It's Jens Bjerg Sørensen. I'm the CEO of Schouw & Co. I will take you through our report and our figures. Q1 was for Schouw & Co. a very satisfactory quarter. We came out better than expected. We saw a very high activity level across all our companies. Once again, I think we could say that our companies, they are relevant in the market, and they have very strong positions. Our revenue was up 38% to DKK 8.7 billion. Organic growth was around one-third of the increase, and the rest was coming from our newly acquired company, Enics. EBITDA was up 40% to DKK 511 million.
It was a combination of effect from lower energy costs, mainly from our three big energy consumers, BioMar, Fibertex Nonwovens, and Fibertex Personal Care. We also had very good cost management, meaning a good combination of controlling our costs and getting the right prices in the market. We had a one-off impact in 2022, and that was offset in 2022. Our net working capital increased, mainly due to a much higher activity level in general. We still face and see supply problems on critical components. It's also easing off a little bit. We have seen that our focus on a better balance starts to materialize. We expect to start increasing our return on invested capital during the coming quarters.
I'll now look into with a very quick glance into each of our six businesses in our portfolio. Let me start with the largest company in our portfolio, BioMar, where revenue was up 21% to DKK 3.7 billion. Here we saw once again huge impact from raw material prices, meaning that the raw material prices was really driving revenue. Volume was flat. We also have to bear in mind that the Q1 is normally a low season in BioMar. We faced the impact from climate, meaning both cold and hot waters, and also some regulatory issues hit some of our divisions. EBITDA was up from DKK 54 million to DKK 117 million.
Again, here, effect from raw materials and also a mix between the different segments or divisions we operating. Bear in mind that in 2022, we were hit by a one-off cost of around DKK 60 million. When we are looking at the EBITDA. We have a good progress in all our contract negotiation. Normally, they are running over Q1 and Q2, and it's mainly in the salmon segment. Normally, we use to elaborate a little bit on these contract negotiations. We see a good progress in them. Our joint venture companies in both China and Turkey really delivered strong growth and also a good profitability, meaning that overall, the guidance for 2022 with the BioMar is maintained.
Revenue, around DKK 18 billion to DKK 19 billion. EBITDA, in the span of DKK 1.08 billion to DKK 1.15 billion. As usually, we really need good conditions in the second half of 2023, which is our high season. There we need good farming conditions and good climate throughout the year. BioMar, moving on to GPV, which now is the second largest company in our portfolio. Strong growth we have seen over the last years really continued. Turnover now DKK 2.7 billion for the quarter. There we see full effect from the newly acquired Enics, where we have combined Enics with GPV and created this One. New. Leader. strategy that really starts to kick in.
Both the legacy companies, meaning Enics and old GPV, really also delivered good organic growth. We still see high demand from key customers and key segments. EBITDA was better than expected and reached DKK 179 million for the quarter. Here, we also saw very strong cost management and high efficiency across the board. Integration costs are included, but they have not been material in the quarter. Net working capital still at a very high level. It's really a key focus area in GPV. We have a huge inventory built to support our huge backlog, and we also have to bear in mind that we are in the service business contract manufacturing, so we need to be able to supply when we are contracted at it.
We have also added a new capacity and expanded some of our factories during the last period, and more capacity is in the making. Our new factory in Thailand will open in Q2, and our large facility at Sri Lanka is also in a modernization making. We have also installed new lines at several of our factories. We make a small upgrade, guidance upgrade on turnover. It's only effect from increasing component prices, meaning that we now foresee or guide a revenue in the area of DKK 8.8 billion to DKK 9.2 billion. EBITDA, however, maintained at a level of DKK 590 million to DKK 640 million. In fact, we expect second half of 2023 to be a little bit more challenged for GPV.
From GPV, moving on to HydraSpecma. HydraSpecma really continued also their very satisfactory development. Looking at the quarter was very strong. We had a first turnover from our newly acquired Ymer Technology kicking in. Revenue plus 23% to DKK 791 million. Order intake from most of our global OEMs is still very attractive. EBITDA up 5% to DKK 87 million, but here we also have to see that there was a negative impact of DKK 23 million from PPA coming from Ymer. Meaning that the underlying EBITDA is very strong based on very high efficiency and also quite a good and attractive customer mix. HydraSpecma really see high activity in many areas.
They are working hard on integrating Ymer and creating the new renewable division to be prepared for strong growth in the coming years in this division. Also preparing a new factory in Stargard in Poland, which will be ready with phase one in Q2 2023. Guidance is, however, maintained. We see a slowdown in our wind segment, only expected to slow down in 2023, but it's more or less offset by a good order intake in our global OEM segment. Revenue DKK 3.1 billion to DKK 3.3 billion and EBITDA maintained in the range of DKK 310 million to DKK 340 million. Moving on to BORG, our company that are reman parts for the automotive business.
