Thank you
so much. Hi, everyone, and thank you all for joining us today. Welcome to this telephone conference about the H&M Group's 9 months results 2021. With me today is our CFO, Adam Karlsson and Head of Investor Relations, Nils Vinge. I will start with a short summary of the 3rd quarter followed by current developments.
And then after that, we will be happy to answer your questions. You will find the 9 months report on hnmgroup.cominvestor relations. Today's numbers show that the H&M Group's strong recovery continues. The results are explained by much appreciated collections, lower markdowns and good cost control combined with the initiatives implemented in areas such as tech and supply chain. As restrictions have been eased in many markets, store sales have started to pick up again and online sales have continued to grow.
We can clearly see that our customers appreciate our offering when they have the opportunity to shop. Our well received collections, combined with our ongoing transformation, are all contributing to the strong recovery. During the pandemic, we have quickly adapted by prioritizing cash flow, cost control and flexibility. I am proud of all our colleagues' commitment and engagement. We have worked together and taken fast actions showing both resilience and agility.
Despite sales being partly affected by restrictions and delays associated with the pandemic. Sales were up 14% in local currencies in the quarter. Combined with the continued strong cost control in the operations, this resulted in a profit before tax of SEK 6,100,000,000 compared to SEK 2,400,000,000 in the corresponding quarter last year. Continued focus on working capital and cash flow led to a very strong cash generation. Cash flow from operating activities increased to over SEK 37,000,000,000 for the 9 months period, up from SEK 16,000,000,000 last year.
Based on the significantly improved financial position, more stable market conditions and a good outlook. The Board of Directors proposes a cash dividend of SEK0.50 per share to be paid in November 2021. Looking ahead, our transformation continues at full speed in order to meet customers' ever increasing expectations and to strengthen our competitiveness further. We are developing our existing business and brands as well as creating new complementary revenue streams. Our digital initiatives are continuing along with our store optimization, our customer centric omni model with a combination of a profitable online growth, together with a well executed store optimization, leads to both improved top line as well as better profitability.
Our customer offering makes it possible for many to access sustainable fashion and express their own personal style. Our financial strength and long term approach give us the ability to invest in innovations with tech development, materials and sustainable initiatives with an ambition to lead the change Fashion Industry Towards Becoming Circular and Renewable. This was recognized recently when the H and M Group was named as the only retail company in the world to live up to the UN Global Compact Sustainability Principles. The pandemic and its consequences are not yet over. We are humbled by the many challenges in the world around us that affect our business, which call for a high level of flexibility and drive.
With our continued transformation and well positioned Zima offering to meet customers' ever increasing expectations of good value and sustainable fashion. We are optimistic that we will see a long term profitable and sustainable growth for the H and M Group. Thank you so much for listening, and we are now happy to take your questions.
Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Your first question comes from the line of Daniel Smich of Danske Bank. Please ask your question.
Yes. Good morning, Ilija and Oram. Hope you can hear me. A couple of questions from me then. And first of all, very strong numbers, I have to say that.
But then jumping on to maybe a slightly more negative question. You guide for higher markdowns in Q4, while at the same time, you're saying that the autumn collection has been well received. Could you just give the rationale for that and what you're seeing in the sort of the last part of this year?
Yes. No, you're right. I mean, we're coming out of the Q3 here where we have managed our mark Sounds really, really well based on good reception of the collections and also the whole supply chain and the inventory management. And Of course, that will continue. But as also mentioned in the report, there are also some slight imbalances in the supply chain.
So We account for that and have a little bit of a conservative outlook on the Q4 here. And as it's a smaller quarter when it looks at markdown, of course, then The percentages are not so easy to maneuver as it is during the Q3, so to say. So no drama, but it's just a Yes. Our outlook connected to the continuing of the autumn gives us that kind of read on the situation.
Okay. Would you say that so far into this last quarter, you're sort of flat on markdowns versus last year?
