Beijer Alma AB (publ) (BEIAB) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

February 6, 2026

OM SE Industrials Machinery Earnings Calls 48 min

Earnings Call Speaker Segments

Operator

Operator
#1

Welcome to the Beijer Alma Q4 2025 Report Presentation. [Operator Instructions] Now I will hand the conference over to the speakers, Acting President and CEO, Johnny Alvarsson; and CFO, Peter Forslund. Please go ahead.

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#2

Hello. Welcome, everybody. My voice is a little bit different today. It's not because of stock time, it's because I have got a cold. And for those who don't know me, I can tell you, I have followed this company since the early '90s and been doing quite other businesses. But last year, I was in here for a number of months as CEO -- and we can start with the presentation. Together with me, there is Peter Forslund also, who has been in the company for about a year.

Peter Forslund

Executives
#3

Yes. Good morning, everybody.

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#4

And we will go through 5 different subjects. It's the highlights from Q4, financial performance, acquisitions, where we're going in the future and Q&A. If we then go to the highlights for last quarter, we can say that Beijer Alma consists of 2 large divisions, one is Lesjofors and one is Beijer Tech. Lesjofors is today mainly a number of companies producing springs with different brands. We have around 19 brands. And we are in most parts of the world without exception for South America and Australia. And the other part is Beijer Tech, who at this moment is only in the Nordic area and is acquiring quite different businesses in Industrial Products, Fluid Technology and Niche Technologies. And Beijer Tech is very, very, very equal to what we call serial acquirers that work in the same way with a very small overhead, and when you buy a company, you keep the company and you just develop it as it is, you don't look for synergies. And Lesjofors, to a large extent, is the same. But many years ago, when it started part of the Lesjofors, we have an integrated business. But during the last years, the companies we have acquired around the world, they are in the same way stand-alone businesses as with Beijer Tech. And we are in -- as I said, it's 19 countries. And we take the next picture. As we communicated yesterday evening, we have now a goal of growing the EBITA margin with 15% per year. And as you can see, this is what we just did in 2025. We also have a goal now for the capital efficiency, and that is 50%. And there we are a little bit behind, we are on 46%. Those of you who met me after Q1 last year, remember, I talked about how you should look at Beijer Alma and what I said about also the margins we can expect for different businesses. And for those who remember what I said, you can see that we are on track to our goals. It will take a few years more before we have reached our goals, but we are sure on the right track for that. So we had a nice EBITA margin growth during 2025 and also during last quarter. And I should say, we have started to now put more emphasis on capital efficiency, but this is just in the beginning of a story that will last for many, many years. Go to the highlights of the quarter. It's been a tough period, depending on market circumstances around the world, also for us specifically in some cases. But in general, if you look at the markets in United States, it's been no change, more or less. It's a slow market, but it's no change -- rather -- neither upwards or downwards. In Asia for us has actually been a positive trend. We have good opportunities there. We have new customers coming in. And in the Europe, it's also okay. In the Nordic, it's more slow business when we talk about Lesjofors. But in the niche businesses in Beijer Tech, it varies between different companies. So there we see positive trends. And as you see, we had a growth of 3% organically between 24% and 25% in the quarter. But the currency hit us hard and it probably will continue because we had still -- the dollar is on a very low level compared to 1 year ago. Then we can go to Lesjofors. And Lesjofors, as I said, is the same as -- Lesjofors are the only business we have in the United States. They are on a slow side. The positive side is that we, in Asia, have new opportunities with new customers. And just as a small example, you might have heard of that the new chips for AI are supposed to be cooled by water. And we actually have no customer. They are supplying the small spring to the connectors to this cooling water to AI. And with the volumes there is in that area, it will be a nice business for us. It's a nice example for new areas. On the other hand, in United States, we have had very nice business in medical. But as we expected, that is going down now this year, and we're looking for new opportunities in the United States. In Europe, it's rather same level. But for those who know us that the springs for door springs business has been reduced and our export to United States has more or less stopped. So that affects our volume, but all other businesses going about on the same level. And very nice is that our aftermarket business, the springs for aftermarket for cars that accounts for about 20% of turnover is going very well. And we are now back on levels before we stopped the business in Russia and before the pandemic also. So we have had a very nice development in that area. If we then go to Beijer Tech, we did a couple of -- or actually 2 acquisitions during the quarter, one in Finland, Ewona and one in Sweden, Intercut. But there, we also have niche businesses that has developed very well. And we invested in expanding factories last year, and they have now paid off. So we can see that in our invoicing and the results from those businesses where we did the investments. So it's been a very good development for Beijer Tech during last year. And with that, I give the word to Peter talking about the financials, and you are welcome back with more questions later on.

