Friedrich Vorwerk Group SE (VH2) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and I warmly welcome you to today's earnings call of the Friedrich Vorwerk Group SE following the publication of the Q1 figures of 2025. With me today is CEO, Torben Kleinfeldt; and CFO, Tim Hameister, who will give us a presentation shortly and will guide us through the highlights and the results. [Operator Instructions]. And having said this, Mr. Kleinfeldt, I hand over to you.

Thank you very much, and also a very warm welcome in this beautiful afternoon here in Germany, and welcome to the Q1 earnings call of Friedrich Vorwerk Group SE. My name is Torben Kleinfeldt, CEO of the company, and I'm active in this energy infrastructure business for more than 20 years by now. And first of all, I would like to give you a very short introduction to our group of companies for all of you that are not that familiar with our company. So Friedrich Vorwerk is a very experienced contractor in the energy infrastructure business. We're doing this for more than 60 years today with more than 2,000 employees and present in 11 locations focused very much on the north of Germany, made a very strong growth over the last years with an average growth of 23% annual growth and still active in our highly attractive markets such as natural gas infrastructure, electricity infrastructure, clean hydrogen production and infrastructure and also adjacent opportunities, where we basically catch our activities in district heating, biomethane treatment and also CO2 treatment and separation. Among our customers, of course, all the TSOs that are active here in the middle of Europe, both on the gas side, but also on the electricity side, we see companies like Amprion, TenneT; and on the gas side, Open Grid Europe, Thyssengas; and others partly also from chemical and petrochemical industry. Of course, one of the biggest drivers for our growth over the last years where the energy transition, mainly taking place here in Germany, and that led to a massive order intake over the last years, as you can see on the right bottom of the slide. So for the next slide, just to give you a good overview of what our activities and our services are in each market, [ sketched ] on the very top of this slide, the natural gas infrastructure. So our services start when the natural gas is transferred either from an LNG terminal, but also from an international cross-country pipeline to the borders of Germany. So we would be able to also participate in large-scale LNG projects, but also in setting up the cross-border station where basically the gas, which has been transferred is metered and regulated in this pressure. After that, we are able to engineer and also set up a huge pipeline systems over a long distance and in all sorts of diameters and all sorts of material. In between and to make these large pipeline grids operational, it requires certain stations such as compressor stations, storage facilities. And at the very end towards the consumer, it requires gas pressure regulating and metering stations to supply the gas and the right pressure, the right volume and also, of course, to get a basis for later invoicing to the customer. This is basically our job in the natural gas infrastructure. And besides the engineering and the construction of these infrastructures, we are, of course, able to also maintain these infrastructures from the very beginning to the very end. Pretty much the same business we will find in the hydrogen, so the H2 infrastructure in the future. The high-pressure pipelines are basically very similar to the natural gas pipelines, and it also requires a large underground storage facilities and compressor stations to push the flow of gas in the pipelines towards the end consumers. And of course, also here, we need pressure regulating and metering stations. But a big difference between those 2 markets. At the very beginning, it requires electrolyzers to convert water into oxygen and hydrogen. And Friedrich Vorwerk has been among the first companies here in Germany to establish the first electrolyzer systems. And we are currently also integrated in the first medium-sized electrolyzer projects here in the north of Germany. Electricity market looks a bit different. Friedrich Vorwerk and its subsidiaries are only involved in underground cable lanes. So we are not involved in above-ground power lines. Typically, our work starts with the engineering execution of so-called landfalls. So cables which are being pulled onshore from the offshore laying barges, which pick up basically the cables running from the offshore wind farms towards the transformer stations, which are mainly located onshore. So after this landfall, we are able to engineer and also execute the underground cable routes, set up transformer stations, set up converter stations, switching the AC power to DC power and vice versa. And of course, since we are also active in district heating, we are also able to couple these systems to the district heating grids and supply power to heat systems for our customers. Basically, this is our scope -- daily scope of work in our major markets. And I would also like to give you a very short market update on what's going on, especially in very new market here, the hydrogen market. As we already reported, German government ratified an act to kick off what we call the H2 core grid. So basically a 9,000 kilometer long pipeline grid with various diameters being the first infrastructure for pure hydrogen transport in Germany. Of these 9,000 kilometers, approximately 44% will be newbuild pipelines and 56% will be converted pipelines. So pipelines that are already in operation today with natural gas and then being converted into the hydrogen use. Market value for our projects, at the moment, estimated for shortly under EUR 20 billion investment over the next 10 years. Realization period has already started last year 2024 and will probably not only take us to 2032, but maybe also to 2035 as we know that some of these infrastructure projects will be shifted back a couple of months. But in the end, we have already started on the first hydrogen pipeline projects here in North Germany. And I think we can, in the very short future, report on some more projects falling into our books. Yes, very new. And I would say it's a very beginning of the planning, but also very interesting and could be a very new market for our company since we are already involved in the separation of CO2 and the electrification of CO2 in a very small scale. Some of the TSOs here in Germany have already made plans to set up a CO2 transport network, basically to catch the CO2 from major power stations and major industrial producers, bring it to the ports and later maybe also bring it to cross-country pipelines and then bring it to countries like Norway, which are glad to accept the CO2 and will store it underground over a long period of time. For CO2 pipelines, no natural gas pipeline can be converted due to technical reasons. So if we have a grid, which is approximately in the very first stage, 5,000 kilometers long, it has to be all 100% newbuild pipeline. Budget for that, at the moment, also shortly under EUR 20 billion and execution period will probably be until 2030 to 2040. And also, new government Germany has decided on very huge investments in the renewal of water and wastewater infrastructure. And since our company can also provide services within the wastewater and in the water grid, this could be a potential extra market over the next decade for our company. So that's from my side, for the outlook in the markets, and I will hand over to Tim for some financial figures of the first quarter of 2025.