We don't indicate on that level. We are pleased to see how the collections are received and we're continuously managing the situation. It was more to guide how we view the situation ahead.
Okay. And then secondly, if I don't Right. Wrong. You're saying that you will close net 2 15 stores by the end of this year. And you guided for €250,000,000 at the start of the year, But you also said, of course, that it could vary.
Is there any sort of is this an indication that you think That you will close less stores than you planned? Or is this just sort of the way it happened?
Well, as You know from before, this is a living target. In this case, it means that to some extent, we could we found opportunities together with partners to open a bit more stores than we thought. And on the other hand, we also saw opportunities not to close as many in those dialogues as well. And that is, of course, also linked to the fact that we see a great kind of potential for physical stores and integrate digital into that and looking at and store formats and profiles we ended up with minus 2 15 instead.
Is it also an indication of sort of some sort of renegotiations on rents that became more favorable than you expected?
Absolutely. Yes.
All right. And then just finally, I saw that China dropped out of the top 10 markets, and there was no sort of roster at the end of the report Showing all the countries. To me, that suggests that sales are at least down 40% year over year. Is that a fair assessment?
When it comes to China, we are still in a complex situation, and we unfortunately, we won't be able to answer more questions on that. We have said before.
Thank you. That's all for
Just Daniel, you're absolutely right. I mean, there is a reason why China is not among top 10 anymore in this quarter. Yes.
Thanks. Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Elena Mariani of Morgan Stanley. Please ask your
question. Hi, good morning, everybody. A couple of questions from me as well. The first question is about your gross margin in the Q3. So you talk a lot about the moving parts, so positive progression in full price sales, some initiatives related to the supply chain, good cost control also related to your cost of goods also and the moving parts also in FX.
Would it be possible to isolate the different moving parts and quantify them? And perhaps also give a view on how this will develop into the Q4 given the slightly more cautious outlook. And then my second The question is on your OpEx and on the meaningful beat that you achieved in the level.
Elena, please For the listeners, could you please we start with one question at a time. Is that okay?
Yes, absolutely. So I'll stop here.
So the first question, if I start and then Adam can fill in. As you said, absolutely right, the gross margin is driven by lots of different factors. I talk about 20 to 30 different parameters perhaps. And of course, in this quarter, The main driver of the improvement has been the reduced markdowns as we have quantified. That's by far the biggest driver of course.
And then and the reason for that of course we can explain in detail as but that was already taken up by Adam in the first question. Then when it comes to the remaining part, it's a combination of all sorts of different things. One is, of course, the rewinding of the The leverage of the semi fixed costs in the COGS as you referred to. And then there are bits and pieces here and there and Many of them referring to efficiencies in the supply chain. That's what I can say about the Q3.
But moving forward, Adam, would you like to add something about How they should think going forward or?
No, but I think those parameters obviously some of them are known and some of them are more difficult To quantify, but as we mentioned in the report and some of these positive FX effects, for example, is likely to become less favorable throughout the autumn, but still on the positive side.
Okay. That's great. And then my second question is Practically the same question, but related to OpEx. So the moving parts in Q3 and into Q4. I am particularly interested in any more detailed comments around your rent reductions because some other retailers recently have talked about very significant reductions even in recent weeks.
So if you could elaborate on that, it would be fantastic. Thank you.
We've had a period of a number of different aspects of rent productions. And throughout the last 18 months, it has been a combination of both Short term, more temporary agreements with our partners. But to generalize and look forward, I think the biggest change for us is the level of flexibility that we now have, both when it comes to terms and the length of the leases, But also that we are at a higher level of turnover based rent. So it's difficult to quantify the As it's then pegged to the turnover, but that of course will help us to maneuver.
Perfect. And then any other items to highlight within the OpEx that are helping you to achieve such meaningful savings on a year on year basis besides rentals, of course. Thank you.
