Finnish drilling tool manufacturer Robit expects another year of growth “if geopolitical risks do not materialise” after posting its first €100 million sales year in 2021.
The company turned its €2.89m net loss in 2020 into a €0.89m profit on 10% higher revenues totalling €100.8 million. EBITDA for FY21 was €7.59m, ahead of the guidance given last October when Robit was expecting net sales to come in at €97-100m.
It said demand prospects for the mining industry – which accounted for 60% of total sales in 2021 – were good for 2022. Construction and infrastructure markets were also trending positively.
“The company expects COVID-19 restrictions to have a limited impact on the demand of Robit’s products in 2022,” it said.
“Robit estimates that net sales for 2022 will grow and adjusted EBITDA profitability in euros will improve compared with 2021, assuming that there are no significant changes in the exchange rates compared with the end of 2021.”
CEO Tommi Lehtonen said the December quarter saw orders exceed €30m for the first time.
He said profit for the period was hit by high freight costs and raw material costs “rose rapidly during the year”.
“The challenges associated with container transport, combined with rapid growth, caused bottlenecks in the supply chain during the year. This development was already visible at the end of 2020, and provisions were made for it, including by increasing inventory levels,” Lehtonen said.
“During the year, decisions were also made on investments of around €6m, mainly related to top hammer production, with the aim of ensuring sufficient supply capacity to support the growth in the coming years. The new capacity was partly available in the last quarter of the year and will be at full capacity in the first quarter of 2022.”
Helsinki-listed Robit shares are down about 5.5% so far this year at €3.90, capitalising the company at €81.6m.
