eEducation Albert AB (publ) (ALBERT) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, and welcome to today's Finwire broadcast presentation with Albert. [Operator Instructions] With that said, I'll hand the floor to you. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning, and thank you for joining. I am Fredrik Bengtsson, CEO of Albert, and I'm joined today by our CFO, Erik Bergelin. Together, we will take you through Albert's year-end report for the fourth quarter and the full year 2025. After the presentation, we will open up for questions. And with that, let's begin. When we presented Q3, our message was clear. We have stopped the bleeding and we have turned profitable. Today, I can confirm that this was not a one-off. The fourth quarter marks our second consecutive quarter of positive EBITDA. But let me be direct, the big restructuring moves are behind us. Strawbees is divested. The cost base is reset. The organization is now leaner and more focused. As you can see on this slide, we think about our journey in 4 phases: first, reducing the cost base and securing the cash position; second, stabilizing operations; and third, operational excellence. Fourth, we aim for profitable growth. We have delivered on the first 2, and we are now entering the third, operational excellence. Over the past 9 months, we have proven that we can scale down staff, operations, even reducing unprofitable revenue sources. The next step is to build growth step by step under profitability. So what does this mean in practice? It means improving conversion rates, strengthening retention, optimizing pricing, automating manual processes and getting more value out of every customer relationship and every krona invested. This is less visible from the outside, but this is where sustainable value is created. EBITDA was positive for a second consecutive quarter, confirming that the structural changes we made are delivering results. The cost base is reset, personnel and external costs are down materially year-on-year, as you can see on this slide. This is where the leaner operation and organization that we set out to build displays itself. For the full year, reported EBITDA was positive. The full year number includes a positive effect from the Strawbees divestment. The important signal is the trajectory. Q3 and Q4 were both positive on an underlying basis, and that is the foundation that we're building from. Reported EBIT and the bottom line remain negative. And I want to be transparent about why. The losses are driven by noncash amortization and impairment of acquisition-related intangible assets from historical transactions. These are accounting items, they do not affect cash flow, and they will continue to roll off over time. Erik will take you through the full financials in detail. But let me focus on what's behind these numbers and where we are heading. I want to talk about quality, the quality of what we have and where we stand financially. Subscription revenue, B2B and B2C digital combined, now accounts for 87% of our total revenue. Our core markets, the Nordic and U.K., represents 96% of revenue. This is a predictable, recurring and geographically focused revenue base. Annual recurring revenue from subscriptions was SEK 133.4 million, a decline of 5%. Now I will not sugarcoat this, top line needs to be addressed, and that is a priority going into 2026. This decline is a consequence of us scaling down on unprofitable channels and noncore revenue sources. We expected our relentless focus on profitability during the summer and autumn to soften top line. That was a choice we made. On the B2C side, the decline also reflects somewhat reduced marketing investment during the restructuring phase. This is where we're now increasing investment under our new leadership. We are rebuilding the acquisition engine with higher marketing spend, and we are prepared to accept short-term variation in quarterly EBITDA as we invest in growth. And we are aware that there is a natural time lag between the marketing cost of getting a prospect to a free trial and until that person becomes a paying subscriber, a customer. This is a return-based investment in growth, not undisciplined spending. Turning to our financial position. We strengthened our net cash year-on-year. We exited 2025 without using the overdraft facility that carried SEK 2.5 million in 2024. Our cash profile is seasonal. Q1 is historically our strongest cash quarter. And that is because Swedish Film's annual invoicing cycle adds materially to cash in the first quarter. Our previously communicated target of Albert reaching positive cash flow this year remains in place, and we reiterate it today. Our cash position is stable, and we see no need for external financing. Erik will walk you through detailed numbers on ARR, cash flow and the balance sheet. I want to remind you what Albert is today. Albert Junior, our consumer platform for adaptive mathematics, a leading position in the Nordics, a proven product with millions of learners engaged over the years. The challenge and the opportunity here is to grow this space profitably. And as I just mentioned, we are now increasing investment to do just that. Sumdog, our B2B platform for schools in the U.K. A recent independent study by ImpactEd evaluation showed significant improvements in math performance for pupils using Sumdog. We saw the strongest effect amongst those who needed the most, the weaker learners. This evidence matters. It shifts the conversation from Sumdog as a helpful supplement, to Sumdog as a proven tool that delivers measurable outcomes. And what that does in reality, it's -- it opens the door to deeper relationships with larger customers, it moves from individual school deals towards broader partnerships across the school groups. We're investing in operational efficiency and automation to support this direction without adding proportional headcount. It's a gradual shift with longer lead times, and we believe it positions Sumdog for a more sustainable, higher value growth over time. Swedish Film, Film & Skola is our educational streaming service for Swedish schools, reaching approximately 40% of all primary school pupils. It's a stable cash-generative business with a solid margin and a subscription model that contributes materially to the group's cash flow, particularly in Q1, where the vast volume of annual schools invoicing takes place. These 3 businesses share a common mission, making learning personalized, structured and effective. And importantly, each one has a clear position in its market. Now turning to our priorities going forward. First, we need to stabilize and then grow the top line. This is not about returning to higher spend. It's about smarter customer acquisition, better conversion, deeper engagement and a higher retention. In B2C, we're increasing marketing investment, accepting short-term EBITDA variation for revenue growth further out. In B2B, we're moving towards larger, higher volume relationships and automating the sales process. The approach is different, but the principle is the same. We invest where the returns are clear. Second, we continue to improve operational efficiency. At current revenue levels, there is more to extract from cost base. In growth, this picture is different. B2C customer acquisition cost is variable by nature, and we expect costs to grow with acquisition volume. In B2B, we see cost synergies as we scale, particularly through automation and larger deal size. The goal is not to minimize cost, it's to maximize the return on every krona spent. Third, we invest in technology. Albert has been working with adaptive learning and data-driven pedagogy long before AI became a headline. We sit on significant mass of learning data across millions of user interactions. Our job is to use the latest technology, including AI, to make our platform even more effective and our operations more efficient. So to summarize, 2 consecutive quarters of positive EBITDA, a restructured and focused group, stabilized financial position. Now we shift gear. From proving that we can scale down to step-by-step building growth under profitability, from stabilization to operational excellence, from cost cutting to value creation. The foundation is in place, the strategy is clear, and the team is energized. I want to take the time to thank our employees across Gothenburg, Stockholm, Edinburgh, and London. Your work impacts hundreds of thousands of learners every day. That's a mission that matters, and your dedication drives everything we do. I also want to thank our shareholders for your patience and your trust. We are now moving in the right direction operationally, financially and strategically. We have a lot of work ahead, but the foundation is fundamentally different today than it was a year ago. And our job is to keep building value from here. And with that, I will hand over to Erik, who will take you through the financials in more detail.

