Good morning. It's 10:15 A.M. Let's kick off the Q1 presentation and Q&A for the RTX numbers. Welcome to Peter Røpke and Mille Tram Lux, CEO and CFO. So, Peter.
Thank you very much, Paul, and welcome to all of you online. We will run through this short agenda, just shortly about RTX. We'll put out one of the selected insights, what we like to bring every time, a bit of selected insight, this time on ProAudio, one of the segments that we see a good performance in this quarter. Then the financial and business updates, finishing off with the outlook and, of course, leaving ample time for Q&A. So I hope you... You know, if you have any questions, you are more than welcome to share. Otherwise, I'm sure Paul has a couple of questions, as he usually do. All right. Oh, sorry.
RTX spent more than 30 years deep diving into short-range wireless technology really building our core in that providing secure, reliable communications in critical and challenging environments. So that is our core. We unfold that in our three business segments: Enterprise, where we develop and produce headsets, handsets communication solutions for the business environment. This is also if you go to, for example, Netto, JYSK or Tesco, you'll see push-to-talk headsets on the employees. That's developed and produced by RTX, so that's one of our growth segments, the retail segment within Enterprise. We have Healthcare, where we provide secure and reliable communications infrastructure for monitoring of critical heart patients.
One of our clear growth segments that we are pursuing with our partner, focusing on the U.S. And then we have ProAudio. This is where we, you know, embedded all of our 30 years of experience into a small IC, size of a stamp, that allows our customers to build solutions, voice communication solutions, enabling teams to have secure, reliable, hands-free communication. In the environment that they are in. The picture is, you know, from forest firefighters going in where team communication is imperative for their success. So this is what we do.
And our business model, we are an OEM supplier, so, you know, we partner and have done so for the last more than a decade with many of these companies, all global players that, you know, give us a global reach for our solutions and products. So our solutions are found globally and allows our business basically to scale.
Our business relies on a number of market trends, so anywhere, anytime, you know, the push for being online and being able to communicate in all environments, also environments where the standardized infrastructure of cellular or Wi-Fi isn't there, or if the quality, you know, doesn't cut it, there's still a push to be able to communicate and connect, and that's basically what we, you know, provide across our businesses. Underlying the healthcare opportunity and business is the change in demographic, aging population, without, you know, with the same number of hands to care for the aging population. MedTech is one of the solutions, and communications infrastructure is a huge part of that. The geopolitical tension is, you know, it's a coin with two sides on it.
One side is, is really, you know, it's challenging our business in terms of, as we are a, a global company, you know, with a, with, global sales reach to our, our customers, sales channel networks. The geopolitical tension and trade challenges that we're seeing, the tariffs and, and so on, and, and the negative effects on, on, exchange rates, that is definitely requiring us, to, to build and, and to sustain the agility and resilience in our operations model. On the flip side of that, there's also opportunities, because very much in our ProAudio, we are seeing, very strong interest and opportunities in, in defense and emergency communication, or critical, mission-critical communications.
Our technology has a strong fit for that, and we are seeing a lot of interest, and we're also seeing a business building slowly in that. Then, of course, continued digitalization, which really is a drive not only to do products but also to do integrations to make sure that our solutions are integrated into a broader portfolio, and also offering cloud-based offerings. So that's definitely also underlying our business. A bit on our business model, trying to visualize here. So overall, I would, you know, it's an asset-light model. We're really focusing on our core, which is providing the market insight, the technology leadership within wireless communication, design and development, manufacturing, which on the left side here, you can see we have outsourced with our manufacturing partners.
So we have a global footprint on that, but also a scalable and flexible footprint, which is something that we are definitely utilizing these years with, you know, with the changing tariffs and so on, that allows us basically to move production from one facility in another facility not without challenges, but easier if we own than if we own the assets. And then on the other side, of course, we are, you know, utilizing long-term agreements with our customers that, you know, when we with them design successful products and they're able to scale it in the market, we are able to scale our business in that. So really a partnership-driven value chain, which is the core of RTX. So that was the brief flyover of RTX.
