BioGaia AB (publ) ($BIOGB)

Welcome to BioGaia Q1 report for 2026. [Operator Instructions] Now I will hand the conference over to CEO, Theresa Agnew, and CFO, Alexander Kotsinas. Please go ahead.

This is Theresa Agnew, CEO of BioGaia, and we are here to present our Q1 2026 results. So in terms of the highlights, we have growth, excluding currency effects, of 15%. Our EBIT margin for the quarter is 27%, and overall, our free cash flow is SEK 67 million. Our net sales reached SEK 373 million. And as I said, organic growth of 15%, 2% growth when you include currency effects. By region, our Asia-Pacific region increased by 6%, excluding currency effects. In the Americas, we increased by 12%, excluding currency effects. And for Europe, Middle East, Africa, we increased by 24%, excluding currency effects. Our operating profit for the quarter was around SEK 101 million, which is 4% growth. And our EBIT margin, as I said, was 27% comparing to 27% same quarter last year. To remind you of our company strategy, we have 3 strategic pillars: Grow the core, where we focus on growing our core health areas, gut health of which colic is apart, oral health and immune health. Our second strategic pillar is what we call expansion through direct markets, so focusing on growing our current 12 direct markets. And focusing our marketing and selling and investment activities in those markets to drive growth ahead of market. And our third strategic pillar is what we call breakthrough innovation, where we work on new products that are in new areas, some new market creation opportunities for probiotics. And our foundations are, of course, our people and our culture, investing for profitable growth, using digital as an enabler of the business, both in how we go to market in our omnichannel approach as well as how we digitize internally to make us more productive and efficient, driven by science, which has been a foundation for us for over 35 years, and sustainable solutions. So how are we delivering on our strategy? In terms of grow the core, for the quarter, we are driving growth in both the Pediatric and Adult segments. We are investing, as I said, in marketing and selling activities to drive strong double-digit growth in direct markets. We're continuing the rollout of new products. We launched a new product, Gastrus Pure Action in Finland originally in October 2024. And now we have rolled it out to approximately 12 markets. And it is now the third highest growth contributor to our overall business in terms of millions SEK for a second quarter in a row. It was our third largest growth contributor in Q4 and again now in Q1 2026. And we are also rolling out a new product, Prodentis Fresh Breath, which launched last year in Q3, and we continue to roll that out into more markets. In terms of expansion through direct markets, we launched Germany and Austria earlier in Q1 and that is doing really well with strong growth ahead of our plan. France and Canada actually had record sales in Q1, so both of those direct markets are doing very strongly. And then U.S. continues in Q1 with its strong double-digit growth trend. So direct market is performing extremely well. In the breakthrough innovation area, we have our BioGaia New Sciences focus, which is on skin health, and we continue to roll out our probiotic ointment to more and more countries around the world. And we have some exciting news to announce a new product launch in our pediatrics area. This is called BioGaia Protectis Plus. This is our next-generation patented probiotic baby drops, which, I think, as you know, this is a dual-strain product. So this contains our original Protectis strain, which is DSM 17938, and a new patented strain, which we call BG-R46. Our current Protectis drops will remain available in the market. So this will be an additional product launch, which will round out our premium portfolio in terms of baby drops. We just completed a clinical study where we've achieved positive results both in efficacy and safety. So we will be writing a manuscript and submitting this for publication for the clinical study. So with this product, we get the benefit of additive probiotic effects. So it's supported by numerous preclinical studies that have been published, such as things about the survival and the activity in a bio-rich environment, which is very important for bacteria to survive. The BG-R46 also increases melatonin induction in the intestinal cells. So this is a really positive differentiator in this strain. This new strain also has higher production levels of anti-inflammatory compounds, such as adenosine. And this new strain is even better adapted to the infant gut in a milk-rich environment. So there are a number of things that we've studied preclinically about this new strain, BG-R46, which provide additive probiotic effects. But as I said, this is a new product that will be available in addition to our original BioGaia Protectis drops. Our first launch is actually this week in the U.K. and then we will follow with additional rollouts by market over this year and into next year. So very exciting news for us in terms of a new product launch, our next-generation probiotic drops. In addition, with other launches in the quarter, as always, our existing product portfolio, we talk about other launches as we expand into new countries. So just a couple of the examples. In Sweden, we launched our Prodentis Fresh Breath lozenges. In Germany, of course, we launched some new products in the quarter as we started our direct market presence in the quarter. Also Prodentis Fresh Breath lozenges launched in the U.K. and Finland in this quarter. Malaysia launched our BioGaia skincare probiotic ointment. So a number of other launches of products within the quarter. And some of the other key events. We had quite a bit of news in the quarter. February 3, we announced that our fourth quarter would exceed market expectations. In February, we signed a renewed distribution agreement with a longstanding partner, Ewopharma. And they cover Central Eastern Europe as well as Switzerland for us. On March 17th, we also announced exercising the option to acquire the remaining 20% of the shares in Nutraceutics, which is our company in the United States. On March 20, we announced also an exciting clinical study publication. It's a 10-year follow-up study from when infants were given our Protectis drops. And we saw that there was a markedly lower prevalence of functional abdominal pain in these children after they had received our drops in the first 3 months of life. And then finally, at the end of April, we also published new scientific findings around our patented LongevityGuard technology, which is our desiccant strip that goes into our drops products as well as our probiotic ointment to improve stability and shelf life of our probiotics, so that they last through the life of the product, the 24-month shelf life. So a lot of interesting, exciting news that we had during the quarter. In terms of growth, as we look at it across our segments, you can see the past growth by quarter. So in Pediatrics for Q1, we grew by 13%, excluding currency effects. And in the Adult segment, we grew by 18%, excluding currency effects. In Pediatrics, we saw very high sales in the U.S. and also France in the quarter. And in Adults, we saw very high sales in EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and we saw a strong growth in South Africa as well as Japan. In addition, as you look at our segments of Pediatrics and Adult Health, for the quarter in Pediatrics, we grew 13%, excluding currency effects. Adult Health, we grew 18%, excluding currency effects. So strong growth for both segments. And currently, for the quarter, 73% of our sales is in the Pediatrics segment. In terms of our regional sales, I highlighted this in the beginning, EMEA grew 24%, excluding currency effects, Asia-Pacific grew 6% and Americas grew 12%. With EMEA, we saw strong growth in both the Pediatrics and Adult segments. In Asia-Pacific, we saw strong growth in Japan and Australia, our direct markets. In Asia-Pacific, also, sales for the quarter were negatively impacted by some quarterly variations that we saw for China between Q4 and Q1. And in the Americas, as I said, we saw 12% growth excluding currency effects, with strong growth in the U.S. and Canada and growth in the quarter also strong for both the Pediatrics and the Adult Health segment. So now I will turn it over to Alex to go through the financials in some more detail.