Peter Forslund

Executives
#5

Thank you, Johnny. Yes, we go to the key ratios slide. So to say, you see here we have included capital efficiency. That's the first time we disclosed numbers on capital efficiency. We will [ try to the ] annual report also to give you a breakdown on the different business areas with -- the divisions with Lesjofors and Beijer Tech. So we will get more depth in the knowledge over time. The Board has also proposed a dividend of SEK 4 per share for the Annual General Meeting to make a decision on later in the spring. News there is that the payment will be divided in 2 installments, one in the spring and one roughly 6 months later. We will come in a little bit on the background when we come to the financial slides and the cash flow slides. Yes, we'll leave the other key ratios as is. I will give you a little bit more on the results and a little bit more on details when it comes to the development. So overall, a stable performance in the quarter. When you look at the profitability levels, you will see a positive mix in Lesjofors. Chassis had a good development. And then we have had a little bit of shrinking business, mainly due to the currency effects within the industrial sector, but that gives a positive mix effect from the chassis side. Top line in the Lesjofors industrial part is affected by the savings program that we launched back in June. So there is businesses where the profitability levels has not been where we expected that we have closed down. We have closed down a factory. We have, sort of say, stopped the export to U.S. We have closed a business line in Turkey. All of that gives a top line effect that you see in the report that the organic growth within Lesjofors Industry is a little bit more sluggish. So it's both a market thing, but also a decision that we made to stop some nonprofitable businesses to make sure we choose and pick what is really profitable. And in the quarter, if you take the U.S. door business, that's around SEK 35 million that we lose in top line, and we expect the same level of drop also in Q1 and Q2. That business stopped in the later end of Q2 last year. So the comparisons for the next 2 quarters will also be affected by those top line effects. We have talked quite a lot about Alcomex, and it's an important part of the program that's going to be running. Alcomex is fairly stable development. I think it's wise to point out there is still work to do before we are where we want to be, profitability levels. The closing of the factory that we did was, so to say, finalized in the back end of November, meaning there is still work to do on that front before we are happy with the profitability in Alcomex. Beijer Tech, as Johnny mentioned, is performing on a high level. All business areas is chipping in. We saw the -- the effect from the ramp-up from the investments effect was a little bit stronger in the end of the quarter than we expected. We have especially fluid tech, which has performed very well when they have increased the capacity, even above our expectations. So it's been strong delivery from a couple of Beijer Tech companies. It's also worthwhile pointing out that even if transaction cost is a part of the business, so for comparable reasons in Q4 last year, we didn't have any transaction costs. And when you do transactions in Finland, you have also stamp taxes correlated to that. So a little bit higher transaction costs in the quarter compared to Q4 last year is also, so to say, affecting that you don't really see that the improvement in the underlying performance. We also can mention a little bit in Beijer Tech side that from the fire safety companies that we have had a very strong end to the year, and this is mainly due to a onetime order that we've had in the quarter and delivered in the quarter. So it's a positive effect from that as well. Not something that we see every quarter, but that business in itself is strong. Good. I jumped one slide too many. Yes. So talking a little bit about cash flows. We get through a fairly positive cash flow in the quarter, I would say, even strong. And here, you see a little bit of the reasoning on the dividend payment that we discussed earlier that the cash flow in the first quarter of the year generally is weaker due to the setup of the Chassis Spring business when it comes to customer rebates, making the cash flow lower in Q1 and then to get a better flow of the cash over the year, then that's what we have proposed -- the Board has proposed at the annual meeting to decide on splitting the dividend payment, one in the spring and one in October, November somewhere. We expect the seasonal pattern to repeat in Q1 2026 when it comes to the cash flow. Looking at the capital efficiency, it's been a good improvement over the year, driven by the EBITA growth that we have. And you also see a bit of a currency when it comes to translation of the item as well. So it's -- the absolute number increase looks a little bit smaller than it actually is as it's affected also by currency. Coming into the financial position. A good news from the quarter is that we have a new financing in place with the 3 Nordic banks, putting on a multicurrency revolving credit facility and a number of term loans in relation to that. It's a 3-year facility with the possibility to extend. We think that we have good conditions and high flexibility in the financing and making sure that we have the financing we need for the coming years. We are on a net debt-to-EBITDA level of 1.7, meaning that we have a good amount of cash available to invest in growth and in acquisitions. So we should have the headroom that we need to reach the targets that we have set. Looking a little bit then on the full year. It was close but no cigar on reaching the SEK 5 billion in Lesjofors. We will leave that for next year. So solid organic growth in Lesjofors over the year, around 3%. We have a currency effect. As Johnny said, we expect currency if the rates stay at the current level to be significant also in Q1. Then the longer the year goes on, the easier the currency comparisons will be [ absorbed]. But yes, the dollar at [ 9 ], there is still currency effect to pass through. If we look at Beijer Tech, we have had organic growth of around 5%. It's a strong performance from Beijer Tech overall in the year. We made 5 acquisitions, adding around 15% in revenue on that side. We made acquisitions in all business area within Beijer Tech. So we have a good spread on the acquisitions that we have done. Great, Johnny. Then I'll leave it back to you.

