Fiskars (FSKRS) Q2 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved all-time high gross margin and free cash flow in Q2 2024, despite challenging market conditions and volume declines.

• Efficiency programs and Georg Jensen integration delivered significant cost savings, with 75% of €18m synergies implemented and accretive to EBIT.

• Growth strategy emphasizes brand leadership, commercial excellence, and direct-to-consumer channels.

• Comparable EBIT dropped 18.2% to €19.2m in Q2, with margin at 6.8%.

• Free cash flow hit a record Q2 level at €49.3m, up 18.5% year-over-year.

Financial highlights

• Q2 2024 reported net sales rose 4.9% to €281.0m, but comparable net sales declined 5.3% year-over-year.

• Q2 comparable EBIT was €19.2m (6.8% margin), down from €23.4m (8.7%) in Q2 2023.

• Q2 gross margin reached an all-time high of 49.1% (up from 46.8%).

• Q2 free cash flow was €49.3m, with rolling 12-month free cash flow at approximately €160m.

• Net debt at €477.5m, net debt/EBITDA at 2.7x, and equity ratio at 45%.

Outlook and guidance

• 2024 guidance unchanged: comparable EBIT expected to be slightly above 2023 (€110.3m), with EBIT generation weighted toward H2, especially Q4.

• No improvement in macroeconomic environment or volumes anticipated in H2; focus remains on cost efficiencies and margin improvement.

• Wage inflation and challenging market conditions expected to persist.