Trading Update
No summary for this filing – the full text is below.
Select text to share a quote on X · sign in to keep highlights & notes in your XPP notes
XP Power, one of the world's leading developers and manufacturers of critical power control components to the electronics industry, is today issuing a trading update for the fourth quarter and full year ended 31 December 2023.
Trading
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | Change in constant currency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4: | ||||
| Order intake (£m) | 49.1 | 68.7 | (29%) | (22%) |
| Revenue (£m) | 81.2 | 87.4 | (7%) | (5%) |
| Book to Bill | 0.6 | 0.8 | (0.2) | |
| Full Year: | ||||
| Order intake (£m) | 208.9 | 362.9 | (42%) | (43%) |
| Revenue (£m) | 316.5 | 290.4 | 9% | 8% |
| Book to Bill | 0.7 | 1.2 | (0.5) | |
| 2023 by quarter | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
| Order intake (£m) | 61.2 | 54.4 | 44.2 | 49.1 |
| % change vs last year – constant currency | (45%) | (42%) | (54%) | (22%) |
| Revenue (£m) | 77.9 | 82.3 | 75.1 | 81.2 |
| % change vs last year – constant currency | 16% | 28% | (1%) | (5%) |
| Book to Bill | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
Q4 revenue of £81.2m was slightly ahead of expectations, due largely to the decision to reschedule the relocation of our facility in California, from December 2023 to January 2024. This had the effect of bringing forward £5.0m of revenues from orders shipped earlier than expected in Q4 2023 rather than Q1 2024.
Full year revenue was £316.5m, 8% higher than last year on a constant currency basis.
Q4 order intake of £49.1m was £4.9m higher than Q3 due to an increase in orders for High Voltage products for Semiconductor Manufacturing applications. We saw slower order intake from the Healthcare and Industrial Technology sectors.
We ended 2023 with an order book of c.£192m.
Financial Position
Net debt at 31 December 2023 was £112.6m, lower than expected due to c.£12m of capex payments, relating largely to the relocation of our US facility, which was re-phased to early 2024, as discussed above. Strengthening of sterling also reduced the value of our US dollar denominated borrowings over the final quarter.
Whilst the process of closing our 2023 year end accounts is at an early stage and full year profit has yet to be finalised, we estimate that net debt / Adjusted EBITDA at 31 December 2023 will be c.2.0x, which compares to 2.6x at the end of Q3.
We expect net debt and leverage to increase in the first half of 2024 as the deferred capex payments referenced above are made, before reducing thereafter.
Update on funding plan
Our funding plan announced on 6 November 2023 included a package of management actions to reduce cost and borrowings.
These actions are on track and delivering the benefits expected.
2024 and longer term
Whilst it is too soon to be definitive about prospects for 2024, we continue to expect that market conditions will improve as the year progresses, with our results being weighted towards the second half. Our performance will be supported by the actions taken to reduce our cost base and we will continue to respond decisively to market conditions as they evolve.
We will provide a further update and outlook with our full year results announcement.
The Board remains confident that the Group has strong long-term prospects, and significant value, underpinned by our leading market position and broad product portfolio.
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.