Yes. Thanks a lot, Torben. I would also like to welcome you today's earnings call on the first quarter figures. Let me now take you through our financial results in more detail, starting with the top line as usual. In the first 3 months, we achieved revenue growth of 73% to EUR 133 million, so we were able to keep up the momentum in terms of both revenue and earnings growth from last year. This is also our highest Q1 revenue to date and sets a strong tone for the remainder of the financial year. The main reasons for the strong revenue growth are really high capacity utilization, pretty good weather conditions in Q1 and another big chunk of revenue from our A-Nord Lighthouse project, which got going really early in January. In addition, the main contract works on our new EWA pipeline project began in the first quarter, which also contributed significantly to revenue growth. And this project also marks the first time we are using our newly developed 5C [ walling ] technology in the field, which has achieved excellent results so far. The development of profitability in the winter quarter, which is usually weaker due to seasonal reasons, is even more encouraging. And thanks to, again, a very high capacity utilization, the continued high profitability of our order backlog and also some minor effects from claim negotiations, especially in our adjacent opportunities segment. We were able to increase earnings figures significantly compared with the same quarter of previous year. EBITDA rose to EUR 18.2 million, a significant increase from EUR 6.8 million in Q1 2024. The corresponding EBITDA margin improved by nearly 5 percentage points year-over-year to 13.7%, up from 8.8% last year. This margin expansion reflects better operating leverage, a stronger project mix and an ongoing cost discipline. Adjusted EBIT surged from EUR 1.9 million to EUR 12.8 million, an increase of over 550%, which resulted in an EBIT margin of 9.6%. So nearly double digit already in Q1 this year. Now turning to our order situation. At EUR 82 million, order intake is around 1/3 below the previous year's level. However, this is by no means a cause for concern. On the one hand, our order backlog is still well above EUR 1 billion, which is why we are still being very selective in our further order acquisition. And on the other hand, some important award decisions have been delayed by the customers. We, therefore, expect to win further significant projects in our natural gas, clean hydrogen and electricity segments in the very near term. Around 3/4 of the order backlog is attributable to our electricity segment, which will continue to be a strong growth driver, although we also expect larger projects, especially in the gas and hydrogen business. We already won the first of these, the Achim compressor station in April, which Torben will present in detail in a moment. Yes. And to close the financial segment, let me just reaffirm our full year 2025 guidance. We continue to expect revenue between EUR 540 million and EUR 570 million. However, given our strong Q1 performance, we currently expect to reach the upper end of this guidance. And in terms of profitability, we expect to maintain an EBIT margin of 16% to 17%, reflecting continued improvements in scale, cost structure and our project mix. And let me now hand it back to Torben for some updates on our ongoing and upcoming projects before we open the floor to your questions. Thank you.