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#6

Well, I think, I guess it's more to leave it back to questions.

Operator

Operator
#7

[Operator Instructions] The next question comes from Max Bacco from SEB.

Max Bacco

Analysts
#8

I have 3 quite short questions. And the first one, you already touched upon during the presentation, but looking at Lesjofors, very nice profitability improvement once again also here in Q4, and as you highlighted, mix effect with chassis growing. Is there anything more to add to that? Or is it just the mix explaining the uptick in profitability compared to Q4 '24?

Peter Forslund

Executives
#9

No. But from my side, we have the savings program that we have -- that we have done that we see a good effect from. We get the effect that we expect from it.

Max Bacco

Analysts
#10

That's clear. And then looking at the order intake, I mean, minus 1% organically here compared to Q4 last year, should we read this as any implications for the coming quarter? Or is it more a timing effect?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#11

I think that's mainly the [ co-play ].

Peter Forslund

Executives
#12

Yes, exactly.

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#13

It's door springs.

Peter Forslund

Executives
#14

If you look at the Beijer Tech side, I mean, there you see that the order intake is, so to say, on the negative side as well on the organic. And that is because in Q4 last year, it's one of the installation companies or project-driven companies, they had a very high order intake in the end of the year. But that's a project that is delivered over 2 to 3 years, meaning that -- I mean, there is no sequential effect from that from Q4 into Q1, so to say.

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#15

And for Beijer Tech in general, they have a lot of project businesses, big projects. That means it's hard to just measure over 1 quarter and see the trends.

Max Bacco

Analysts
#16

Okay. Understood. And then the final question, it's a bit broader question. But -- I mean, given the strategic shift that has been implemented throughout 2025 and then some rotation in terms of group CEO, but also responsible for Lesjofors, how is the organization coping with all these changes, would you say?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#17

Well, we are in the start of the process, but I think the new goals we have now already communicated is well accepted by the organization for sure.

Operator

Operator
#18

The next question comes from Carl Ragnerstam from Nordea.

Carl Ragnerstam

Analysts
#19

It's Carl here from Nordea. A couple of questions from my side as well. Firstly, touching upon Chassis Springs, nice to see growth. But on the other hand, it is a bit decelerating sequentially. Obviously, we have comps that is one factor. But do you see any inventory dynamics as we've seen historically when it's sort of a warm start to the winter that could have impacted the sales volumes in chassis? Or what do you say about that?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#20

I think it's an impossible question. But I can tell you, we have actually problems to manufacture enough of springs. So our own stock is on the low side at this moment. But I mean, I think still it is rather fantastic that we are back on levels as before Russia. That was a very important business for us, very profitable business.

Peter Forslund

Executives
#21

Yes. I think if you take the sequential story, it's really what we told in Q3 that Q3 last year was, sort to say, very weak. So the comp there was easy compared to what we are facing now. Q4 is a much more normal comp.

