Saab beats expectations: “Ready to support Sweden and our partners in NATO”

Turnover rose 23.5 percent to SEK 14,185 million (11,485). The outcome can be compared with the Bloomberg analyst consensus, which was 13,049. The organic sales growth was 24 percent (23).

All business areas showed growth in the first quarter.

The Ebitda result was SEK 1,819 million (1,484), with an Ebitda margin of 12.8 percent (12.9).

Operating profit was SEK 1,191 million (928), expected operating profit was 1,082. The operating margin was 8.4 percent (8.1).

The underlying improvement was driven by economies of scale from higher volumes, particularly in Aeronautics and Surveillance. At the same time, Dynamics’ margins were affected by lower delivery volumes within Ground Combat operations in the quarter, where Saab expects increased volumes from the second quarter onwards.

The profit after tax was SEK 784 million (735).

Earnings per share amounted to SEK 5.71 (5.45).

Order intake landed at SEK 18,495 million (17,018).

The order backlog amounted to SEK 158.4 billion (132.7). At the end of the fourth quarter, it was 153.4 billion.

Cash flow from current operations amounted to SEK -1,998 million (3,072).

Saab raises the sales forecast. Organic sales growth is estimated to be between 15-20 percent compared to the previous forecast of between 12-16 percent.

The second forecast is repeated. Growth in operating profit is expected to be higher than organic growth for the year.

“The geopolitical tensions in the outside world are still high and shorter lead times in the delivery of systems and solutions are becoming increasingly important. We have continued to focus heavily on our customer deliveries, capacity increases and development of future capabilities,” states the CEO Michael Johansson.

He also brings up the new Swedish membership in NATO.

“NATO membership means that Sweden will take several important steps in the future, for example to integrate with the alliance and to meet their requirements for capabilities. Saab is ready to support Sweden and our partners in NATO as they build up their defense readiness.”

The Saab boss also dusts off the issue of the supply chain.

“With our increasing business volumes, we continue to view supply chains with caution as a potentially limiting factor for growth, and we work continuously with our subcontractors to counter these risks,” Johansson states.