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QLEANAIR FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR-END REPORT 2021

“I am proud that QleanAir continues to grow in its two growth areas: Air Cleaners (formerly Facility Solutions) and Cleanrooms (formerly Room Solutions). In the fourth quarter, sales of Air Cleaners increased by 120% to SEK 30m (13) and for Cleanrooms the corresponding increase was 72% to SEK 21m (12). In the quarter, the two product categories combined represented 43% (24%) of QleanAir's total sales. This is a clear confirmation that we are delivering in accordance with the company's strategy. We increased our installed base by 19% and the volume of cleaned air delivered increased by 26.7% compared to the previous year. I am very pleased with the fact that we are growing in our new product categories, at the same time as we continue to deliver strong profitability, during a challenging year,” says CEO Christina Lindstedt.

AIR CLEANER REVENUES INCREASED BY 120%, WHILE CLEANROOMS INCREASED BY 72%. PROPOSED DIVIDEND INCREASE OF 15%.

October – December 2021 in summary

  • Net revenues SEK 118.1m (106.4), currency-adjusted net revenues totaled SEK 119.6m (113.1).
  • Installed units 11,396 (9,551)
  • Recurring revenue SEK 65.2m (64.6)
  • Order intake SEK 72.9m (82.1)
  • EBITDA SEK 25.4m (28.2)
  • EBITDA margin 21.5% (26.5%)
  • Operating profit (EBIT) SEK 17.9m (20.5)
  • Operating margin 15.2% (19.3%)
  • Net profit for the period SEK 7.3m (22.7)
  • Earnings per share SEK 0.49 (1.53)
  • Operating cash flow SEK 22.1m (19.7)

January – December 2021 in summary

  • Net revenues SEK 450.5m (493.0), currency-adjusted net revenues amounted to SEK 477.6m (497.9).
  • Installed units 11,396 (9,551)
  • Recurring revenue SEK 262.0m (258.7)
  • Order intake SEK 356.3m (368.0)
  • EBITDA SEK 112.4m (123.7)
  • EBITDA margin 25.0% (25.1%)
  • Operating profit (EBIT) SEK 83.4m (95.0)
  • Operating margin 18.5% (19.3%)
  • Profit for the period SEK 59.3m (67.0)
  • Earnings per share SEK 3.99 (4.51)
  • Operating cash flow SEK 104.2m (72.1)
  • The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 1.50 per share (1.30)

Significant events during the fourth quarter

  • QleanAir wins major order from Deutsche Bahn for Air Cleaners, Germany

Significant events after the end of the period

  • QleanAir renews its contract with Porsche worth EUR 2m within Cabin Solutions
  • QleanAir delivered cleaned indoor air equivalent to 12.38 Avicii Arenas per hour by the end of the fourth quarter
  • On February first, QleanAir launched its new webbsite, www.qleanair.com
  • QleanAir has changed names of two of its product categories. Air Cleaners was previously called Facility Solutions and Cleanrooms was previously called Room Solutions.

CEO Comment

Continued strong growth in Air Cleaners. Germany at the forefront of continued growth
The growth for Air Cleaners during the fourth quarter took place both in warehousing, logistics and production environments, but also in offices, schools, and hospitals, where the corona pandemic contributed to raising awareness of the importance of air cleaning to create safe and secure working environments. During the quarter, we received a significant order of SEK 7.9m from DB Cargo, a Deutsche Bahn company, for QleanAir's Air Cleaner solutions for office environments. After the end of the period, it was announced that QleanAir had won the continued trust of Porsche in Germany, and received a renewed five-year contract within Cabin Solutions, worth EUR 2m. Air Cleaners was launched as a new product category in Japan at the end of 2020, and in 2021 we have established ourselves in the market and successfully increased our sales. Total sales increased by 12% in the quarter which, in addition to growth in Germany, came from Cleanrooms in Sweden. The total order intake for the quarter was lower than the corresponding quarter last year, -11%. This was due partly to a higher level of activity in the US in Q4 2020, and partly to the fact that operations within Cabin Solutions in Japan continued to be somewhat affected by shutdowns due to the pandemic. We are well on our way back to previous levels of activity in Japan and, as in Germany, we had a strong quarter in Japan in terms of renewed contracts.
 