Thank you, Theresa. So to summarize, we had a sales increase in millions of SEK of 2% from SEK 366 million to SEK 373 million. We had a gross profit decrease of 1% with a margin from 73% to 72%. We had an EBIT increase of 4% and a margin of 27%. If we look at the sales, as we heard, we had an increase organically of 15%. However, we had very strong negative currency effects of 13% and the net increase that was 2%. The gross margin for the quarter was 72% versus 73% in the same quarter last year. We had a slightly lower margin for both Pediatrics and Adult. And the main reason for the lower margin is the strengthening Swedish krona versus mainly the dollar that is affecting the gross margin here. In terms of our operating expenses, the operating expenses were SEK 166 million versus SEK 171 million in the same quarter last year, which is 3% lower compared to last year. This is mainly due to the other OpEx line, where we have a negative cost of SEK 6 million versus a cost of SEK 24 million in the same quarter last year. If you exclude that effect, we have an increased sales and marketing cost of 17%. The main reason for the increased sales and marketing cost is that we have this increase in sales in different markets, and therefore, we have higher costs. We're basically investing in our growth here. In terms of R&D, we also have a slight increase of 13% and admin is also an increase of 24%. It's partly due to some periodization of some costs. If we look at then our P&L, like we heard, we had a sales of SEK 373 million, OpEx SEK 166 million and thereby an EBIT of SEK 101 million versus SEK 97 million in the same quarter last year, an increase of 4% and a profit after tax of SEK 79 million versus SEK 80 million, which is a slight decrease of 1% and earnings per share of SEK 0.78, which is a slight decrease of 1%. If we go over to the cash flow, we have a cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital of SEK 66 million. And we have a positive change in working capital of SEK 5 million, leading to a cash flow from operating activities of SEK 70 million versus SEK 36 million in the same quarter last year. We have a very low cash flow from investing activities of SEK 1 million. It was also low in the same quarter last year. And the cash flow from financing of minus SEK 2 million, leading to a cash flow for the period of SEK 67 million versus SEK 33 million in the same quarter last year. And cash at the end of the period of SEK 871 million versus SEK 1.25 billion last year. So with that, I hand over to Theresa.

