SinterCast Follow

 Fourth Quarter 2020
· Revenue for Period: SEK 32.9 million (SEK 29.3 million)
· Operating Result: SEK 9.3 million (SEK 3.8 million)
· Earnings per Share: SEK 1.26 per share (SEK 1.64 per share)
· Cashflow from Operations: SEK 11.7 million (SEK 7.2 million)
· Second-highest quarterly revenue, second only to 2Q19 (SEK 33.5 million)
· Installations at FAW in China and Scania in Sweden commissioned during fourth quarter
· CGI capacity upgrade installed at the Teksid foundry in Mexico
 
2020 Year-to-Date
· Revenue for Period: SEK 95.4 million (SEK 116.5 million)
· Operating Result: SEK 21.7 million (SEK 40.1 million)
· Earnings per Share: SEK 3.13 per share (SEK 6.80 per share)
· Cashflow from Operations: SEK 27.5 million (SEK 37.8 million)
· Dividend: Proposed ordinary dividend of SEK 4.00 per share (SEK 3.50 per share) and extraordinary dividend of SEK 0.00 per share (SEK 0.00 per share), equivalent to SEK 28.4 million (SEK 24.8 million), to be paid in two instalments
· Full-year Installation revenue SEK 16.6 million; more than double the ten-year average
· Installed Base: 54 installations in 14 Countries(24 [26] fully automated systems, 25 [26] mini-systems and five [five] tracking systems)

Series Production*
Annualised series production in the fourth quarter amounted to 2.6 million Engine Equivalents, corresponding to 84% of the volume in the fourth quarter of 2019. Production for the second-half of 2020 finished at 2.7 million Engine Equivalents, corresponding to 82% of the second-half volume in 2019.

 * Annualised average production of Engine Equivalents during the quarter (1 Engine Equivalent = 50 kg)

CEO Comments
 
Series Production enters new year at more than 80% of pre-corona run-rate
Following the low-point of 1.6 million Engine Equivalents during the second quarter of 2020, series production improved during the second half of the year to provide a stable base entering 2021. Annualised production in the fourth quarter amounted to 2.6 million Engine Equivalents, corresponding to 84% of the production volume during the fourth quarter of 2019. Series production decreased from 2.8 million Engine Equivalents in the third quarter to 2.6 million Engine Equivalents in the fourth quarter primarily due to a model changeover of the high-volume Ford F-150 and the traditional year-end foundry shutdowns. In perspective, the fourth quarter volume was the second highest fourth quarter in the company’s history. 
 
Series production for the second half of the year amounted to 2.7 million Engine Equivalents representing a 20% improvement relative to the first half of the year and corresponding to 82% of the production during the second-half of 2019. The reduction was primarily due to global reductions in passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle production, but was exacerbated by the the replacement of 3.0 litre V6 diesel engine in Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles following the conclusion of the Ford engine supply contract with JLR after 17 years of production. The 3.0 litre V6 continues to be produced for other vehicles in the Ford group. Despite negative influences caused by the corona virus, commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle sales in Europe and North America continued to improve during the fourth quarter. In our largest end-user market, commercial vehicle sales in North America were at near-record levels during the fourth quarter, and passenger vehicles returned to more than 90% of the pre-corona volume. 
 
Series production for the full year finished at 2.5 million Engine Equivalents, corresponding to 76% of the 2019 volume of 3.3 million Engine Equivalents. Passenger vehicle production and commercial vehicle production were both down by 24%, resulting in a constant production split of 60% passenger vehicle, 35% commercial vehicle and 5% for industrial power and automotive components other than cylinder blocks and heads.
 
New installations provide foundation for new production
Installation activity intensified during the fourth quarter as System 4000 Plus installations were commissioned at the First Automobile Works (FAW) foundry in China and at the new Scania foundry in Sweden. A capacity upgrade was also installed at the Teksid foundry in Mexico during the fourth quarter, to improve the CGI productivity. These activities, together with the exercise of a System 4000 purchase option at the WHB foundry in Brazil, resulted in full-year installation revenue of SEK 16.6 million. The full-year installation revenue is 40% higher than the previous record of SEK 11.9 million set in 2019, and more than double the historical ten-year average of SEK 7.4 million established from 2010 to 2019. Building on the record installation revenue, the total revenue for the fourth quarter reached SEK 32.9 million, the second highest quarterly revenue in the company’s history, behind only the second quarter of 2019 (SEK 33.5 million).
 
The new installations provide the foundation for further growth, with the series production planned to begin at FAW and Scania during 2021. The FAW installation will support the production of a SinterCast-CGI cylinder block for a new 16 litre commercial vehicle engine, with initial production planned to exceed 100,000 Engine Equivalents per year. The Scania installation will support the production of a SinterCast-CGI cylinder block and head for a new 13 litre engine to be used in MAN, Navistar, Scania and Volkswagen (Traton Group) applications. The combined volume of the new 13L engine is expected to provide incremental production of one million Engine Equivalents per year at full volume.
 
Discussions are ongoing for CGI process control systems, capacity upgrades, and Tracking Technologies installations in grey iron, CGI and ductile iron foundries. However, many foundries are currently deferring or restricting investment commitments and on-site engineering service. SinterCast is also investigating the development of other unique technologies – within and beyond the scope of thermal analysis – to improve quality and production efficiency in the metals industry, and to broaden our product portfolio and our production base.

For further information please contact:
 
Dr. Steve Dawson
President & CEO
SinterCast AB (publ)
Office: +46 150 794 40
Mobile: +44 771 002 6342
e-mail: steve.dawson@sintercast.com
website: www.sintercast.com
CIN: 556233-6494

This press release contains information SinterCast AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the President & CEO Dr. Steve Dawson, at 08:00 CET on 10 February 2021. 

SinterCast is the world’s leading supplier of process control technology for the reliable high volume production of Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI). With at least 75% higher tensile strength, 45% higher stiffness and approximately double the fatigue strength of conventional grey cast iron and aluminium, CGI allows engine designers to improve performance, fuel economy and durability while reducing engine size, weight, noise and emissions. The SinterCast technology is used for the production of petrol and diesel engine cylinder blocks and exhaust components for passenger vehicles, medium-duty and heavy-duty cylinder blocks and heads for commercial vehicles, and industrial power engine components for agriculture, marine, rail, off-road and stationary engine applications. SinterCast supports the series production of components ranging from 2.7 kg to 9 tonnes, all using the same proven process control technology. As a specialist supplier of precision measurement and process control solutions to the metals industry, SinterCast also supplies the SinterCast Ladle Tracker® and SinterCast Cast Tracker® technologies, to improve process control, productivity and traceability in a variety of applications. With 54 installations in 14 countries, SinterCast is a publicly traded company, quoted on the Small Cap segment of the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange (SINT). For more information: www.sintercast.com