The January–March 2020 revenue and operating result decreased compared to previous year.
January–March 2020
Outlook
Outlook for 2020
Martela Group anticipates that its 2020 revenue will decrease clearly, and operating result will decrease compared to the previous year. Due to current situation visibility to second half of the year is even more challenging than normally and company is actively monitoring the situation.
Key figures, EUR million
| 2020 | 2019 | Change | 2019 | |
| 1-3 | 1-3 | % | 1-12 | |
| Revenue | 21.7 | 25.6 | -15.4 % | 106.2 |
| Operating result | -2.8 | -1.9 | -2.0 | |
| Operating result % | -13.1 % | -7.4 % | -1.9 % | |
| Result before taxes | -3.5 | -2.1 | -2.7 | |
| Result for the period | -3.5 | -2.0 | -2.5 | |
| Earnings/share, euro | -0.84 | -0.49 | -0.61 | |
| Return on investment % | -38.3 | -23.4 | -6.4 | |
| Return on equity % | -97.6 | -46.2 | -14.7 | |
| Equity ratio % | 29.2 | 32.4 | -9.7 % | 30.6 |
| Gearing % | 66.1 | 39.4 | 67.5 % | 31.5 |
Matti Rantaniemi, CEO:
“Our revenue decreased by 15.4 % in the first quarter compared to same period last year. Total revenue for the first quarter was EUR 21.7 million. Our revenue decreased expectedly due to implementation and trainings related to our new sales tool. Revenue was also negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic through a decreased demand and postponement of orders, especially in the Norwegian market. The implementation of the new sales tool was successful and the system will streamline our processes in the future.
New orders decreased slightly in the first quarter. The decrease was strongest in Norway and in the Finnish commercial sector.
Operating result decreased by EUR 0.9 million in the first quarter when comparing to the same period previous year and was EUR -2.8 million (-1.9). This was caused by the decreased revenue. Sales margin % stayed on the same level and operating expenses decreased compared to same period last year.
Our cash position remained on an acceptable level. We are having active communication with our financing partners in order to secure that our operations will not be disturbed due to financing issues.
The coronavirus pandemic and the uncertainty caused by it have had a negative impact on the market situation. We have initiated cost saving actions to minimize the financial impact of the pandemic. These actions include decrease of external services, minimizing travel expenses as well as temporary layoffs. Despite these circumstances, our delivery accuracy has remained on an excellent level and we will continue to develop our customer’s learning and working environments and the furniture deliveries related to those.
Even though it is too early to say what the long-term impact of the pandemic will be to our market environment, it is clear that the negative impacts in the short-term will be significant.
Despite this difficult situation we strongly believe that the basis for our strategy remains. Transformation in working and learning environments will continue, get stronger and expand in the Nordics. Working and learning environments will have to be sustainable and to be able to adapt faster as needs and circumstances constantly keep changing. This will require capabilities to follow and understand the use of space and needs of the users, and to be able to renew and optimize the space according to those needs.”
Market situation
The coronavirus pandemic has had a negative impact on the whole market environment of Martela, both in Scandinavia and in other countries. This impact has been especially strong in the commercial sector. The negative impact has been smaller on the Finnish Public sector compared to the commercial sector, but the competition has toughened and prices have decreased also in the Public sector. At the moment it is impossible to say what the short- and midterm impacts to general market conditions will be and how long the uncertainty in the markets will continue.
BRIEFING
A briefing will not be held due to the prevailing pandemic situation, but additional information can be asked by telephone from Matti Rantaniemi and Kalle Lehtonen on Thursday 7th of May 2020 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. EET.
Martela Corporation
Board of Directors
Matti Rantaniemi
CEO
Further information
Matti Rantaniemi, CEO, tel. +358 50 465 8194
Kalle Lehtonen, CFO, tel. +358 400 539 968
Distribution
Nasdaq OMX Helsinki
Key news media
www.martela.com
Our strategic direction is defined by our mission “Better working” and our vision “People-centric workplaces”. Martela supplies user-centric workplaces where the users and their wellbeing are what matter most. We focus on the Nordic countries because, based on our common open work culture and needs, the Nordic countries are leaders in hybrid workplaces.
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