Nilfisk reports Q1 2024 results 149 0 Kommentare Solid organic growth and robust financial performance in line with plan

Nilfisk, a leading global provider of professional cleaning products and services, reported its Q1 2024 results today with solid organic growth and gross margin increase.

Revenue was 259.0 mEUR, up 2.6 mEUR compared with Q1 2023. Organic growth for Q1 2024 was 3.7%. The EBITDA margin before special items (bsi) was 13.2%, leading to an EBITDA before special items of 34.2 mEUR.

René Svendsen-Tune, CEO of Nilfisk comments on the Q1 results:

“Nilfisk delivered a solid set of results in line with plan for Q1 2024. Stabilization in EMEA and a positive change in US momentum delivered volume growth for our Professional Business. We also saw our Service Business continue to grow, alongside a strong rebound from the Consumer Business. Also, we are delighted to announce that we have retained our Gold EcoVadis status”.

Nilfisk delivered a significant increase in gross margin in Q1 2024 to 41.8% from the same period in the prior year at 40.2%. This was due to a favorable product mix, volume growth, and diligent price management. The structural efficiency measures implemented in 2023 delivered the promised reduction in cost levels in Q1 2024. Net debt was 267.3 mEUR, and the financial gearing was 1.9x which was within Nilfisk’s target range of 1.5x to 2x. Free cash flow came to -7.4 mEUR which was a decrease of 20.5 mEUR from Q1 2023, due to an increase in working capital from year end 2023 and increased investment in Nilfisk’s growth through product innovation and capacity expansion. Special items in the quarter were 2.6 mEUR.

Q1 2024 financial highlights
Organic growth at 3.7% in Q1 2024, compared to -2.0% in Q1 2023
The gross margin reached 41.8% in Q1 2024, up from 40.2% in Q1 2023
Overhead costs amounted to 89.4 mEUR in Q1 2024, down from 89.9 mEUR in Q1 2023
The overhead cost ratio decreased to 34.5% in Q1 2024, down from 35.1% in Q1 2023
The EBITDA margin bsi amounted to 13.2% in Q1 2024, compared with 11.0% in Q1 2023
Free cash flow was -7.4 mEUR in Q1 2024, down by 20.5 mEUR from 13.1 mEUR in Q1 2023
Net interest-bearing debt was 267.3 mEUR at the end of Q1 2024, a reduction of 50.6 mEUR from end-Q1 2023
Gearing at the end of Q1 2024 was 1.9x, down from 2.4x a year ago
CAPEX ratio was 4.9% at the end of Q1 2024, up from 2.6% in Q1 2023
Special items amounted to 2.6 mEUR in Q1 2024, up from 2.2 mEUR in Q1 2023

Outlook for 2024
We confirm the full-year outlook as communicated in the Annual Report 2023. As expected, we are now starting to see the pickup in demand and output in 2024, leading to volume growth across products and services.