Good morning, everyone, and welcome. I'm Nils Bergman, CEO and Co-Founder of Nordtech, and with me today is Per Asplund, our CFO and Deputy CEO. This is our first report as a listed company, so a special welcome to everyone joining us for the first time. A quick word on how we'll run today. Since many of you are new to Nordtech, I'll start with the company in brief and the 12-month trend, then the highlights of the quarter and how we measure value creation. Per will take the financials more in detail, so the group, our segments, cash flow, and balance sheet, and the financial targets. After that, I'm back on acquisitions and how we build the group from there. Then we'll open up for your questions. For those of you new to Nordtech, we're a long-term home for niche B2B software companies in the Nordics.
Our companies make the systems customers use to plan, monitor, and stay compliant with. Software that sits at the core of how they operate. We acquire and accelerate profitable, high-recurring businesses, so 86% recurring revenue, and we develop them under decentralized ownership, keeping the autonomy that made each company work while adding a shared structure it couldn't build alone. We're building the owner we ourself would have wanted as entrepreneurs, which is why we will never centralize the brand and the customer relationships, for instance. These are niche leaders, top three, often number one, with must-have, not nice-to-have solutions. Since 2021, we bought 24 companies into the group. We are around 430 people today across three segments with no single end market dominating. Taken together, these businesses have grown and stayed profitable through more than two decades and several downturns.
That's the kind of company we look for when we acquire. The strategy is simple but disciplined. Grow the companies, generate cash, reinvest it. Over time, that is what strengthens cash flow per share and our adjusted EBITA share per target with strong cash conversion is how we hold ourselves to it. Before we get into the quarter, I want to start where we always start ourselves, the rolling 12 months. Individual quarters will move around. The trend is what we manage. On a 12-month basis, the trend is clear. Net sales of SEK 705 million, adjusted EBITA of SEK 199 million, up 58% on the year before, and a margin of 28% up on last year. Revenue growing, earnings growing faster, and all of it underpinned by recurring revenue. That's the right-hand chart.
The ARR base has grown every quarter from the companies themselves and from the ones that we add. That's what makes this trend durable. That's the backdrop. Now let's look at the quarter. This was one of our strongest quarters yet, and importantly, the strength was broad. Growth, profitability, cash generation, all at levels we're pleased with. The IPO added balance sheet strength on top. This combination is the whole idea behind Nordtech. In June, we listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, broadening our ownership base and strengthening the balance sheet for continued expansion. It's a milestone on our journey, but it doesn't change how we build Nordtech. Net sales rose 50% to SEK 198 million. 9% growth was organic, the rest was acquired, and the organic growth strengthened from 7% in the first quarter on resilient business-critical demand in the niches.
ARR grew 45% to SEK 678 million, and adjusted EBITA grew 45% as well to SEK 53 million. Adjusted EBITA grew meaningfully faster than net sales organically, so high gross margins and a cost base that grows more slowly. Recently acquired companies, they pulled down the quarter's margin down slightly, but as I showed you on the 12-month view, the underlying margin trend is up, and same for the first six months of this year. One thing you will see in this morning's report, reported operating profit and earnings are down in the quarter, and that's mainly the listing costs, about SEK 15 million in the quarter, SEK 30 million for the half year. Those are one-offs and behind us, and Per will give you the full details on this. Everything else here is the underlying business.
Cash conversion after CapEx was 95% over the last 12 months, and after the IPO, net debt sits at 0.4x , so plenty of room to act. We did. One acquisition and add on the quarter. The growth we just saw, it comes with the right quality. We track that in one combined number, the return on the capital we invest, plus the organic growth on top. Together, they come in just over 22%, above our over 20% target. It's a measure that we watch over time, not necessarily quarter- to- quarter, and it tells us something simple. The companies we own, they become more valuable, not just more numerous. On that note, I'll hand over to Per, who will take you through the numbers.