Then we brought a selected insight, and I talked a bit into it. So TeamEngage is one of the products that's part of our ProAudio business. It's basically, you know, where we put all our IP and know-how into building a communications chip that can be built into headsets or other wearables that is really designed and focused on mission-critical environments. So what we're able to provide to our customers is seamless use across scenarios, whether you are inside vehicles or on foot. If you're on a boat, and you have to board a ship, you know that seamless communication within that team is imperative. Secure communications, both with a high resilience to jamming, easy to integrate into your solution in being...
So we have integrated both in helmets but in headsets. And what it really does is because it is really hands-free, it's not about only cutting the cable, but it's also about how it itself configures within the team to make sure that the team that has critical tasks at hand can really, really focus on the task at hand. And we are seeing a lot of interest with this. We have a couple of customers that are. One is really far in building products and bringing it to market, and we are seeing a strong pipeline for this product, the TeamEngage.
And this is also some of the elements that we are seeing when we get into the numbers, that the ProAudio business on the module-based business model is picking up, and this is one of the subsegments that we are definitely seeing positive traction and also a positive pipeline going forward in this. So the numbers. So from overall, you know, we delivered a solid start of the year, 7% year-on-year. Q1, 108 million in revenue, with a 7% increase compared to Q1 last year. Adjusted for currency effects, it's actually a 7%-17% increase. So the underlying business, we see a good performance on that.
Very particularly the Healthcare and the ProAudio business segments has had a strong performance, compared to last year, but also compared to last quarter. So Healthcare is just short of DKK 19 million, which is significantly up from Q1 last year, but also up from Q4 last year. And ProAudio, where we're really seeing a positive traction, and also showing the first signs that the transformation that we did in our business model, going from selling full products to selling standardized modules, is picking up and proving that we can both drive up revenue again, but also drive up gross margin on that business. So we you know really have to see positive signs of our strategic transformation of that business kicking in.
Again, strong focus also, of course, always on our gross margins, up to just short of 55%. Of course, driven both by a favorable segment mix, healthcare playing a bigger part, but also ProAudio really pushing that up. So the product mix has been favorable this quarter. I have to see that. Of course, that also reflects positively on the EBITDA. On the other hand, of course, the headwind from the weaker U.S. dollars is pulling the other way, but still a DKK 5.5 million increase in EBITDA compared to Q1 last year.
This is definitely something, of course, we are happy about, but this is also something where we are focused because of course we want to see positive numbers on the EBITDA and also on EBIT. We have continued our focus throughout last year, but also Q1. Q1, we've really had a focus on reducing our inventory just short of DKK 30 million, and we are probably at the level where we are discussing what the level should be. I think we earlier communicated DKK 30 million-DKK 40 million, so now we're at the lower end-range of that lower level of that range.
So this is where we are, but of course, always that's going to go a bit up or down, depending on both on the risks that we are seeing in the supplier market, but also the demand from the customers. And yeah, a strong balance sheet. We maintained a net liquidity position just short of DKK 150 million, which supports the solidity of the business. Yeah, and you know, on the Q1 results and what we are seeing, both in terms of positive traction in the market, but of course, there are also some challenges in the geopolitical environment. We maintain our full year guidance. So that's the flyover.
Then just very shortly on, I'll do this fairly quickly. Enterprise revenue, DKK 62 million, down from Q1 last year. The underlying pull from the market, we still see as being positive. We have seen the revenue is due to shipment timing. As we are order producing, we are very depending on when orders come in, whether it's before or after a quarter. We have a strong belief that we will be able to pick up this throughout the year, on Enterprise. So our full year outlook remains unchanged, despite what you could call a weaker quarter, from Enterprise. ProAudio, as I said, strong performance, DKK 27 million compared to 17, Q1 last year.
There are some timing effects in it, but even taking that away, we are seeing really a positive development on that, and we are also seeing a positive pipeline throughout the year. So I think as we discussed on the last call, you know, we have really a clear target that we want to make sure that the ProAudio business is a EBITDA positive business this year. So we really can take that as a stamp that we are on the right traction on this, the strategic change on that, and Q1 supports that. And Healthcare, DKK 19 million, up from DKK 5 million in Q1, and I think it was, what? DKK 14 million or DKK 15 million in Q4 last year.
