Welcome to the Addtech Q3 2025 report presentation. For the first part of the presentation, participants will be in listen-only mode. During the questions and answers session, participants are able to ask questions by dialing pound key five on their telephone keypad. If you are listening to the presentation via webcast, you can ask written questions using the form below. Now, I will hand the conference over to CEO Niklas Stenberg, and CFO Malin Enarson. Please go ahead.
Good morning, everyone, and most welcome to Addtech's third quarter quarter report presentation. We will use approximately 20 minutes to summarize and give our comments on the result, and then followed by a Q&A session. Before we dig into that, a very quick summary of the key fundamentals of Addtech. We are a group of plus 150 independent and strictly decentralized companies in 20 countries, with a clear business-to-business offering. We operate now in 6 business areas, all with clear strategies and value propositions centered around niche products and solutions, primarily to manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. Since this is the first quarter according to the new organization, I will come back with a few comments to that a bit later. We have a dual growth engine.
Our focus is to develop and grow our businesses organically together with our entrepreneurs running the daily operations, and then complement the strategic niches with acquiring leading niche companies with a strong offering. We fund our growth by own cash flow. Size-wise, we have a turnover of approximately SEK 22 billion, and run the operations with an EBITDA margin around 15% with a small and efficient central team. Now over to the quarter and some highlights. We sum up another solid quarter with a high demand, good earnings growth, and a high acquisition pace. We increased our net sales by 1%, of which 1% was organic, and a negative currency effect of 3%.
Bear in mind that even if the market situation has partly improved during the year, it is partly dampened, the kind of general business cycle. We report a solid EBITDA growth of 9%, with an improved margin of 15.6, compared to 14.4 in the same quarter last year. So a very strong margin. Our cash flow also strengthened from high levels, and we signed 4 acquisitions during the quarter. Last night, yesterday, we signed another agreement, and this one to acquire a company in Germany. A quite large company for us, approximately EUR 38 million in turnover, strengthening our position within Electrification. I will come back to that a bit later.
Finally, as I said, we will also talk a bit about the new organizational structure. A bit more on net sales in the quarter. As I said, 1% organic. We saw a continued variation in the business situation between the customer segments. And primarily this quarter, the segment energy and special vehicles were on the positive side, while medical, sawmill, and defense, especially due to tough comps, but that had a weak development in the quarter. Sales-wise, the business area Electrification, Industry, and Process were the main drivers compared to last year, while we saw a slight decrease in energy and safety, and that is due to primarily, I would say, tough comps and also negative currency effects.
Automation also had a sales drop year-over-year in the quarter, but here I would say we see a positive sales trend starting to materialize with a solid improvement in the business situation sequentially. During the quarter, we also saw a recovery in demand for grid infrastructure products compared to the somewhat lower project. We had a little project dip in the second quarter, as we talked about at that time. So all in all, a solid business situation. I would say overall customer activity was high, a good order intake, broad-based, and a positive book- to- bill. We still see hesitations on larger investment decisions primarily affecting our business area Process. So more details on the business areas shortly. Looking at earnings, EBITDA increased for the group.
As I said, with solid 9%, where more than half was organic. And also this quarter, energy contributed strongly with a 20+ growth on EBITDA. And same with Industry, that continued to deliver double-digit growth, as well as solid contributions from both Electrification and safety. Our EBITDA margin increased, as I said, to 15.6, and that is very satisfactory, of course. And what we see is that we also continue to increase our gross margin steadily in all business areas in the quarter. And this is primarily driven by an improved product mix, but also good performance in active pricing. The long-term financial target, profit over working capital, continues to improve, 78% in the quarter. Clearly up compared to last same quarter last year of 74%.
So, a few words then on the new organization. So before we head over to comment on the business development in these segments, we walk you quickly through the changes that we did, just as a quick reminder. First of all, important to say that this is a very undramatic change, something we do from time to time. And we do this with some interval to balance up the business area size, and to make sure that we have the best setup for vitalizing future growth. To boil it down, it's primarily two major changes that we have implemented. First, we have streamlined business area Energy to focus primarily on the electrical transmission and distribution.
