Hello and welcome to today's presentation with Prevas. With us presenting today, we have the CEO, Magnus Welén, and CFO, Helena Burström. If you're calling in and would like to ask a question, please press star nine to raise your hand and then star six to mute yourself. You can also type in your questions using the form to the right. With that said, please go ahead with your presentation.
Hello everybody, my name is Magnus Welén and I'm the CEO of Prevas. With me today, I have our CFO, Helena.
Hello.
We would like to present the year-end report for Prevas and also, of course, how we have performed during Q4. The agenda for this short meeting will be we start with a brief introduction, we will have a review of our financial performance, we will have a short discussion about the market and the market update, and we will finalize this meeting with all your interesting questions in the Q&A. All right, before we move into the Q4, I would like to start with a summary of the year because this is the Q4 report of 2024. All in all, I believe that Prevas is delivering a strong 2024 in our industry in this quite challenging market that we have seen during 2024. Overall, we are delivering 7% of growth, 9.4% of EBITDA, and an operative cash flow of SEK 137 million.
During this year, our operational model has been tested, our decentralized strategy has been tested by this challenging market and the situation that we all are in, especially I would say in the consultants industry. What we have seen during this year is that our model and strategy is resilient. We have been able to cope with the different challenges we have seen. Overall, I would say being able to deliver in our industry a strong 2024. It is not only that, we have also been able to deliver on our long-term plan to be a Nordic premium design and development house. During the year, we have made a platform acquisition in Finland of the company Enmac. I will come back more to that later on in the presentation. We have also acquired a small company, a niche acquisition in Denmark called Design- People.
One thing is to actually make the acquisitions. Another thing is to make the company come into Prevas in a good way. I am so pleased to see that integration of these companies runs according to plan, both for the major one in Finland, but also for the niche acquisition in Denmark. That is very satisfying and a good sign for the future. The board is proposing unchanged dividend of SEK 4.75 for 2024. All in all, I believe we have a very strong foundation moving into 2025 for Prevas. Looking into the fourth quarter of 2024, what we can see in the quarter is that we have made the highest turnover ever in the fourth quarter. This growth was driven by acquisitions. Looking into the organic growth, we have a reduced organic growth.
This is due to the fact that we've been working intensively to optimize our operations in order to meet the very dynamic demands we see in the market. That is why also we see a reduced organic growth for the quarter. I'm also happy to say that looking into the year, actually the turnover for the year was the highest turnover ever as well for Prevas. Looking into the profit levels for this quarter, it was in line with the third quarter, although it was lower than 2023. We deliver an EBITDA of SEK 32.6 million and an EBITDA margin of 7.5%. The main reasons that we have a lower result is due to the fact that we had a lower utilization rate, but also a negative calendar effect for this year compared to last year.
The positive thing for this quarter, one of the positive things in the quarter, is that Finland went from negative EBITDA in Q3 to a positive EBITDA in Q4. In Finland, we see a clearly positive trend. I will come back to more about that later on in this presentation. If we adjust the quarter for the effect of Finland and the negative calendar effect, Prevas is actually delivering an EBITDA margin of 10%, which I believe is a strong signal that we are succeeding in maintaining our underlying margins in our operations. Looking into the future, we continue with our sales focus, of course, and we continue to work with mitigation actions in order to cope with the very dynamic demands we see in the market. This work will continue also, of course, into 2025.
During the quarter, we have also consolidated Design- People, the minor niche acquisition within industrial design and UX that was consolidated into Prevas October 1, 2024. As you can see, for this quarter, we are not reaching our financial targets. I am not satisfied we are not reaching our targets. I just want to be clear, we want and we will work hard to deliver on our financial targets. Looking into more of the details, you can see that the EBIT and the profit is lower than the EBITDA. The reason for that is that we have acquisition-related costs, both for the quarter, but also for the year. For the year of 2024, we had above SEK 25 million of acquisition-related items. This was mainly, of course, or it was actually due to the acquisition in Finland, but also partly due to the acquisition we made in Denmark.
What we see in this quarter as well is a strong operative cash flow. We had SEK 53.3 million in operative cash flow for this quarter compared to last year of SEK 41.2 million, which is strong. Looking into the year, you can see that we continue in Prevas year by year to have a very high cash conversion rate. We deliver SEK 136.8 million in operative cash flow for this quarter, which I believe is a good signal for the future as well. This is one quarter, this is one year. Looking into the broader picture, we zoom out a little bit. How has Prevas performed? I think this graph is quite interesting in many ways, but I would like to emphasize two things.