So a positive development in healthcare as well, and we are continually transitioning the product ownership as planned with Philips. So basically, yeah, it's a strong performance. It's also a performance as we expected and hoped for this quarter. So, yeah.
Yeah, just summing up on the key financials. So the revenue is up to DKK 108 from DKK 101. And as Peter said, it represents a growth of 7% compared to Q1 last year, and 17% when adjusted for these currency effects, impacted by growth in ProAudio and Healthcare particularly, and then counterbalanced by the Enterprise development, which is a shipment between core quarter timing impact. The gross margin is approximately 55%, and as you know, we've been working on increasing the gross margin, both through mix and also product selection or product focus.
Of course, this quarter is positively impacted by the segment mix of segments, so where Healthcare and ProAudio is playing a bigger role compared to Enterprise, than what we would expect a split for the entire year. If we look at the EBITDA, we are then at minus 4, so up from last year, positively impacted by the better gross margin and negatively impacted by the, by the currency compared to, to the same quarter last year, where, as you remember, we had a, we had a relatively high currency above seven end of last year, like end of 2024.
On the inventory, as Henrik said, we've got a level of around DKK 30 million, and you can say what would take that further down is our partnerships with the EMS, where our partnerships entails that they are taking the inventory, that they're actually planning that. What takes it up is our transition from out of China, so it can be relevant for us to secure a number of components in order to ensure production. And of course, the geopolitical situation both with China and Taiwan is also something that could play it out. But we still believe that as we communicate before that, that the range of this 30-40 million is a good level.
Cash flow, positive cash flow in the quarter, mainly impacted by the changes in working capital. Therefore, also our net liquidity position is approximately the same as the end of the financial year last year. Fostered by the free cash flow, and then, of course, we are continuing the share buyback program that we announced in September last year.... And that leads us to maintaining our outlook of DKK 575-625 on revenue, DKK 35-65 on EBITDA, and DKK 0-30 on EBIT. That concludes our flyover of the Q1 . Yeah.
Okay. Thank you. And then as usual, if anybody has a question, then raise their hand, and if I can't see everybody on the screen, then give a shout if I'm not putting you on the mic. So first question from my side, if we take the three divisions, and this timing of orders, if you take Enterprise, which was soft, how much are we talking about moving from a Q4 to a—sorry, from Q1 to a Q2? Is it DKK 20 million, DKK 30 million, or you can do it all the way around? Batch sizes in this business, what's the sizes of batches which can move around in general?
I think we can have a variation of 10-15 million in shipment sizes.
Mm-hmm.
And of course, we can have more customers where this impacts. But, but up to DKK 20 million would be a normal spillover between one quarter and the next.
So when we have this timing impact, is that one customer who has moved, or is it several customers who has moved?
It's a combination-
Everything
... of customers. I think what we can say is that it, the timing we have, we have shipped out quite a bit of what we expected end of last year in already in January. So it does not impact our expectations for the full year.
So that, does that mean that we should add it? If we had a model prior to the numbers, should we this, then add this timing on top of what we had potentially before on Q2? Or is it on... Are you then moving something from Q2 to Q3?
Of course, I don't know your model.
I know.
But it's-
Normal life
... our first, the half year is as expected.
Okay.
So if, if that's given, then yes, you should add it to the Q2.
Okay. And then we talk about more than one client who has-
Yes.
So when you state that you are confident for the full year guidance, and you relate to the indications you get from clients, is that then based on that the H1 is normal, or is it also based on comments on their sell-out and how they look for the second half? Or have you no insight, because you typically has this three to six months then-
Mm
... coming inside more or less to end of Q3 now?
Yeah. So, you know, our view on the full year is, of course, based on, you know, three elements. Of course, the Q1 performance, the order book that we can see, and then the forecasts and the discussions that we have with our customers. And of course, also, you know, balanced by our understanding on the underlying market within the three segments, where ProAudio is probably a bit more difficult because that's actually really many markets, right?
Mm.
But very much for Healthcare and for Enterprise. So it is based on those conversations, and it is also based on, I think, as we wrote, an order horizon from three to six months, right? And I would say it's actually even spread across the three businesses, our outlook on orders, let me say.
If you take the Enterprise, does that mean that we should now expect that the sell-out of your customers, that that's a smaller line, more or less normalized?