I think we spoke about it before as well with Us growing in the digital channel and a lot of the investments that we've previously done are now sort of growing into the sites needed, so to say. So we get, Of course, economies of scale of the previous investments. On the supply chain side and the logistical network, we can also see improved
Perfect. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Your next Question comes from the line of Fredrik Iversen of ABGSC. Please ask your question.
Thank you very much. Good morning all. So a few questions. If we start with the imbalance, as you mentioned, Adam, is this just a short term Sure. Or is it something larger like we saw a few years back, which will imply higher markdowns for a few quarters ahead?
The disruptions that the industry as a whole See today is something that we do manage because of our partnerships that we have. We have a bit of a challenging situation as all others right now so that we can't meet the demand to 100 percent from our customers, even though we see that the collections trends we bring in are very well received. It's going in the right direction. And we do see that this will, of Of course, stay with us for a bit, which Adam said before, also linked to next quarter. But overall, it's definitely going in the right direction.
And together with our partners, we believe this we have this in a pretty good control.
Okay. Thank you. And second question on the external factors impacting the gross margin with Higher freight rates and raw materials as well. But it still sounds like you expect a positive impact On a net level in Q4, but how should we think about 2022 because it's obviously quite a Significant time lag in your inventories, etcetera.
Yes. If I start with the short term, you're right that All in all, we still have positive effects from the U. S. Dollars and that should still, all things equal, be slightly positive. But then again that doesn't mean that's not a guidance for SG and A or gross margin, because I mean we can decide to invest In the offering or in the business as you know, but this is just to help you to understand.
Going forward, it's way so many things Are moving, but we feel confident that we will be able to navigate in a good way.
And do you see that you can offset parts of the higher Cost through pricing?
For us price is a very important part of our offering. So we will never be the first ones to raise prices to our customers. It's about combination of fashion and quality price and sustainability. So when others raise prices, we have an opportunity of course and gives us an even stronger competitive advantage.
Perfect. Thank you.
Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Magnus Rehmann of
Hello, everybody. Thank you. I have a question Regarding comparison with Invitex, they have gained a lot of online sales from its full integration of store inventory with its online platform. What is your view on H and M's progress in this area?
We're looking at competition. We have some really good competitors out there to get inspiration from and of course, we focus on our plans and our business idea going forward. And as we have discussed quite a lot before, one of our priorities is omni, meaning to integrate the different channels, and that goes for the whole customer experience, whether you choose to meet us in a digital channel or in a physical channel, and that obviously also goes for the whole supply chain. So this is part of our transformation, and we are doing great progress. As a matter of fact, this is So one of the reasons why we have been able to manage the pandemic in the way that we have.
Right. So in terms of IT planning, you are planning to integrate all of your 4, 5000 stores into all that inventory It should be integrated into the online platform. Is that correct?
It's yes, to give a Fairly short answer. Availability is key here. So we should offer our customers to meet us where they want. So that The ambition and then the solution can look very different in some markets with long distances. For example, we have one type of solution and in Or dense areas, we have other types of solutions.
So we're really looking at it from a customer perspective, a case by case, region by region.
But you're right Magnus, I mean the channels, this is exactly what we say and Helena said very much that the customers they want both And we clearly see that the channels, they strengthen and complement each other. And of course, our IT platforms and systems support this omni model.
Yes. Right. Then just a second question for me regarding balance sheet and Dividend. In relation to your balance sheet and gearing target that you previously said, You have stated that you want to utilize the benefits of very low interest rates out there, I. E.
Not carrying net cash Rather some net debt. Is this reasoning still as valid for you as before?
We have throughout this year, of course, had to handle situations more as they have Right. And we have a very strong balance sheet. We have very favorable terms on our debt and also with the sustainably linked bond that is further sort of strengthened. So we haven't revised that, but we're in a very positive position right now. So we will continuously develop and follow situation as we're looking ahead.
So no revision, but we've managed the situation and done it in a proactive and we think long term
Right. But provided where you are and what you also stated in the written report, it should not be It should be reasonable to expect that you come back to ordinary dividend announcement by Q4.
