Good morning, and welcome to Investor's results call for the first quarter of 2026. I'm joined here this morning by our CFO, Jenny Ashman Haquinius, and our CEO, Christian Cederholm. Both will soon be giving their presentations, and after that, we will be opening up for questions via our operator and online. With that, over to you, Christian.
Thank you, Jacob, and hello, everyone. 2026 seems to be another challenging year from a geopolitical perspective, not the least with the situation in the Middle East. The human suffering aside, there are, of course, a number of aspects that we need to focus on from a business perspective. In terms of effects here and now, we have seen, I would say, disturbances but no major disruption. Price increases for energy, freight, and other goods and services will, of course, come, but typically with some lag in time. If the conflict is not resolved anytime soon, however, we're likely to also see further supply chain disruptions, including potentially drying up of certain goods. Cost inflation will also, together with generally increased uncertainty, impact global demand in a more profound way than we've seen thus far.
In this environment, it's critical to focus on agility with the goal of always being able to continue serving our companies, our customers. It's about adapting, and the companies are adapting. Generally, they're doing a good job protecting the businesses and the profits here and now while continuing to invest to future-proof. In times like these, the decentralized model with great empowered teams close to the customers, ready and able to make decisions, is really showing its strength. We should not forget, our companies have a strong starting point with excellent customer offerings and leading market positions. If we turn to Q1 for Investor, we had net asset value growth of 3% and a TSR of 7%, supported by listed companies and Patricia Industries, while EQT contributed negatively this quarter. We also saw high activity across the portfolio, including investments in all three business areas.
At the end of the first quarter, adjusted net asset value stood at SEK 1,125 billion. Let me briefly go through the three business areas: Listed companies, Patricia Industries, and investments in EQT. Starting with listed companies that represents more than 70% of our assets. Total return was 5%, with strong contribution from, for example, ABB, Saab, AstraZeneca, and Sobi. On the back of market volatility, we acquired shares in Nasdaq and Atlas Copco for a total of SEK 170 million. Total investments in listed companies has now been SEK 2.5 billion in the last 12 months. We also received just over SEK 1.5 billion for SEB shares divested during Q4 to maintain our ownership level as the bank continued to buy back shares. In terms of future-proofing activities, companies continue to identify and implement high-value AI use cases really across the portfolio and across the value chain.
In Electrolux Professional, Paolo Scira was appointed new CEO effective from May. With the AGM season currently in full swing, I'm happy to see all the good additions of new directors to the listed companies' boards of directors. Based on the latest proposals, we expect north of SEK 14 billion in ordinary dividends during 2026 and an additional SEK 3.4 billion from extraordinary dividends. Now over to Patricia Industries. Total return in Patricia was 4%, with contribution from cash flow and multiples, and with a positive translation effect as the U.S. dollar strengthened during this quarter compared to year-end. The major subsidiaries reported a sales decline of 7%. Organic constant currency growth was, however, a positive 3%. Adjusted EBITDA declined by 4%, significantly impacted by the weaker U.S. dollar compared to Q1 of last year.
Remember here, the U.S. dollar strengthened during this quarter, which has a positive impact on valuations where we compare to the end of last quarter. Year-on-year, the U.S. dollar is down a lot, as you know, and that has a significant negative impact on year-on-year earnings growth. Jenny will address this more in her remarks. Margins held up well across most companies, despite headwinds from tariffs and currency movements, underlying the importance of operational discipline and efficiency. We saw continued high activity across Patricia. On the people side, Guillaume Joucla and Bengt Thorsson were appointed interim CEOs in Mölnlycke and in Piab Group respectively. Also, Tomas Puusepp was appointed new chair in Permobil effective this summer.
Vectura announced acquisition of the remaining 50% in GoCo Health Innovation City in Gothenburg. Patricia Industries contributed capital to support the financing of this acquisition, which closed just after the quarter. For the major subsidiaries and including our 40% in Three Scandinavia, revenues amounted to SEK 68.6 billion in the last 12 months, and EBITDA was SEK 17.3 billion in the same period. Note, however, that this is in kronor, so rather sensitive to FX. Finally then, investments in EQT, our third business area. Here, total return was -13%, dragged down by the decline in the EQT AB share price. Generally, alternative asset managers saw valuations come down on the back of concerns about the viability of certain software investments, as well as the quality and liquidity of some private debt funds. We acquired shares for a total of SEK 1.4 billion at the valuation we deemed attractive.