Yes.
The general market is growing, though, single digit or so.
Yeah. Then there's, yeah, again, as we discussed earlier, there are, you know, Enterprise is also sub-segments, so there are some that moves like that Retail, and there are others that might be lagging a bit.
Yeah. The retail is mentioned again, is doing very, very well.
Mm.
We could see from the annual report and the notes that it has also become a decent size of the total Enterprise business. Can you put, if you have any insight, some words on the market potential for your client in the retail space? Have they just scratched the surface, and it's mainly a European business or by also-
Yeah. By now, it is predominantly a European business.
Mm.
It is, so—and it's a, it's a business that holds also potential in the U.S., but also in the rest of the world. So it is really—so the underlying transition is really the connection of the frontline staff across.
Mm.
And as we see, you know, if you go five years back, and you ask, you know, to look in the, in, in the crystal ball, you would actually have expected the number of frontline staff going significantly down due to, to, you know, internet shopping, closing down physical stores. That has actually changed on the, on the flip side of, I think both Corona, but also coming back and finding this omni-channel, saying, "If you want to be successful online, you at scale, you also need physical presence." So that omni-channel. And that really, that, that's the underlying, you know, market trend that is actually. And that's where Europe seems to be first runners on that, and there are still a lot of untapped potential in Europe. And then there's a U.S. market that is, that is opening up at, at the moment.
Um-
Do you have any idea or getting any communication from the client if they are getting interest or traction from the U.S. market? They have now put focus on the U.S. to go into, but are you getting any indications of if it's also something that's gonna show off for you going forward?
So yes, we are getting those indications that, of course, the partnerships that we have in this segment is definitely pushing very strong also for the U.S. But also, of course, there are also U.S. players that has the same needs for headsets, push-to-talk headsets. So there are also opportunities for us to, you know, broadening that out.
To go for new clients or whatever?
Yeah, with different solutions.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If we then move to ProAudio , you also talk about timing there, but to the positive for you.
Yeah.
You grow revenue by DKK 10 million. How much of that is then timing there, and what should we see as a normalized level? Is that then DKK 7 million additional from timing so that it's more normal of the DKK 20 million we should go use, just the underlying performance, or how much is-
I think it's difficult for us to say, because we don't have quarters that are equal.
Okay.
And I think that we would, we would say that in the range of DKK 4 million-DKK 8 million this quarter is something that we, that we have received, which could have been in Q4 last year.
In general, when I look at it, then instead of looking into a, like, quarterly base, then we should look on for a LTM base-
Yeah
... running performance.
Yes.
That's a more better way to look at it.
That's a better way to go, yeah.
Yeah. That's still there, you have good traction?
Yes.
Uh-
Paul, there is a question from Erik Carlsen from Kapital Partner.
Can you-
Hi, thanks.
Remove the second-
Hi there.
Just a second. Now we can see the hands coming up as well. So, Erik, go on.
Hi, thanks for taking my questions. So, I just wanted to understand a little bit your main organic growth opportunities for the next three years. What do you think are the most important opportunities if we look at that timeframe? If you could just frame it in terms of products or end market, where do you think you have the biggest opportunities?
Yeah. So, definitely Healthcare. So the partnership that we have there with the market leader, the U.S. market leader in patient monitoring system for high acuity patients, where we have a partnership where we take over ownership, that brings us into a position in the U.S. market on Healthcare, is definitely a growth driver, and we should see significant growth in the Healthcare segment over the next three to five years. So that's definitely one element, and the underlying trend in that is, of course, you know, the aging population, and the increase in cardiac patients. So I think the American Heart Association predicts that over the next eight years, they will see at least a 30% increase in the number of cardiac patients.
So that's pushing the need for these solutions. So we have a strong, you know, focus on harvesting that opportunity. So that's one. And then the second one is really the retail. So this is these push-to-talk headsets, where we equip with our partners the frontline staff, both in terms of providing better customer service, but also more efficient operations, and actually also a value proposition about workplace safety. Because, you know, when you're there as a frontline staff, sometimes you receive abuse from customers, and being able to connect to colleagues is actually a quite important value proposition there. And then, you know, the underlying market Paul also touched on it.