Tim, thank you very much. Short business update, maybe on the first project because it's also for us a lighthouse project. It's the first major compressor station being able to transport hydrogen, so to boost hydrogen, the hydrogen pipelines. We, as Friedrich Vorwerk, have already been involved in the natural gas compressor station at Achim-West facility run by Gasunie. Gasunie is planning to use the station in Achim as a major hydrogen hub here in Northern Germany. And we are, as Friedrich Vorwerk, integrated in the vertical joint venture, being responsible for the engineering and also setting up the whole hydrogen compressor station here. Vorwerk in this hub joint venture is responsible for basically all the mechanical and plant construction work that is required for the station. And it will be a major project to connect all major pipelines that will, in the future, transport hydrogen from the very north to the south. So this will be a key station, and we are very glad to be part of this project. Yes, besides this very new plant construction project, we are still working on numerous tenders in both the natural gas market and the electricity market. Biggest project on the natural gas infrastructure at the moment is the ETL 182, 86-kilometer pipeline with 1.4 meter diameter pipeline running from the riverbeds of the Elbe from a town called Stade towards the new compressor station in Achim, basically a project with a well 3-digit million turnover. And we're waiting for a tender decision quite soon within, I would say, this month. Also in connection with the ETL 182, is another pipeline -- hydrogen pipeline for gas unit. It's the ETL 179.200, which will, in the first step being used for the transport of natural gas, but later then being used for the hydrogen transport. This pipeline is directly connected to the other system, ETL 182, and will have a diameter of 36-inch, so 900 millimeters. The WAD project, altogether, 90 kilometers, a 40-inch pipeline run by Open Grid Europe. We were actually able to win one of the WAD lots. So since we are, at the moment, already working on the EWA project, which is right in the north of the WAD project, we'll be able to just run through from the EWA project to the WAD project. So it is very nice work for our pipeline crews, not only for this year, but also for next year. And still in tender process, Spessart-Odenwald-Leitung SPO, in total 120 kilometers, also 40-inch, and there will be some further lots being tendered out for Süddeutsche Erdgasleitung SEL, where we have already won lot 1 and 2 as we have reported before. But also on the electricity side, there are still numerous projects, which will deliver very long-term work to our cable laying crews. Biggest project at the moment is NordOstLink, which will be executed from 2029 to 2032. First tender stage has just started here on this project, but also other lots for SuedOstLink and SuedLink are still being tendered, and we are waiting for at least some of the award decisions very shortly. And a very different project from our adjacent opportunities large-scale water pipeline system being set up by RWE and being used to transfer water from the river Rhine to the old brown coal mines to fill them up and create a huge lake district here by filling them with Rhine water. Yes. And since we have still a very big pipeline of projects we are still tendering for, we, of course, are not only looking for internal growth, but also we are still looking for companies we can take on board, and we have actually been able to finalize an M&A deal here with the company, Gerhard Rode, where we took over their branch offices in Wischhafen and Stade. So directly in the heart of the future pipeline and cable projects. We acquired just assets from Gerhard Rode. So we took over roughly 40 qualified employees plus a lot of large and small-scale machines, which we can or have already well integrated in our current projects, not only in the electricity and natural gas business, but also in the adjacent opportunities. So a lot of people are, at the moment, working on natural -- on district heating projects directly in Hamburg. So a very nice position here, and we are quite happy to get this on board. And of course, our long list for future M&A deals has gotten a bit longer over the last weeks, I would say. And I hope that we can report more on the M&A side over the next weeks or months. So thank you very much for listening, and I think we would be ready to take your questions.