Thank you, Nils. Let's go through the numbers a bit more in detail. Net sales grew by 50% in total, of which 9% was organic and 41% acquired. All three segments grew, and the vast majority of companies grew year-over-year. Growth in recurring revenue in the first half of 2026 was primarily volume-driven, came largely from new customers, while the price effect was marginal. Adjusted EBITA came in at SEK 53 million, up 45%, with a margin of 26.5% in the quarter, down 0.9 of a percentage point year-over-year. Our more recently acquired companies are coming in well, supporting the growth of the group. Commenting on the margin development, we often see mix effects in the EBITA margin from newly acquired businesses. On average, we acquire companies with strong margins in the low to mid-20s, which can be below the group average.
Looking at our companies over time, our group companies over the last couple of years have had a margin of a bit over 30%, excluding central group costs. We focus on year to date and LTM figures, where the underlying margin development is up year-over-year. Organically, gross margin does the work here, so revenue growth carries high incremental margins, while the cost base grows more slowly. Before we go into the segments and the details Nils referred to, reported operating profit is down in the quarter. The difference to adjusted EBITA is around SEK 18 million of items affecting comparability. Roughly SEK 15 million here is listing costs, which are one-off, and after an estimated additional SEK 2 million in Q3, these will be completed. Around SEK 3 million, mainly from revaluations of contingent considerations. These are non-cash, and they can move in both directions.
Reported SEK 35 million plus these items take you to SEK 53 million of adjusted EBITA. As Nils mentioned, we manage the group companies in three Operational Solutions segments, each grouping companies with similar business models and comparable peers. Operational Solutions, workflow and automation software, some with hardware content. We have Business Platforms, commercial, financial, and administrative systems. Lastly, Public Infrastructure, offerings aimed at public sector. On a full year 2025 basis, the split is roughly 38% Business Platforms, 37% Operational Solutions, and 25% Public Infrastructure, though the mix is shifting as the segments grow at different rates. The segmentation lets you benchmark each company against the right comparables. We'd encourage looking at the development within each segment as compared to between them. In Operational Solutions made up of eight companies, net sales grew 80% in the quarter, with 115% growth in adjusted EBITA.
The margin strengthened almost 4 percentage points, driven by both the strengthened underlying margin and higher margin profile on a recent acquisition. ARR grew 70%, hence somewhat lower than net sales. Operational Solutions has the most companies offering hardware components, often sensors, within their software offering. When these companies win new customers, it's often large contracts where the install base of sensors is an important part. Operational Solutions also have several companies with an ongoing internationalization agenda. For example, BM Systems, MCD, and FinMeas. Business Platforms is made up of six companies, where Idus is the most recent addition from the first quarter of this year. The integration is completed through our 100-day program. Idus contributed according to plan in the quarter. Net sales here grew 31%, ARR grew 27%, adjusted EBITA 29%.
The growth in the segment being very much recurring revenue and not one-off. Lastly, on Public Infrastructure, which is made up of five companies with products and services aimed towards the public sector. The add-on acquisition in Q2 was completed within this segment, as Nils will come back to shortly. Net sales grew 41% in the quarter, ARR grew 45%, with adjusted EBITA growing 7%. The margin declined around 7 percentage points, mainly the M&A mix effects that I mentioned earlier, partly investments in the segment's companies. A few points on cash flow. Operating cash flow grew 16% in the quarter and 58% year to date, excluding the listing costs. Cash conversion, measured as operating cash flow after CapEx over EBITA, was 91% in the quarter and 95% LTM, according to plan.
The new share issue in the IPO contributed with SEK 400 million in financing activities, which was offset as we used the proceeds to repay outstanding debt before activating the new debt facility. For Q3, we have planned outflows for earn-outs and put call options of approximately SEK 54 million. Part of this could flow into Q4, depending on the exact timeline together with the respective sellers. Following the IPO, net debt to adjusted EBITA is 0.4x , that includes earn-outs, minority commitments, and IFRS lease debt. This is a conservative definition, which is deliberate from our part. The new acquisition facility has no amortization and materially better interest margins. We see that that will benefit cash flow available for investments from Q3 and onwards. Rounding off with the financial targets. ROIC plus organic growth and leverage you have already seen.
The third one is adjusted EBITA per share on an LTM basis, which is at 53%, above the target of 20% over time. It's calculated on the average number of shares, so the June share issue only partially enters this quarter's average, and the per share figures will normalize in the coming quarters as those shares are fully counted. Also on the dividend side, Nordtech will prioritize reinvesting cash flow into acquisition opportunities over dividends in the medium term To summarize, all three targets met or exceeded. With that, back to Nils on how we keep it that way.