Investor had a positive net cash flow of SEK 1.2 billion from our fund investments. This was offset then by the investment in EQT AB shares, resulting in an essentially neutral total net cash flow during the quarter. As we mentioned last quarter, EQT announced acquisition of Coller Capital, a leading global secondaries firm with nearly $50 billion of assets under management, further strengthening the EQT platform for its fund investors. Looking ahead then, I remain confident in our platform. Investor has a clear purpose and a focus strategy, a portfolio of high-quality companies, and an engaged ownership model that is well proven over the years. We have financial flexibility with low leverage and strong underlying cash flows, and importantly, great people, both at Investor and in our companies and our broader network.
We, Investor and our companies, are facing a challenging environment, and we need to navigate that well. At the same time, our companies must continue and accelerate investments to future-proof their businesses. Our strong platform, combined with a relentless focus on customers, is indeed a strong starting point to build from. Make no mistake, competition is tough, and we need to be highly aware of how fast things are moving out there, including the speed at which, for instance, AI and Chinese competition are evolving. To succeed, speed is crucial, and as we say in the CEO statement, "If we snooze, we lose." With that, I'll hand over to you, Jenny, to take us through the financials.
Thank you, Christian, and good morning. Let me take you through the financials for the quarter. In Q1 2026, adjusted net asset value was SEK 1,125 billion, which implies an increase of 3% compared to Q4. For the quarter, listed companies and Patricia Industries contributed positively, while investments in EQT declined. Now double-clicking on each of the business areas, and I will start with listed companies. Within listed companies, share price performance was mixed. Particularly strong quarter for Sobi, Ericsson, and Saab. Electrolux Professional and Husqvarna, however, had a tougher quarter looking at total return. Total return for the listed companies portfolio was 5% in Q1. As for absolute contribution, it paints a similar picture, although with ABB in the top as the biggest contributor to net asset value given size and weight in our portfolio. All in all, a solid quarter for listed companies.
Now moving on to Patricia Industries. For the quarter, Patricia Industries portfolio, the major subsidiaries, grew 3% organically, while the adjusted EBITDA declined by 4%. As a reminder, we are restrictive when it comes to EBITDA adjustments. In the 4% drop for the quarter, we have only adjusted for transaction costs related to M&A. Specifically, Laborie and Sarnova in this quarter, and also one-off costs related to CEO transitions. For this quarter, that is relevant for Piab. Still weighing on the adjusted EBITDA is FX, the stronger Swedish krona year over year, tariffs, as well as restructuring costs as we deem this as part of ongoing operations. For this quarter, we have restructuring costs for Permobil. Then double-clicking on performance across the companies in Patricia Industries, let me comment on a few of them.
For Laborie, growth continued to be driven to a large extent by urology and specifically the Optilume urethral strictures product. As we've alluded to before, short term, comps are continuously getting tougher as Optilume urethral strictures is included in benchmark quarters. Longer term, there is a lot of runway in both urethral strictures and the more recently launched BPH product. Profitability for Laborie, adjusting for the $9 million in costs related to the JADA acquisition, was up despite continued commercial investments. Nova Biomedical grew 1% organically, which is sequentially lower, but in line with expectations. As mentioned last quarter, the acquired part of the business has a particularly strong comparison quarter. Despite muted growth, profitability increased significantly, primarily due to efficiency improvements from integration. Integration is progressing according to plan.
Piab returned to growth with 1% organic growth, and the company has been seeing more choppy demand on the back of increased geopolitical tension, but did see some easing at the end of the quarter. Profitability was down, and that's primarily explained by costs related to the CEO transition as well as tariffs. Permobil continued to see muted growth also this quarter, explained by negative impact from the voluntary product recall of the power assist device announced in Q3 last year. Focus for the company is on innovation and upcoming product launches. Profitability was weighed down by restructuring, as mentioned, as well as the product recall. Moving on to Mölnlycke. Mölnlycke had another solid quarter with 3% organic growth driven by all four business areas. Focusing on wound care with 2% organic growth, that is sequentially lower and impacted largely by three buckets.
