Raised sales ests., but ‘23e EBIT -13% on higher opex
Ovzon-3 launch is looming (Dec’22-Feb’23)
Strong growth resulted in improved EBIT
Ovzon posted a solid set of Q3 numbers, with sales of SEK 78m up 63% y-o-y (of which 40% organic), -2% vs. ABGSCe. This stemmed from increased satellite services sales, which grew 72% y-o-y on the back of recent order announcements with an increased contribution from the Italian and Fire Service order (as suggested by Europe-related sales growing 22% q-o-q). The improved sales also rendered a gross margin of 35% vs. 31% in Q2. Although opex grew 40% y-o-y (partly due to FX), EBIT improved to SEK -12m (ABGSCe SEK -14m), up from SEK -23m in Q3’21. Capex of SEK 60m was largely in line with previous quarters, with Ovzon-3 related capex now totalling SEK 1.4bn (vs. capex guidance of ~SEK 1.5bn). Ovzon reiterated its timeline for launching Ovzon-3: Dec’22-Feb’23. Although we are optimistic about the current plan, we emphasise that our visibility into this is low, while we also note delayed satellite launches for other actors in the industry (e.g., ESA and SES).