Great. So in conclusion, as we said, our first quarter showed growth, excluding currency effect, of 15%. We are happy to report that both our Pediatrics segment and our Adult segment grew double digits. And as we said, this increase is primarily driven by our BioGaia Protectis Drops, our BioGaia Prodentis and our BioGaia Gastrus Pure Action, one of our new launches from 2024. Europe, Middle East. Africa is regaining momentum in some of the key markets. We had last year a period of transition as we were going from a partner run business to now taking some markets direct. So we are through that period of transition for one of our largest markets, France, so that is really showing in our results. And overall, as we said, in Europe, Middle East, Africa, our sales increased by 24%, excluding currency effects. And as I said, France performed well. Germany also performed very well. We just launched in January. And as I said, we are ahead of plan. So both of those markets have contributed strongly to our performance in Europe, Middle East, Africa. In Asia-Pacific, as I said, we had strong growth in Australia, Japan, Vietnam. We had some order variability in China in the quarter. And then specifically in Australia, the Gastrus product line was a key contributor to the positive development in our sales as well as our BioGaia Protectis Drops. And in Japan, we saw increased sales through not only our own e-commerce channels, but also very strong collaboration with local wholesalers for distribution in bricks and mortar retail. The Americas overall delivered strong performance with 12% growth when you exclude currencies. Both of our direct markets, Canada and the U.S., had strong double-digit growth. Strong sales of adult products such as BioGaia Prodentis as well as BioGaia Gastrus Pure Action and then also strong double-digit growth of Protectis Drops in the U.S. And as we said, our operating margin at 27% for the quarter, and as a company, we remain focused on driving this sustainable growth. We leverage our scientific foundation, as you heard from us, a number of different scientific publications in the quarter. Now also in second quarter, a launch of a new product that has a strong scientific foundation with all of our preclinical studies and now a new clinical study. And we are expanding our presence in our key markets, and we're increasing our brand visibility with a strong focus on our marketing and selling activities. So I open it up now for any questions.

[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from Mattias Vadsten from SEB.

First one relates to the next-generation patented probiotic drops that we press released this morning. So a few questions there. So there are additive effects of the combination, as you say, observed preclinically. But they have also been positively studied, as you mentioned, and shown to be safe in the randomized double-blinded clinical study. So just to clarify exactly maybe what that means? And also to that, do you see the prior colic drops product being cannibalized now when you launch in key markets? And also towards what year does the patent last? Sorry for many questions though, but those were the thoughts I had.

Thank you for that. So the Protectis Plus product, the next generation, we have a clinical study. So as we said, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. So we are not talking specifically about the results of that study yet because we are submitting it for publication. But when we say a positive study, meaning in efficacy as well as safety. As well, this product will be premium to the existing product, so around a 15% price premium. We do expect some cannibalization over time. It will take a while for the new product to be launched in numerous markets because it is a new strain and in many markets, it requires specific registrations for a new strain. So this will happen over time, but we do eventually expect some cannibalization, but it will be premium priced.

Okay. And the year for which the patent lasts?

So it's a full patent of 20 years.

And can you share the plans as to when to launch it in the U.S.?