U.S. remains a significant growth driver, but at a lower rate than previous quarters, and this is in part due to destocking at some customers. We continue to see solid market demand. Further, we see the same tough market dynamics in France as previous quarters, but it's really good to see Mölnlycke keeping market share intact. Then finally, we see weakness in the Middle East this quarter, where we see erratic order patterns rather than impact from the conflict in the region. Overall, positive to see improving profitability despite negative impact from FX, lower manufacturing absorption and tariffs, and that's because the company is doing a really good job with efficiency improvements and cost control. We saw a 4% increase in estimated market values compared to Q4, so from SEK 225 to 230 billion.
The increase was explained by positive impact from FX, from earnings growth, and also expansion in valuation multiples. For FX, although the stronger Swedish krona has a negative impact on the year-over-year earnings, the U.S. dollar strengthened during the quarter compared to the end of last quarter, and this provides a positive translation effect in the valuation for the U.S. subsidiaries. Looking at value development across companies, we can see that the biggest contributor for Q1 was Mölnlycke, and that's primarily due to expansion in multiples, but also earnings growth. Permobil and Laborie were a drag on value. For Permobil, mainly due to lower earnings, and for Laborie because of contracting multiples. Over the last couple of quarters, we've noticed an increase in questions on the FX exposure in our companies, specifically the U.S. dollar exposure in Patricia Industries.
We thought that we will take this opportunity to provide some additional color, and we will focus on two main buckets. Impact on earnings and impact on valuation. As you know, we have a U.S. dollar exposure given Patricia's global footprint with exposure to the U.S. as the main market with high profitability. For the U.S. subsidiaries, we have a relatively limited FX impact on earnings from U.S. dollar fluctuations, and that is because earnings are predominantly generated in U.S. dollars, and this is also the reporting currency. For the U.S. subsidiaries, the bigger U.S. dollar exposure is rather a quarter-on-quarter effect in valuation. When we translate the U.S. dollar net asset value to a SEK net asset value in Investor’s reporting.
For this quarter, as mentioned, we had a positive effect on net asset value for the U.S. subsidiaries, and that's due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar versus the Swedish krona in Q1 compared to Q4. For the Nordic companies, first, Three Scandinavia and Vectura have very limited FX exposure given Scandinavian operations. For the remaining Nordic companies, we do see quite a significant impact on earnings year-over-year. That is because the companies have relatively large and healthy U.S. businesses with high gross margin. Roughly 45% of combined EBTA is generated in U.S. dollars. These U.S. dollar profits are translated to Swedish krona or euros as reporting currency. This impact on earnings, of course, implies an impact on net asset value, given our earnings-based valuation method. In addition, for Mölnlycke, we also have a quarter-on-quarter exposure to the euro.
That's when we translate the euro net asset value to a SEK net asset value in Investor's reporting. In terms of mitigating actions, the companies continuously strive for natural hedging. Having costs in the same currency as sales, and they are relatively well matched. If we take Mölnlycke as an example, Mölnlycke has roughly 35% of sales in U.S. dollars and 30% of cost. Not perfectly matched, and that's because headquarters, central functions, R&D, et cetera, are primarily located in Sweden. Also, as an example, Mölnlycke, despite increasing local U.S. production with the current build-out of the wound care plant in Maine, will continue to see imports to the U.S. from the Mikkeli plant in Finland, although to a lesser extent. In addition, the company seek to borrow in currencies that match the currency of net cash flow.
Mölnlycke, again, as an example, has roughly 60% of debt in euros and 40% of debt in dollars. I hope that provided some additional insight into the U.S. dollar exposure for Patricia and how we think in terms of natural hedging. Now moving on to investments in EQT. Total value change was a negative 13% in the quarter, and that's primarily driven by EQT AB, which was down 22%. Fund investments were up 2%, and as a reminder, we report EQT fund investments with one quarter lag. The 2% is based on EQT's Q4 report. On the right-hand side, we illustrate the net cash flow from EQT to Investor, which was essentially flat in the quarter as quite significant exit proceeds were offset by investments. This is an illustration of the net cash flow from investments in EQT over time.