Carl Ragnerstam

Analysts
#22

Okay. So you see nothing in the sell-in, sell-out dynamic then in the distribution part of your chain?

Peter Forslund

Executives
#23

No, it's very difficult to have that kind of detailed understanding of where we're moving.

Carl Ragnerstam

Analysts
#24

Okay. That's clear. You talked about the production discontinuation of November, December. Were you able to absorb volumes in other units? Or what impact did that have in the quarter?

Peter Forslund

Executives
#25

Yes, exactly. We are moving the production to other facilities. But when you do that, there is always a period where you're not performing on top, so to say, to cover all needs. And I think that's fully expected and fully accepted.

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#26

[ We are partly ] -- as you maybe remember, there was a factory that burned down in Finland last year. And [ that manufacturing is ] moving to Sweden, but it takes time to order machines and everything. So that will take probably -- in 1 year or something, then we will be back on the same track as before.

Carl Ragnerstam

Analysts
#27

Okay. That is very clear. And you also touched upon the big orders and deliveries in fire safety in Beijer Tech. Is it possible to give any magnitude on that?

Peter Forslund

Executives
#28

No, it's difficult to give a magnitude, but it's -- I mean, if you look at organic growth, say that it's less than 1% or so, around that number that you add an extra percent on the organic growth from that.

Carl Ragnerstam

Analysts
#29

And the final one, if I may. I mean, I've seen many AI angles in storage, but I didn't expect it in Beijer Alma, to be honest. So could you talk a bit about that you touched upon the AI chips spring opportunity? How big is that business now? What do you see in terms of potential when you talk to your potential or already existing customers?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#30

Well, it's -- I just gave you just an interesting example of what's happening in the market. As this door business went away as we have -- let's say, the medical business in Asia is doing very well. At the same time, the medical business in U.S. as planned is going down and suddenly comes this up. So that is just how the market looks like and suddenly something else that shows up. We will have volumes, but I can't give you any figures about that.

Peter Forslund

Executives
#31

And yes, as we said before, that we will take, sort of say, questions on the financials, and we go into acquisition and give the strategic update, and then we will open for questions if there are any left after the strategic update as well. But we thought it's good to cover a little bit of questions here on the financial side before we move on. So please next question.

Operator

Operator
#32

The next question comes from Carl Korsheden from DNB Carnegie.

Carl Korsheden

Analysts
#33

If we just look a little bit on Beijer Tech, I noticed it's 8% organic growth in the quarter, which is obviously strong, but maybe not as much of a drop-through on that growth as one might have expected. Is there anything to highlight there? Is this the transaction costs you were talking a little bit about? Or is there anything in terms of a mix or similar you should also keep in mind?

Peter Forslund

Executives
#34

No, I think transaction cost is a good one. I mean, in the last quarter, we had a very, very strong from the Niche Technologies. Now we have a little bit of more mixed growth that also, so to say, there is a slightly mix effect on that, but not much. So in terms of profitability, the comparison, if you add back the transaction costs, you come up a bit and it looks more reasonable.

Carl Korsheden

Analysts
#35

And if we circle back a little bit more to the Lesjofors margins, is it possible to quantify the magnitude of these different components if we, for instance, talk about the cost savings in Alcomex, possible mix effect, I don't know, medical perhaps in Asia driving something to that and also the winding down of the U.S. operations in Alcomex?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#36

We also have -- we reduced the overhead cost rather dramatically in second quarter. That also -- say it's a combination of a number of different effects, including what you mentioned also. So it adds up to these figures. And some of you know what I think is the future goal for that business when we are through. Still we have some things to clean up after Alcomex during this year as well.

Carl Korsheden

Analysts
#37

Yes. Understood. And on the topic of Alcomex, is it possible to give any indication where we are currently standing in terms of margins there?

Peter Forslund

Executives
#38

I will not comment on that detail level. But I mean, year-to-date, the profitability has really moved in the right direction. We're improving from last year. We expect to achieve a more stable '26. But as we said earlier, we are not fully there, and there is volatility still to be expected there. I mean you have to remember in the base of the door spring market, the door spring market is still what we will classify as very weak. So coming back and coming up is also connected to getting volumes back. It's one of the markets where it's darkest, so to say.

