Aspo - The pandemic stirs the picture more

Aspo withdrew FY ’20 guidance as the pandemic is yet another setback for operations. We have cut estimates according to our assumption that business will begin to normalize during Q2 as many governments are reportedly about to ease restrictions. Yet we remain cautious given the uncertainty; our TP is now EUR 6.25 (8.25), rating HOLD.

Q1 was very weak for ESL, Telko performed relatively strong

Aspo disclosed preliminary Q1 figures. ESL operated in challenging conditions as the Chinese situation in the beginning of the year already affected shipping rates. ESL’s steel and energy transport volumes decreased in Q1 and the uncertainty means there’s no solid view on cargo volume potential for the rest of the year. Aspo says smaller vessels’ cargo volumes remained at a normal level. ESL’s Q1 top line decreased by 2% y/y to EUR 42.7m (our estimate was EUR 46.7m) and EBIT decreased to EUR 2.3m compared to EUR 3.2m a year ago and our EUR 4.9m expectation. Meanwhile Telko performed relatively good as Q1 revenue amounted to EUR 63.6m i.e. down by 12% y/y but close to our EUR 63.9m estimate. Telko’s Q1 EBIT, unchanged y/y at EUR 2.4m, was slightly above our EUR 2.2m estimate. This indicates Telko’s profitability measures are having some effect. Leipurin’s Q1 revenue amounted to EUR 26.9m, up 4% y/y and in line with our EUR 26.8m estimate. Leipurin’s EBIT increased slightly to EUR 0.6m while our estimate was EUR 0.7m.

The H2’20 EBIT improvement slope is very hard to assess

Aspo previously guided FY ’20 EBIT to be higher than in ’19 (EUR 21.1m). In our view Aspo’s profitability for this year is especially difficult to estimate with current information as last year’s result doesn’t represent a high hurdle as such given the long-term potential. In a scenario closer to normal we would have expected Aspo to reach the guidance easy. Yet the potential is now even more subject to uncertainty as the macro picture is very murky. We expect better results in Q3 but see Q2 EBIT down to EUR 2.6m (we previously estimated Q2 EBIT at EUR 7.0m).

The environment justifies low valuation relative to potential

In our view the potential for higher EBIT remains, however in the current situation it’s challenging to rely on long-term estimates. Our TP is now EUR 6.25 (8.25), rating remains HOLD.

Open Report