While it's quite lumpy on a quarterly basis, over the past 10 years, we have received a net cash inflow of SEK 1.6 billion on average per year. Our balance sheet remains strong. Our leverage as of Q1 is 1.2%, and it remains in the lower end of our policy range despite continued investments. On to my last slide, looking at the longer term perspective, the performance of the Investor AB B share truly illustrates the strength and the resilience of our portfolio and strategy. With that, I will leave the word back to Jacob.
Thank you very much, Jenny. Thank you, Christian. We are now ready to take your questions, and we will start with the questions through our operator. Amber, please.
Thank you. To ask the question, please press star one and one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one and one again. If you wish to ask the question via the webcast, please type into the box and click submit. One moment for first question. We will now take the first question from the line of Linus Sigurdson of DNB Carnegie. Please go ahead, Linus.
Okay. Thank you very much. Starting with a couple questions on Mölnlycke. You talked about these continued challenging market conditions in France, but is it fair then to assume that Germany has stabilized? Also, are you seeing anything that implies we could expect headwinds in France to ease in the near term? Thank you.
I can start. Thank you, Linus, for your question. We've seen challenges in France for a couple of quarters, and that is due to pressure on the healthcare system, which has resulted in reimbursement cuts. We do not see a reason for that to ease. However, moving along, we will see some easier comps for the French market, specifically when the reimbursement cuts have trickled through in terms for Mölnlycke. It's really good to see that Mölnlycke is keeping market share intact, but it remains a tough market. As for Germany, in this quarter, we are not seeing the challenges to the same extent. Again, in Germany, we are continuing to see pressure on the healthcare system. I think it's too early to tell.
Okay. That makes sense. If you could just zoom in on the U.S. business and this sequentially lower growth. Is there any sort of major shift in the demand dynamics that we should be aware of in the U.S.?
Well, I think from what we know now and the signals that we see today, we do not see a major shift in the underlying demand in the U.S. As you know, we are operating in a volatile environment. It of course depends on what will happen on the global demand. For Mölnlycke specifically in this quarter, it's more about destocking with some customers in the U.S. for wound care specifically.
Okay. Thank you. My final question is on Nova Biomedical. You talked about the strong Q1 last year, and then given that from what we can read Q2 last year also looks pretty strong, is it reasonable to expect similar growth dynamics also in Q2 this year?
Well, we do not provide guidance. I think what we can say is that the company is very much focused on the integration and making sure that they keep momentum in the business. Throughout the integration, as we've alluded to before, we might see some volatility in financial performance. In terms of the longer term outlook, we remain very confident in the opportunities for long-term profitable growth.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. We will now take our next question from the line of Derek Laliberté from ABG Sundal Collier. Please go ahead, Derek.
Yes, good morning. Just wanted to follow up firstly on Mölnlycke, if you could comment anything on how it's developing in terms of volume versus pricing in the U.S. specifically.
Well, I think in general, we do not provide the details on volume and pricing. For this quarter, it's more about de-stocking. I think as a general comment for the underlying growth in the wound care markets, what we do see is that we have mid to low or low to mid-single-digit growth, and then of course, Mölnlycke has an ambition to, over time, grow above that, but that underlying growth is primarily driven by volume.
Perfect. Thank you. Also on Mölnlycke, I know you don't provide forward-looking guidance, but can you comment anything on anything to be aware of in terms of the margin trajectory going forward in terms of costs or any other mixed headwinds that might be relevant?
Well, I think what we do see in this quarter, given the volatility that is increasing also at the global arena. In this quarter, we are seeing primarily effects from the negative effects and tariffs, combined roughly two percentage points on the margin. I think looking ahead, it's too early to tell what the longer-term effects will be.
Offsetting that, maybe just to add, is of course the efficiency work that the company is executing on.
Great. Over to Laborie. Wondering if you could comment anything on the status of the BPH product rollout.
Yes. Well, as you saw in the report, Laborie received an active reimbursement code for BPH, and that's specifically for physicians, and that's really a first step or a license to operate. Then the ramp-up and the launch of the product will be gradual and will be a lot of work because the company needs to educate the physicians and also receive a broader reimbursement for the product. Longer term, it's a very attractive growth opportunity for Laborie.