So that is really a market segment where the number of frontline personnel, we don't see, and the indications are it's not going down. It's at a steady level for the next 10 years, and it's a population that has been underserved by technology and communications technology. A lot of these people run, at least in the U.S., with walkie-talkies and different communication systems. And these push-to-talk headsets has really, you know, changed the game for that, and also with a strong integration into their back-end systems in terms of being able to running more optimized businesses. So I think that's the two main elements. And also what we actually. You know, if I am to mention a third one, it's actually also ProAudio.
Because, as if a couple of years ago, we changed the business model from full products to a standardized business, which actually also meant that this business took a dip. We had to change the customer portfolio. The sales price for a full product is, of course, higher than the one for a module. The margin is higher, so it's a better business model over time. But we have to build that business over time, so that's also going to build some growth into our business over the next two, three years, definitely. So yeah, hopefully that answer your question.
That's very clear. If I may a follow-up, just since you mentioned the healthcare, first, if you could just give a bit of overview, exactly, what's the business model there, and, and what, what does success look like in terms of, let's say, sales in three years for that business, do you think?
So the business model is that we own the IP of the communications infrastructure that's part of the Philips SmartView or IntelliVue SmartHub system, which then... So we provide the connectivity for the patient monitoring. So it and so every time that Philips deploys a solution, we deploy our products and receive you know payment for that. So there's both replenishment sales in that and, of course, also market expansion from our partners in that. It's also a model where we can actually both go to market in our own brand name, if we wish to do so, but we can also do it in the Philips name, and we can actually also onboard other partners onto our technology.
So that is the development tracks that we are going forward. In terms of numbers, you know, what does success look like? At least it's three-digit revenue numbers with high margins within the next three years.
That's very helpful. Thank you so much.
I follow up on that one. You talk about potential new clients next to Philips on your IP. How is that going?
So-
Any progress?
... It's early discussions. It's also, it's going to take time. You know, we are convincing competitors to use the same infrastructure, but we are in dialogues with that. We're also seeing that actually the Philips in the U.S. are taking market share at the moment, which, you know, could be helpful in those discussions. But to be honest, it is discussions we engage with, but it's slow discussions.
But if a hospital implements a Philips infrastructure and put your base stations into it, I assume that it's an open API which is on the devices, so that for instance a Siemens or a GE or anybody else who has a monitoring, they can connect to that solution, or how does it work? Do they need an agreement with you to have a interface into that solution? Because I don't guess... I do not assume that a hospital will give Philips a monopoly on all equipment in the hospital.
Most likely not. But, on the other hand, hospitals are also looking at one system integrator, and today that's Philips-
Mm.
You know, because they want to blame something if something goes wrong.
Mm.
Right now it is actually all eggs in one basket, but we believe that's going to change over time, even in healthcare. You know, in principle, yes, the API is open. Right now, they are doing their own proprietary solutions, but we believe that even in healthcare, that is going to change over the next three, five , 10 years.
Mm.
We believe that could be an attractive position for us in that over time.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
The gross margin for the Healthcare came down to the lowest level for a year, in the quarter. Is that product mix assumed from what to what? So it will change over time, I assume, depending on what you are selling and so on.
It will change over time, depending on what we are selling.
Mm.
And then, a large part of our capacity costs are allocated based on revenue split and direct pool. And the things we made last year in order to particularly in ProAudio to simplify the business model has also enabled us to move resources that were engaged in ProAudio before to Healthcare. So there's also a kind of an increased resource in Healthcare, so their capacity allocation is larger. That also impacts.
Yeah. Makes sense. If you go back to ProAudio then, and look at the revenue, if you grow 60% and you have more modules and less products, then it's obviously also fair to assume that the modules are growing very fast.
Yeah, in numbers, you know, in pieces-
Mm.
Yes.
So if you grow 60%, then you are declining the number of products. So where are you getting that traction, and in what segments of the ProAudio are you getting that higher traction of the modules?
It's a bit across. I think if you are to divide the ProAudio into two, there's what we call mics and stage, which is more, you know, jacks, wireless jack stick for guitars, microphone, and so on. And then, intercom, which is where you build typically into headsets for different teams. So-
The firefighters.