So the potential related to the expansion and renovation of national and regional grids on the markets where we are present. But also, a strategy to leverage on the growth linked to the increased demand for power supply to the demanding Industry, and data halls, and hospitals, and other segments. Secondly, we have on the basis of the former business unit, Energy Products, complemented with some companies primarily from Electrification, we formed a new business area, Safety. And we have a fairly broad approach to safety as a concept, taking our starting point in the idea and aim to capture potential from stricter legal requirements, a more complex threat landscape, and also an increasingly automated, digitalized world from a safety running safe business.
In total, we have today around 20 companies in Safety with products and solutions that prevent risks and create safety, security, and continuous operations. And we see good growth potential here, both organic and through acquisitions. Finally, we have moved a number of companies within electrical production from Electrification to Industry. So we will. You will learn more along the way around this. But to conclude, we have scaled up the business organization, and as always, we recruit internally, so we have added some more skilled Addtech employees with increased responsibilities. So then, some brief comments on the development for every business area. Starting with Automation, as you can see, the partly challenging market situation remains, but we are moving step by step in the right direction.
We still have a way to go before we have automation to a kind of normalized volumes where we want it to be, but we are going in the right direction here. The positive trend in order intake continued in this quarter, and of course, satisfying to see also an improvement when it comes to sales sequentially. Automation increased gross margin in the quarter, and we also saw that the cost-saving initiatives are starting to take effect. If we adjust for a one-off cost of 6 million SEK, the EBITDA margin increased somewhat year-on-year, despite the lower sales volume. So that is proving that we are getting out the effects.
So all in all, a solid quarter development, a good demand, and key segments, mechanical and defense, were the main drivers, while medical and Process had more of a flattish or negative development. Electrification, we saw in the third quarter that the market situation was very strong. We saw good demand and solid order intake in all key segments, such as electronics, energy, special vehicles, and medical Industry. The underlying business was stable, but a slightly weaker product mix and increased input costs in a couple of companies hampered the earnings growth and profitability in the quarter. Moving on to Energy, adjusted for the negative currency effects, the total sales were flat, despite very tough comps in the quarter.
The strong earnings and margin trend continued, primarily driven by an improved product mix and the leverage on organic growth... And important to note that this, the margin in this quarter is very strong and should not be extrapolated going forward. We should rather look at the rolling 12 margin, I would say, for Energy going forward. As I mentioned in the beginning, we saw a recovery in demand for the grids compared to the temporary decline in product orders in the second quarter. And apart from that, in Energy, the demand within renewable energy, railway, and niche products for power distribution was favorable. But data telecom, which primarily fiber for Energy, was still weak. Business area Industry delivered yet another very good quarter.
Market situation was overall strong, with a continued good demand within subsea. We had also strong order intake in electrical production, so companies coming from Electrification into Industry, and also not the least, special vehicles with a continued positive momentum. Sawmill Industry remained weak in this quarter, while companies supplying customers within waste management, mechanical Industry, and electronics had stable demand. So all in all, for Industry, a strong market on aggregated level, with good order intake and increased margins, driven by an improved product mix and solid contributions from acquisitions. Moving on to Process, where total sales grew by a very satisfying 8%. But with a weaker product mix in combination, as we write in the report, with two high costs in a few producing companies, we saw negative effects on margins in the quarter.
So we are working on some company-specific initiatives, but with a bit cautious approach here. It's a matter of balance to protect profitability short term, and at the same time, be ready when sentiment in product deliveries improves. So it's the product mix, I would say, in the quarter that have a negative effect on the margin. But the market situation was primarily favorable here with the segments Energy, Special Vehicles, while Mechanical and Forest and Process was stable. Marine sector had a bit weaker development this quarter, primarily due to tough comps. Last but not least, then, our new business area, Safety.
Despite a sales drop year-on-year, we saw an improvement in profitability due to a better product mix, but also clear positive effects from some earlier initiated cost-cutting initiatives in a few companies. So market situation for Safety, I would say, was okay, but with large variations between segments. We saw it was tough comps here, both in demand and sales from, I would say, especially data halls, but also in the segment Medical. Market situation with the Building Installation, which is the largest segment for Safety, remained challenging, but with some glimmers of hope for improvement in 2026. And this means that when the market, the construction markets start to bounce back, it will have a material impact on sales within Safety.