We realized a revenue of DKK 481 million, which really was in line with Q1 last year. Our main business is rebounding after a relatively slow second half 2022. Our trade business lowered due to less activity in specific markets. EBITDA was down from DKK 38 million to DKK 29 million. Here in BORG, we had one-off costs to new ERP and system and organizational changes of around DKK 7 million in the quarter. We also had a lower margin from our trade business due to high cost prices of old inventories. Networking capital still at a high level, it is leveling off.
We have on purpose built more inventory on what we call our high running reman products, that meaning brake calipers, and expected to lower the inventory over the last the coming quarters. We are now having full integration of SBS into the existing BORG Automotive platform. Guidance maintained, meaning EBITDA in the span of DKK 160 million to DKK 119 million. Also based on that, we see that the demand for reman parts is improving over the coming period. Touching on Fibertex Personal Care, where we, as expected, saw revenue down 19% due to mix of lower raw materials prices and less volume.
Less volume was, as mentioned, expected in Malaysia, and it will continue to be at a low level throughout 2023. EBITDA, however, better than expected, around DKK 70 million and at same level as Q1 2022. We had a minor positive impact from raw materials, and then really a good balance between cost and pricing in both Europe and Malaysia. Fibertex Personal have really put strong focus on improving profitability. We have closed down our printing facilities in Malaysia and starting to move print to U.S. Our new print facility in U.S. is running at full capacity and in very good development. We continue to innovate new products.
We just introduced a new product where we reduces weight with a 25% product that has been very well received in the market. Especially, Fibertex are really pushing strong on the sustainability agenda. Guidance maintained, revenue was slightly lower due to raw material prices, but EBITDA at the same level, meaning DKK 180 million to DKK 210 million for the year. We see a positive trend on raw materials and cost base in general for Fibertex Personal Care. Last but not least, Fibertex Nonwovens revenue here was up 11% to DKK 569 million. Volume, as expected, a little bit lower than in Q1 2022.
What is important to see is that the very negative trend we saw on Fibertex and on BORG throughout second half of 2022 has stopped. We have seen very good demand from the automotive segment. Our wipes business is picking up slowly but steady. EBITDA, DKK 42 million, and better than expected, coming from that raw material cost has started to decrease, product mix improving, we have seen a rather strong pricing management from Fibertex and BORG. We are starting up our new spunlacing line in U.S. We have had the first dry runs, we expect the new line really to start producing full commercial through Q2.
It's a line that is going to produce special wipes to what we call tier one customers in U.S. We have a very strong product line. The pipeline is very solid. Guidance for Fibertex and BORG is maintained with EBITDA in the span of DKK 440 million to DKK 170 million. Also here we are seeing that the cost pressure is softening. We are really keeping strict eye and focused on the pricing excellence. With that, let me just finish off with an overview of our guidance. Guidance unchanged. 2023 starting off positive. We still need to watch out. We have to have a strong focus on demand and costs.
We expect top line to be in the span of DKK 36 billion to DKK 38 billion, and EBITDA is expected to be from DKK 2.4 billion to DKK 2.65 billion. With this update on our guidance, I would open up for questions.
Ulrik Bak.
Ulrik Bak, please.
Yes. Hello, Jens and Kasper. Just a few questions from my side. Firstly, on GPV, you mentioned that you anticipate a slowdown in demand. Can you just share which segments that you see are still doing well, and are there any particular segments which where you're actually seeing a slowdown at the moment, or is it just an expectation?
I think, to be honest, Ulrik, it's more kind of a caution as we are not really seeing slowdown yet. We have a good backlog, but we have seen some customers moving the very big backlog we have into 2024. So it's more looking a little bit into second half and say, "Well, maybe things can't continue at the pace it's having now." So we are a little cautious on it in general, also because we are supplying industries that also might face a slow-off in demand. But we cannot say that it's specific segment A or B yet. But we have seen not a, not a, something very specific, but just a feeling we are having.
Right. In terms of this order backlog, did it increase during Q1 or what's the status?
Yeah, it increased slightly to Q1, but not with the same pace as we have been seeing throughout 2021 and 2022.
Okay, that's clear. A question on BioMar. You mentioned that you are well underway with the contract negotiations. Can you share just how large a share of your contract portfolio which has been renegotiated? And if you can give any flavor in terms of the attractiveness, profitability of these new contracts versus the ones they replaced.
Yeah. You could say, of course, it's new contracts, some of them is of course new contracts with existing customers, most of them. We just had a big contract negotiations with 1 big Norwegian group successfully and also went into a long-term contract with a, with acceptable profitability on. We are in these contract negotiations. As I also said, it is not as tense as it used to be because a lot of the larger customers, they are moving negotiations from just being Q1 to more over the year and also looking into longer contracts. So that's what we are looking into now.