Strong closing quarter for the Cleanrooms product category. Strong growth in Sweden during the fourth quarter.
Sales in the Cleanrooms product category grew by 72% in the quarter, which is attributable to projects in the Swedish market. The US portion of the cleanroom business continued to generate a lower level of sales than in the corresponding quarter last year, and sales decreased by 21% in the US for the full year. QleanAir's current customers for Cleanrooms in the USA, especially pharmacies in the hospital system, have been hit hard by the pandemic, and decision-making processes have been longer than normal. We have a strong focus on reversing the level of activity in the US and broadening our customer base. We are in a transition phase in the US. The president of our US subsidiary, QleanAir Inc, is going into retirement in April 2022 and his successor, Carl-Henrik Wiberg started on February 1st 2022. Carl-Henrik will be based in our office in Columbus, Ohio. With a significant installed base in the US and a large proportion of returning customers, we see good opportunities to return to growth in the US market.
 
Growth of 19 percent in the installed base increased the volume of cleaned air
We continue to grow our installed base, which increased by 19% in the quarter. The amount of delivered clean air increased by 26.7% in the quarter. Sustainability has always been a central part of QleanAir's offering and business model. Since 2015, we have measured the volume of cleaned air and we are proud to each quarter contribute to a healthier, safer, and more productive workplace for more and more customers. Our solutions also help ensure product durability, performance, and energy consumption.

Awareness of the importance of clean indoor air has increased significantly during the pandemic, and we see that it has contributed to an increased demand for advanced air cleaning solutions. An increase that we expect to continue in the medium and longer term. 
 
High material costs and disruptions in the supply chain during the quarter
QleanAir continued to be negatively impacted by high material and transportation costs during the quarter, as well as by poor reliability in deliveries. To some extent, the cost increases have been passed on in the form of price increases, though also had a negative impact on our gross margin. This has meant longer delivery times at points, but we have not lost business opportunities due to the disruptions. We expect continued disruptions during the first part of 2022 and continue to work closely with our partners to handle this in the best possible way.
 
QleanAir has a business model with a high proportion of recurring income from long leases. The share of recurring income was 55% for the quarter. In addition, a high proportion of revenue comes from sales to finance companies, where 75% of contracts from existing installations are extended. This means that only a small proportion of QleanAir's sales, new sales, have been affected by cost increases and delivery disruptions. QleanAir's business model thus continues to contribute to QleanAir's stable development and strong level of profitability during very turbulent times.
 
Investments in marketing, sales resources, and innovation
QleanAir increased its investments in marketing during the quarter. After the end of the period, we launched a new global website that will act as the hub of our digital marketing and contribute positively to the company's growth strategy. We recruited more new sales resources and we also continued our work with innovation and new products and are planning new launches during the first half of 2022.
 
QleanAir continues to deliver high margins during a challenging 2021
We continue to deliver exceptionally good margins in our underlying business. Our EBITDA margin for the full year 2021 was 25.0% (25.1%) and our EBIT margin was 18.5% (19.3%), despite a challenging fourth quarter with higher material costs.
 
Outlook
QleanAir has a strong growth focus. Within Air Cleaners, we have established a strong position in Sweden and Germany. We continue to see good opportunities to grow our business in these countries, as well as in other countries where QleanAir has an established customer base. We have a broader product portfolio than ever before, and we see great opportunities to continue to drive growth through this and new innovative developments. We are in an early stage of development for our business within Cleanrooms and see good opportunities for growth in existing and new customer segments and geographic areas. We also see good growth opportunities in Japan, both in Cabin Solutions and Air Cleaners. We continue to grow sales teams and develop our distribution partnerships to reach more customers with solutions for healthy working environments.
 
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire team at QleanAir for a fantastic job during a challenging 2021, and our customers and partners for a good collaboration. Together, we are contributing to a healthier and safer society.

Christina Lindstedt, CEO, QleanAir 
Solna February 11, 2022

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