The key driver in the quarter for Safety was traffic safety, while electronics and energy were more, more flat. So to sum up, the market situation in the quarter, the variations in the market situation is still there, both between companies and segments. We still see the hesitation in investing in larger products in a number of segments. Despite this, we can conclude a solid quarter, and especially good order intake that is fairly broad based. So we are optimistic about the future and are well prepared to support our customers in our 15 niches. And before I hand over to Malin to dig a bit deeper on the result, some short comments about the period.
So when summarizing the three quarters, we have already concluded that despite the partly challenging market, we have continued to grow steadily. Despite headwinds from currency, total net sales are up 5%, of which 2% are organic, so organic growth in every quarter. Overall, customer activity and order intake has been good throughout the period. I would say this is, as I usually say, the utmost proof of the strength of the Addtech model of running a large portfolio that we can have this outcome even in a bit dampened markets. So all in all, we have throughout the period good at getting the volumes into the result, EBITDA up 10%, with very strong margins of 15.6 compared to 14.9. And cash conversion remains strong.
I'm sure you will elaborate on that more now, Malin.
I will, absolutely. Thank you, Niklas. We have now heard you describe the business and market situation, so let me do a quick summary of key financials, and also give you some additional information. Sales increased 1% during the quarter, and 5% in the period. A good EBITDA increase of 9% in the quarter, and 10% during the period, with an increased margin. I will elaborate on the margin further on. Net financial items have come down during the quarter as well as during the year, which is primarily due to a lower reference rate. This decrease is offset by a natural increase in current tax, driven by profit increase and a higher effective tax rate due to more business in countries with higher tax rates.
All in all, earnings per share is steadily increasing, and amount to 5.70 so far this year, which is an increase of 13%, and a very good growth of 16% in the quarter. Our operating cash flow was strong during the quarter, and increased by 22%. Profit over working capital increased to 78%, and our leverage was historically low at 1.2. I will come back to all of this later on. Our consistently strong return on capital employed of 22% over a long period demonstrates our efficient use of capital. This reflects our disciplined approach to profitable growth and capital allocation, ensuring continued high returns for our shareholders. As Niklas commented, our EBITDA grew, and the profit margin improved compared to last year. Adjusting both years from revaluations of earn-outs and one-offs, we get an increase of one percentage point.
The one-off effects that affected the quarter were primarily due to a shutdown of an unprofitable production site in one of our companies within Automation. The relocation of several companies between our business areas that occurred in connection with our reorganization into six business areas, resulted in a reallocation of management fees that impacted Electrification negatively, and Safety positively in the quarter. This, of course, has no effect on group level, and if we look at the accumulated figures, these are correct also on business area level. As we always point out, when considering a long-term sustainable margin, you should always start with a Rolling 12 as a base.
The margin improvement over time is broad-based, and is in general, thanks to active work to increase the value add in our value proposition, good pricing power, and to strategically improve our product mix, and not least, good contribution from acquired companies, as well as good leverage from organic growth. Of course, a firm grip of overhead costs is also contributing to the outcome, and we can see that the trend line of total cost in relation to sales still has a good development. During the quarter, our measures in businesses where we see persistently lower market conditions continued, as always. Regarding other operating income and expenses, we had a positive effect on profits from revaluations of earn-outs of about SEK 13 million in the quarter, compared to SEK 3 million last year.
Other items, including currency effects from revaluation of balance sheet items, had a significantly less positive effect this year compared to the third quarter of last year, when the Swedish krona was weaker. Our cash flow from operating activities was strong during the quarter, strengthened by higher earnings and positive working capital development. Cash conversion developed slightly positively, since the cash flow strengthened relatively more than profit increased. Total working capital and inventory continued to decrease organically, and our long-term target, profitable working capital, continued to improve and reached 78% in the quarter. The inventory value remains at satisfactory levels in relation to the order backlog and sales, and decreased somewhat during the quarter. Our financial position strengthened further during the quarter, and our gearing and leverage reduced from already low levels, thanks to good cash flow, and that net debt was lower than last year.
Our strong balance sheet gives us plenty of room to maneuver according to our growth strategy, and invest in attractive acquisitions, which I believe you will talk more about right now, Niklas, right?