One thing, if you look into the EBITDA, you can see that the EBITDA margin is between, if you take the average of 2017 up to 2020, the average is around 5% of EBITDA. If you look into 2021 until 2024, our average is around 11% of EBITDA. We have actually been able to double the underlying EBITDA for Prevas if you compare these time periods. You can also see in this graph that we actually doubled Prevas in the last five years. In 2020, we had a turnover around SEK 800 million in Prevas. In 2024, it was close to SEK 1,600 million, SEK 1.6 billion. We have doubled Prevas in this time period. What the most challenging, most interesting thing about this graph is actually what we do not see.
It's 2025, 2026, 2027 in the years to come and the development that we want to perform in Prevas. We have very clear targets. We want to increase our turnover with 10% every year with a combination of organic growth and also acquired growth. We are to reach 12% EBITDA in average over time. That is fully achievable with the Prevas that we see today. Helena, a little bit about our financial position.
Thank you, Magnus. As Magnus said previously, Prevas had a strong cash flow in Q4 with an increase in cash flow from operating activities by 29% or SEK 12 million compared to Q4 last year. During the quarter, the last amortization of the loan related to the acquisition of EvoTech in 2021 was made, amounting to approximately SEK 6 million. We also saw a decrease in the overall overdraft facility, approximately SEK 11 million, leaving us with an unused overdraft facility at the year-end. Prevas is well below the financial target of maximum two times EBITDA, with net debt in relation to EBITDA at 0.88 at year-end. Equity ratio amounted to 48.9% in Q4 2024, and cash at year-end was SEK 44 million. Overall, we have a strong balance sheet and a solid financial situation, which would support us well in our future growth journey.
Please, Magnus, will you continue with an update regarding Finland?
Yes, thank you very much, Helena, for this. Looking into Finland, a short update of what is happening in our Finnish operations. What we do right now is that we focus on building the Nordic platform together with the team in Finland, in Sweden, in Denmark, and in Norway. We now are building our common plan for future growth, which I believe is a very, very positive journey that we are on together with the different teams. I am very pleased to see that the integration is running according to plan. Actually, in some parts, a little bit before plan. You can see on this slide that the logo Enmac is now Prevas Oy. We have changed the branding in Finland during this quarter.
We are moving at a very high pace in order to get the teams to get to know each other in order to explore synergies and to build our future plan for growth. As you are aware, we had a very weak market in Finland. I am very pleased to see that the negative result we had in Q3 is now a positive EBITDA in Q4. The reasons behind this are increased sales focus and also that we have taken several mitigation actions in Finland that we now see a clear result from. We also see positive signs. The market in Finland is still weak, but we see positive signs. Last call, when I presented, I said that we have a record high offer stock. That was true. It is also true that we now transform these offers into orders.
That is, of course, what we need in order to make a healthy profit in our Finnish operation. During this quarter, we have actually signed some very, very nice orders. One order is for the defense industry of SEK 30 million. Actually, with this customer, we are talking about additional orders on top of this order as well. As you know, there is a very high demand in the defense industry. Our Finnish team has long experience working with defense customers. Within the pulp and paper industry, we also see positive signs. Some of our larger customers have received very big orders. That is also now influencing our order stock as well. During the quarter, we received an order for piping design to our very nice unit up in Oulu in the northern parts of Finland, around SEK 10 million in that order.
We signed a frame agreement with a steel manufacturing company, a global leader actually. This frame agreement will make around SEK 20 million the forthcoming three years. This is just a few of the different orders that we are receiving now in our Finnish operation. In order to cope with these orders, we are reducing the temporary layoffs now. As we speak, you can see a clear reduction. We also have started to recruit in order to cope with the demand in some of our regions. All in all, I'm very positive for the development in Finland. I'm looking forward truly, of course, to a strong EBITDA improvement in 2025 with our team in Finland. We have a super team in Finland. We have the key personnel, the key resources. They are still on board. They are highly motivated.
We are working together within Prevas, which I believe is a very strong foundation moving into the year of 2025. A little bit about the general market. The market in Q4 2024 was very similar to Q3. I would say it is a flat development. What we see still is a very high competition on consultancy assignments that remains high in some of our areas where we are operating. I would say one area that we see very strong competition is in the IT consultancy area. It is not a big part of Prevas, but of course, it affects us in different ways. We also see high demands in defense, in energy, and cybersecurity. I talked about that in the previous course as well. You might wonder, okay, but have Prevas actually been able to capitalize on these demands?
I would say yes to that because we are quite rapid to adapt to the market. We show significant growth in defense. One example is in defense, where we actually have grown with almost 60% in invoicing the year of 2022 compared to 2024. Almost 60% increase. That shows that we are able to change the way we do business to move towards where the demands are. You can also say the same thing about the energy area. We have increased almost 40% in that area during this period as well. We are an adaptive company working hard in order to change. In the general market, we see positive signs. We have good discussions. I would not say that we see a big super upturn in Q1 in that sense. Unfortunately, of course, I would be super happy to say that.
