Earnings Call: Q3 2025

Oct 27, 2025

Thank you all for joining us today. I'm Niklas Willstrand, Head of Communications at Fagerhult Group, and it's my pleasure to welcome you to our Q3 2025 results presentation. On the call, we have our President and CEO, Bodil Sonesson, along with our CFO, Oskar Wallstein. Bodil will begin with a brief overview of our third quarter results, followed by highlights focusing on the business area Infrastructure. Oskar will then provide a deeper dive into the group's financial performance. To close, Bodil will summarize the key points before we open the floor for your questions. We start with questions from the conference call participants and then take questions from the webcast. If you would like to ask your questions in the conference call, please press pound key five. You can also ask questions in the chat windows on your screen, and I will then read them up for Bodil and Oskar. Please note that today's session is being recorded and will be available on our website later today. With that, I will hand over to our CEO, Bodil. Please go ahead. Thank you, Niklas, and welcome to everyone joining us today for our Q3 2025 results presentations. I'm also pleased to welcome our new CFO, Oskar Wallstein. This is Oskar's first quarterly report within the Fagerhult Group as a CFO, and of course, we look forward to the experience and fresh perspectives he will bring as we continue our journey. I will start by saying that market conditions remain challenging, with the overall macroeconomic uncertainty still creating an unpredictable environment across several regions. However, I would say that we start to see some very, very early signs of recovery, and I think one part of that is that we've seen a stable order intake during the quarter, and it's supported by broad-based daily activity across markets rather than individual, large, and specific projects. For me, this indicates a consistent and balanced level of demand within our core segments. Also important for us is that the integration of Chartered TLV and Capelon is progressing according to plan. Both companies are being incorporated into the group in a structured, measured way, ensuring continuity for customers and employees. We've also started to work on sales synergies with the two new brands in the group, and the work supports our strategic ambition to strengthen our position in key European markets and expand our capabilities within selected segments. We continue to maintain strong cost discipline, with ongoing efforts to manage expenses and maintain efficiency. The third quarter also includes certain acquisition-related costs. Let's have a look at the numbers for the third quarter. The order intake for the third quarter was SEK 1.952 billion and showed actually an organic change of zero, so very stable. Order intake was higher in the first and last months of the quarter, while activity was a little bit slower in August. At the same time, we saw signs of stabilization in the overall trend. You might remember that we started to speak about a year ago last summer that we saw big swings between the different business areas, almost like a roller coaster, and this has been more stable in the third quarter, which is one of those signs of stability. Net sales for the quarter increased with 5.6% to SEK 2.027 billion, and the gross margin before IAC decreased slightly to 39%. Selling and administrative expenses increased with 7.7% to SEK 659 million. There are some different reasons for that. One of them was the recognition of the acquisition-related transaction costs, which totaled SEK 19 million as an expense in the quarter. Also, both Chartered TLV is consolidated in the group throughout the quarter and Capelon from August 1. Operating profit before IAC was SEK 147.1 million, which is a decrease of 18.9%, with an operating margin before IAC of 7.3%. Earnings per share before IAC were SEK 0.47. We're not happy or not satisfied with the operating result. We fell short of our own ambitions. While the underlying business remains solid, there is clear room for improvement, and we are taking firm steps to strengthen performance in the coming quarters. If we then jump to the year-to-date numbers, the order intake so far has been SEK 6.084 billion for the period from January to September, which is -0.4% or, adjusted for currency and acquisition, also 0%. The group's net sales of SEK 5.815 billion for the January to September period were down 7.2% or 7.1% when adjusted for currency effects and acquisitions. They take out each other. The group's operating profit before IAC was SEK 412 million for the January to September period, resulting in an operating margin of 7.1%. Earnings per share before IAC were SEK 1.23. Of course, as always, Oskar will share more detail when we get into the financial section. I will, as usual, give you a little bit more update and view of our businesses. This year, we have decided to go through each of the different business areas to provide a clearer picture of how the group operates. I also want to give you a deeper understanding of our market position, the strengths behind it, and how we differentiate ourselves through innovation, sustainability, and close customer collaboration. The group is, as is today, built around 13 strong lighting brands. As you know, we've added one, shown on the slide. Today, I will be focusing on the last business area. We've gone through the other three, which is business area Infrastructure. If we look at Infrastructure, I think it's very much what the name says. It's a business area which is built on deep expertise and market leadership across specialized industrial segments in Europe. The brands deliver advanced lighting solutions tailored to the environments with strict requirements on installation, durability, and robustness. As leaders in their fields, they bring very long-standing experience in designing the right solution