That's too early to say. It's up to the Board to look into that question.
Sure. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Rebecca McClellan of Santander. Please ask your question.
Yes, good morning. Can you hear me?
Good morning, yes.
Good morning. Good morning, everybody. A couple of questions for me, please. Firstly, in terms of your store base, I think you said there's Still 50 stores which are closed. Of the other stores, are they all working on 100% trading hours?
Or are there still restrictions on despite them being opened. And then my second question, could you give us an update on how many
Please put it one question at a time.
I'm sorry.
So You clearly see it's going in the right direction with only 50 stores closed. We have some actions. They are gradually being lifted, but that can mean opening hours or closed sitting rooms, just to give a few concrete examples in some of the countries.
I see. Can you sort of give an idea as to the number visavis the trading hours with how that might compare to 2019, for example.
I don't
have that top of There are, as Helena said, different types of restrictions that are gradually moving in the right direction. And so I don't have the to date comparison.
All right. And my second question is just about sort of the integration. How many markets enjoy click and click and returns to store now?
We have to find out and come back to that question where we are at the moment. But of course, this is something we are implementing across the group. And of course during the pandemic, some market has been on pause simply for the reason that we haven't stores have been closed, But it's definitely something customers appreciate, even though it's more or less it varies from market to market. And this is one of many Omni features that we look into.
And just perhaps finally, are you actually experiencing stockouts and sort of stock flow shortages at present or is it just a building sort of bottlenecks?
We are experiencing in some cases in some products delays, absolutely.
Can you give any detail on that?
No, it's we can't give you more granular. But we think, as Adam said, that this is temporary and we are As Elena said also, we are it's going in the right direction.
Okay. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Richard Chamberlain of RBC. Please ask your question.
Just I wondered if you could talk about the outlook for staff costs, please, within the group, What efficiencies you've made in Q3? And also what level of government Support you would still expect to get in Q4. I presume that's now not much at all. But yes, just a question on staff costs, Please.
To start on the government support, you can see in the report that it's It's gradually being phased out. We are right now at a much lower level than the last year. And as So Q4 last year was a second wave came. So that will be a difference looking into Q4 as well then. We are expected this year to be lower, obviously.
On the other question, I think we learned a lot throughout this year in how do we best cater to the customer demand. And some parts we spoke about before that we Have optimized some of the tasks in the store and that will obviously continue and gradually shift then our focus Towards more focus on taking care of the customer in the best possible way. So I think we are introducing quite a lot of different aspects, everything from Automizing checkout and other things that we really see that the customer appreciates, and then we can spend more time giving a strong customer
Sure. Okay. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Georgina Johanan of JPMorgan. Thank you.
Good morning. Thanks for my questions. I have 2, please. The first one is just following on from Rebecca's question. May I just clarify, are you Expecting an impact on sales performance in Q4 and indeed in Q1 as a result of the stock delays that you're experiencing please.
Yes. As we wrote in the September comment, it has been impacted by delays, yes.
So the situation of the industry will I mean, That is a situation that we are trying to deal with together with our partners. We believe we have really good collaboration with them. It's gradually becoming better for us. And exactly when we will be completely back is difficult to say. But as Adam said before, we will probably handle some of this also in next quarter, but it's going in the right direction.
So we believe that we have it in fairly good control.
Okay. Thank you. And My second question is just on external factors on the gross margin. Just to make sure I understand, are you saying The FX tailwind is reducing in the final quarter and that's why the positive impact from external factors is reducing? Or is there sort of incremental freight inflation that you are experiencing just due to when you perhaps locked in on certain contracts and so on.
It's mainly due to the U. S. Dollar effect rewinding.
Great. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Your next question comes from James Grisnick of Jefferies International. Please ask your question.
Yes. Good morning, Renata and Nils. I had follow ups, maybe 2 along Those veins, again, as Regina mentioned. I guess the first one, Adam, can I just clarify on that markdown comment? Are you basically saying it's reflecting the quality of the current closing inventories composition?