For the U.S., we need to get what's called GRAS Approval for a new strain. So that process is starting, and we can't really predict exactly how long that takes. It depends on the review by the regulatory authorities.

That's good news. And looking forward to read the publication later. On the Gastrus Pure Action product, so I'm just keen to hear how many markets it has been launched in, and if you see in major countries would expect to rollout in coming months here? That's the second one.

So it has been launched thus far in 12 countries. So there will be more markets that will be coming through. We don't specifically announce which markets when because it all depends on registrations and regulatory requirements. We have launched it, though, already in some of our bigger markets, such as the U.S. and Canada. And we have pending to launch it in some of the European markets. So we will be launching it upcoming in Italy, for instance. So it hasn't launched there yet. And then in Asia, it has launched in a number of our larger markets, but mainly through online channels.

That's very clear. Then I was keen to hear the sort of status on Eastern Europe, if that has recovered in line with your expectations. And if you -- did the new agreement with Ewopharma, is that similar to the prior one or any changes there?

No major changes. It's very similar to the prior one. When we do these new contracts, we then agree on minimum quantities in terms of volume, so no major changes.

The next question comes from Mattias Haggblom from Handelsbanken.

I have two, please. So firstly, on the margin expansion. I think the messaging into 2026 has been around operating leverage and margin expansion. And if we adjust for other operating income, which was mainly FX, it was positive this year and a large negative last year. We're looking at an EBIT margin contraction and not flat year-over-year, which is the reported one. So was this quarter an outlier? Or have you, to an extent, walked away from the previous commitment of expanding margins for 2026? And then secondly, again, on the new strain and press release this morning, you highlight a number of characteristics that make Protectis Plus a better product. But I guess for parents with infant colic, crying times is what matters. So on more hard end points, can you talk about how the product differs, if at all, versus the original Protectis?

So I can start with the margin. So we're still committed to improve our margin during this year. That is definitely our plan and it should happen in the coming quarters, basically. And that's a combination of cost control and also increased sales that will improve our margin in percentage. Then for the new strain, maybe Theresa can give some comments.

Yes. So we did see in our clinical study, a positive reduction in crying time. So overall crying time as well as what we call unsoothable crying time, so that was significant. We did not compare the product specifically to Protectis because we use gold standard protocols to do double-blinded placebo-controlled trials. So the percentages of the reduction in crying time were higher than we've seen with the original Protectis, but we can't share the specific details because we want to get it published. And we did not compare the two products specifically.

The next question comes from Kristofer Liljeberg from DNB Carnegie.

I have quite a number of questions. I might take a few and then get back in the queue. But to start first, could you describe how you view the underlying growth momentum given that you were growing a strong 15% organically here despite that there should have been negative phasing effects between Q1 and Q4?

So we've seen some strong growth in Q1. This has been driven very strongly by our direct markets. So our direct markets are doing very well overall in terms of the performance in each market versus the competition growing ahead of the overall category. So we feel really good about the momentum we are seeing in our direct markets.

And how large part of sales is in direct markets now?

SP-11 For the quarter, it was actually 50-50, so 50% direct markets and 50% partner markets. But that's also we had some order variability. So some of our larger partners like China and Italy had some order variability. So we don't anticipate that 50-50 will continue, but we will be getting to 50-50 overall, as we've said before, in the next year to 1.5 years.

Okay. Great. And the strong growth in EMEA here, which I think is primarily driven by Europe. How sustainable do you see this is, given that this region hasn't been growing for the last 3 years, more or less?

I think it's overall sustainable for this year in terms of double-digit growth. We have strong performance, as we said, in France. So now that we're through kind of the inventory that we see where we have higher inventory, the partner, and now our own direct market. We also have a new agreement that has started with a partner in Turkey, so Abbott Turkey. So we anticipate that will show some nice growth in the back half of the year. So overall, we feel we will continue with some strong double-digit growth in EMEA.

And do you think it's sustainable also 2027 and forward?