for each project and customer. Growth opportunities are being realized in both transportation and security-related projects, alongside strengthening positions in heavy industrial environments. The business areas include three businesses, being Evalo, Veko, and Designplan. Most of the sales take place in Europe, but there are some global installations. I would even say with a Northern European focus. Product development and production take place in the UK, Finland, and the Netherlands. Let's have a brief look at each of the brands. We start with the smallest one, which is Evalo, that was founded in Finland in 1963. I think you all know from design, you probably know the famous Etelä Glass factory. That is actually the origin, and it's also still our neighbor. During the 1970s, Evalo started looking into reliable industrial lighting, mainly driven by a need within their own glass factory and the surrounding paper mill industry. At the same time, nobody was making a luminaire that was suitable for harsh industrial conditions. Evalo focused on luminaires built to withstand dust, corrosion, extreme temperatures, and mechanical stress. From the start, they've been recognized as a trusted partner for heavy industry and demanding environments. While firmly rooted in the Nordics, they have delivered projects in more than 40 countries worldwide. Actually, they have had very strong sales in Finland, but for the first time this quarter, export sales are higher than the sales in Finland, as a result of focusing sales resources on selected European markets. We have Veko, that was founded in the very difficult to pronounce name in the Netherlands, which is Gagen, in 1975. From the beginning, the company has specialized in linear LED lighting for industrial spaces, with a very strong focus on energy efficiency and durability. Over the years, Veko has introduced several industry-firsts, including the world's first linear lighting system with integrated cable ducts and IP65 protection, meaning suitable for tough environments. Their unique approach means that products are manufactured to order for each project, supplied with codes, and delivered pre-assembled without packaging. This concept greatly reduces both installation time and waste. They were very early out from a sustainability perspective. Veko solutions are widely used in open environments such as distribution centers, warehouses, and light industry, but are also trusted in more demanding settings, including swimming pools, freezer facilities, and retail spaces. Last but not least, we have Designplan, who was founded in the UK in 1963 to meet the need for robust and waterproof fittings in demanding environments. Those of you who've heard me speaking before know that I normally say if you're sleeping under a Designplan lighting, you are not in a good space because they are in very harsh environments. From the outset, the focus was on creating luminaires with high ingress protection and exceptional vandal resistance. The original vision still guides the company today. Designplan develops lighting solutions for some of the most challenging applications, including transport. They've done a lot of all of the new metro stations in the UK, for example. They do a lot of prisons, so a lot of custodial and social housing, secure healthcare, and urban exteriors. Their products are built for longevity with removal of gear trays that allows easy maintenance and technology upgrades, ensuring that fittings remain reliable and future-ready. There again, very good for sustainable perspectives. In previous calls, we're going to wrap. I've shared examples of how we combine innovation with sustainability across our brands. I think we are a very good example of when sustainability meets business needs and business strategy, it really makes sense. I want to highlight that today with one of our more exciting new solutions, which is called Wrapped, and it's from our Fagerhult brand in Harbo. Wrapped is actually the world's first cardboard pendant luminaire. You see it here, you see it on the first page of our report. I can assure you when you see it, you can't see it's made out of cardboard. It's impossible to see. It combines sustainability and functionality through careful material choices and design precision. To ensure strength and stability, we have put significant effort in testing into the luminaire body, and it fully meets our quality standards. It's produced in our Swedish factory in Fagerhult in Harbo, using recycled and renewable material sources from local suppliers. When the time for recycling comes, which is first after 100,000 hours of use, the luminaire can easily be disassembled and all materials recycled. Wrapped reflects very much our continuous work to reduce environmental impacts while maintaining high quality and long product life. It also demonstrates how responsible design and local production can strengthen our competitiveness and create long-term value for both our customers and the group. We're also very happy that two weeks ago, Wrapped was awarded the best lighting innovation in 2025 in Sweden in the so-called Elmässan. With that, I will hand over to our CFO, Oskar Wallstein, who will provide a much more in-depth view of our this quarter's financial. Please, Oskar. Thank you, Bodil. Sounds like it has been a busy period. I would also like to welcome everyone to the call. Good morning from me as well. While many strategic topics continue to make very good progress, we are, as Bodil has already stated, not happy with the operating results. From an organic decline of 6.5% in the second quarter, we deliver a flat organic order intake for the third quarter. As Bodil mentioned, the market seems to stabilize. In the quarter, the order intake is positively impacted by FX and acquisitions by a total value of SEK 78 million. Sales are organically growing by 1% in the quarter. FX and acquisitions have a positive