Fiskars: Slight Q1 miss due to softness in top line - Nordea

Fiskars Q1 adjusted EBIT of EUR 31.2m came 4% below Refinitiv consensus expectation. Net sales of EUR 275m were down 17% y/y (-13% on comparable basis) and fell 5% below consensus forecast. Q1 gross margin of 46.4% came above consensus expectations of 44.0%. US sales decline 21% y/y due to low gardening shipments while China sales were up 14% y/y with pick up towards end of the quarter. Own ecommerce sales were up 12% y/y and drove direct-to-consumer sales growth of 4% y/y. On divisional level, Vita missed our adjusted EBIT estimate, while Terra and Crea beat our expectations. Q1 operating cash flow recovered clearly and was EUR 22.1m (EUR -55.9m a year ago) supported by EUR 18m decline in inventories. Net debt/LTM EBITDA increased to 2.0x (1.7x in 2022). EPS of EUR 0.25 fell slightly short of consensus expectation of EUR 0.27. There were EUR -2.3m of items affecting comparability on EBIT level. Guidance for slightly declining adjusted EBIT was maintained intact. Pre-Q1 consensus has been expecting EUR 137m adjusted EBIT (or 10% y/y decline from EUR 151m in 2022) while we have modelled EUR 140m, or 7% y/y decline. Initially, we expect consensus estimates to remain largely intact ahead of support from organizational changes that are proceeding according to plan and are expected to support EBIT in H2.