Interim Report Q3 2020: GN Audio +72%, GN Hearing -11%, GN +29% organic growth and EBITA at DKK 795 million
During Q3 2020, GN was affected in two ways by COVID-19: (i) GN Audio experienced strong demand as enterprises continued to invest in employees working from home, and (ii) GN Hearing experienced emerging recovery with continued impact from local restrictions Leverage of 2.2 times net interest-bearing debt to EBITDAOperating in both the hearing aid and audio space, and with no forward integration, is beneficial for GN during these challenging times. GN delivered an EPS growth of 84% in Q3 2020 reaching DKK 4.78, including gain from legal settlements and litigation
- - GN Store Nord
GN delivered strong 29% organic revenue growth in Q3 2020Free cash flow excl. M&A was DKK 612 million in Q3, reflecting the strong growthThe financial guidance for 2020, upgraded on October 9, 2020, is confirmed. Due to the COVID-19 situation, it must be stressed that the basic assumptions behind the guidance remain significantly more uncertain than normal
- - GN Hearing
GN Hearing experienced emerging recovery with organic revenue growth of ‑11%, compared to an organic revenue growth of -54% in Q2 2020Encouraging initial reception of ReSound ONE across all key markets with positive launch feedback in a world still impacted by COVID-19EBITA was DKK 169 million in Q3 2020 compared to DKK 283 million in Q3 2019 due to the decline in revenue more than offsetting OPEX reductionsFree cash flow excl. M&A was DKK 47 million in Q3 2020 compared to DKK 289 million in Q3 2019, reflecting the lower revenue level and channel investments
- - GN Audio
GN Audio experienced outstanding 72% organic revenue growth in Q3 2020, driven by continued very strong demand for enterprise products combined with significant increase in production capacity. Furthermore, the consumer segment returned to strong double-digit growth in the quarterEBITA increased by 129% to DKK 664 million (including gain from legal settlements and litigation of DKK 114 million) in Q3 2020 corresponding to an EBITA margin of 27.4%. The EBITA margin development reflects the gain from legal settlements and litigations and continuous leverage in the business offset by increased freight and production costs as a result of COVID-19, and investments in future growth opportunitiesFree cash flow excl. M&A was DKK 592 million in Q3 2020 compared to DKK 329 million in Q3 2019, reflecting the strong earnings growth and gain from legal settlements and litigation
Quotes from executive management
Gitte Aabo, CEO of GN Hearing, comments: "Although we see short term uncertainty due to the recent development in COVID-19 restrictions, we saw encouraging emerging recovery of the hearing aid market in Q3. I am pleased to see audiologists around the world getting their business back. Bringing Resound ONE, as an entirely new class of hearing aids, to the market during these challenging times and receiving such positive reception and encouraging feedback shows us that innovative hearing technology is needed, now more than ever."
René Svendsen-Tune, CEO of GN Audio, comments: "On the foundation of GN Audio's distinctly leading product portfolio and our highly scalable business model, our teams and partners in Q3 delivered extraordinarily high sales growth. The demand was of course helped by the work-from-home agenda, but underneath we see a fundamentally sound development in demand for flexible solutions."
Financial overview Q3 2020
| GN Hearing | GN Audio | GN Store Nord* | |||||||
| DKK million | Q3 2020 | Q3 2019 | Growth | Q3 2020 | Q3 2019 | Growth | Q3 2020 | Q3 2019 | Growth |
| Revenue | 1,318 | 1,537 | -14% | 2,421 | 1,462 | 66% | 3,739 | 2,999 | 25% |
| Organic growth | -11% | 8% | 72% | 20% | 29% | 13% | |||
| Gross profit | 859 | 1,053 | -18% | 1,239 | 775 | 60% | 2,098 | 1,828 | 15% |
| Gross margin | 65.2% | 68.5% | -3.3%p | 51.2% | 53.0% | -1.8%p | 56.1% | 61.0% | -4.9%p |
| EBITA | 169 | 283 | -40% | 664** | 290 | 129% | 795** | 538 | 48% |
| EBITA margin | 12.8% | 18.4% | -5.6%p | 27.4%** | 19.8% | +7.6%p | 21.3%** | 17.9% | +3.4%p |
| Earnings per share (EPS) - DKK | 4.78** | 2.60 | 84% | ||||||
| Free cash flow excl. M&A | 47 | 289 | -242 | 592** | 329 | 263 | 612** | 563 | 49 |
| * Including Other ** Including gain from legal settlements and litigation of DKK 114 million |
Teleconference
GN Store Nord will host a teleconference at 11.00 a.m. CET today. Please visit www.gn.com/investor to access the teleconference. Presentation material will be available on the website prior to the start of the teleconference.
For further information, please contact:
Investors and analysts
Morten P. Toft
Vice President - Investor Relations & Treasury
Tel: +45 45 75 46 07
Or
Henriette Wennicke
Vice President - Investor Relations & Treasury
Tel: +45 45 75 03 33
Or
Rune Sandager
Senior Manager - Investor Relations
Tel: +45 45 75 92 57
Press and the media
Lars Otto Andersen-Lange
Head of Media Relations & Corporate Public Affairs
Tel: +45 45 75 02 55
About GN Group
The GN Group enables people to Hear More, Do More and Be More through its intelligent hearing, audio and video collaboration solutions. Inspired by people and driven by our innovation leadership, we leverage technological synergies between our hearing and audio divisions to deliver unique and increasingly individualized user experiences in our products and solutions.
150 years ago, GN was founded with a truly innovative and global mindset. Today, we honor that legacy with world-leading expertise in the human ear, sound and video processing, wireless technology, miniaturization and collaborations with leading technology partners. GN's solutions are marketed by the brands ReSound, Beltone, Interton, Jabra, BlueParrott and FalCom in 100 countries. Founded in 1869, the GN Group employs 6,500 people and is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (GN.CO).
Visit our homepage GN.com - and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
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