Uncertainty on the rise with the second wave
The increased uncertainty brought by the second wave reduces the already low visibility going into 2021. Etteplan has so far fared well given the circumstances, having adopted substantial cost savings measures. Compared with Q2, lockdowns and restrictions are not affecting customer industries to the same extent, but customers are still cautious in making investment decisions. We assume the demand uncertainty to continue to impact on activity at least during the first half of the year. We still expect recovery compared with 2020 and supported by the Tegeman acquisition expect a 6.5% growth in 2021. We expect margins to remain at 2020e levels.
HOLD with a target price of EUR 9.3
Peers’ multiples have been under pressure with the second wave uncertainty and governments seeking to increase restrictions and the fwd. 12m median EV/EBITDA for the selected peer group has dropped by some 9% in the past few days to 8.3x, while Etteplan trades at 7.6x. With the uncertainty possibly still on the rise we retain our HOLD-rating and target price of EUR 9.3.