Carl Korsheden

Analysts
#39

Yes. Understood. And just finally from my side, if you just look at the demand situation overall, I think it would be helpful to hear you talk a little bit more about the current sort of market situation, maybe particularly the Lesjofors industrial side of it. It seems like the organic growth in that part came down slightly sequentially here versus Q3, even if we adjust for the Alcomex comparison in the U.S. there and order intake may be slightly on the weaker side or so. So just to hear you talk a little bit about what you're seeing currently and maybe what we can expect in terms of trends for the next 1, 2 quarters.

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#40

The Nordic part, Lesjofors Nordic is a big part of -- important part of Lesjofors. And they have a couple of large customers there, and that is truck industry. And as you know, truck industry is down and that we suffer off as well as ABB Robotics. On the other hand, we have Hitachi, which is growing dramatically. But of course, that is not fully compensating for the downturn in the truck industry. But I guess that the truck industry is on its lowest level now and probably will pick up, and that will help the Nordic business. In the Asia then we have medical business doing well. And as I mentioned, this springs for the liquid cooling of chips. In United States, it's -- it doesn't happen that much. It's a slow business, and we have some large customers since many, many years, and they are on the low side than in industrial. So -- and who knows about the future. I think probably when truck industry improves, it will -- you can see that in our figures. And then we will also, of course, work normally trying to find new projects with existing customers and also new customers.

Peter Forslund

Executives
#41

You see a diversification between the different, so to say, segments in this market, just as Johnny is pointing out that you have a number of areas that are strong, then you have a number of areas that are clearly weaker. And that makes it difficult to get the full picture. It's really down to the segments. We have energy, we have defense, we have a number of segments that are strong, both in Nordics and in other places, but you also have segments that are weak. So we -- the difference between the weak and the strong ones are fairly high at the moment.

Carl Korsheden

Analysts
#42

Yes, that's super helpful. And just maybe one last from my side. If we just look at, yes, management and now there has been some changes recently. How long do you expect it will take to find a new permanent CEO?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#43

It normally takes between 6 and 8 months as last year.

Operator

Operator
#44

The next question comes from [ Patrick Schwartz from Pareto Securities ].

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#45

I have a couple of questions here. First, on this move here from Finland to Lesjofors. How should we think about capital expenditures during 2026?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#46

That part is covered by insurance. We have a very good insurance.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#47

Yes, that's great. And then on working capital here, there's been kind of a release here during the last quarter and also this quarter, and you've made some great improvements. How should we think about working capital here in the near term? Of course, over time, you expect to improve profitability to working capital. But yes, any color here in the near term?

Peter Forslund

Executives
#48

No, it's difficult. As Johnny said a little bit in the beginning, we are starting to work with the capital efficiency, trying to get an understanding out in the organization and trying to get this as one of the important daily tasks in many functions. And, so to say, it will take time for the effects for that to come in. Short term, it's very difficult to guide anything on that. I mean, we can look at the history, but -- we have no better guidance than that.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#49

And then also on kind of a previous question here on kind of the seasonality. Of course, it's been so far a bit of a colder winter. How should we think about Chassis Springs here on working capital build?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#50

We are -- as I said, we [Audio Gap] -- we had problems with production volume in the end of the year. We were not -- didn't have enough that we have to build a bit more stock now in January in that area. It's dramatic, but [Audio Gap]. It's totally -- we have a number of different areas. So it's hard to judge what the total value will be for the stock for the whole of Beijer Alma. [Audio Gap] we will come back. We will show a few targets on the future now. So we can talk about also the stock values and capital efficiency. Maybe there...

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#51

And then finally, on kind of order intake here, plus 1% in Lesjofors. And how was Chassis Springs here given that I assume a large part of the drag here was related to door springs?

Peter Forslund

Executives
#52

Yes, exactly. We don't guide on, so to say, the order intake specific for chassis. We only do that on the full level. Great. Then we will continue with a very short part on acquisitions and then go into the strategy part.