Indeed. Thank you. On Nova Biomedical, you had some comments about that already clearly, but can you say something about how the overall market demand situation is developing for this company? Has it gotten more challenging as in Mölnlycke or is it more of a steady pace and more about continuing to capture market share, et cetera?
I would say overall more of a steady pace, but let's see what happens given the volatility that we see globally.
Got it. Thank you. Those were my questions.
Thank you. As a reminder, before we take our next question, please press star one and one on your telephone keypad if you wish to ask a question. To ask questions via the webcast, please type into the box and click submit. We will now take our next question, and our next question comes from the line of Oskar Lindström of Danske Bank. Oskar, we cannot hear you. Oskar, you have to come to the phone. All right. Thank you. We have lost Oskar there, so I'll be turning back to the room for webcast questions. Thank you.
Thank you, Amber. Let's see if we have Oscar back at some point, but let's take questions from the web. We have a number of questions. The first comes from Christian Sahlström, and it goes, "Patricia Industries has represented around 1/5 of Investor’s now for some time now. How do you view the balance between the listed holdings and Patricia Industries going forward? Could Patricia become a larger share of the portfolio over time, or is the current balance roughly where you want it to be? And where do you currently see the most attractive opportunities for capital allocation between the two segments?
I can start on that. Thank you for the question. Really, when we think about capital allocation, we're pretty clear in that our first and foremost priority is to continue to support in building our existing companies, and that could be by way of supporting add-on acquisitions, rights issues, both on the listed and the private side. The second priority is to pay a steady rising dividend over time. Thirdly, but still important, we are actively looking also for new platform companies. When it comes to the prioritization between the different business areas, first of all, we should say that we see it as a benefit to have three business areas which all generate attractive opportunities to invest. That's also what you've seen looking back at the last couple of years. We really have invested in all three.
In terms of allocation between the three, we don't steer or set targets based on one part becoming X% of total assets or anything like that. I would say, however, that again, if you look back on the last five years or so, an unproportional share of capital has gone towards Patricia Industries, and that is basically built on there being some really good opportunities there. We continue to see a nice pipeline in Patricia, but also in the other business areas.
Perfect. I can see now that Oskar Lindström is back. Amber, would you take over, please?
Certainly. Our next question comes from the line of Oskar Lindström of Danske Bank. Please go ahead, Oskar.
Thank you. I hope you can hear me now.
Yes.
Yes?
Yes.
Yes.
Oh, super. Sorry for that technical mishap earlier. I have three sets of questions. The first is regarding Mölnlycke and operations in China. I've seen some peers in the wound care segment talk about China having introduced a new volume-based procurement program essentially trying to reduce the cost of med tech products and consumables. Is this something which you have noticed and which has impacted your business or margins in China?
I can take first shot at that. It's correct what you say that those kind of regulations has been introduced. If you look at Mölnlycke's business in China, you really have two parts. One is selling towards the hospitals, and that's where this would apply. Then the other part is really an e-commerce business, which is more business to consumer oriented, primarily within scar management. That part is not affected by this kind of regulation. Without commenting in any detail on Mölnlycke, these kind of programs typically do have an impact, and it really sort of stresses the importance to be locally present and over time also with production.
Right. Has this program already been impacting you, or is this something more that you see in quarters ahead?
I would say that the impact so far has been limited.
Thank you. My second question is also with regards to China, where we've seen some indications that Chinese med tech and consumables companies are seeking to enter Europe or EMEA. Have you seen that in local markets in Europe to any extent? I guess this is impacting both Mölnlycke and your med tech business overall.
I'll take a first shot at that. I think the short answer is yes. We do see Chinese competition in a number of segments or sub-segments. There are several, let's say, well-regarded Chinese manufacturers and vendors. That includes, for example, on the OR side, folks like Shende, as an example. We certainly see, and that's also why relating to the comment we make in the CEO statement that Chinese competition in med tech, but also in other areas, is increasing. Their ambition is high and their capabilities are increasing.
Thank you. My third and final question is on Nova Biomedical, the drop in organic growth you partly, I think, mentioned tougher comps, but also how much was due to the sort of integration and, or is there a meaningful component which is more sort of overall market slowdown?