Yes, exactly. As expected, we have paced up acquisitions during the quarter. So four companies in attractive niches signed during the quarter, and all four of them were completed in the beginning of January. We have also started the new quarter strongly, with another acquisition signed, as I said yesterday, and the German company Ramme is a leading manufacturer of electric motors, primarily for maritime Electrification. So a well-managed niche player with a strong offering under its own brand, in an area with structural underlying growth. So I'm very proud to welcome them to the Addtech group.
In total, this means that we have added eight new companies to the group during the fiscal year, adding almost SEK 1.5 billion in revenue, with accretive margins, and welcoming close to 400 new employees to the group. Looking ahead, we have a positive view of the acquisition market. There are plenty of opportunities in our niches. Our pipeline is well-filled, and we continue to grow it with high-performing companies in all business areas, and on our different niches. So bottom line, giving our strong finances, as Malin just pointed out, and the well-filled pipeline, we expect to continue to acquire in a good pace, also continuing in 2026. So to summarize, a solid quarter, continuous strong demand, high pace of acquisitions, and good earnings growth.
Overall key market situation was favorable, even though variations between the segments remained, and of course, there are still uncertainties on some of the markets. But order intake was good, and positive book-to-bill in the quarter. And the cash flow strengthened, and we expect to keep up the high acquisitions also going forward. With that said, let's open up for questions.
If you wish to ask a question, please dial pound key five on your telephone keypad to enter the queue. If you wish to withdraw your question, please dial pound key six on your telephone keypad. The next question comes from Zino Engdalen Ricciuti from Handelsbanken. Please go ahead.
Good day, and thanks for the presentation and taking our questions. Starting off in energy, as you said today and also in last quarter, that there were some temporary lowered demand. Now that you've seen that come in, how do you look on the possibility in to convert them when it comes to, is it this quarter or the upcoming one?
Yes. Hi, hi, Zino. Yeah, so as I said last quarter, it's usually, I mean, we convert... It differs in the different projects, but usually it is a couple of quarters before we convert order into sales here. So I mean, the fourth quarter here will likely be a little bit affected by the lower demand during the second quarter. Even though yeah, we can see that it's now running on a good level, but it might have some effect on the coming quarter. But it looks good when we then enter into the coming year.
Very clear. And to the margin side, you, you said that a good starting point is the rolling twelve months, but I would also like to hear about how much is pricing and how much is mix in, in the energy segment?
I mean, it is both, but I would say it's primarily a mix effect. And the strong, very strong margin this quarter is thanks to good, very strong deliveries in a couple of companies, giving a very high leverage on that sale. So it's primarily a mix, but there was a number of companies where we've been working on increasing price. So it's a mix.
How efficient would you say that the segment is? Of course, they've increased the margins significantly, but it doesn't look like the demand in the longer term, so to say, is fading away. How do you view the long-term potential in the margin for energy?
Yeah, I mean, as you know, we have had a very strong development for quite some time now in energy. We should remember, it's not so long time ago, we had around 13-14% margin in this segment. So, I would say, again, the starting point in the rolling 12 margin, and we believe that the margin going forward is probably more on a kind of stable level.
Very, very good. And just very lastly for me, you said that the good demand was broad-based and positive book- to- bill on a group level. Was it positive in all the segments?
You mean in all the business areas?
Yeah, exactly. On the book-to-bill, on a book-to-bill level.
It was positive in five out of six business areas.
Very clear. Thank you. I'll get back in line.
The next question comes from Opeyemi Otaniyi from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
Hi, good morning, Niklas. Good morning, Malin. Thanks for taking my question. Maybe just starting off with margins, do you mind just breaking out sort of what drove higher margins, sort of strong performance and energy? So, like, how much of that was operating leverage, how much of that was mix?... and how much of that was pricing? And sort of begin helping us think through what sort of future margins might be as a result of what is sort of sticky from those three buckets, maybe.
