Interim Report Q1 2022

Financial summary January – March 2022

• Net sales totaled SEK 196m (153), an increase of 28.3 percent. Adjusted for currency effects, net sales increased by 20.2 percent.
• EBIT totaled SEK 55m (40), an increase of 38.3 percent, and 22.2 percent when adjusted for currency effects. The EBIT margin was 27.9 percent (25.9).
• Adjusted EBIT improved to SEK 65m (48). Adjustments during the quarter related to acquisition costs of SEK 10m. Adjustments for the first quarter of 2021 related to IPO expenses of SEK 8m.
• Adjusted EBIT margin for the quarter was 33.1 percent (31.1).
• Profit for the period increased to SEK 40m (31).
• Cash flow from operating activities totaled SEK 54m (42).
• Earnings per share (basic and diluted) totaled SEK 0.99 (0.78).

Significant events during the first quarter

• The previous financial target for net sales, to “over time, achieve a constant currency annual organic growth in net sales of above 10 percent and reach net sales exceeding SEK 800m by 2023” was updated to “over time, achieve a constant currency annual organic growth in net sales of above 10 percent”.

Significant events after the end of the period

• As part of the strategy to expand in automated e-commerce photography, Profoto Holding AB (publ) acquired all the shares in the Dutch company StyleShoots Holding B.V. on April 6, 2022. The purchase price totaled EUR 18m on a cash and debt-free basis, corresponding to approximately SEK 186m. Pro forma* net sales and EBIT for the period April 1, 2021–March 31, 2022 (LTM) amounted to SEK 868m and SEK 231m. Corresponding figures for the full year 2021 were SEK 820m and SEK 215m, respectively. Further details of the acquisition and the related acquisition analysis are presented in Note 6 Acquisitions after the period end.

* Pro forma includes StyleShoots Holding B.V. as if the acquisition had taken place on January 1, 2021.

CEO comment
A stable first quarter in a troubled world
Sales growth for the first quarter of 2022 was solid. Our sales increased by 28 percent from the corresponding quarter in 2021, to SEK 196m, and adjusted EBIT totaled SEK 65m, an increase of no less than 37 percent. Adjusted for currency effects, sales and EBIT increased by 20 percent and 22 percent, respectively. The strong currency effect was due to a weakening of the Swedish krona compared to the same period in the previous year. The adjusted EBIT margin remains high and was 33 percent for the first quarter.

Strong growth in Europe and the US
Through to the end of February, growth was strong in both Europe and the US. Events such as trade fairs, travel and conferences got underway after the restrictions were lifted. Number of weddings have increased to some extent and are expected to increase in the summer. In China, activity has been lower following the intensification of contagion and restrictions since the middle of the quarter.

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in the end of February, demand in the neighboring countries has been subdued. Profoto’s previous sales in Russia and Ukraine amounted to approximately one percent of net sales.

Strengthening our position in automated e-commerce photography
Photography for e-commerce is an exciting area, in which we see continued growth. The need for great images continues to grow. That’s because great images, taken in good lighting, not only increase sales but also reduce returns in e-commerce, which are expensive to handle. Great images with good lighting show better and more realistically what a garment looks like and therefore improve customer satisfaction.

This structural growth in the need for great images was also a reason why we bought the Dutch workflow company StyleShoots, which sells software and hardware for automated e-commerce photography. A very exciting and innovative company that has understood and interpreted customer needs in a completely new way. StyleShoots operates in a different part of the market than Profoto. StyleShoots’ customers operate e-commerce platforms or are retailers who increasingly sell products online and need an infrastructure to make their work more efficient. After completing the purchase of StyleShoots at the beginning of April, we have spent a lot of time together putting our joint future plans into action. This mainly involves jointly driving StyleShoots’ expansion in an attractive market, based on Profoto’s organization and solid experience in global geographic expansion. StyleShoots is a good and profitable company, and as is often the case with good companies it has turned out to be even better than we first thought. I have been even more impressed than expected by its innovative strength, and I look forward to combining our product portfolios and sales organizations to provide a more complete product offering to customers around the world in an efficient way. As mentioned above, this acquisition, of a very good company, is an investment to generate long term profitable growth, which however will have some short term negative effects on the EBIT due to depreciation of acquired surplus values.

Stable delivery despite troubled times
Like most companies, we have continued to work hard with supply chains, shipping issues, component shortages and price increases of supplied parts throughout the quarter. These areas remain a key focus and require a great deal of time from our employees to resolve. But we’ve done well so far, and I’m proud that we’ve delivered so steadily, despite the troubled times in which we live.

We help photographers realize their ambitions
The future is always difficult to predict – and perhaps even more so at the time of writing? However, we continue to see strong demand from both professional photographers and e-commerce players. Our mission is to help creative professional photographers realize their ambitions, and we do this by understanding their needs and developing products that meet these needs. This is what pushes us and keeps us constantly responsive and innovative.

Stockholm, May 5, 2022

Anders Hedebark
President and CEO

Conference call
Profoto Holding AB (publ) will publish its interim report for the first quarter of 2022 on Thursday, May 5, at 8:00 am CEST. At 10:00 am CEST the same day, a webcast teleconference will be held where Anders Hedebark, President and CEO, will present the report together with Petter Sylvan, CFO. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. The presentation will be held in English. Those wishing to participate in the conference call in conjunction with the presentation should call in using the following numbers: from Sweden: +46 856642695, from UK: +44 3333009272, from the US: +1 6319131422 US-PIN: 48874020#. It is also possible to attend and listen to the presentation and the conference using the following web link: https://tv.streamfabriken.com/profoto-q1-2022.