Thank you, Per. With the listing behind us, our focus is back where it belongs on the basics, growing the companies we own and finding the next one to join us. That's the work that's built this group, and it's where our time goes now. Growth in our model, it comes from two places. The companies grow organically in their niches, and we add new companies to the group. The runway here is long. In our size segment alone, there are around 1,100 niche software companies across the Nordics, and new ones are founded all the time. Around 800 of them meet our selection criteria. That's the long list, and from there it narrows sharply. At any given time, we're in live discussions with only a handful. Not all of them will land. Walking away is part of the discipline.
We've averaged four to five acquisitions a year since started. Today, we found that pace with our own balance sheet. From September, we're strengthening the team with an additional dedicated M&A resource, so more capacity to work the long list. This quarter, we brought Mitt Skolval into Optiplan, joining two of Sweden's leading digital school choice operations. It strengthens Optiplan's position and adds to recurring revenue and profitability. It's a strong niche business and a good example on how we build category leaders. The right add-ons that can make a niche leader the clear number one. Capital is not a constraint. Quality and price determines the pace. Good owners, they choose us. A fair price matters, of course, but what they really choose is the home we offer and the journey we build together.
Together our work starts at the moment we come in as owners, always with a 100-day plan. A company first contributes its own cash flow, we strengthen it step by step. Capital stewardship, pricing, commercial discipline, and increasingly AI. On AI, there are two sides in the products as our companies build AI into what they sell, they solve more for the customer that supports pricing and deepens the stickiness these businesses already have. The share of companies offering AI functionality to customers have now reached 70% and several are already selling AI features as part of their offering. How we build. We're moving the group towards AI-first development. Our assessment is that the majority of the group will be working AI-first by year-end, prompting code instead of writing code at firsthand, supporting faster development at lower cost.
Our strong first report as a listed company. The growth was broad across all segments. Organic growth was resilient, led by volume, some new customers and existing ones buying more. Organic earnings grew faster than sales. The balance sheet leaves us room to keep going, and AI is increasingly a part of what our companies sell. We're delivering against all three financial targets today. What matters is sustaining them, and that comes down to three things we work on every day. Keep building the companies with profitable organic growth, keep adding acquisitions without overpaying, and keep the cash conversion that funds it all. Demand in our niches has historically held up well through cycles. These are systems customers depend on day-to-day, because much of the group joined us recently, most of the value we intend to create is still ahead of us.
That gives us a strong base for continued organic growth and plenty to work with on the acquisition side. The companies grow, and they generate cash, and that cash flow funds the next acquisition, which compounds over time. Resilient growth, high quality, and the firepower to keep going. With that, we will open up for questions.
We will now open for questions. To ask a question, press star five on your telephone keypad to enter the queue. When it's your turn to speak, press star six to unmute your microphone. The first question comes from Predrag Savinovic at DNB Carnegie. Please go ahead.
Good morning, guys. Can you hear me?
Yes.
Yes.
Hi, Predrag.
Very good. Thank you for taking my questions. I have a few. Let's start with organic growth improving in the second quarter. You specifically state that it's volume-driven and driven by new customers and so on. In which areas do you see these increasing customer wins and what types, if you can specify that?
I'll start. Maybe you can fill in. Overall, this is broad across the portfolio. It's as you say, this growth is led by volume, largely from new customers, followed by existing customers growing more. A small dependency on price increases. I think that's the way how we break it down in these communications.
Speaking of the pricing effect that has been marginal, could you quantify how much this has been and also what your strategy regarding pricing is going forward on an annual basis?
Sure. I think in connection with the IPO, we disclosed these figures. Was it shy below 10% or a little bit above?
11%.
11%. I would say that's a quite representative figure for how it looks today. Where we are right now and how we build our companies, we are focused on making our companies the absolute leaders in their niches. Taking market shares. I think on the subject of pricing, it is a very fair question to ask. We don't want to lean on it to have our growth because price increases are often one-offs, and it can also test the goodwill of customers. It's there. We do have the pricing powers and are able to use it one day. Where we're at now, focusing with our customers, it's more on the indexation of contracts rather than big price spikes.
