Ework Group: Much weaker than expected Q1 sales - ABG
Preliminary Q1 figures: sales -17% y-o-y, -13% vs. ABGSCe Weak market and client phase-outs, but surprising softness Full report due 14 May; FY'25 EBIT likely down >15%
ANNONS
Sales -17% y-o-y amid challenging market and client exits
This evening Ework released preliminary Q1 figures. Amid continued challenging market conditions and headwinds from the phase-out of unprofitable customer contracts (one of which is with Vattenfall), sales of ~SEK 3.5bn fell c. 17% y-o-y and came in 13% below our forecast. As Ework's platform is relatively scalable, margins suffered accordingly, with EBIT of SEK 34m, down 24% y-o-y (or -39% y-o-y adjusted for NRIs in Q1'24) and -35% vs. ABGSCe. In line with the recent trend, Ework says that gross margins have continued to improve. If our Q1e gross margin figure of 4.0% is correct, the announced sales and EBIT figures suggest that opex was broadly in line with or slightly below our forecast, meaning that the profit decline was likely driven by the weak top line alone.
