Kongsberg reports 12% revenue growth and new orders worth NOK 11bn in Q2 2022
Kongsberg says it increased its operating revenues by 12 per cent and grew all its business areas compared to the second quarter of last year. The EBITDA was just over NOK 1 billion and the order intake came to almost NOK 11 billion.
“Kongsberg maintained its good progress and had strong growth in its order intake and operating revenues in the second quarter. The order backlog has risen to NOK 54 billion. Kongsberg Maritime had a record-high order intake during the quarter and its operating revenues grew by 14%, while Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace increased its operating revenues by 10 per cent and produced an EBITDA margin of more than 20% despite continued delays in weapon station deliveries. Kongsberg Digital increased both its operating revenues and recurring operating revenues. All the business areas have grown profitably and I’m very pleased with the quarter,” says Geir Håøy, the president and CEO of KONGSBERG.
Strong order intake
Kongsberg Maritime (KM) had an order intake of NOK 6.6 billion, which is 57 per cent higher than in Q2 2021. There were a large number of new orders both from the after-sales market and for deliveries to new vessels. At the same time, there is also a very good order intake from the Sensors & Robotics area, among other things linked to the Hugin family of autonomous subsea vessels.
The order intake of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) came to NOK 4.1 billion, equal to a book-to-bill ratio of 1.52. A new significant contract for deliveries to the F-35 programme and a start-up order for deliveries of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) to Australia were just two of the agreements entered into during the quarter.
Kongsberg Digital (KDI) continued to sign up new customers for its digital solutions, and the number of both customers and installations in operation increased. This included a contract for the delivery of a further four digital twins to one of the world’s largest oil and energy companies, as well as a contract with Mediterranean Shipping Company for the digitalisation of almost 500 vessels.In total, the Group’s order backlog increased by NOK 3.9 billion during the quarter and now stands at NOK 53.8 billion.
Vigilance and continual measures
The world is currently experiencing increasing inflation, logistics difficulties and component shortages. This also affects Kongsberg both directly and indirectly.
“Kongsberg’s deliveries consist to a large extent of systems and products composed of a considerable number of components. Even with the beforementioned delays linked to remote weapon stations, we feel we have a generally good overview of the component situation. We are also affected by high inflation and price rises. This requires an extra level of vigilance, and we are continually implementing measures to neutralise any negative consequences. For some of our order backlog, we have inflation adjustment clauses in the contracts. The part of the order backlog that does not have such clauses mainly consists of contracts with a shorter delivery horizon or where the cost picture is tied to subcontractors,” says Håøy.
Solid foundation for continued growth
“The current turbulent state of the world leads to more unpredictability in the short term than we have had for the past few years. At the same time, we have a solid foundation and a record-high order backlog. Our positions in both established and new markets have never been stronger. This makes me confident that Kongsberg will grasp new opportunities and while also dealing with the external challenges. In total, we expect our operating revenues to continue to grow and we are on schedule to achieve our ambitions for 2022,” concludes Håøy.