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#53

Last year, we promised the market to give financial goals beginning of this year, and we issued those yesterday after the decision in the Board of Beijer Alma. And we -- our goal is to have an EBITA growth of at least 15% a year, where we expect that 10% to 12% will be acquired growth and 3% to 5% organic growth. Organic growth, of course, depending on the general market, how it develops. And so what will happen also now is that we will use all the companies we have around the world as a base for acquisitions in other areas and we used to like -- we used to buy a lot of spring companies, but we'll also buy companies with other smaller components around the world, is our goal. That means also we will have an even more international footprint for the future. And we will also improve -- try to improve the capital efficiency, put focus on that. And our goal is to be above 50%. We are now on the level of 46%. So it will take a while, but we will implement measurements in the organization -- to make it stimulate to really work with the capital efficiency in the group. Okay, we can go to the next slide. And here, you can see how we have grown over the years. So if we have this 15% growth, we will double our turnover roughly in 5 years. And during the last 5 years, we've actually almost been there with 1.8x between 2020 and 2025. And our acquisition focus will be -- always has been actually business to business. We'll work industrial tech. We will work with companies we understand and we are looking for companies at the right price. And if the price is not right, we will not acquire. And so we will also work where we look at each company. If a company has opportunity to grow its market and keep the margin, we will grow the company. But if there are companies we acquire that has a limited market geographically, we think it's better to let them stay where they are, have a nice margin and use some money for acquisitions of other businesses instead of pushing growth at any cost. But we will -- we have and we will continue to have growth initiatives in all companies where it's suitable. As you see, we are on many places around the world, but I should say that our focus for acquisitions will be on Europe. At this moment, I personally have experience of acquiring companies in the United States, and we have 4 companies there today. But at this moment, with the market situation and political situation in the United States, we will not focus on that. We will focus on acquisitions in Europe. And we don't think that there are so many acquisitions targets, interesting targets in the Asia. We have done one in India last year. So we have a footprint in India, and there might come more in the future. But others in Asia is not prioritized. In this moment, it's Europe. We will have as a priority for the future. And we are going to use the local know-how we have by all these people we have in different countries. It's much easier for an Englishman to talk to an Englishman than if it's a [ Swede ] comes and talk to an Englishman who want to acquire a company. We are also going to increase our M&A team with more resources. We are lacking resources at this moment, but we have people coming in into the organization.

Peter Forslund

Executives
#54

Great. I think we can leave it open for questions if there are any questions on the strategic part.

Operator

Operator
#55

The next question comes from Carl Ragnerstam from Nordea.

Peter Forslund

Executives
#56

Carl, are you there? No, Carl.

Operator

Operator
#57

The next question comes from Max Bacco from SEB.

Max Bacco

Analysts
#58

Just a very short question on the capital allocation going ahead. How will you make sure that capital is, I mean, allocated in the right way when looking at Lesjofors versus Beijer Tech? Will the capital allocation be centralized in that way, ensuring that the right segment is prioritized, so to say?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#59

Well, I should say that all investment over a certain level is decided by me or the Board. As acquisitions in Beijer Alma is decided by the Board.

Operator

Operator
#60

The next question comes from Johan Dahl from Danske Bank.

Johan Dahl

Analysts
#61

Just a question on this European acquisition pipeline. I was -- sort of this is a strategic shift, obviously, going from industrial springs to sort of a wider scope for acquisitions. I was just thinking, can you talk about the current pipeline, the current scouting potential shortlist that you have if you're targeting Europe? I'm not talking about the Nordics, but in Europe. And secondly, can you also talk about a bit more specifically on the resources you're aiming to add an incremental cost investment to sort of get this going in Beijer Alma?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#62

At this moment, we have pinpointed 4 persons in Europe who already are in the organization, has been there for quite a while. So that cost will -- then we have one recruitment going on, central level. So that's where we start. So the list today is not that long. So we will start -- this will happen during the year. So we are in a start-up phase now.

Johan Dahl

Analysts
#63

Would you say, Johnny, that just looking maybe 1 or 2 years ahead, does it seem fair to assume that Beijer Tech with its Nordic franchise being much more developed pipeline, I guess, that perhaps more will happen there in the sort of short term compared to in Europe? Or what do you have -- do you have any input there?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#64

Yes, depending on how many opportunities there are in the Nordic. But even Beijer Tech might look outside Europe -- sorry, outside Nordic. So -- but very short term, I should say, it's more in Beijer Tech. But in 1.5 year, I expect it to be more in the other area.