I would say it's positive signs here and there. It's good discussions. It's not like a massive upturn from what we see, at least for the first quarter of next year. Generally speaking, the demand for complex solutions, where Prevas is very strong, that remains strong as well. We have good discussions with our customers on a general broader term. I would like to spend just a few minutes regarding how Prevas is working with customer relations. Prevas' strategy is to build long-term customer relationships. The five largest customers we have had 2020 until 2024 are these companies that you see on this slide. ABB, for example, has been Prevas has been working with ABB since 1984 when the company was founded. We have very, very long-term relations with our customers.
It's relationships, but it's also partnerships, actually, because we are very important for our customers and they are important for us. One question you could raise, okay, are Prevas able to grow in these customers over time? I would say yes. What we see is that our existing customer base is growing year by year by year, of course, with some ups and downs depending on the individual customer situation. Over time, we are able to grow with our existing customer base as well. The top five customers, they have actually had an average growth of 18% for the last five years, which I believe is very strong. It's a good signal also if we look into 2025, 2026, 2027.
We have strong customer relationships that are long-term and our customers come back year after year, which of course is very, very positive from many different aspects. During the quarter, we also signed several important orders. I can't mention them all. One example is that we've signed a framework agreement with Uddeholm, a global leading steel manufacturer. We signed a framework agreement with ESS, European Spallation Source, ESS. I can't actually pronounce it, but it's a facility in the south part of Sweden, a big research company. We have signed orders for large automation projects, large test systems for defense, which we are developing in our own premises for the defense as well, which is quite unique in our business. Of course, lots and lots of other different orders during this quarter.
All in all, I believe Prevas is very well positioned and looking forward to 2025 in terms of customer relations as well. With this, I would like to summarize this short presentation about the Q4 results. All in all, I think in our business, we've developed strongly in a quite challenging 2024. We grew with 7%. We delivered 9.4% EBITDA for the year. If we exclude the effect of Finland that we all know has been a quite tough ride for us, long-term, it will be super perfect. It has affected us short-term. If we take out the effect of Finland, Prevas is delivering above 10% EBITDA even in a challenging 2024. Looking into the giant leap we have taken strategically for Prevas during this year, we have actually made Prevas a Nordic company. We went from a Scandinavian company in 2023.
We come into 2025 as a true Nordic company, Nordic leader in our business areas. Of course, that was due to the platform acquisition in Finland and the niche acquisition in Denmark as well as supporting. I am very pleased to say that the integration is running in line with the plans. Also positive for this quarter is that Finland has come into a positive trend in terms of EBITDA. We went from negative EBITDA in Q3 to a positive EBITDA in Q4. We have very good hopes for 2025 that we will see a strong contribution and a big improvement from our devoted Finnish team as well. Prevas has a solid financial platform. Our strategy is to grow both organically and also grow with acquisitions. Our strategy remains moving into the future as well.
We have shown that we are able to grow in the market segments where the demand is increasing. I think that is also very, very important for a company like Prevas to be agile and to be quick in order to meet the different markets and the different changes that we see in the market. All in all, I'm very excited to move into 2025. This was, so to say, the end of this presentation. Now we move on into the Q&A session. I hope that you have a lot of relevant questions for that Q&A session. With this, thank you very much for listening.
Thank you very much for that presentation. Yes, let's dive into the Q&A section here. If you're calling in and would like to ask a question, please press star nine to raise your hand and then star six to unmute yourself. You can also type in your questions using the form to the right. We've got a caller with a question with a phone number ending in 8637. Please go ahead. You have the word.
Hi, can you hear me? It's Stefan from ABG.
Yes, we hear you.
Oh, perfect. I have a couple of questions. Firstly, on Enmac, how do you view the possibility for them to come back to historical profitability levels? And how long of a process would you say that that is?
I'm fully convinced that our Finnish operations will come back to the profit levels that were shown in the past. Enmac has proven over the years, quite many years actually, that they are able to deliver good EBITDA margins. I'm convinced that we will see that in the future as well. That is one part. The other part is when, of course, we are in a positive trend. We are not giving forecasts in that sense for Prevas. Although, as I said in the presentation, I'm very positive for the year of 2025. We will see a good improvement. I will not, so to say, promise that we will reach the historical figures in 2025, although we are on a very positive path.
Perfect. Very, very comforting. Secondly, the weaker market in Sweden is mostly seen in automotive and life science, at least from your perspective. What is your view on the market condition in these end markets?
What do you mean the view in these two markets is particular?
Yeah, I just noticed that that's where you tend to lose most of sales here in the Q4.
Life science, I would say, had over the years quite flat development. Actually, we see some positive signs right now in life science. We see some of our customers that are increasing their investments in R&D also in the life science area, although it has been from a rather low level. We see some positive signs in that area. In terms of automotive, Prevas has quite low business in automotive, actually, compared to the global share of customers in Prevas. In that perspective, even though automotive has been quite low, the main effect for Prevas is not that big in that sense.
