Interim report Jan - March 2017

Comments from the CEO

We have seen a mixed start of 2017; On one hand we have faced the same type of challenges as in 2016, with a macro environment causing disturbances in the Middle East business. On the other hand, order intake is much stronger compared to the first quarter last year.

Looking at the Middle East, the payment capability among the customers in the region has decreased compared to before, which has impacted our revenues negatively. However, it is important to highlight that we have not lost any significant deals and that our competition is facing the same challenges. In addition to the macro situation, and as an outcome of the transformation program, we have reduced our net working capital creating longer delivery times which has had a negative effect on our results. However, as we see the order intake increasing compared to the first quarter last year, it gives further support to the possibility that the global situation will change to the better.

In the first quarter the sales in our two business segments amounted to SEK 70.7 million (164.1) with SEK 57.9 million (147.8) for System Sales and SEK 12.8 million (16.3) for Managed Services. When comparing the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2016 it is important to note the result of the volatility, as SEK 73 million in the first quarter of 2016 comes from a big African order received in 2015. The EBITDA amounted SEK -7.6 million (3.4) and operating profit came in at SEK -17.3 million (14.4). On a positive note, the gross margin for the period improved from 26.1 to 35.3 percent.

Order intake during the quarter amounted to SEK 68.6 million (27.1), which is a significant improvement compared to the correspondent quarter last year. In the quarter, we have received two orders from Belgium worth SEK 18.6 million in total, covering traffic safety systems in Brussels and Flanders, as well as orders in Southern Europe to the amount of SEK 25.6 million. Looking at the last four quarters, we have seen an up going trend in orders booked.

The cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK -8.5 million in the first quarter mainly caused by delay in deliveries. The improvement on our expenses by SEK 5.3 million in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter 2016 has had a positive impact on the cash flow. The transformation program has been completed with these lower expenses in the period. As a result of the negative cash flow in the first quarter the available cash has decreased to SEK 78.3 million compared to SEK 85.5 million in the fourth quarter 2016. Even though we still remain optimistic about our future we do see challenges for the mid-long term. The company will look into possibilities to fortify its finance structure to cope with the volatility in our business which is also caused by the macro economic challenges as mentioned before.

After the end of the quarter, the Board of Directors has announced that it has initiated the process to find a new CEO of Sensys Gatso. It is a natural step in the company’s development as we have now finalized the integration between Sensys Traffic and Gatso Beheer. I will remain fully committed to my role as CEO until my successor has been found.

Looking at the short-term outlook, it is hard to assess when the uncertain market condition will ease. However, we will continue to focus on our strategy and will be ready to manage any business opportunities when they arise. Whereas my focus over the last years primarily has been to create an efficient Sensys Gatso with extended scale, one of the main tasks of the next CEO will be to focus on growth. The demand for our systems and services has large potential to increase over time, supported by the global trends in favour of sustainability and traffic safety.

Invitation to a presentation for press and analysts

On 17 May at 09:30, CEO Torbjörn Sandberg and CFO Niki Gatsonides will present the report and answer questions in an audiocast. The presentation can be followed online via the link on Sensys’ website: http://media.fronto.com/cloud/sensys/170517

It is also possible to listen to the presentation and ask questions by phone; you can register via the two following options:

Pre-registration via web link
To take part in the telephone conference, we would ask you to pre-register in good time ahead of the event via the following web link:
http://emea.directeventreg.com/registration/11342057
Open the link and follow the instructions. When registration has been completed, a confirmation email will be sent to the email address specified during registration. This email will contain phones number and a code (Direct Event Passcode). Select the appropriate number to call.
To take part in the conference, when prompted, enter the code followed by “#”.

Directly by phone:
As an alternative to online registration to take part in the event via the telephone conference function, the following phone numbers may be called:
Sweden: +46 (0)8 566 194 25
USA: +1 8 669 049 624
UK: +44 (0) 844 571 89 31

You will be prompted to enter an event code; ignore this, and wait instead (1–2 min) until the operator speaks, and then state your: Conference ID: 11342057 or “Sensys” to register.

Please call ten minutes before the time specified.

For further information please contact:
Torbjörn Sandberg
CEO, Sensys Gatso Group
+46 76 843 43 76

This is information that Sensys Gatso Group AB (publ) must publish to the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. This information was submitted for publication on 17 May 2017 at 08:30.

For further information please contact:
Torbjörn Sandberg
CEO, Sensys Gatso Group
+46 76 843 43 76

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