Kamux Corporation's Half Year Financial Report for January 1-June 30, 2023: Revenue increased and adjusted operating profit at previous year's level

Kamux Corporation, Half Year Financial Report, 11.8.2023 at 9:00

HÄMEENLINNA, Finland, Aug. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kamux Corporation's Half Year Financial Report for January 1–June 30, 2023: Revenue increased and adjusted operating profit at previous year's level

This is a summary of Kamux Corporation's Half Year Financial Report for January 1–June 30, 2023. The complete report is attached to this release and is also available at the company website at kamux.com.

The figures in parentheses refer to the comparison period, i.e., the same period in the previous year, unless stated otherwise.

April–June in brief

• Revenue increased by 3.3%, totaling EUR 255.0 million (246.8)
• Gross profit increased by 7.5% to EUR 26.3 million (24.5), or 10.3% (9.9) of revenue
• Adjusted operating profit (EBIT) was at previous year's level and was EUR 4.5 million (4.5), or 1.8% (1.8) of revenue
• Operating profit (EBIT) decreased by -14.3% to EUR 3.9 million (4.5), or 1.5% (1.8) of revenue
• The number of cars sold increased by 9.7% to 17,215 cars (15,688)
• Like-for-like showroom revenue growth was 2.9% (5.5)
• Basic and diluted earnings per share were EUR 0.06 (0.07)
• As announced earlier, Tapio Pajuharju assumed his role as CEO of Kamux on June 1, 2023. Kamux's founder and previous CEO Juha Kalliokoski continues as a member of the Company's Board of Directors.

January–June in brief

• Revenue decreased by -1.2%, totaling EUR 478.1 million (484.1)
• Gross profit decreased by -3.4% to EUR 47.0 million (48.7), or 9.8% (10.1) of revenue
• Adjusted operating profit (EBIT) decreased by -47.2% to EUR 5.4 million (10.2), or 1.1% (2.1) of revenue
• Operating profit (EBIT) decreased by -56.0% to EUR 4.5 million (10.2), or 0.9% (2.1) of revenue
• The number of cars sold increased by 4.0% to 32,539 cars (31,289)
• Like-for-like showroom revenue decreased -2.4% (7.0)
• Basic and diluted earnings per share were EUR 0.06 (0.18)

Key Figures

CEO Tapio Pajuharju:

"The used car market developed favorably in the second quarter of 2023 in all of Kamux's operating countries, although the volumes were still significantly lower than in 2021, which was a good year. In Germany, there were large regional differences in market development, and in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany, which is important to Kamux, development was unfavorable. In line with the positive momentum in the market, the number of cars sold by Kamux increased by almost 10 percent in the second quarter, although in Sweden we fell short of the previous year's figures mainly due to challenges in availability of cars, caused by the weak Swedish krona. With the increase in the number of cars sold, the Group's revenue grew by 3.3 percent to EUR 255.0 million, although the fees and commissions received from financing partners were lower than in the previous year.

Gross margin developed favorably in Finland and Sweden. I'm very pleased to note that the measures taken to improve profitability in Sweden have started to bring some initial results. In Germany, the gross margin weakened due to measures taken to clean up the inventory. Q2 adjusted operating profit was at the previous year's level at EUR 4.5 million, but the reported operating profit decreased due to one-off items at the Group level. The operating profit was also challenged by costs related to the opening of the Düren showroom and marketing activities taken to build awareness of Kamux in Germany. In addition, operating profit was negatively affected by increased costs resulting from the capacity increase in Sweden in 2022 and costs increasing faster than revenue in Finland.

With the exception of Sweden, the used car purchasing market normalized during the reporting period. In Sweden, the purchasing market was difficult, as a large part of the used cars released on the market were sold outside of Sweden as a result of the weak Swedish krona.

The electrification of the car fleet continues, and although the vast majority of used cars sold are still combustion engine-powered, an increasing number of used cars sold in Finland and Sweden are EVs or plug-in hybrids. The number of plug-in hybrids and EVs sold by Kamux increased by 62% compared to the second quarter of 2022.

I have now been hands on at Kamux's steering wheel approximately two months, and I would like to warmly thank the whole Kamux team for their solid contribution to the company as well as all of our customers and especially for the warm welcome I have experienced. I will continue to onboard the company and the business. During the rest of the year, we will also focus on the Company's strategy. At this point, it has become rather clear that, as in a good preowned car that has already some mileage on it, it is also time to perform maintenance as well as upgrades at Kamux, e.g. to further enhance customer attention and service across all channels as well as to further increase productivity. These measures will improve Kamux's competitiveness and enhance profitability."

Outlook for the year 2023 (unchanged)

In 2023, Kamux expects its adjusted operating profit to grow from the year 2022, when the adjusted operating profit was EUR 17.5 million.

Financial targets for 2021–2023

The Company's medium-term financial targets are to increase revenue by over 20% annually, to increase adjusted operating profit annually, and to reach an adjusted operating profit margin of over 3.5% and a return on equity (ROE) of over 25%. Additionally, the Company's target is to distribute dividends of at least 25% of net profits. The Board of Directors of the Company estimates annually the balance between dividends to be distributed and funds to be used for Kamux's growth, and based on this assessment, makes a proposal on the amount of dividend to be distributed, which may for any single year differ significantly from the target level set in the dividend policy.

Kamux will update its strategy and financial targets at the beginning of 2024.

Significant events after the reporting period

On August 2, 2023, Kamux announced that Kerim Nielsen, Country Director for Sweden and member of the Group Management Team, has decided to pursue a career opportunity outside of Kamux Corporation in early 2024. He will continue in his current position at least until December 31, 2023.

Publication schedule for financial reporting in 2023

Publication schedule for Kamux Corporation's financial reporting in 2023 is as follows:

• Interim Report for January–September 2023                  November 10, 2023

News conference

News conference for investors, analysts and media will be held today on Friday, August 11, 2023, at Sanomatalo, Flik Studio Eliel, 1st floor, Töölönlahdenkatu 2, Helsinki at 11:00 EET in English. CEO Tapio Pajuharju and CFO Marko Lehtonen will present the Half Year Report.

The conference can be followed as a live webcast at https://kamux.videosync.fi/2023-q2-results 

Participation by conference call:

You can access the teleconference by registering on the link below. After the registration you will be provided phone numbers and a conference ID to access the conference.
http://palvelu.flik.fi/teleconference/?id=10010322 

The conference in English will start at 11.00 EET. If you wish to ask a question, please dial *5 on your telephone keypad to enter the queue.

For further information, please contact:
CEO Tapio Pajuharju, tel. +358 50 577 4200
CFO Marko Lehtonen, tel. +358 50 575 2006
Head of Communications & IR Katariina Hietaranta, tel. +358 50 557 6765
Kamux Corporation
Communications

Kamux is a retail chain specializing in the sale of used cars and related integrated services that has grown rapidly. Kamux combines online shopping with an extensive showroom network to provide its customers with a great service experience anytime, anywhere. In addition to digital channels, the company has a total of 77 car showrooms in Finland, Sweden and Germany. Since its founding, the company has sold over 450,000 used cars, 62,922 of which were sold in 2022. Kamux's revenue in 2022 was EUR 968.7 million and its average number of employees was 883 in terms of full-time equivalent employees. Kamux Corporation is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. For more information, please visit www.kamux.com 

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