SRV - From one challenge to another

Write-downs on essentially all holdings related to Russia
SRV reported its Q1 results, with the main topic clearly being the write-downs to its operations in Russia and the announced program to strengthen the balance sheet. Operationally, Q1 was slightly better than expected. Construction revenue amounted to EUR 175.2m (Evli 186.7m) and operative operating profit 6.3m (Evli EUR 5.2m). The Group operating profit was clearly negative, at EUR -85.7m, as SRV wrote-down essentially all of its holdings in Russia and the Fennovoima project. The order backlog was at EUR 858m in Q1, down 19% y/y. SRV however says that it has 1.4bn worth of won contracts not yet in the order backlog.

Initiated program to strengthen balance sheet
SRV initiated a program to strengthen its balance sheet (illustrated in Figure 1 of this report), seeking to increase equity by around EUR 100m and reduce IB net-debt by the same amount, due to the impact of the write-downs on SRV’s equity and gearing. Operationally, we have made no significant changes to our estimates, expecting revenue of EUR 877.8m and operative operating profit of EUR 22.9m. The uncertainty relating to material prices and availability has increased due to the war in Ukraine, with some more bulk type construction material such as steel used in reinforcing concrete in particular being affected. So far, the impact does not appear to have limited SRV’s abilities to run current operations.

HOLD with a target price of EUR 0.35 (0.54)
Although SRV’s Russian assets still hold some value, due to the current uncertainty valuation relies primarily on construction operations. On 2022e EV/EBIT (using operative operating profit), SRV trades at 14.6x. We lower our TP to EUR 0.35 (0.54) and retain our hold rating. We will account for the impact of the financing program once details are finalized.