We have an attractive base, but still we need to be competitive in the market.
Okay. Then a final one from me on, also on BioMar. Just if you can give an update on each segment, shrimp, salmon, filet, Norway, would be great.
You could say salmon, as I said, a good contract negotiations going on, mainly Norway. These quarters, we are satisfied with what we have seen so far. Chile has been a little bit challenged on sanitary conditions starting, in fact, back in 2022, so little less biomass at sea, but we have good contracts there. We have Australia, still a good base. It has been a very, very hot climate in Australia, meaning that the feeding has been less. In general, we have a contract base as expected in salmon. Margins, we always working with our margins and we always trying when we get in to see if we call it to sell up, meaning bringing in more functional feeds to our customers.
Looking at the shrimps, Ecuador, shrimp, prices has been down in Ecuador in Q1, picking up a little bit. There we are not having these very long-term contracts, but of course we have a contract base, but it's shorter than in salmon but also a satisfactory contract base there. Looking into EMEA, it's a total different game. It's more, we used to call it fight from house to house, shorter contracts, smaller customers, a lot of changes is going on. We have a good position in the Baltic. We have to fight harder in Greece and that's as it used to be.
Okay. In terms of these, high, elevated freight costs, energy costs from last year, now we see them declining, across the board. Would that be a benefit for you?
It will, yeah from a starting point, of course, be a benefit because we have a high energy cost, both in Fibertex businesses and in BioMar. Of course, also I said, customers, they read papers, and they also understand what's going on. We are having a strong intent on via commercial excellence and pricing power and so on to also keep our share of that.
That's clear. Thank you so much. No further questions at this time.
Thank you.
Klaus.
Klaus, go on.
Yeah. Also a few questions from my side. Jens, you mentioned that you have renewed this contract in Norway at acceptable terms and margins. That doesn't say a lot, from the outside at least. Does that mean that the margins is higher than the last contract? Is the same? How should we really understand that comment?
When we say acceptable terms, meaning that it's contracts that we can work with as we usually do. We go in on what we call basic feed, and then we work around it on functional feed, on services and things like that. We feel confident that we can keep our margins in Norway. I think last year we saw also a second half that we had quite reasonable margins in Norway. Of course, we don't disclose margins, et cetera, on specific customers or markets. We feel that with our size and our product segments and so on, that we are in a good position.
I might be a little bit slow here, but what does that actually mean? Winning that contract, if you just look at the commodity part, which is the one you say is included the contract.
Yeah.
Is that at better, lower or same margins? Maybe on top of that, if we're going to see input costs going down, will you have the same margin? Will you have better absolute profitability or lower profitability?
If costs go down, I don't think we will have lower profitability. We are having contracts and margins more or less at the same level as last year. You also know when you are negotiating these big contracts, it's the same customers you had the year before, so you cannot just all by a sudden increase. It's step by step you need to increase. Of course, we will have our share. When costs are going down, we'll also have an opportunity to get a slightly better margin from that, and that's our intention.
Margin. If costs go down, will you then make slightly better profitability in absolute terms, so you can keep part of the lower cost? Was that what you were saying?
That's our intention, Klaus. I would say, and you know that also that it depends also on when are these lower costs kicking in because we have these mechanisms in all contracts that we need to regulate on a quarterly basis and so on. There's a lot of elements in margin management in Norway, and we really call it margin management because it's so important for us. We intend to manage our margins in an attractive way.
Okay. The flattish volume in Q1. You sound a little bit disappointed by the performance in Q1. How should we think about the problem with flattish volume, you know, is mixture of many different species and markets?
Right.
How should we really read flattish volume?
Q1 or the Q1 is quite complicated because you really don't know what's how big is the growth going to be on the salmon and so on. As I said, we have seen less biomass at sea also in Norway and how much small it is coming to sea and so forth. The contracts and the expectations from our customers means that we will see volume picking up, and especially Q3, Q4 they are very important for us. We still expect growth, Q1 was not as expected. Of course, not very disappointing or anything, but it was flattish compared to what we saw when we went into 2023, but we still expect the volume to grow.
Okay. GPV, sorry.
Yeah.
The whole supply chain issues that you talked about last year, do we see a normalization? What was the update on that part?
Yeah, we see a normalization, but there's still critical components with very long lead times. Some components we just had a look at it this morning here. Some components have had lead times of 70 to 80 weeks, and that's maybe down to 30 to 40 weeks and so on. It's still complicated, but it's on fewer components than it used to be, so we really see that the supply chain is easing. We expect to see that throughout 2023. Still some critical components and we need to build inventory on these critical components, but much fewer than last year.
Last year you were rather, and let's use the word, concerned about what would happen with your order intake and your revenue. once things were normalizing. The fact, as you mentioned, order intake is going up or is still have growth in Q1 .
