Vaisala - Clouds over W&E while IM keeps on rocking

Vaisala delivered a better than expected Q1 result. Overall, Vaisala is well positioned to weather the corona storm, but clouds are gathering above W&E as project business is exposed to the pandemic. Given the uncertainty to W&E’s performance in H2, we do not see short term risk/reward profile particularly attractive now. Based on our slightly raised estimates, we raise our target price to 26€ (prev. 25€), our recommendation is now HOLD (prev. SELL).

No major impact of corona in Q1
Vaisala delivered a better than expected Q1 result as corona did not have major impact on business in the quarter and delivery capabilities remained good. Q1 net sales grew 4% to 87.2 MEUR vs. 84.5 MEUR our expectation and 84.3 MEUR consensus. Q1 reported EBIT was 5.2 MEUR (6% margin) vs. our expectation of 2.1 MEUR (3.2 MEUR consensus). EBIT improvement was due to strong 3pp improvement in gross margins (56.4% vs. 53.2% Q1’19), which was attributed to projects and digital services in W&E and exceptionally high GM of 65.8% in IM. Q1 order intake decreased -21% due to lower order intake in W&E. It’s worth noting however that order intake comparison period was exceptionally good (including two large projects) and variations between quarters can be large depending on timing of projects. Order book grew +2% q/q and -6% y/y. The Ethiopian project order (13 MEUR) is not yet included in order book.

W&E business exposed while IM continues on track
Vaisala reiterated its 2020 guidance (updated on April 21st); expecting net sales of 370–405 MEUR and EBIT of 34–46 MEUR. With W&E’s current strong order book, descent order intake, and delivery capabilities remaining at current acceptable levels, we expect W&E business to perform well in H1. The effects of the corona pandemic impact more on W&E business in H2, where delays or postponements of projects become more likely if current situation is prolonged. Vaisala sees developed countries market remaining more stable while developing countries being more hit by the pandemic. IM is expected to continue growing, albeit slower than last year’s organic growth of roughly 9.5%.

Valuation stretched given weakened financial outlook in W&E
We’ve only made small adjustments to our estimates based on the report. We expect IM to continue performing well, while W&E to decline in H2 partly due the pandemic and high comparison period. We expect 2020e net sales to decline 3% to 392 MEUR and reported EBIT to decline to 39 MEUR, mainly due to the lower performance in W&E in H2. On our estimates, Vaisala is still trading at clear premiums compared to our peer group. Also, our 2020-21e PPA-adjusted EV/EBIT multiples of 22x and 19x, are ~25% above our peer group. Given the uncertainty to W&E’s performance this year, we do not see short term risk/reward profile particularly attractive now. Based on our slightly raised estimates, we raise our target price to 26€ (prev. 25€), our recommendation is now HOLD (prev. SELL). Our target price values Vaisala at 20-21e EV/EBIT multiples of 23.5x and 20x which is above peer group, reflecting Vaisala’s strong sustainability profile, growing dividend, and especially IM’s highly profitable growth with possibility of further add-on acquisitions.

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