Or is it something that you're Waiting in the future given the supply chain dislocations you have to deal with right now.
It's more to the second here. We see that the third Quarter is a strong receipt that our inventory is strong as it's so well received by our customers. So That obviously hasn't changed just because we entered the Q4. But as we just said then with the slight delays that we See, we are managing it very actively. We think it will gradually decrease.
But just to give our assessment of that, it will affect Q4 in some way. And as I also spoke about before, the Q4 is not a clearance quarter. So that's Why it's from an increasing reductions perspective might sound a lot, but it's no drama from our end. It's a low clearance quarter and we just share our view on how we manage the situation.
And just following up on that, sorry, Adam, does that mean that it may have more of a bearing into Q1 next year as you go To winter clearance.
No, I think and also the whole inventory level, I think, is It's a strong receipt that we manage this situation really, really well with the flexibility that Helena spoke about before. So We are executing on our plan to move towards an improved sales to stock ratio and that we believe holds still. So it's about Navigating the short term effects right now.
Understood. And Elena, just a quick one for you. So It sounds like if you won't be proactively trying to protect 'fourteen gross margin, I presume, from springsummer next year, is that right? You won't be looking to price up to recover that less favorable input dynamic and you'll be waiting for others To move and maybe start changing in mid season. Is that how I should be thinking about it?
Sorry, can you repeat the core of the question.
Yes. I mean, if you have more pressure in the bottom gross margin Given inputs, it sounds like you won't be moving on pricing in springsummer to recover those pressures. Is that right? Well, looking at Pricing.
Looking at the inventory right now, we see that we have good composition. And Of course, we will continue to deal with that and also work with reductions moving forward on that.
Okay. I
think what we work with and a little bit connected To my previous answer here is that with the strong focus on supply chain and the inventory management, of course, we believe also that reductions can be a Can be a part of this equation into 2022. So we can work with that component of the
And continued efficiencies throughout the supply chain.
Understood. Thank you.
Thank 2. The next question comes from the line of Anne Critchlow of Societe Generale. Please ask your question.
Good morning. Thank you. I have two questions, please. So the first question is about the store online integration. Just wondered if you're prepared to let us know what the percentage of online orders collected from store are and what percentage of any returns you have go back through the stores now?
Thank you.
It's not a number that we disclose, but it's we are as Helena said, we are using we're looking at the stores As a part of the supply chain, of course, because we have a strength here compared to many other pure retailers that we are meeting our customers every day In real life. And of course, it's been obvious during the pandemic how important this is and we're very glad that we're now able to open And customers tell us that they appreciate it. And of course, one of the advantages about having the omni model is that you can click online and pick up in Store, return in store and so on. And this is something we are continuously developing. This is part of the integration.
We don't have Specific KPIs to share at the moment where we are, but we have good progress and a lot of potential in front of
Okay. Thank you. And then my second question is really about the September trading because it sounds as if Local currency sales are still down on 2 years ago. You talked about supply chain delays. I just wondered if there were some other reasons as well apart from, say, store closures.
For example, the weather was very warm in the first half of September through Europe. So just wondered if you had some other trends and how we should think about the 4th quarter sales? And is it sensible to assume that it could be down on a 2 year view in local currencies. Thank you.
So first question about September. Again, it's a short period. And if you look back historically, It's always volatile September October depending on how the weather is and so on. Of course, this is something we experienced here again. I'm not we're not going to bring it up as a reason for it, but of course it's volatile if you go on such a short period.
And the same in the spring, we want to have warm weather in the spring. If it's cold, it's challenging. But it's I mean the main reason is as we wrote in the comment, it's there are some delays, but the customers appreciate definitely what they see, but we cannot Unfortunately, we haven't been able to meet the demand 100%. And then there are of course other challenges. The pandemic is still we're not Through the pandemic fully yet, as we stated.
It's not just about the 50 stores. There are other challenges as well, of course, with the restrictions and so on.