Operator

Operator
#65

The next question comes from Carl Ragnerstam from Nordea.

Carl Ragnerstam

Analysts
#66

It's Carl here. Can you hear me?

Peter Forslund

Executives
#67

Yes, we hear you, Carl. Yes, we hear you.

Carl Ragnerstam

Analysts
#68

Okay. Great. Sorry, I couldn't unmute for some reason. Looking at the EBITA growth, 15% over a cycle, you said 3% to 5% organic. If you are a top line company that is typically generating GDP plus, right, you've done that historically, don't you think it's a bit prudent to be at just 3% to 5% organic on the EBITA side?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#69

Well, it's over a business cycle, and it's -- we always strive to be above as you say. But can you tell me what the organic growth or the GDP growth will be next year in Europe? I can tell you where we're going. So it's just an indication that we see that the majority of the growth will come from acquisitions, but of course, we will push the organic growth as well. It's just an indication. It's not an exact figure.

Carl Ragnerstam

Analysts
#70

Yes. So it's not an indication of how you see the drop-through of the potential volumes coming?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#71

No, no.

Carl Ragnerstam

Analysts
#72

Okay. Very good. And also on your new financial targets, obviously, we know it from the [indiscernible], I guess. We've seen other companies implementing similar targets, some successful, some less. So my question is, how will you work with these financial targets to really get them deep into the organization, the subsidiaries, each and every employee? And will you incentivize every manager or potential branch manager on the exact same metrics? Or how will you work with the financial targets to achieve the profitable working capital where you still have quite some upside to?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#73

Yes. So our intention is to have an incentive program for each MD, Managing Director of the companies to improve their targets on each company from where they start. I mean, it's depending on some are on a very high level and on a lower level. But the intention is to implement it in every company, yes, but on an MD level.

Carl Ragnerstam

Analysts
#74

And when will that happen, you think?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#75

During spring.

Operator

Operator
#76

The next question comes from Carl Korsheden from DNB Carnegie.

Carl Korsheden

Analysts
#77

Just a follow-up on the financial targets. When you're talking about this 15% over a business cycle, are you sort of expecting to remain your current dividend policy as well? Or do you think you will have to reduce that in order to reach this target? And also if you could elaborate or say anything in terms of leverage profile? Do you have an internal target on how high you can go in terms of net debt to EBITDA? Or how do you see that?

Peter Forslund

Executives
#78

Yes. Dividend policy stays as is. There will be no change to the dividend policy. We will stay where we are. When it comes to the gearing and the debt, I mean we have been prudent on going above 2. That's, to say, I wouldn't call it an internal target, but the company has been prudent in terms of the leverage. So I think it's fair to say that we are striving to be at the levels around 2 or slightly above. It's not a gearing story where we will gear it up to 4 and use the gearing to fund the growth. It's about generating good cash flows in the business and invest them wisely over time. That's what it's about.

Carl Korsheden

Analysts
#79

Got it. And just a follow-up, maybe, yes, you sort of mentioned that Beijer Tech might also be acquiring outside the Nordics eventually. But just -- when you're speaking about these companies, not just in springs, but other components as well, are you primarily then targeting companies with their own sort of production capabilities? Or can it also be sort of technical trading companies? Or do you have any ideal profile for that?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#80

The answer is yes, yes, yes.

Operator

Operator
#81

[Operator Instructions] There are no more questions at this time. So I hand the conference back to the speakers for closing comments.

Peter Forslund

Executives
#82

Great. Johnny?

Johnny Alvarsson

Executives
#83

Yes. Thank you for the interest you showed in us. And well, unusually many questions. I'm happy for that. And I see you in a quarter. So thank you, and goodbye.

Peter Forslund

Executives
#84

Bye.

For developers and AI pipelines

Programmatic access to Beijer Alma AB (publ) earnings transcripts and 32,000+ others is available through the EarningsCalls.dev REST API. Plans from $24.99/month — full transcripts, speaker segments, full-text search, and the recently-added /api/v1/transcripts/recent polling endpoint for ETL pipelines.