NCAB orders jump 166 per cent as customers buy early and prices rise
NCAB reported a 166 per cent increase in third-quarter orders, far ahead of sales growth. The printed-circuit-board supplier’s management attributed much of the organic order increase to customers buying early and to higher prices as materials became harder to obtain. Quarterly sales and profit also increased, while delivery uncertainty continued to shape purchasing decisions.
Economics & Markets··Morning
Third-quarter orders rise much faster than sales
NCAB, a Swedish supplier of printed circuit boards used to connect electronic components, increased third-quarter order intake by 166 per cent to 2,620.3 million Swedish kronor. Orders a year earlier were 985.2 million kronor. For comparable units, growth reached 155 per cent.[1], [2]
Quarterly sales increased 54 per cent to 1,463.0 million kronor. The ratio of orders to sales was 1.79. Comparable-unit sales grew 46 per cent in kronor and 45 per cent in dollars.[1]
Management attributes much of the surge to early buying and prices
Chief executive Peter Kruk estimated that customers bringing orders forward contributed approximately 80 percentage points of organic order growth and higher prices about 50 points.[1], [2]
He linked the earlier buying to uncertainty over deliveries as circuit-board manufacturers struggled to secure material allocations. Data-center investment and industrial growth in North America and Europe were intensifying bottlenecks, according to Kruk. Management said underlying demand also remained strong in industrial automation, defense and energy infrastructure for data centers.[1]
Profit and operating cash flow increase
After-tax profit rose to 129.8 million kronor from 60.9 million kronor. Operating profit increased to 188.7 million kronor from 93.2 million kronor, and operating cash flow reached 176.8 million kronor against 118.3 million kronor. Over the first nine months, sales increased 30 per cent to 3,704.2 million kronor and orders rose 84 per cent to 5,478.8 million kronor.[1]
