“EBITA in the business group increased by 28% in the third quarter of 2020. For the last 12-month period, EBITA amounted to SEK 1,669m, up 60%. Cash flow also remained strong and contributed to the continuing decline in leverage. As earnings levels also improve, Ratos’s leverage has fallen to 1.4x* in the third quarter of 2020, compared with 3.0x in the third quarter of 2019.

After the end of the period, an agreement was signed to divest Bisnode to Dun & Bradstreet. The divestment is a good deal for Ratos and reduces risk in the business group while freeing up capital. This enables us to step up the pace of our business plan through add-on and potential new acquisitions together with a continued focus on organic growth and margin growth. The divestment represents a major step in the transformation of Ratos to a business group focused on profitable growth.

Overall, I am very pleased with the performance of Ratos as a business group during the third quarter.”

Jonas Wiström, President and CEO of Ratos

Performance Ratos business group

• Net sales for the Ratos business group increased 1% organically but decreased in total by 6%, mainly due to negative currency effects, and amounted to SEK 5,580m (5,951)
• EBITA for the Ratos business group increased to SEK 426m (332)
• Cash flow from operations for the Ratos business group increased to SEK 203m (-277)

Performance Ratos Group

• Operating profit for the Ratos Group amounted to SEK 419m (832). Profit for the year-earlier period included a capital gain of SEK 487m from the sale of Ratos’s property.
• Earnings per share after dilution, adjusted for non-recurring items, amounted to SEK 0.64 (0.18). Non-recurring items mainly relates to the sales process of Bisnode.
• Reported earnings per share after dilution amounted to SEK 0.31 (1.70)
• Net cash in the parent company totalled SEK 1,225m
• The Board of Ratos proposes the reintroduction of a dividend for the full-year 2019 of SEK 0.65 per share (0.50). Ratos will repay the subsidies for temporary lay-offs received in Sweden linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Events after the end of the period

• Ratos has signed an agreement to divest its holding in Bisnode to the company’s partner Dun & Bradstreet for an enterprise value of approximately SEK 7,200m, corresponding to a 13.8 multiple of EV/EBITA and an equity value of approximately SEK 3,900m. The capital gain is estimated at approximately SEK 2,000m. In addition, Ratos will receive a dividend from Bisnode during the fourth quarter 2020 amounting to SEK 175m.

*Net debt/EBITDA, excluding IFRS 16 and including Ratos’s parent company cash position.

A teleconference will be held at 9:00 a.m. CET today to present the earnings. The presentation will be held in English and will be available as an audiocast on the Ratos website, www.ratos.com

Link to audiocast: https://ratos-live.creo.se/i/75LsSKkqyGOEwcCKhlH7cg

Those who want to participate in the teleconference in connection with the presentation are welcome to call the numbers below. To ensure a successful connection to the conference call, call a few minutes before the start of the conference to register.

Telephone numbers:
UK: +44 33 3300 9264
SE: +46 8 505 583 57
US: +1 833 526 8398

Stockholm 22 October 2020
Jonas Wiström
President and CEO

For further information, visit www.ratos.com or contact:
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR & Press, telephone: +46 70 868 40 50
E-mail: helene.gustafsson@ratos.com 
Jonas Wiström, President and CEO, telephone: +46 70 868 40 50
This is information that Ratos AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 7:00 a.m. CET on 22 October 2020.

About Ratos:
Ratos is a business group consisting of 12 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer & Technology and Industry. In total, the companies have SEK 38 billion in sales and EBITA of SEK 1.8 billion. Our business concept is to develop mid-sized companies headquartered in the Nordics that are or can become market leaders. We enable independent mid-sized companies to excel by being part of something larger. People, leadership, culture and values are key focus areas for Ratos. Everything we do is based on Ratos’s core values: Simplicity, Speed in Execution and It’s All About People.