Thank you. That's helpful. Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Anton Willem of Bloomberg News. Please ask your question.
Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I have two questions. I'd like to start with if you have any comments on the Your plans for store closures next year or openings?
Yes.
Yes, it's still a moving target, so not ready to give an exact number on that. But Moving forward on following the customer behavior when they want to go more digital than before and also looking at the different locations we have. We will, of course, continue to open some stores and to close some. So the net will still be on minus but not as much as this year.
All right.
That's what we can say at the moment.
Thanks. And also it would be really interesting to hear more details on what kind of supply disruptions you had in September. Was it shipping issues or
Yes. So and this is causing, as you probably know, delays in the industry as a whole. So it's been due to the pandemic both when it comes to the pure production with suppliers, which is the situation that has improved quite a lot. And it's also linked to transport and consequences from the pandemic, for example, around the ports.
All right. Thanks.
Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Adam Cochran of Deutsche Bank. Please ask
Hi, good morning. A couple of questions. The first question, if I can. On this Markdown in the Q4. Am I right in thinking your inventory is lower year on year, Your supply is constrained and it's constrained across the market, but you're expecting to mark down Product that you do have to a greater degree.
Yes. It's to indicate that some of the autumn products, As I mean, Helene indicated, we see the positive signals that we are moving in the right direction. But some of the Whatnam products may have shorter sales periods. So to account for that, We predict that we could activate potentially a bit more during the Q4. I think also to remind ourselves that last year was a 4th quarter heavily impacted towards the end of the quarter of the second wave and a lot of sort of commercial plan changes.
So it's a little bit to go back to hopefully a more normal autumn.
Okay, And when we look at the sales through the Q4 last year, would you be able to indicate roughly how strong September was compared to October November, just to help us plan the forecast for the 4th quarter.
As Niel said, there are factors. And the start of the autumn 2 years back was A very strong start of the autumn from a weather and external factor perspective. So It was a stronger start of the quarter than the end
of the quarter, so to say. Okay.
That's useful. Thanks. And then the final one from me. In terms of your ongoing logistics rollout, can you give any Update of where you are in terms of maybe percentage complete of the global logistics roll
Please. Not sure if you mean rollout kind of omni capabilities. Did I get understand that right?
It was possibly. But it's more the I know that you've been building a large number of Warehouses and distribution centers in different places, how many you've got left to go?
Yes. If you're referring to the platform change that we've done, we've done most markets now, we've done To Europe, very successfully recently and we still have Asia and some other markets to go. But on top of that, of course, we are developing a lot of other capabilities And developing distribution centers. And as we announced today, we have just started the construction of a new logistics center in Canada, which would help a lot in North America to add more capacity. And that's just one of many examples that we have in the pipeline going forward.
This is an ongoing work. It's hard to say that we will be complete, if you see what I mean, because it's constantly being developed, but lots of exciting plans in the pipe.
I'm sorry. And then one final, actually, just sprung to mind. In terms of the dividend that you're announcing now, Is this in addition to any potential dividend that you may announce for FY 2021 in January? Or is it part of The FY 2021 potential dividend. So is it a special or an ordinary dividend?
I can't quite work out what it is.
It's not up to us to we've been advised not to I mean to simply call it a dividend period. It's not up to us to decide whether it's fixed or not. So it's yeah, that's all I can say really.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Daniel Smitsch of Danske Bank. Please ask your question.
Yes, me again then. Just a follow-up for a question on the cash flow, Adam and Helena, Which was terribly strong, of course. But I think you wrote in the Q1 and Q2 report how much you had sort of in terms of cash release on payables. I don't See that in this report. Does that mean that you've sort of you're done with the SEK 10,000,000,000?
Or where are we in terms So that cash release?
Yes. It has been a very successful implementation throughout the year. And we have now Completed the program and we are very close to the indicated levels for the full year. So It's not mentioned here, but of course, it's part of the cash flow.
