. Record quarterly revenue of $27.9 million, reflecting growth of 78% over Q4
2019
. Gross margin increased to 44% in Q4, from 43% in Q4 2019
. Record quarterly EBITDA adjusted of $6.9 million in Q4 2020, compared with
$2.6 million in Q4 2019
. Announced two acquisitions strengthening the Gaming and Enthusiast product
offering
. Full year revenue grew to a record $72.8 million with EBITDA adjusted of
$15.6 million compared with $54.3 million and $6.2 million, respectively in 2019
. Group revenue growth expectation of 10 to 20% for 2021, with an expected
lower gross margin
. Full year 2021 operating income is expected to be between $9 and $15
million
Asetek reported record revenue of $27.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2020,
an increase of 78% from the same period of 2019. Revenue in the full year was a
record $72.8 million representing growth of 34% compared with 2019. The change
from prior year mainly reflects increased shipments of Gaming and Enthusiast
products.
Gross margin was 44% for the fourth quarter and 47% for the full year, up from
43% and 42% in the respective comparable periods of the prior year. The gross
margin increase reflects a richer product mix, higher sales prices for Data
center products and Asetek's business model transition for Gaming and Enthusiast
OEMs that customize their liquid coolers. A weaker U.S. dollar in the fourth
quarter of 2020 tempered the increase in margin from the prior year.
"2020 was a record year in terms of revenue and profitability on the back of
demand growth and high activity in both the Gaming and Enthusiast and Data
Center business," said André Sloth Eriksen, CEO and founder of Asetek. "Looking
ahead, we expect growth to continue in 2021. We also look forward to developing
our SimSports product offering for a rapidly growing segment of the gaming
market by leveraging the same capabilities that made us the global leader in
liquid cooling solutions."
Operating income totaled $5.6 million and adjusted EBITDA was $6.9 million in
the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with operating income of $1.2 million and
adjusted EBITDA of $2.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Operating income
in the full year was $10.9 million and adjusted EBITDA was $15.6 million,
compared with operating income of $1.0 million and adjusted EBITDA of $6.2
million in 2019.
During the fourth quarter, the Company repurchased a total of 187 thousand
common shares for a total cost of $1.9 million, to offset employee option
grants. In the full year 2020, the Company repurchased a total of 844 thousand
shares for a total cost of $6.4 million.
At December 31, 2020, Asetek had working capital of $32.8 million, of which
$27.1 million was cash and cash equivalents. Long-term debt totaled $2.6
million.
In November 2020, Asetek acquired JMH Gallows Pound Technologies Ltd., a UK
-based developer of hardware and software technology and owners of the Ultimate
Game Tech brand, for $1.4 million.
In January 2021, the Company announced an agreement to acquire intellectual
property from Finland-based Granite Devices Inc. for EUR 6.8 million (USD 8.3
million). Asetek will pay EUR 3.4 million in cash and the remainder in newly
issued shares of Asetek common stock.
The assets acquired from the above transactions are expected to strengthen
Asetek's intellectual property and product offerings in market opportunities
identified within the Asetek eSports Academy.
During the fourth quarter, the Company announced that Supermicro is deploying
Asetek's Direct-to-Chip liquid cooling in a new high-performance computing
cluster at Lawrence Livermore National Labs. The integration of Asetek liquid
cooling enables the use of high wattage processors in high density
configurations to support compute-intensive workloads.
There was no significant negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on revenue,
supply chain or overall operations during the quarter.
For 2021, the Company expects revenue to increase by 10% to 20% from 2020, with
gross margins anticipated to be lower than 2020, partly due to negative currency
effects. Management expects the Company to report operating income of between $9
and $15 million in 2021.
The Company recognizes uncertainty related to potential impact from COVID-19
over time. Any such uncertainty is not included in the expectations for 2021.
Material:
Today, Asetek also published its Annual Report and its Sustainability Report for
2020. It is attached to this release together with the fourth quarter report and
is also available online at www.asetek.com (https://ir.asetek.com/) and
www.newsweb.no, as well as through news agencies.
Capital Markets Update (CMU) and fourth quarter 2020 presentation on Thursday, 4
March:
Asetek is pleased to invite investors, analysts, media and other stakeholders to
its Capital Markets Update (CMU) and fourth quarter 2020 presentation on
Thursday, 4 March 2021. A detailed program will be announced closer to the CMU
date.
Attend Asetek's live webcast and learn more about the company's positioning and
development as a Global Leader in Liquid Cooling Solutions and plans for
strengthening its Gaming and Enthusiast offering.
The CMU presentation will be given in English by CEO André Sloth Eriksen, COO
John Hamill and CFO Peter Dam Madsen.
For questions or further information, please contact:
CEO and Founder André S. Eriksen, +45 2125 7076, email: ceo@astek.com
CFO Peter Dam Madsen, +45 2080 7200, email: investor.relations@asetek.com
About Asetek:
Asetek, the creator of the all-in-one liquid cooler, is the global leader for
liquid cooling solutions for high performance gaming and enthusiast PCs, and
environmentally aware data centers. Founded in 2000, Asetek is headquartered in
Denmark and has operations in China, Taiwan and the United States. Asetek is
listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ASETEK.OL).
www.asetek.com
Asetek A/S
Assenvej 2
DK-9220 Aalborg East
Denmark