Yeah, it's actually quite difficult to give a very clear view there. I understand what you are after, of course, here, but, I mean, it's a number of companies contributing here. I mean, we are increasing the gross margin quite a lot here in the quarter, and that is partly pricing, but it's also partly due to good leverage on producing companies. So, yeah, I don't know. Yeah, it's difficult to give actually a clear picture. I don't know if you have-
And I think that the boost sort of that we see here is, I mean, it's mainly a product mix, and also I mean, in combination with very good leverage on certain projects. So I would say that the mix is the vast majority of this increase, and then also of course, the leverage of this mix. So the price effect, absolutely, as you said, it's there, but it's rather the mix of projects going out.
Yeah, exactly. And that we will also see going forward. It will vary, because of the kind of projects and the size of the projects and the kind of timing effect of that. So it will most likely vary a little bit also going ahead.
Okay. No, thanks. That's, that's very helpful and very clear. Maybe just on safety, given it's the first quarter, you're reporting it separately, so three questions there. Do you mind just helping us understand, and I appreciate you kind of went through this in a bit of detail earlier, sort of near-term growth, and then sort of the long term, what sort of normalized long-term growth there? And then how you're thinking of M&A opportunities within the space.
Yeah. I mean, every time we do a reorganization, and put a new kind of heading to a business area, we always start with the approach that every business area should have the opportunity to double the earnings in five years, because that is what our overarching KPI is. So when we formed Safety, of course, we looked into the existing companies, seeing, do we see you know enough drivers here to generate a steady organic growth over time, and also on the acquisition pace?
So, I mean, the easy answer to your question is that we have a strategy, and we have a pipeline of acquisitions that makes us as confident as we can, that we have an opportunity to double the earnings here in five years, and also having good margins. So we are now. Of course, also it takes some time. We have formed a new team. They're working very much now on continuing working on the pipeline that we have started already before we formed the safety area. So, of course, as I said in the beginning, we have a broad perspective on safety, and we see quite good opportunities here in this sector.
Okay. And maybe just lastly on M&A in general, you sort of talked of the larger Electrification-related deal. Do you mind? I know you don't like talk, you might not like talking about specific deals. Do you mind giving any details there? Just 'cause it seems larger than a normal Addtech deal, and sort of is that the general run rate from here, where sort of individual transactions are bigger and number of deals might be higher than previous years?
Well, I'm not sure I understood your question on the first... I mean, if you have some questions on the acquisition we made last yesterday, I mean, as you said, it is a little bit bigger than a normal kind of size acquisition for us. It happens every once in a while that we make you know a little bit bigger acquisition, and that's is always running down to is the company fitting into our strategy? Do they have a setup and an efficient business model, and and also that the cultural wise fits? Then then it's not a problem for us to buy a little bit bigger company, and and we believe that Ramme is fitting very very well into the Electrification strategy.
And we see a lot of good opportunities to collaborate also with other companies that we already have here. Looking at the pace going forward, I mean, again, pretty much the same answer I said on safety. I mean, we have our growth strategy, where half of the growth should come from on earnings should come from M&A, and that is the plan going forward. Of course, we have right now a very strong balance sheet and a good pipeline. So, but it's like I always say, it's acquisitions. In our way of looking at acquisitions, it's not linear. Sometimes it's a bit higher pace, sometimes a bit lower. But, I mean, our plan is always to deliver according to our growth strategy. So that's the plan also going ahead.
It might be that we have a little bit higher pace, but it's yeah, we cannot really say that.
Okay. No, that's very helpful and clear. Thanks very much.
Thank you.
The next question comes from Carl Ragnerstam from Nordea. Please go ahead.
Good morning, it's Carl from Nordea. A couple of questions my side as well. In automation, I mean, it's good to see that margins are improving despite the sluggish volumes. Did we in the quarter see the full effect of the restructuring measures, or is it more to come? And also, secondly, would you say that it is only volumes left to sort of elevate the margins from roughly the current level?
Yes. Hi, Karl. We don't see the full effect yet of the measures we have taken. I believe going into the next year, it's more likely that we see the full effect of that. And margin improvements from now, I mean, as Malin mentioned, we did one restructuring measure also this quarter in automation. You should never say that we are, you know, we are never, you know... Exactly, this is work that is ongoing. But basically, I would say we have done quite a lot of things now in automation. Now it is the volume that will primarily drive margins going forward.
