Solid Q1 despite turbulence from the COVID-19 pandemic
First quarter report of 2020
for ROCKWOOL International A/S
Release no. 24 – 2020
to Nasdaq Copenhagen13 May 2020Solid Q1 despite turbulence from the COVID-19 pandemic
HighlightsSales in Q1 2020 reached EUR 649 million, a growth of 0.5 percent in local currencies excluding the acquisition of the Parafon business in Sweden. With a positive currency impact of 0.4 percentage points and acquisition impact of 0.4 percentage points, the sales growth in reported figures totalled 1.3 percent.EBIT in Q1 2020 increased 4.5 percent to EUR 80 million, with a 12.3 percent EBIT margin, up 0.3 percentage points from last year.Investments excluding acquisitions reached EUR 96 million, up EUR 18 million compared to last year, primarily due to ongoing expansions in Germany and the United States, and offset by a grant received in China.
Annualised return on invested capital reached 20.2 percent compared to 21.5 percent last year, a decrease due to an increased investment level.
The COVID-19 pandemic did not materially impact Q1 2020 results, although sales were affected in Asia and started to decrease during the last weeks of March in southern Europe.
Net sales in April declined around 20 percent with pandemic restrictions affecting building activities in many European markets.
Outlook 2020 (suspended) At this stage, we are not able to forecast the impact and duration of the crisis mid-term, and as previously disclosed have suspended our full year guidance until we have gained improved clarity on the pandemic’s development and its effect on the economy mid-term.
CEO comment
Commenting on the Group’s performance, CEO Jens Birgersson says:“Despite turbulence from the COVID-19 pandemic whose impact we began to feel late in the quarter, we achieved solid Q1 results. Climate change isn’t going away, however. Energy renovation is a high-impact economic recovery measure that creates local jobs, a more resilient and healthy society while at the same time contributing to reaching long-term global climate ambitions.”Further information:
Kim Junge Andersen, Chief Financial Officer
ROCKWOOL International A/S
+45 46 56 03 00Conference call:
ROCKWOOL Group will host an earning call on 14 May 2020 at 11:00 AM CEST. To attend the conference call dial +45 35445577, +44 3333000804 or +1 6319131422. Passcode 89917515#. The conference call will be transmitted live on www.rockwoolgroup.com AttachmentSE-2020-24_EN