impact of SEK 89 million. As mentioned, we are disappointed with a Q3 7.3% operating margin, which is a reduction compared to last year, but an improvement compared to Q2. The Q3 cost is impacted by acquisition transactions of SEK 19 million, which is of a one-time-off nature. The operating cash flow was improved compared to the previous quarter and almost on the same level as last year Q3. Year-to-date order intake is the same as last year, which confirms a stable market. Sales are lagging behind last year by 7.1% organically. The lower sales are partially explained by longer lead times between orders and deliveries. Operating margin is 7.1%, which is lower than last year and is mainly a result of lower sales volume. Cash flow year to date is SEK 395 million. It's down because of lower profitability. The rolling 12-month net sales show a slight increase in the quarter, mainly due to acquisitions of Capelon and Chartered TLV. The margin development is positive compared to the previous quarter, thanks to increased sales volumes. Now we're moving into the business area dimension. We start with Collection. The third quarter order intake of SEK 816 million entails organic growth of 9.5%. The order intake for the January to September period of SEK 2,722 million entails an increase of 7.7% in organic growth. Net sales for the quarter total SEK 890 million, corresponding to organic growth of 8.4%. Operating profit before IAC increased to SEK 86.3 million. For the Premium business area, order intake for the quarter is SEK 551 million, entailing an organic decline of 11.1%. The order intake of SEK 1,940 million for the January to September period showed an organic decline of 7%. Net sales for the quarter total SEK 603 million and operating profit before IAC of SEK 90.2 million, resulting in a decrease in the operating margin before IAC of 14.9%. The business area is seeing an increasing number of customers choosing retrofit solutions with smart technology. Professional order intake for the quarter increased to SEK 357 million, mainly through acquisitions. Business area order intake for the January to September period of SEK 866 million entails organic growth of 0.7%. The order backlog remains much improved at SEK 492 million. Net sales for the quarter total SEK 410 million, up 60.1%, of which 6.3% was an organic increase, and operating profit before IAC amounted to SEK 31 million. Within the business area, we have WhiteCroft that has made a full recovery from the IT incident that took place in the second quarter. Chartered TLV is included in the business area, as Bodil mentioned before, from 1st of July. Now over to infrastructure. Order intake for the quarter total SEK 223 million, corresponding to an organic increase of 8.3%. For the January to September period, the order intake decreased by 11.8%. Net sales for the quarter total SEK 180 million, an organic decline of 9.3%. Operating profit before IAC was SEK 6 million. Veko increased its order intake to its highest level for over a year, while concurrently delivering a smart lighting project at one of Europe's largest logistics centers for Daimler in Germany. In the second quarter, the cash flow improved to SEK 162 million, as working capital was better controlled. In the third quarter, we continued the good work and delivered SEK 208 million in cash flow. The group has a good cash-generating process. During the last three to four years, you can see our strategy has been to reduce the net debt. This has enabled us to invest in new acquisitions. The investments in Chartered TLV and Capelon have increased debt. Earnings per share. We repeat the message about not being pleased with the earnings per share, and we are working very hard to improve the earnings. Due to the recent and earlier acquisitions, we are considering to start to report EBITDA instead of EBIT. This will give a clearer view of the operational profitability before factoring in the non-cash cost of amortizing intangible assets. That was all from me, now back to Bodil. Thank you, Oskar. I will do a very quick conclusion and recap before we open up for questions. Summarizing, I would say that Q3 was a stable quarter, underpinned by a very resilient business and a well-qualified order book that provides a solid foundation for future growth. However, as we've said, we are not entirely happy with the overall results. We see some signs of recovery, where we see mainly renewed activity in key segments and gradual slow improvements in customer sentiment. Still, global macroeconomic uncertainty remains all around us. I think we have also, as I said last time, we are focusing a lot internally to see how we can increase cooperation between the brands because we believe this is our fastest way to increase revenue. That is very much ongoing within the group. Also, the integration of Chartered TLV and Capelon continues to progress well and further strengthen our market positioning. Throughout the quarter, we maintained a strong focus on cost discipline and our operational efficiency, and this work will continue. Looking ahead, I would say that we have very favorable structural trends, and continued together with the continued calibration across the group, position us very well for the progress in the coming years. That was my short summary of Q3 and the situation. With that, I will hand over to Niklas and Indris for the questions we might have in the call. Thank you very much, Bodil and Oskar. With that, I will ask the operator to open up for questions from those on the telephone line. Thank you. Thanks. As a reminder, please press pound key five on your telephone to ask a question. The first question comes from Lara Muttadi from ABG Sundal Collier. Please go ahead. Hi, just a few questions from my end. Firstly, just a clarifying question. Were the acquisition-related costs of SEK 18.1 million accounted for in the IACs in Q3, or were they left out? Hi, Lara. Can