Mm-hmm. Okay, that is very clear. And in Electrification, you mentioned that some companies were impacted by input costs. Will they ease as of Q4, or how does that mechanism work?
Yeah, that's difficult to say, actually. I mean, one, because there are several things happening on some materials in the world. I mean, one of the companies I mentioned is dependent on the silver price, and we all know what has happened there during last year with, like, 200% increase. So, it's actually very difficult to say at this point what will happen. But of course we are, as always, taking actions in the companies affected by higher input costs. There's also a number of other companies where some input costs have increased due to, you know, high demand from AI, et cetera, driving up prices.
But, I mean, we are constantly working to find solutions, and that's the strength, one of the big strengths we have. I mean, our agile companies finding ways around. But, it's hard to say if it has improved in the fourth quarter.
Did you expect a worsening situation as of Q4 or improving, if we take that direction, the short term, at least? Could you say anything about that, given the volatility in the pricing, I guess?
Yeah, you can-
Yeah. I would say that, I mean, for the specific company that Niklas mentioned, I think that they will have challenges. I mean, we all, as you say, know what's happening with the silver price. But then if that will come through on business area level or on group level, it's very hard to say. But, I mean, the specific company will absolutely have challenges short term due to silver prices. I think that we can at least-
Okay
... but probably it will not be essential-
Yeah
... on even business area level.
Yeah. I agree.
Okay, that's very clear. And the final one is on Industry. Clearly impressive margins. You've offset the sawmill softness excellently, I think. And if you look into your backlogs and the order intake, as of now, how do you think that dynamic could play out over the coming six months?
Do you mean on margin or?
On margin, sorry. 'Cause you're seeing a quite good margin, right? Despite sawmills having a tough time. You talk about subsea, for instance, and other segments helping out, vehicles, special vehicles. Do you think they'll continue to be supportive to the margins here and despite sort of sawmills being a tad weak?
I mean, looking at the development in this year, and that, as you said, we've been able to very strongly offset the decrease in the sawmill market. I mean, we still also, in this quarter, had a little positive effect on sawmill. We will have that also a little bit in the fourth quarter. We have the strong development in special vehicles. We see that continuing ahead. A good contribution from acquisitions will also continue, as it looks at the moment. But of course, looking into the coming fiscal year, we have to see that the sawmill market is coming back. Otherwise, it will be difficult, as it looks right now, to keep...
the margins on this high level. We had exactly the same discussion a year ago, if you remember, because-
I definitely do.
Yeah, and at that time we said that, well, we believe that we can offset by other things that we have clearly done. And that's, again, the big strength of Addtech, that we can find other pockets of growth to offset. But, I mean, we would really like to see the sawmill market coming back, and we have a lot of projects in pipeline. It's not that it's not, you know... It's a lot of activities and discussions with customers in different markets. It's just a hesitation to kind of pull the trigger. Was that-
That's very clear. Thank you.
Thank you.
The next question comes from Karl Bokvist from ABG Sundal Collier. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thank you. Good morning. The first one, just there on pricing, has it coincided with any kind of large number of new product initiatives, or more of a both bottom-up, but perhaps top-down communication to more actively counter cost and tariff, et cetera?
Hi, Carl. Sorry, what did you... The start of your question again?
Yeah. Was it more related that perhaps a couple of companies in the group all launched new products, and therefore you had the ability to also charge higher pricing on them? That was the first part.
Yeah. I mean, we, we are running, as, as you know, a big group of, of companies, and, and it's really a mix. Some companies that are moving into new products with other kind of, with other margins, and other companies just working very efficiently on increasing and working with the pricing strategy. We have, we have, during this year, worked a little bit more intensively with price strategies in the number of companies, and that is absolutely giving effect. But how much, how much that initiative is contributing and how much it's really relating to increase of own products, giving higher margins, we... I, I can't tell that actually, but, yeah.
So, it's a bit of everything.
Okay. And also, we've talked a lot about energy, and we've also talked about automation, but in general now, when you think about, there might be some mix here and there, but for the divisions overall, which ones would you say are above or below trend in terms of margins when we look ahead?
