GPV Posts Record Top, Bottom-line Results for 2020

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2020 proved to be the best year ever for the Danish-based European top-10 electronics manufacturer GPV. The record-breaking annual report comes in the wake of a year marked by the coronavirus pandemic which impacted the individual customer segments very differently.

GPV, Denmark’s largest electronics manufacturer with 3,600 employees worldwide, has emerged from 2020 in good shape. For the financial year 2020, GPV reports revenue at a record DKK 2.89 billion, a 1 per cent increase from DKK 2.86 billion in 2019. EBITDA reached a record DKK 270 million, representing an increase of 38 per cent. The fourth quarter in particular produced surprisingly positive results, propelling GPV to outperform its guidance:

“Each quarter of 2020 developed differently. While some industries shut down, others were booming. We are privileged to supply a broad field of sectors, providing us with record results. We are very pleased with our performance, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank all our employees for an outstanding effort throughout the year,” says CEO Bo Lybæk.

GPV was awarded a large MedTech order in 2020. One of the world’s leading ventilator manufacturers placed a significant order in the triple-digits of millions (DKK) for production and delivery over the course of just a few months in 2020:

“The acute shortage of ventilators resulted in a very significant order for extremely fast delivery. Furthermore, it was a business-critical order for our customer, who had assigned a high-profile consultancy firm to monitor our processing of the order. At GPV, we were required to report on a weekly basis, so the customer would be sure to get the agreed shipments as scheduled. We were chosen, among other factors, because of our ability to deliver on time, for the quality of our products and based on our good reputation in the industry. Everything was delivered on time and on budget by our colleagues at our electronics production site in Switzerland,” Bo Lybæk adds.

In addition to MedTech, GPV has three main segments: Transportation, CleanTech and Instruments & Industry. The Transportation segment has been hit particularly hard during the coronavirus crisis as demand for, among other things, special-purpose trucks and construction equipment declined. CleanTech and Instruments & Industry, the latter being GPV’s largest customer segment, have both been through ups and downs.

Trends in our four main segments have continued into 2021, and GPV estimates that the coronavirus pandemic will continue to impact the global market in 2021. Due to extremely high demand for electronic solutions for home offices, 5G network deployment, e-mobility etc., which was partly caused by the coronavirus crisis, the new year has started out with a general shortage of electronic components. This has led to both increased lead times and higher component prices:

“So far, there are no clear indications of how 2021 will unfold. Visibility remains low, but we are seeing strong growth in the semicon industry, for example. On the other hand, we expect a drop in the MedTech segment after the all-time high in 2020,” states Bo Lybæk.

GPV continues its investment programmes and the ongoing development of the organisation. The extensions of the factories in Thailand and Sri Lanka, which were put on hold during 2020, are expected to restart in 2021:

“We will continue our consolidation and ambitious growth strategy, and we will also see a high level of investments in 2021. We’re experiencing rising demand in our core area of high-mix/low-medium volume production as well as additional sales to existing customers and an inflow of new customers,” says Bo Lybæk. 

He concludes that GPV expects 2021 revenue of about DKK 2.7 billion and EBITDA in the DKK 220-250 million range.