Okay. Very good. Your sector colleague Vitec reported a few weeks ago, they stated two things which we find interesting also in the context of your business. First they say that they saw an accelerated demand across some verticals in the second quarter compared to the first one. Are you seeing something similar across your space?
Do you want to take the details of this one?
Yes. I think generally speaking, as we mentioned earlier, the growth is coming from all segments and we see that across the vast majority of companies. There are, of course, natural timing effects quarter-wise in terms of when these customers purchase enterprise software. I think that could be an effect. Overall, we would say that we see a strong demand as we've seen in previous quarters as well.
Strong and steady. Just to underpin what you are saying there, Q2 is more often a stronger quarter than Q1 in terms of new sales in this sort of enterprise sales. They are perhaps part of that. Yes. I think on the flip side, we have no companies that are losing their niches or nothing like that. We would say overall business as usual with an increased organic growth now if you look on the total in the quarter.
Okay. Very good. They also stated they saw an increase in deal flow, not necessarily that they note any changes to prices for unlisted assets or so, that more assets are coming to the market for sale. Is that something you also see in your niches?
I would say yes, then again, it is how it should be and has been since we started from nothing. That trend is upwards and we expect so given the nature of the listing and the visibility that that gives us. Yes, it could also be a sign on the market if we have more peers alluding to that fact.
Okay. Very good. Finally, we note that the ARR growth is slowing slightly in Q2 compared to Q1. If you can elaborate on the drivers behind this, also if the ARR growth on an organic basis, do you see that as representative of the organic growth in net sales that you expect for the coming quarters?
I think a single quarter can vary a little, and that's normal. Our quarterly organic figure is sensitive to factors such as timing and accounting effects. The number to anchor on here is the underlying run rate, and that is steady. Organic recurring revenue growth of 10.5% on a rolling 12 months basis and 10.3% in the first half. Right where it's been historically, and I think that's the steady state we see also forward.
All right. Very good. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Predrag.
The next question comes from Thomas Nilsson at Nordea. Please go ahead. Thomas, please press star six to unmute your microphone.
Okay. Thank you for taking my question. Yes, ARR continues to grow strongly. Could you perhaps discuss renewal rates and churn across the portfolio? Have you seen any changes in customer behavior now that macro conditions are uncertain, so to speak?
Sure. We don't disclose churn as a quarterly group number, but we see no trend in churn upwards. It's slow and steady. What I can give you is the shape. The growth is volume-led, and it's largely new customer, and recurring revenue is 86%. If retention was a problem, you'd see it in this number first.
Excellent. Thank you so much. You also disclosed that 70% of your portfolio companies now offer AI functionality. Are you seeing any financial impact from this in terms of pricing power, better win rates, lower development costs from these AI investments? Would you say the financial impact from this is still ahead of you?
I think it's a mix of both. I'm not sure that we will ever, because it's in the nature of software, be able to isolate this full on because it can drive new sales more. The whole system will be purchased and AI a part of that. We do have some, as I mentioned, companies that are selling these as standalone modules or features, and that does contribute to the volume we're seeing from existing customers as of now. Early on, I wouldn't be surprised if these figures keep on moving as we see it.
Okay. A final question from me regarding capital allocation now that you have this very strong balance sheet following the IPO. How should investors think about your level of M&A activity over the next 12 months? Has your M&A pipeline changed to an extent since the IPO?
Maybe to connect to that, we are also adding a new M&A resource. We are increasing the capacity and we are having a good pipeline, as we discussed with Predrag. It might be so that we're seeing a higher inflow due to the market or just our visibility. However, I think it's too early to speculate in an increased volume of sorts. It could be an increase equally just higher quality overall. We will meet obviously with more companies and over time that should better the Nordtech as a whole. If we continue with these four to five acquisitions per year, we are going to be in a very fine financial situation compared to our financial targets. Yeah.
Okay. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Thomas.
With that, we conclude the Q&A session. I hand the word back to the speakers for any closing comments.
Okay. Thank you everyone for listening in. Hopefully we'll see you all and some more on the next report at the latest. With that, we wish you all a good summer and a warm one at that.
Thank you.
Thank you everyone. Bye-bye.