Thank you, Fredrik. Before going to the slides, I would summarize 2025 as a year of reset and simplification. We reduced the cost base, divested noncore operations and focused the group around a more subscription-led core. Financially, this resulted in positive EBITDA and positive operating cash flow for the year while maintaining a solid cash position. I will now walk you through the development in revenue, profitability and cash flow in detail. Starting with revenue. Revenue in 2025 reflects the intentional shift we have made during the year to focus the group on a more subscription-led and profitable core. Full year revenue amounted to SEK 161 million, down 9% year-on-year, primarily driven by the divestment of noncore operations. ARR decreased by 5% to SEK 133 million, which we view as relatively resilient, given the portfolio changes during the year. Overall, the revenue base is now more predictable, more subscription-driven and less exposed to lower-margin operations. Moving to profitability. EBITDA turned positive in 2025, following the cost reset and portfolio simplification executed during the year. The improvement year-on-year is primarily driven by lower personnel and overhead costs, removal of loss-making operations and tighter cost discipline across the group. These improvements were partly offset by lower capitalized development and continued commercial investments, which we have maintained in order to support the core business and future growth. As in previous years, we expect some quarterly variability in EBITDA due to the timing of the larger invoices, annual contracts and certain cost items. This can create fluctuations between quarters, but does not change the underlying earnings trajectory of the business. We, therefore, continue to focus primarily on the full year rather than individual quarters. Looking at underlying earnings. Adjusted EBITDA, excluding one-offs and divestment effects, amounted to negative SEK 6.3 million for the full year. Importantly, the trend improved throughout 2025, with adjusted EBITDA approaching breakeven in the second half of the year. This reflects the impact of the cost reset and the more focused portfolio. Looking at margins. EBITDA margin improved to around 2% for the full year compared to negative 17% in 2024. The improvement is mainly driven by the lower cost base and the removal of noncore and loss-making operations. This was partly offset by lower capitalized development and continued investment in growth initiatives. Adjusted EBITDA margin turned positive in the second half of the year, reflecting the underlying improvement in earnings. Our margin improvement is primarily structural rather than volume driven. Turning to cash flow. Cash flow from operating activities was positive for the full year at SEK 8.8 million compared to negative SEK 26.9 million in 2024. This reflects improved earnings and continued focus on working capital. Total cash flow for the year was slightly negative at minus SEK 1 million as we continue to invest in product and reduce debt during the year. Overall, the business is now cash generative at the operating level, while we continue to invest in the core. The shift to positive operating cash flow significantly reduces our financial risk. Finally, the balance sheet. We ended the year with cash balance of SEK 42 million and a net cash position of approximately SEK 39 million. The cash position is stable year-on-year and provides a solid foundation for disciplined execution going forward. With positive operating cash flow and a simplified portfolio, the financial risk profile of the group is significantly lower than in previous years. In summary, 2025 was a year of reset. We reduced the cost base and simplified the business, which led to a positive EBITDA and operating cash flow. This positions us to continue focusing on disciplined and profitable growth going forward. Thank you. Back to you, Fredrik.