According to what we see right now, it's not due to any weakness in the demand or the market. As we've alluded to already last quarter, the acquired part of the business has a very tough comparison period, and that is the main explanation for the sequentially lower growth. In addition to that, we've also mentioned earlier that we might see some added volatility in financial results throughout the integration. We remain very confident in the longer-term prospects for profitable growth for the company.
Right. If I may just a follow-up on that. How long are the year-over-year comps going to be tough, and how long is the integration process to possibly sort of resulting in volatility in earnings going to continue? I'm sorry if you already answered this and I missed it.
I think in terms of the tough comps, we choose to call out Q1 of last year in 2025 as a sort of very significant comp quarter. That says something, I guess. In terms of the integration, as always, it's an ongoing process. I would say that come the anniversary or maybe the 18-month or so anniversary of the acquisition, the majority of integration streams should be expected to be completed.
Wonderful. Thank you very much. Those were my questions.
Thank you. There are no phone questions at this time. I'll now turn back to the room for further questions from the webcast.
Thank you, Amber. We have a question online from Alexandra Deprez. Could you provide an idea of how much of the consolidated costs of goods and services sold could be impacted by higher energy prices?
Yeah, I can start. As Christian mentioned, in the quarter, we are seeing limited impacts connected to this, but we do know from experience that these effects typically come with some lag, so one or two quarter lag. I think with the volatility that we're seeing, it's too early to tell what the actual implication will be. I think what's important here and now is that the company are working actively in doing what they can to mitigate. That goes from working with the supply chain, of course, but also active pricing. I don't know if you have anything you would like to add.
I think, and maybe we read into your question it relates to the Middle East and energy prices. I would point out that there are other choke points as well in the global supply chains. Chipsets is one where the build-out of AI capabilities and AI data centers is clearly impacting us. We saw Ericsson, for example, commenting on that in their quarterly report. Unfortunately, it's not just limited to energy.
Thank you. Next questions come from Holger Bergsten. Two questions. I'll take the first one. Investor has very strong financial flexibility and low leverage. How do you prioritize capital allocation today between new investments, adding to existing holdings, debt capacity, and share buybacks when the share price trades close to or above adjusted NAV?
Maybe I can start. In terms of capital allocation, as we talked about in one of the previous questions, we have a quite clear view on capital allocation priorities. Number one is to support and build on our existing companies. That again can involve, for example, supporting add-on acquisitions in both listed or private companies. It could be buying incremental shares in existing listed companies, et cetera. Number two is paying a steadily rising dividend. A buyback is not something we've used as a way to distribute cash, and I don't see that happening going forward either. Thirdly, but still importantly, we are actively looking for new platform investments as well. We are looking, as I said, to invest in all three business areas.
If I look at the pipeline recently and also at this point in time, I think it's fair to say that we have an overweight of opportunities on the private side.
Good. Next question. This is also to you, Christian. Investor has compounded value for decades through active ownership, patience, and disciplined capital allocation. If we meet again in 10 years, what do you think will have changed the most in Investor's model and what must remain exactly the same?
Oh. Thank you. Great question. I really think that as we mentioned in our presentation as well, the platform we have with the strong portfolio companies and a well-proven and well-vetted model for engaged ownership seems to serve us pretty well. I don't foresee any significant change there. In terms of capital allocation, our priorities are what they are. We do see that if we look at the coming, call it three to five years, and compare that to the previous, call it three to five years, it's clearly so that our cash generating ability is larger than it has been. That of course opens for opportunities to invest more.
I think maybe the most profound change will be if you look at all of our companies really across the portfolio and across the value chain. There are a number of, call it future-proofing initiatives and future-proofing themes that we need to get right. That includes, of course, AI and making sure we leverage AI across the value chain, everything from R&D to production to how we go to market. Of course, ultimately, and the Holy Grail is a little bit to use AI in the products and in the solutions offered to our customers so as to enhance customer value. One other part that we've been calling out is dealing with competition, and competition is pretty tough out there, including from Chinese competitors, but also from elsewhere.
There, at the end of the day, you need this sort of relentless, almost obsessive focus on customers and making sure that you spend enough and are successful in innovating so that you continue to improve the lives and the businesses of our customers and our users. If we do that well, we will be very strong also in 10 years' time.