Absolutely. Thank you so much for the presentation and the dive into your first quarter. [Operator Instructions] So we have a virtual hand from Yusif.

Yes. Can you hear me?

Yes, loud and clear.

Great. Now maybe 2 questions. One financial question on the CapEx. So with the company growing, so what kind of CapEx do you foresee also going forward for the business plan? And also the second one on the recent asset deal that you mentioned. So what kind of potential turnover associated to this you would expect?

Yes. Yusif, we expect for the 2025 financial year CapEx in the range of EUR 36 million to EUR 38 million in order to further acquire new projects and fulfill all these opportunities, Torben just mentioned. And regarding the Gerhard Rode deal, on an annualized basis, we expect that these branch will generate like EUR 5 million in revenue per year.

So and then we move on with Lukas Spang.

Yes. I have just one question, and this is regarding the order intake and the order intake momentum. You mentioned that you expect some awards in the next month and now 2/3 of Q2 is already over. So will we see already a pickup in order intake in Q2? Or will this be more rather a topic for Q3 and Q4? And can you already share some light for Q2 order intake?

I think we cannot give you present figures on order intake at the moment. Some of the award decisions have been delayed due to numerous reasons. So we should have a feedback at least on some of the SuedLink projects already in March. It will turn out that some of these decisions will be shifted to the end of May, but I'm very, very sure that we can -- we'll get at least some of the major project decisions in Q2 this year.

So by now, it seems there are no further questions. So last call. And then we have a virtual hand from Nicolas.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

Okay. I have just one quick question to the guidance. If we look now to the high revenue growth and if we also expect now that we have some more workers for the rest of the year, do you think that the guidance is a bit too conservative? Or what are your thoughts about this?

I mean we already mentioned in our releases that we now rather expect the upper end of the range given the very strong Q1. However, the comps in Q2 to Q4 are way more high compared to Q1 since Q2 2024. They already included the revenue growth from north. But still, if the momentum or the project execution is still favorable and the utilization keeps the same level as in Q1, we could also expect in a few months, maybe an upgrade to the current guidance.

And then we received a question in the chat box from Leon. And he wants to know how close are you currently operating to full capacity with your existing workforce given that staffing levels only increased by 2.7% in Q1 compared to the end of full year 2024?

At the moment, I would say, since we have very favorable weather conditions at the moment here, we are already working at 100% workload.

So then let me shortly check the chat is empty and no further virtual hands and that means, for me, everything seems to be discussed...

[indiscernible]

Yes, at that point. So Rafael was the last one. So Nord execution seems to progress nicely. When will you have visibility on the bonus?

I mean even though progress is good so far, we are currently roughly at 20% completion of the total project. So it's still a bit early to talk about the bonus system as of today. But I expect that we will have a clearer picture in the second half of 2025.

So then I will just wait a couple of seconds for maybe further questions pops up. But it seems we are done for today's earnings call. So thank you, everyone, for joining and to show interest in Friedrich Vorwerk and also a big thank you to you, Mr. Kleinfeldt, Mr. Hameister, for your time today. So from my side, it was a pleasure to be your host today. And with this, we wish you all a lovely remaining Wednesday, a happy national holiday tomorrow to those who are based in Germany. So thank you. See you soon and bye-bye.

Yes. Thank you very much also from our side, a very warm and sunny afternoon and evening and a good holiday period tomorrow and hope to see you in the next quarter again. Bye-bye.