Yes, I do think it is sustainable because we have this presence of our direct markets that are large markets overall in the region. And also other markets that are partner markets doing well in addition, such as we talked about South Africa. Hopefully, we look at Turkey, where we've had a lower Q1 and first half of this year for Turkey, so we should see some nice growth next year.

Okay. I'll do 2 more questions. I hope that's okay. Follow-up on Mattias' previous question on selling cost here or operating cost in the quarter. And I think you said that you will have a combination of cost control and higher sales driving better margin for the year. But when you say cost control, could we expect selling costs to become lower for the remainder of the year? Or is this the level where it should stay at?

We won't really provide that level of detail of guidance. But I mean, overall, like I said, I mean, we will keep our costs under control. I think we have said previously that our ambition is to keep them fairly flat compared to the last year overall. And then we will have an increase in sales, like we have now in the first quarter. So it will vary a bit between the quarters. We have some natural seasonal variations and so on between the quarters, for example. But overall, for the year, the ambition is basically for the total cost to be fairly flat, excluding then maybe some currency effects that can go a bit in different ways.

So that's important. So when you say flat operating costs, that adjusts for the FX in the other line?

Yes. I mean, assuming that there are no major FX effects going up or down, so to speak, so excluding FX.

Okay. And then my final one on Protectis. If you could confirm the price premium, was it 15%, i.e., 1-5 percent?

That's correct.

That's correct, okay. And then when it comes to the clinical data, the crying time, is it possible to say just to -- that was statistically significantly lower?

Yes, yes, we can say that, that it is statistically significant.

[Operator Instructions] The next question comes from Mattias Haggblom from Handelsbanken.

I just had a follow-up question on the gross margin. Strength of Swedish krona versus the dollar was said to explain the gross margin contraction. But I mean, this strength started already in Q2 last year, and I can't recall this FX relationship has been brought up before, often when we've had individual quarters with weak gross margin. It's often been historically related to product mix and campaigns or certain mix effects. So is there something I missed here? And how should I think about that for the next couple of quarters then?

No, that's correct. I mean, it's partly a mix effect here also in the quarter, for sure. But it is an FX effect, which, as you say, I mean, of course, we have had that effect previously as well, but it's a bit stronger in this quarter actually. And then we still have mix effects in the quarter, affecting things here.

The next question comes from Mattias Vadsten from SEB.

A few more questions. So one, curious to hear a bit more about Germany. In the CEO letter, you say it contributed positively, which sounds quite good if it contributes to organic growth already now. So just to make sure I catch that correctly. And also, is it a fair assumption that Germany sales was fairly limited Q2 through Q4 in 2025?

Yes, that is correct. So yes, it is contributing already in Q1 organically. So that's very positive for us as we grow that business in Germany. And then you're correct with the other statement as well, that we had lower orders from our partner from Q2 to Q4.

Okay. Good. And in the U.S., the growth in the U.S., specifically in local currencies, was that 15%, 20% or 30%? Or can you comment on that?

Well, we will share the U.S. at the end of the year one time a year. We don't specifically comment on it, but we can say that it is double-digit growth.

Okay. And then R&D expenses quite low in the quarter. Should we expect the seasonally higher R&D costs to come through in Q2? Or will it be lower now as this study is more or less done?

Well, one thing is we are doing what we call bridging studies, clinical studies, where we look at our new patented strains, and we'll be bringing out further products we will be spending in clinicals. So we will be looking at different indications for our BG-R46 Protectis Plus combination as well as other strains. So we will continue with clinical costs. But it is true, we have our one study that is completed, but then we have other studies also that are ongoing. I don't know if you want to add something more?

Yes. And then there will be some variations between the quarters depending on those clinical studies when they start or end or include the subjects, et cetera. So it is a bit volatile, so to speak, that cost, but it will probably increase going forward.

Good. And then last one should be fairly quick. So APAC with 6% growth, if the phasing effects wouldn't be there, would it be a growth more in line with past year's performance for APAC?

Yes, overall, without that order variability, it would be more in line with previous.

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

So thank you for your time and listening to our Q1 2026 results. Thank you for your questions. And we will end the conference now.