January - December 2013
Net sales for the full year 2013 reached SEK 501 m (382), corresponding to a 31 % increase. The revaluation of the Swedish currency had a negative impact of SEK 15 m on net sales
Operating profit reached SEK 87 m (64) - a 36 % increase. Operating margin was 17 % (17)
Order intake for the year increased to SEK 516 m (424), corresponding to a 25 % increase in local currencies
Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 80 m (82)
Profit after taxes totalled SEK 63 m (52) and the result per share amounted to SEK 5.54 (4.64)
The Board of Directors propose a dividend to the amount of SEK 2.25 (2.25)
During the period, the acquired IXXAT Automation GmbH contributed to net sales with SEK 103 m. The acquired operation's net contributed to operating profit with SEK 13 m
Fourth quarter
Net sales for the fourth quarter reached SEK 126 m (87) corresponding to a 44 % increase and operating result reached SEK 13 m (6)
Order intake during the fourth quarter was SEK 132 m (100) corresponding to a 32 % increase
Comments from the CEO
For 2013, we can report a 31 % sales growth in the Group. The positive development can to a major part be explained by the acquisition of IXXAT Automation which we acquired during the first quarter of 2013 and also by an organic growth within the Anybus embedded product line. The increase in volumes during the second half of the year relates partly to newly introduced custom developed products increasing in volumes by the end of the year. For 2013 we can report a SEK 87 m operating profit, the highest in the history of the company but still with an operating margin just below our goal.
The improved result is supported by our focus on increasing productivity in our manufacturing process, lowering our purchase prices and a positive contribution from the acquisition. In total, we can present a gross margin improvement from 60.1 % to 62.6 % which is in line with our expectations that increasing volumes and integration through technology development will provide gross margins above 60 %.
We can see a mixed picture on the market for HMS products with more stable conditions on the Japanese and the North American markets. The market in Europe is still cautious. Our customers are talking about growth but are still hesitant in their actions.
Our product group Netbiter remains an exciting initiative. We are identified as a participant in the new "hot" area of "Industrial Internet of Things" (Industrial IoT) were huge investments are made in future industrial applications. Despite a lot of interest expressed by our customers for our products and solutions, there is still a slow development of sales in the short perspective.
As in previous years, we shipped fewer products in the fourth quarter. However, the slowdown was not as significant as the previous year. The fourth quarter is also characterized by high levels of activities in the areas of sales- and marketing activities. During this period HMS was represented on a number of different tradeshows. During 2013, we received 146 (119) new design wins regarding HMS communication solutions. The new technology platforms now released to the market receives a lot of interest and together with a positive "book to bill" for the fourth quarter we feel confident going into a new year.
Our focus remains to increase growth through our three product brands Anybus, Netbiter and IXXAT. Our market is still difficult to predict in the short term and consequently we continue to balance our long term growth strategy with a cautious view on expenses. In the long term, we believe that the market for industrial communication and remote management will be a growth area and that our long-lasting company tagline "Connecting Devices" represents an interesting positioning in an expanding market.
Halmstad February 7, 2013
Staffan Dahlström
Chief Executive Officer
HMS Q4 Report 2013 (English)