The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Andrew J. Wilson - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst
: I've got a couple, please. If I start with the comments you made actually on the -- on new equipment in EMEA and Americas, I'm expecting to see
a pickup from the Q2 onwards. Now appreciating there's obviously comps at play here, but just interested in terms of, I guess, where the confidence
on that comes from, given some of the fairly bearish, I guess, forecast along particularly nonresi construction. I'm just interested how much of that
is driven by expectations in resi markets. Just in terms of sort of where the confidence comes from there?
Question: Andrew J. Wilson - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst
: Great. And then maybe just a couple of questions, probably for Ilkka, on the kind of 2021 margin. I just wanted to check, do we have any remaining
cost savings to come through from the Accelerate program? I appreciate the program itself is complete, but wondering if there's some sort of
incremental benefit to come through. And I guess, anything else, you'd kind of call out in the bridge just in terms of helping us, obviously, with all
these moving parts around raw mats in pricing as always.
Question: Joel Adam Spungin - Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, Research Division - Analyst
: I was wondering if I could just come back actually on one of the earlier questions about the connected units. Just to clarify, I think you said you've
clearly sold more than the 100,000 that you're currently earning revenue on it. Is that the 500,000 number that you mentioned? Could you just
clarify that?
Question: Joel Adam Spungin - Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, Research Division - Analyst
: Okay. Understood. If I could just -- maybe I will ask another one on the similar theme. You mentioned, obviously, that you think that the service --
that your Connected Services, obviously, superior to your customers -- or to your competitors, sorry. I mean I suspect if I asked Hitachi, that they
would tell me that they have the best connected technology. And can you maybe just help us understand why it is that you think you can differentiate
in the connected market versus some of the other things that are out there at the moment?
Question: Joel Adam Spungin - Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, Research Division - Analyst
: Okay. That's very helpful. And maybe just one final one, changing topic slightly. With regards to the new strategy, obviously, I noticed from the
press release, you're still talking about a long-term aspiration for a 16% EBIT margin. I mean, maybe just to be clear, I mean is there a road map to
16%? Or is that something that you think is like to get to eventually, but there's no sort of plan or long-term plan to get there?
Question: Wasi Rizvi - RBC Capital Markets, Research Division - Analyst
: Thanks for the detail. I have a couple from me. One, just following up on kind of maintenance growth, and I think you answered in some detail on
China. But I guess if I think about markets out of China, particularly kind of North America and the EMEA where you think volumes will be challenged,
how does -- if I think about the components or maintenance growth, there's conversion of your installed base, which, from what you guys say,
doesn't really change that much? But then the other 2 components, the churn, some you win, some you lose. And also pricing, and how do you
think they might be impacted at the moment. Is there any change in the dynamic there?
I mean do people want to go with it, get bigger service companies? Are people afraid of using smaller companies? Or is there not really any
meaningful change in that dynamic? And then the second one on bolt-on M&A. I mean do you think the environment is any different? I mean are
there more potential candidates that you could be buying at the moment in terms of acquiring smaller service companies? Or is it kind of no change
to the normal situation?
Question: Wasi Rizvi - RBC Capital Markets, Research Division - Analyst
: Okay. But in terms of the pipeline, are you seeing more things in your pipeline? Or is it -- has not really seen a change yet?
|