Yeah, I think it's obvious that Automation margin is clearly below where it should be. Process also this quarter, clearly below where they should be. Electrification, I would say a little bit the same, in this quarter, where and as I mentioned, it was some specific things pushing down the margin there. Safety, I would say it's a strong margin, but should be around this level, I would say. Energy and Industry, again, more looking at rolling 12. So, looking ahead, maybe they are this quarter, a little bit on the higher side.
Very clear. And then the commentary you made on, on book- to- bill, was this being above one, that is, was this valid both rolling twelve and, or also for just this quarter?
Yeah. Definitely in the quarter, quite well above one here, Rolling 12. Yeah, I mean, it's also-
Rather the quarter.
Yeah. Mm, mm, mm.
All in all, also on year to date.
Yeah. But yeah, exactly. So year to date also improved, but it has sequentially improved. I would say the book- to- bill has sequentially improved during the year.
All right. That's clear. Thank you.
The next question comes from Johan Lönnqvist Sundén from DNB Carnegie. Please go ahead.
Hi, Niklas and Malin.
Hi.
Hope you're well. A lot of good questions has already been asked, but a couple of follow-ups from my side. First, on Ramme. We talked a lot about the acquisition, but can you give some margin guidance where the unit are operating at currently?
Yeah, I mean, it's a strong margin in this company. So I mean, yeah, let's say around 20%.
... Excellent. And then you highlighted in the Process segment, there's some elevated cost levels. Possible to give some more color on what niche that is, having those type of problems, what you will do, and how long it will last, basically?
Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, as I said, this is really balanced. As we have said, a number of quarters now, I mean, we have a good, good pipeline. We have a good order stock here. There is hesitation from customers here to kind of pull the trigger on investments. And which means that what we see in this quarter is a product mix. First of all, a couple of companies with a bit lower aftermarket service, with high margin. That is one effect in this quarter, and that will most likely change ahead. But then we have a number of companies with a lot of...
The producing companies, and if they are not delivering out, of course, the cost level in those companies are too high, so to say. So this is. We have initiatives in a number of companies, but how much that will affect, and the timing of it, it's difficult to say at this point, because we also feel that when the kind of sentiment improves, we have a good position here. So it's a balance of protecting margins and being in the right position. Yeah.
Yeah, and also as you asked if it was segment specific, I wouldn't say that it's segment specific. It's rather-
Company
... companies depending-
Yes
... on sort of larger investments from customers. So the production units, they are sort of staffed for the order backlog and what they expect. So that's the question, as you-
Yeah
... described. When should we act or not?
Yeah.
Okay, so no kind of indication what kind of end market we should look at to-
No
... see a pickup?
No, not, not really.
Just a final question from my side. Oh, sorry, Niklas.
No, I can just add. I would say it is. I would not expect any drama here on when we talk on. We are always working on improving and working on, you know, improving and securing profitability. I wouldn't say that we foresee at this point any dramatic changes here. It's more working with some specific companies.
Just another question on the automation business. We talked about that you had closed down production units with low profitability. What geography were that production unit present? Was it in the Nordics or in DACH, or?
In Finland. We have one company with two production units, and when analyzing that deeply, we realized that it makes much more sense to close down one part and focus on the other one, where we have much higher profitability, so.
Mm-hmm. Excellent. I think I'm happy there. Get back in line. Thanks a lot.
Thank you.
There are no more phone questions at this time, so I hand the conference back to the speakers for any written questions or closing comments.
Can you read out? What's the question?
Do you mind expanding on the weakness in Sweden?
Okay. Yeah, so I have one written question here. Can you expand on the weakness in Sweden? I mean, as we all usually point out, it's difficult to put kind of a macro perspective on Addtech in any geography, because it's running down to individual performance in some companies. I mean, this quarter, sales was lower in Sweden than year-on-year comparisons. But, I mean, to highlight something, I mean, mechanical Industry is still a bit hesitant here when it comes to projects. And this can vary. I mean, it was quite dampened also last year, but then we got the number of projects in at that point. Apart from that, I would say it's more company specific. And then there's another question.
This is regarding the margins in Process, and you commented on that when Johan asked, basically.
Yeah, I think I have already answered-
Yeah
... this question. Yeah. So it's no further questions, there. So I guess with that said, thank you very much for listening in and, good questions. Have a good day.
Thank you.