main markets, as well as retailer customers’ focus on inventory management, are affecting demand and sales more negatively than previously anticipated. At the same time, we expect a positive comparable EBIT contribution from the Georg Jensen acquisition in the fourth quarter.

We remain fully focused on driving our Growth Strategy forward. With all the actions we are taking, we are transforming the company and strengthening our position for the long run.

Group key figures

EUR million (unless otherwise noted)	Q3 2023	Q3 2022	Change	Q1-Q3 2023	Q1-Q3 2022	Change	2022
Net sales	241.3	292.6	-17.6%	784.0	944.3	-17.0%	1,248.4
Comparable net sales¹⁾	241.3	276.3	-12.7%	784.0	900.5	-12.9%	1,194.0
EBIT	13.7	29.4	-53.3%	64.9	110.3	-41.2%	134.7
Items affecting comparability in EBIT²⁾	4.2	3.8	9.9%	7.7	11.0	-29.5%	16.3
Comparable EBIT³⁾	17.9	33.2	-46.0%	72.6	121.3	-40.2%	151.0
Comparable EBIT margin	7.4%	11.4%		9.3%	12.8%		12.1%
Profit before taxes	11.8	27.7	-57.4%	54.7	109.6	-50.1%	124.1
Profit for the period	8.9	22.8	-60.7%	42.1	87.7	-52.0%	99.1
Earnings per share, EUR	0.11	0.28	-59.9%	0.52	1.07	-51.7%	1.21
Equity per share, EUR				9.88	10.43	-5.3%	10.32
Cash flow from operating activities before financial items and taxes	67.9	-45.5		146.1	-85.3		-24.9
Free cash flow	52.9	-64.2		107.4	-138.0		-100.7
Net debt				336.3	343.9	-2.2%	325.3
Net Debt/EBITDA (LTM), ratio				2.24	1.77	26.6%	1.66
Equity ratio, %				50%	53%		53%
Net gearing, %				42%	41%		39%
Capital expenditure	12.1	11.8	2.2%	32.4	34.7	-6.7%	48.1
Personnel (FTE), average	5,846	6,344	-7.8%	5,939	6,281	-5.4%	6,273

1) Comparable net sales exclude the impact of exchange rates, acquisitions and divestments.

2) In Q3 2023, items affecting comparability were mainly related to organizational changes.

3) EBIT excluding items affecting comparability. Comparable EBIT is not adjusted to exclude the full impact of acquisitions/divestments/disposals.

FISKARS CORPORATION

Nathalie Ahlström
President and CEO

Webcast
A webcast on the third quarter results will be held on October 26, 2023 at 14:00 p.m. (EEST). It will be held in English and can be followed at https://fiskars.videosync.fi/q3-2023-results

Presentation materials will be available at www.fiskarsgroup.com.

An on-demand version of the webcast will be available on the company website. Personal details gathered during the event will not be used for any other purpose.

Media and investor contacts:
Essi Lipponen, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 829 1192

Fiskars Group in brief
Fiskars Group (FSKRS, Nasdaq Helsinki) is the global home of design-driven brands for indoor and outdoor living. Our brands include Fiskars, Georg Jensen, Gerber, Iittala, Moomin Arabia, Royal Copenhagen, Waterford, and Wedgwood. In 2022, our brands were present in more than 100 countries, we had approximately 350 own stores and close to 7,000 employees. Our global net sales were EUR 1.2 billion in 2022.

We are driven by our common purpose: Pioneering design to make the everyday extraordinary. Since 1649, we have designed products of timeless, purposeful, and functional beauty, while driving innovation and sustainable growth.

Attachments

FiskarsGroup_Q3-2023_en