you repeat the questions? If they were included, they're included in the normal results, in the operational results. It's not taken as an IAC? Yes, if they were included in the operating profit before IACs. Yes, they are. That is correct. Okay. You also mentioned some signs of recovery in the market. Have you seen any changes in the sales cycles during Q3, or would you say that the momentum is the same as before? I think if you look into what I think Oskar said before, we still continue to see that there are long cycles, but there will be differences between our different businesses in that because they have very different markets. I think what you see when we see our order intake, which has been very stable with a little bit less fluctuations, I think that is for us a sign. Of course, we also monitor a lot what we see into future projects, etc. I would say that indicates a first very slight improvement compared to what we saw a year ago. Okay. It sounds promising. Would you say there were any particularly large orders in any of the segments that left maybe a large positive impact? If you look in Q3, not in the order intake. That's what I said before, it was a very, there were no huge orders taken into the quarter that gives those. It was very much of the underlying stable business that we see. Many, many projects, because we are a project business, but none that stood out specifically. For me, that's also a sign of stability and that the underlying business is there. Very clear to us. When we speak about very big projects, we are of sizes around, I would say, from SEK 40 million and above. Thank you. That was all from my end. Thank you very much, Lara. Back to Indris. Do we have any more questions in the conference call? Sorry. The next question is from Mats Liss. Your line is open. Thanks. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Sorry. Mats Liss here, Kepler Cheuvreux. Coming back to this last question about the one regarding acquisitions, just to get it confirmed, that is included in the 147, I mean, the profit before item. That is correct. Okay. It sort of affects the professional business area segment, I guess. That's correct. Okay, yeah, good. Maybe Mats, just to clarify, the only thing we've been taking IACs in the past is when we've been doing structural program changes in the businesses, so restructuring programs. We haven't been taking IACs for anything else. No, great. Absolutely. This is a one-time-off item, Mats, which is tied to legal fees and so on in relation to acquisitions. Yeah, I understand. It is really a one-time-off that is not coming back. While looking at orders, I mean, they were sort of unchanged organically. Could you say something about the mix, margin mix? You mentioned that demand has stabilized or maybe slightly up in some areas. Should we expect this to be a sign that pricing is also improving? Could you give me some flavor there? It's depending on what you mean by pricing improving. I think when you look into the market, I think everybody asks themselves the questions, are we at the end of the cycle? Do we see that we're bottoming out? Of course, we're all looking for those signs in general. I think, as I said, it's always difficult to look into everybody who wants to look into the crystal ball, and nobody really has it. Therefore, we can only say what we see, and this is what we've seen in this quarter. When you look into price in general, I would say that we, as you know, we've been good all the way through the cycle to keep our pricing. I don't see, if you look into the current market conditions, I don't think you should expect, of course, we try to compensate for efficiencies, but we don't do currently any high price increases because that's not the temperature which is out there. I mean, there are tough market conditions. If you look in general, if you look at the lighting market as such, it's not growing. Of course, that also creates some strong competition. We do what we can to fight. I think in terms of how we are and our customers and our stability, I think we are very well positioned in the segment where we are. Does that answer your question? Yeah, good. Just to get some flavor. Sorry, you mentioned that, but the Chartered TLV acquisition, what was the contribution? I mean, besides the 19 there, what was the contribution during this first quarter with them? I think if you look into, I don't have the exact numbers here, but I think in terms of, you can see it in terms of the sales. I think what we've seen is in line with our expectations. The performance for Q3, I think, was exactly what we expected. Sweden have it there. What about that? Should we expect a growth fourth quarter in line with that, or is it? Yes, I think that's also what Oskar said. Maybe you want to say something more about the EBITDA, Oskar? Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, we're having, given that we have done a number of acquisitions, not only recently, but historically as well, I don't think EBITDA is a fair metric to use to describe our business because of the amortizations of some of the intangible assets. In order to get a more fair view of the operational performance, we would like to focus more on EBITDA going forward. Is that answering your question or? Yeah, that's good. Yeah, maybe I should, yeah, thanks. I think that's good enough for me. Thank you very much. I think that will help you seeing through the underlying business and also what the new acquisitions are bringing. You will see the operating result clearer, I think. Thank you. Good. The next question is from Oskar Rönnqvist from SEB. Please go ahead, Oskar. Your line is open. Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I just wanted two questions on the cost side. The first one is on the adjusted gross margin at 39% in Q3, down a little bit from the last few quarters. I just wanted to hear if you had any color on why that's coming down a little bit. I just wanted to see if you could elaborate a little bit on the savings progress, what you've done year to date, and what you expect going forward into Q4. Thanks. Yeah, no absolutely, Oskar. I think that's a good question. When it comes to the margin, it's a result of a product mix, if you like, and business area mix. It's not necessarily fluctuating if we compare the business year on year, but the product mix simply generates a slight fluctuation. We don't expect a decline going forward. As Bodil mentioned before, we don't see any big price increases, but we don't see any big decreases either coming. When it comes to the cost reduction program, we are making good progress there, and we are aiming to deliver according to the plan by the end of the year. I would say we're very much in line with the previous plan that was communicated back in Q2. Got it. Thank you. Just to, so $160 million in OpEx reduction year over year in 2025 in total. I think you were aiming for $180 million when the full run rate kicks in in the early part of 2026, I suppose. Can you say what's the run rate at the moment? Just wanted to get some sort of impact into Q4. Yeah, it's a little bit, yeah, you're absolutely right. It is a little bit complicated because we're having the new acquisitions coming in, which is impacting, of course, the spend. We're also having the one-time-off and then a few seasonal fluctuations between the years. I would say you're referring to the right numbers, and that's what we're aiming for and what we expect to be delivered. Got it. Perfect. Thank you very much. There are no more questions at the telco at this moment, so I hand the word back to you, Niklas, for written questions. Thank you very much, Einar. We have a few written questions, and I will navigate to the first one. Do you see any impact of the EPBD that would mandate smart lighting in commercial buildings early 2026? For everybody, EPBD is the European Performance of Buildings Directive, which is the new legislation which was taken, and that's supposed to get international legislation by May, which is very positive both for renovation rates, which is where we see a steep increase, and also has some parameters about smart lighting in there, which will help the development on the market. I would say that we are in the very early beginning of it. I think there are many differences between different countries. I think some countries are quicker to get the legislation in place, Sweden being one of those. In Sweden, we see more concrete plans of what the country wants to renovate, and that is mainly in office, education, and healthcare, which are good markets for us. What we see very strongly is that when we see renovation, we see an uptake of smart. We have actually seen that also in Q3. We have had an uptake in our sales of organic growth, of organic response, which I think may be an early sign of the European Performance of Buildings Directive as well. People start to prepare. Having said that, I still think there are a lot of people who are not aware of that this is coming. We need still to help out in terms of helping our customers and help out in terms of education. Thank you very much, Bodil. What initiatives are you taking to strengthen sales and again turn to positive organic growth? That's a very good question, Niklas. We initiated a program across the company a few months ago that will drive the collaboration between the different brand companies and business areas that we named cross-selling, essentially utilizing our market presence by selling more from our sister companies in the sales engagements with our clients. We have set up a good pricing structure that will enable easier collaboration between the companies. We will also tie an incentive system to it to incentivize the sales organization to really drive this more as a partnership towards clients and enable us then to sell more to the same customer base. We are communicating that out to the organization later this week. We're aiming for launching it by mid-end of Q4. Hopefully, already during Q1, we should be in full swing with it. We should see a good result from that increased collaboration between the companies going forward. Thank you very much, Oskar. That is it with the questions from the chat. Before we conclude the webcast, and thank you everyone for joining, I will hand over to Bodil for a final word. Yes, and just to comment on what Oskar said, I think that we are working very actively with this because we think from a growth perspective, this is by far our lowest hanging fruit. We have increased the temperature and the work on this, which I'm very happy about. If you look at the quarter, as I mentioned, it's been a stable quarter, not as strong as we would like to, but one that shows that we are navigating very well in a complex environment. We have been training on this. We know how to do this. We continue to stay very focused, very cost-conscious, and very close to our customers, which I think makes a real difference in today's market. I think also we have, you can also look at our order book, which is good. It gives us a good platform for the quarters ahead. Also there, the integration of Chartered TLV has contributed because they came with a good order book. Of course, also Capelon continues to move us in the right direction. Looking into next year, our priorities remain very clear to build on the collaboration, as Oskar just explained, between our companies, to stay close to the market, and to capture the opportunities that come both with sustainability and smart solutions. I think that was a quick summary of what we've heard today. Thank you very much, Bodil. With that, we will conclude the webcast. Once again, thank you to everyone tuning in and joining us today. As always, the recording will be available on our website. Thank you very much and goodbye. Thank you very much for listening.