Yeah.
Should we see this as a, you know, a very strong statement or indication of the sustainability of the GPV business?
Yeah, I think Klaus, I mentioned also that we see order intake now on a longer horizon, meaning the order intake we see now is 24 and a little bit even into to 25. We also see some customers postponing, as I said, "Okay, maybe we said we could take it Q2, it's Q3," and so on instead of thinking a strong position, a very high activity level, a really hard push on factories to be able to deliver and so on. We don't see a really slow down, but just we are cautious on it because we see a few trends, but I cannot say that we are not facing good order intake.
You've been a bit cautious for the last six or eight quarters or so, and you keep saying this, but it seems to go pretty well for the business.
It does, absolutely. I fully agree, and I also acknowledge what you are saying. I think, when the caution is last year, that was more also, Klaus, on the ability to get components and to supply and so on. Now we are looking a little bit into demand. How strong will the demand be H2 . We have a strong background.
Are you more cautious now than you were six months ago? Is the same normal score filter we are talking about?
At a different level. No, you are right, but at a different level. This time it's more on will demand slow off? I think we will be able to get components. We will be able to supply and have capacity and so on and so on. What do we see from a demand point of view? I'm not very cautious or very nervous to say it like that, if you ask.
Okay. There seems to be no other raised hands. I have a few more questions.
Yeah.
You took over, 1st of February, so, you know, still early days, but maybe you give an update on have you seen any, you know, big surprises both on the upside and on the negative side?
Yeah, it is very early day, but fortunately not any really surprise. Maybe, of course, it's not a surprise, but we know that the demand from wind in 2023 is slowing, and then we expected that also. We have seen that the turbine manufacturers of course postponing a little bit on orders and so on. Still, we have, I think we have got what we have seen, and now we are in this phase of looking at the factories, integration, maybe one making two factories to one factory and so on. So far so good. I think we I think we've got in some knowledge also, and some skills that, we didn't have in the former HydraSpecma now.
These days is that offshore, onshore, specific markets?
It's a little bit, both segments.
Okay. Then my final question, I know you are dying for me asking this, Jens.
Yes.
Networking capital.
Yes.
Congratulations that it was, you know, the cash burn was only half that it was in Q1 last year.
Thank you.
What to think about this? I know it was slightly helped by, actually it was impacted by lower supply chain financing.
Yeah.
maybe a few more words on this.
As we had, if you look at it, you could say we have inventory built still in GPV, then we had less supply chain finance in BioMar, two main factors. We see things moving in the right direction now. You'll also see our cash flow was much stronger in Q1 like in 2023 than in 2022. We have this very strong push on it. If I really look into it, I would say that GPV, as I also mentioned, that's our key focus and that's where we really have seen net working capital, I won't say exploding, but it has really increased a lot.
The other companies, they are more in balance and I have a good feeling that we are moving in the right direction now finally. Yeah.
Still, Jens, you know, if half a billion extra networking capital, flattish, inventories on group level, input cost coming down, should we start to expect your network capital ease rather than the opposite?
Yeah, absolutely.
Sorry, I forgot to mention all your hard work to put network capital in focus in all the divisions.
Yeah. Of course it should. I think if you listen to my one-to-ones or to when we have ExCo meetings and so on, it's first thing at the agenda every time. We have specific task force in every company to look at it. We have a bonus system set up. We have a lot of things that we have been doing on this, but we also have service obligations and things to our customers and so on. It is, and it's really a strong focus, yeah. It's a balance, but I would expect it or not. I am expecting that it's going to be reduced.
Okay. That was all for me. Thanks so much.
Okay, thank you very much, Klaus.
No more questions.
Okay. I'm just hearing there's no more questions.
Jonas.
There was a hand there. Yeah.
Jonas Backman.
Jonas Backman.
Yeah, more long-term question, you have a return on capital target. If you can talk about the main levers to get the capital intensity, getting pricing power and management now when the input costs come down, GPV and synergies, if you can over high level the main levers to get to the long-term return on capital target and the time frame?
Yeah, thank you for the question. You could say, there's of course some moving targets. One is, of course, short-term to bring down our net working capital. Also the way we are investing, capacity investments and so on. We are at the peak of a lot of investments we have been doing over the last years. We don't have any very large investments in the pipeline. That's one point. Another point, of course, as we said, driving down net working capital and then also strong focus on increasing margins, getting our EBITDA up. That's three key focus.
We have still a strong growth agenda, but we are also looking a lot into how to grow without deploying too much capital. That's the levers. We have a strong strategic three years plans in each of our companies which we focus on this. Okay. Any other questions from the audience? Doesn't seem to be the fact. Okay. With that, thank you very much for listening. Thank you very much for the questions, and have a nice weekend, and bye from Schouw & Co.