And it's not going to be you don't see it's going to be exceeding the 10?
No, we think it's not substantially different than 10, so to say. Obviously, as suppliers are on board and then depending on how much we buy that will of course Yes. We have a slight difference, but NOK 10 is our best estimate still.
All right. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. And your next question comes from Frederik Iversen of ABGSC. Please ask your question.
Thank you. A short follow-up from me as well. Just visiting Germany, which saw a very positive trend from Q2 to Q3. I think Q2, if we compare it to 2019 levels, was down around 25%. And now you're almost back at 2019 levels, it seems like.
Is it fair to assume that the exit rate in Q3 was actually positive?
You mean compared to 2019 or what?
Yes, yes, compared to 'ninety.
I think you don't want to talk about exit rates because you can Extrapolate. I would say that we are pleased with our performance in Germany in general. Absolutely.
Okay. Thanks.
Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Nicholas Skogman of Handelsbanken.
Yes. Hi, good morning. In the report, you mentioned initiatives, particularly Particularly within tech helping to reduce the amount of markdowns. Could you give some details on these initiatives, Specifically, how they are helping?
Tech is obviously integrated in more or less the whole value chain. So let me give a few examples. First link to supply chain. Both tech is used as a way to obviously decrease the timing from ID to a product getting to a customer since we can use, for example, tech tools in product development. And that simply makes us faster and more responsive than to customer demand.
So also AI is used in supply chain with helping us to kind of forecast demand And also, obviously, tech is integrated in different ways within logistics to make us have the right availability at the right time and at the right place. So Tech is truly something that is integrated both when it comes to the whole customer experience and then also in the back stand, if that makes sense.
Perfect. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Your next question comes from Andreas Lundberg of SEB. Please ask your question.
Thank you so much. Back on the cash flows, which has been out Standing in the last year, where do you see the working capital levels going forward?
I think we've done quite substantial changes and improvements over this last year. And I think the biggest difference is Difference is, of course, the more normalized payment terms then. So that is a effect that we will see for this year. But then obviously more long term, we also have the full effect of the improvements to the And the stock level. So we see positive effects, but not as extreme as this year as we introduced the adjusted payment terms.
Okay, cool. Do you have any CapEx guidance for next year?
Not yet. We are seeing that we are increasing investments sequentially 3rd quarter to 2nd quarter. So it's fair to expect and continue to increase from very low levels in 202020 21, but the exact level is not yet set.
Okay. Thank you. And also a final one on cash. Are there any materials or payment delays that you have sort of seen in the last year that you need to pay going forward? Okay.
And then I'm on the last question Staffing, I think you're right. You have some 150,000 employees, down from 180 or so last year. What level of number of employees do you see, well, in a more normalized situation, if you will? Thank you.
That is not really any type of target that we have. But of course, we are shifting a bit due to the change of customer behavior and the digitalization that when it comes to digital, We are employing also linked to, for example, logistics. But we are then as we optimized the store portfolio, some parts is decreasing. So of course, it's a type of shift. Yes.
And what kind of net effect do you see, let's say, in 2022 versus 2019?
No numbers that we communicate. That is not our target. Our target is is linked to meeting customer demands and meet them wherever they want to meet us and follow the digitalization trend.
Okay. Thank you so much.
Thank you. And we have next question from Anton Willem of Bloomberg News. Please
Hi. Just a follow-up question for me. When you say that you see some delays in next quarter also, Do you mean 1Q or 4Q?
4Q now the current quarter then to be clear. That as Helian has said, we had some Disturbances over the summer in some of the production markets, and we're now gradually improving that. And then also There has been some congestions in some of the ports, but we're also managing that looking into the Q4. So it's related to Q4.
I think We have a great advantage here by having a global network and supply chain, so we can adjust better than many smaller players.
All right. Thanks.
Thank you. Just to advise you, we are now coming up There are no further She's coming through on the line. Please continue.
So thank you then very much for participating in this conference call, and we wish you a nice day.