Okay, thank you very much. Lastly, I just wonder about, I saw that you have positive net recruitment here in Q4 and how we should view that given that you have negative organic growth. Is it a sign that you see demand returning in the near future? How should we view that you still employ people?
Actually, we are actually recruiting in areas where we see demands picking up. At the same time, in areas where we see that the demand is going down, actually, our units are getting smaller. We are putting the foot on the gas and the brake more or less at the same time. Of course, we will not employ people unless we see that there is demand for them in the future.
Okay, perfect. Maybe finally, you talked about that you see a lot of positive development in Finland. How is the general feeling of the Swedish market?
I would say my view upon the Swedish market is that it's flat development. It's a stable development, but I don't see a big upturn short-term in the Swedish market, generally speaking. Of course, in defense, it's a high demand, energy, high demand, but general industry is quite flat from our perspective.
Okay, thank you very much for those answers. That was all for me.
Thank you.
We'll move on here with the Q&A with some other questions. Are you seeking out platform acquisitions in Denmark and in Norway similar to Finland?
Regarding acquisitions, our strategy is, as I said in the call, to grow organically and through acquisitions. The way we look upon acquisitions moving into the future is that we need to have a good fit into Prevas from a cultural point of view. We need to bring in companies that will add to our offering or could also strengthen our geography. We are actively looking on a broad basis, so to say, but we do not have any committed plan to make very large platform acquisitions in Denmark, in Norway in that sense. Although, as I said in the past, Norway is interesting for us because I believe that we need to have a stronger footprint in Norway given the operations we have there today. Of course, we are looking into that as well.
Thank you, Magnus, for that answer. What is your current utilization rate and how does this compare to one year ago?
Our utilization rate today, we do not give that information in our reports, but looking into utilization, we have a lower utilization rate now compared to one year ago. If you turn that around, you can see that we have a positive upside when we come back to more normal utilization rates in Prevas. Actually, we are fighting in order to change Prevas to meet the demands where they are. Of course, that also short-term affects the utilization as well because people are transferred between different customers in different segments. We work quite intensively with optimization of our operations, which affects the utilization short-term. It is lower than last year, definitely, yes.
Thank you. You touched upon this when you talked about Norway and Denmark, but what are your growth plans in those countries?
We don't, of course, we have a plan for each country how we are to grow. Generally speaking, our global target is to grow 10% on the top line, so to say, and with a 12% EBITDA. That is what we communicate in terms of where we want to go. All of our units, they have their own business plan with ambitions and targets. I can't communicate on the detail level regarding the different countries and segments in that sense.
Has the new Agency Work Act, [Foreign language], affected Prevas?
I put it like this. Of course, our business, the consultancy industry in Sweden, this is a law that affects Sweden. It's not the same in Finland and Denmark and Norway in that sense as well. This is a Swedish legislation that I would like to start with. This legislation is actually affecting our customers. The whole industry, I would say, is affected because it changes the structure, so to say, how the business is made in one way of speaking. That is from a general point of view. Looking into the effect on Prevas, it's not a very big effect on Prevas because we are working a lot with projects, with assignment, with expert services, etc. Of course, we have had an effect from this, although it has been quite minor for Prevas during these two quarters, I would say, especially in Q4 then.
Thank you for that answer. What are the key growth areas that you are currently working in?
I would say that the key areas we're working in was a lot like in the call. We're aiming to continue to grow in the defense area, but also in the energy area. Generally speaking, our core customers is in the general industry. I'm very convinced that we will see a growth in the general industry moving ahead as well. There I see also a growth area on top of these segments that have been growing during the difficult 2024. I'm very convinced that we will see an upturn. I don't know when, but it will be an upturn in the general industry as well.
Thank you. You have already touched upon this, but how do you view acquisitions going forward? Will you continue to acquire companies?
As I said, our strategy remains. Our plan and strategy is to grow organically and combine that with acquisitions. That strategy will remain also into the future. We will continue to look into acquisitions. Although, as I said, we are very, very picky. One thing is to acquire a company. I would say that is quite easy. I do not know if everybody agrees, but that part is one thing. Another thing is actually to make the integration and get the team committed and to grow together. We are working hard on both of these areas. Generally speaking, over time, yes, we will continue to have an acquisition agenda in Prevas.
I would take one final question here. How do you view the opportunities in 2025? Will it be a better year than in 2024?
I'm a very positive guy. I'm convinced that the best time is always ahead of us. Although I can't promise, I'm very convinced that 2025 will be a great year for Prevas. Definitely, yes.
Thank you very much for your presentation, but also answering all of our questions. Thank everyone who followed this presentation with Prevas. I wish you all a great rest of the day. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Bye-bye.