Lauritz.com Group A/S – Interim Report January – December 2021

No. 1/2022
Copenhagen, 24 February 2022

In 2021, the Lauritz.com Group business recorded an EBITDA improvement of DKK 8.3 million compared to last year, mainly driven by revenue growth of 8%.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, the activity of the Lauritz.com group generated EBITDA in line with last year. Fourth quarter earnings were flat due to higher yielding business in 2021, leaving fourth quarter revenue down 3.2% despite a 7.8% drop in the auction rate and due a cost reduction of 3.6% compared to last year.

EBITDA evolution

For the period January to December, auction revenue growth was 2.5% and revenue growth from continuing operations was 8% compared to 2020, while operating costs remained below control with a 1% increase.

EBITDA in 2021 improved from DKK 8.3m for continuing operations to DKK 2.7m (-5.6m).

Net operating cash flow for continuing operations is DKK 5.0 million (16.9 million). The variation is mainly due to the improvement in EBITDA and changes in working capital items.

Future organization

To take Lauritz.com to the next level in terms of short- and long-term revenue and earnings, including the planned rollout of new business areas, a future central management team has been defined. The new Country Manager Denmark and the new CTO were integrated during the first half of 2021 and a new CMO in February 2022.

Commercial initiatives

Our continued focus on sales management, business control and execution, both internally at headquarters and across all auction houses, is paying off.

The comprehensive optimization process that all auction houses have gone through in terms of auction logistics and supply chain management has freed up resources to scale up auction activities focusing on local assessment and sourcing items for auction.

In terms of marketing activities, we are continuously scaling up our digital footprint, showing positive effects and strengthening our position within international, national and local communities interested in selling and buying high-quality, sustainable vintage items around the world. art, design and collectibles.

The story continues

Funding

The group is financed by a bond. Currently, the bond has an outstanding debt of SEK 155 million and an interest rate of 4%.

When the last part of the payment for the sold business is received in May 2022 (15 million SEK), a repayment of 15 million SEK will be made, after which the remaining bond debt will be a permanent loan of 140 million SEK until maturing in December 2024.

Impact on financial reporting due to the sale of activities

The presentation of the activity in the financial statements is impacted by the sale of Stockholms Auktionsverk, the auction house in Karlstad Hammarö and 3 auction houses in Germany. The operations sold are presented as discontinued operations in the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet and the statement of cash flows. The sold portion of the business has been reclassified as discontinued operations in the 2020 annual statement and the value of assets included as available-for-sale assets has been written down to reflect the realized sale price.

The sale of Stockholms Auktionsverk, the auction house in Karlstad Hammarö and 3 auction houses in Germany leads to a book loss because the book value of the activities sold is higher than the realized sale price, which leads to a loss worth DKK 23 million. This loss has been included in the Profit from operations discounted mainly in 2020.

Directions for 2022

Regarding the forecast for 2021 profits, they were within limits with an EBITDA of DKK 2.9 million. Auction revenue growth was 2.6% and revenue growth was 8.1%.

Our predictions for 2022 are:

Bengt Sundström, Chairman of the Board

Mette Margrethe Rode Sundstrøm, CEO

Preben Vinkler Lindgaard, Chief Financial Officer

Q4 2021 Highlights

Lauritz.com Group A/S key figures
(continuing operations)

¹ Auction Revenue Margin = EBITDA/Auction Revenue.

For press inquiries, please contact:
Mette Jessen
Email: [email protected]

For any other request, please contact:
Preben Vinkler Lindgaard
CFO
Email: [email protected]

Certified Advisor: Erik Penser Bank AB
Telephone number: +46 8-463 83 00
Email: [email protected]

Marketplace: Nasdaq First North Growth Market Stockholm

This information is information that Lauritz.com Group A/S is required to make public in accordance with the European Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication via the contact person listed above, at 9:00 a.m. CET on February 24, 2022.

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