Yeah, the firefighters, but also film crews and of course also defense. I think we are seeing more traction on, but actually there are also higher margins in the intercom segment.
Are you already now shipping for the defense?
Yeah.
Yes.
Oh.
That relatively small quantities. It is, it's, there's potential, but it's slow moving. But we are seeing traction.
Erik, you have a question?
Yes. Sorry for asking a negative question, but it's always hard when it comes to assess the technology. What do you think are the main threats or challenges from alternative technologies that you see on the horizon? Can you just help us understand the landscape? So that would be helpful.
Yeah, yeah. So definitely. So, you know, if we start at a relatively high level. So our position is actually, you know, to provide bespoke or proprietary communications infrastructure to environments where Wi-Fi and cellular and other broad scale infrastructures either isn't present or it doesn't have the properties needed for the task. But that's still moving, right? So the technology on Wi-Fi and cellular is clearly moving. So that's kind of, you know, eating our position. So our challenge is continuously, you know, moving our technology to areas where there still are special needs. And that's, of course, also why we are looking into healthcare, why we're looking into critical communication, and so on.
So that is definitely the challenge, and that, of course, pushes us to make sure that we continuously invest also into, you know, innovation and moving, you know, our technology base to be able to service new niche applications in the broader wireless communication market. And that is, you know, the reason for us being here. So it's a really fair question. And then I see where things are actually moving, it's also around the integrations. So how is these bespoke or proprietary solution actually integrate into back-end systems? So for example, in the retail, how does the voice communication link into the inventory system, connecting with AI, you know, picking up speech about, "Oh, we are low on inventory on this"?
You know, picking up that and actually feeding that as a data point into back-end systems. That is definitely an area where we are seeing strong push also on the technology side.
Super. That's very helpful. Thank you.
Mm-hmm. You're welcome.
I have two areas left. One is just clarification. On the gross margin, there is no dollar impact on the gross margin. You're buying $7.
Not least, yeah.
Neutral.
Yeah.
The impact is fully on the operating cost being in DKK.
Yeah.
And euros.
Yeah, and euros.
Yeah. If you then move to the cash flow, and then you last four months have had DKK 17 million in free cash flow, you have a DKK 150 million cash pile. I'm just thinking about the way you think about your cash position. Are you keeping that to have the resources for strategic initiative that could be more R&D in building products, new segments, or, or what's the thoughts on cash flow? Is it for shareholders, or is it for investments in the future?
Yeah. So right now, as we published, we have a share buyback program that is running. It's on 20 million. We are, you know-
Half
... give or take, halfway there. So it's, of course, something that we are, you know, discussing. And of course, it's the board that drives this discussing, you know, but do we start another? On the other hand, it's also, of course, our business needs a quite solid cash position. I think in our capital policy, it's 80-100, and of course, yeah, we are above that. So of course, we are having these discussions. So on one hand, we are saying, "How can we benefit the shareholders and, for example, with share buyback?" But of course, we are also looking at, you know, what are the investments that we can do that will grow the business over time?
So it's a continuous discussion with the board, both on seeking investment opportunities, but also, of course, how do we, you know, serve the shareholders best possible?
If you are looking at the investment, is that then to enter a new segment, or is it healthcare looking into decentralized monitoring, or where you thought about how you want to, to-
I think and also, I think we kind of put this into the annual report. So definitely Healthcare is an area where we are investing, and that's where we're also seeing that, you know, given the market attractiveness in terms of both demographics, but also investments and also price levels and potential for margin gains in that market, it is an attractive market. So definitely, this is one area where we are looking for potential, you know, business cases to invest in, but also in other segments. But it's always looking at, you know, what is an attractive market at the end. So Healthcare is definitely on the radar, but we are looking broadly across our business. That, you know, that's the...
That's a key feature of our business model, you know? We have technology that can be used in many different segments, and it's up to us to find the right markets where we can both differentiate, but we can also make a decent profit and scale it. Yeah.
Thank you. I have no further questions. Just, are there any questions on the line? Otherwise, we will wrap up here. Doesn't seem too well.
Thank you for all your questions, and thank you for coming.
Have a good weekend.
Yeah, have a good weekend.