Thank you very much. We have three questions from Michael Gilkins. First one: Can you give some concrete examples of how your portfolio companies are implementing AI? Are there any examples that stand out?
I think maybe I can start, Jenny. We called out Verafin in our quarterly report, which is a software business that Nasdaq acquired a number of years ago. Really what they do and what they provide to their customers is software to detect fraud and money laundering. If you look at what AI can do to this software suite, it's really interesting because you can create both better efficiency for the customers. Nasdaq is talking about maybe a 4x productivity improvement, in terms of scanning of transactions, scanning of new customers, et cetera, for example, for a bank. Also the outcome is significantly improved. In that case, one important part is removing or getting away from what we call false positives, that otherwise create a lot of extra work.
Thank you for that.
Sorry, if I may. I think there are lots of great examples, but that we also say we have a lot more to do, and all our companies are working with good engagement, high ambitions, and lots of resources to make sure that we really make AI an advantage to us as opposed to a risk or disruption.
Thank you. You could stand here the whole morning rambling examples. There are many more than this one. Also related to AI, it would be great to learn a bit more about Piab's role in the AI hardware value chain. It seems they are a logical beneficiary of this mega trend.
Yeah. If I start, Piab is, as you allude to in your question, well-positioned in that it's a critical part of automation. Really what we see in, call it factory or production automation, is that AI enables much more agility in robots or in machines. Meaning that also steps in the production that are maybe a little bit lower volume, higher variations, are now possible and relevant to automate. In that sense, very well positioned.
The final question from Michael Gilkins. Can you give us an update on the attempts to turn around the businesses through your board work at Electrolux Professional, and Husqvarna?
Yeah. If I take Electrolux and Husqvarna, as we've seen, they've been underperforming for a number of years. Really, our go-to model in these kind of situations is to, number one, make sure that we create, as fast as possible, a common view between management, board, and us as owners about what the issues are. Two, create a plan to address it. Three, for us to make sure that we feel we have the right people around the table to succeed. Then we go at it. Does that mean that we will succeed the first time? No, unfortunately, often it takes several attempts. I would say in both Husqvarna and Electrolux, we do feel that we have the building blocks in place. A lot of work continues.
Thank you very much. We have another hand raised, so over to you, Amber.
Thank you. Our next phone question comes from the line of Jacob Hesslevik of SEB. Please go ahead, Jacob.
Yeah. Hi, good morning. I have a question on Laborie. It's finally completed the acquisition of JADA Systems. At the same time, its EBITDA margin has been fairly volatile. It is up from Q4 last year, but it's still down year-over-year. I'm just wondering, what are the expected revenue and margin synergies from the JADA acquisition? How should we view the integration timeline, and how does this affect Laborie's trajectory on EBITDA margin going forward?
Maybe if I start and just taking a step back and looking at what the JADA acquisition is. It's really, in very simple terms, it's adding a great product to the mother and child care segment of Laborie. In terms of synergies, without going into, call it the margin effects of it, what we want to achieve with this type of acquisition is really matching a great product with a great channel and sales force network at Laborie. In that sense, without any other sort of commonalities, maybe it's similar to Optilume. Of course, in JADA's case, this is a well-established gold standard of care product already. With regards to the volatility in the margin as we disclose in Q1 here, it's primarily related to some acquisition-related costs for exactly JADA.
Yeah. I saw the acquisition cost and adjusted for it. You also mentioned it's partially offset by commercial investments. Are these of a nature related to Q1, or should we expect additional investments in coming quarters?
That's really ongoing commercial investments, and they're related to not the least, the rollout of Optilume, both the urethral stricture, which continues to grow, but also, and Jenny talked about that at some length, the introduction of the Optilume BPH product, where we now have basic reimbursement, but then we need insurance coverage, physician training, et cetera.
Okay. Thank you for that clarification.
Okay, I can't see any further questions online, and I don't think there are any more in the queue. That means it's time to conclude this webcast. Many thanks to Jenny Ashman Haquinius, to Christian Cederholm. Our next scheduled call is the first half report for 2026, which is scheduled for the 16th of July. Until then, thank you and goodbye.
Thank you very much.