Thank you, Erik, and Ricardo, we will now open up for questions.

Thank you for your presentation. Now we open up for questions. But at the moment, we have not received any questions, so we can like wait 10 seconds and see if somebody writes something. Unfortunately, we have not received any questions. So I give the word to you for some closing remarks.

Thank you. Well, let's just summarize where we stand. We made a lot of cost savings when we entered into this process. Cost savings is a sprint. We had a short runway and we had to act decisively. Now we're entering a growth phase, and growth is a marathon. It's a teamwork, a lot of moving parts and everything has to be aligned and working side by side in the same pace together. So it's a much more -- it's a longer process, and it has to be done rightly. And there is where we are at the moment, and that is our focus going forward. We're focusing on every detail of our operations. Looking at the CAC, LTV, that is the customer acquisition cost, the lifetime value and the ratio between that. Buying media when we feel we have the biggest chance to get a good ROI on that investment. So this is a more duration of a process that we've entered. We feel that we have a very strong financial position. We have the funding that's required to go where we want to be. And well, we look forward to working on the growth side for the next year here. So thank you so much, and see you in the next quarter. Thank you.

Yes. Sorry, we have received just now one question from Rikard Engberg. He's asking, how was marketing spend been during Q4?

During Q4, we have a seasonal mix in a few things. We have it in the cash flow, which I mentioned, with film invoicing a lot of money in the first quarter of the year. And marketing spend is -- we invest when we feel we have the best traction and the best possibility to get a good ROI. In the Q4 segment, that is -- well, cyclically, a period where a lot of the retail companies invest heavily to get a good Christmas sale. We are not one of those. As the prices go up in the market, which they do in Q4, it's more expensive per lead. We tend to slow down a little just to get the good ROI that we need going forward. So not investing good money in bad advertising. If that answers your question, Rikard.

Yes. Thank you so much. So now we are -- we are -- there are no more questions at this time. So I want to say thank you so much for those who listened, and bye.

Thank you.

Thank you.