Eltel AB (publ) (ELTEL) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

A warm welcome to this presentation of Eltel's Q4 Results, Full Year Results. My name is Alexandra Karnlund. I am the Communications Director of Eltel. And with me to present the results is our President and CEO, Hakan Dahlstrom and Eltel's CFO, Tarja Leikas. [Operator Instructions] With that, I'd like to hand it over to you, Hakan.

Thank you. Thank you, Alexandra, and good morning, all. Welcome to this session. I will start saying a few words about the financials during the fourth quarter, and I'm pleased to announce that the fourth quarter means that we ended the year on a highly positive note with a growth of 5.7% and an improved adjusted EBITA. So we increased to 18% gross profit, meaning EUR 5 million more than last year. And this all together means that we now have 10 consecutive quarters where we, year-over-year, in adjusted EBITA have made this improvement. So for me, this is a very important, as you have heard me say many times, we always compare to our own track record and what we have done last year and should be better than that. So it's, of course, with great pleasure that we're standing here today with 10 consecutive quarters with improved adjusted EBITA. I also see the development of net sales as a very good indication here. It has been for some years, more or less the same level, I would say, zooming out a bit, net -- Eltel's net sales have been more or less flat. With the fourth quarter, we see possibility to come into an area with a bit more growth. And when we look at this fourth quarter on the commercial side, it is an impressive net sales development in Sweden where Sweden delivered 26% growth in the fourth quarter. And this is over a broad range of area, it's not one area that is driving this in the Swedish business. We see it in the part of our business that we have towards telco operators, but we also see it in Communication in a broader way, where we frequently talk about the importance of the public sector customer segment. And here, we, of course, have the defense, we have road authorities, other players. Here, we can see that Sweden is gaining market share, really good to see. But Sweden also have demonstrated the possibility to have rapid growth in the Power segment. So all in all, I would say, an impressive development of net sales in Sweden in the fourth quarter. On top, when we look at Finland, there is a bit of growth in the fourth quarter. But when we open up and see, there is a lot of changes in the Finnish market here. As you have heard us talking about before, the fiber rollout, meaning fiber to the home, that peaked during 2024. So during last year and also very visible in the fourth quarter, it has been much lower volume, much less investment from the telco operators segment towards fiber and fiber to the home. I must say that I'm happy and proud over how the Finnish organization have adapted to the new situation and navigated in these quite difficult circumstances. So with significant growth in the Power, particularly within the Solar area, data area, but also -- the data, I mean, Data Center. So of course, Data Center and the Power part of Data Center, but also classic power, meaning both services and new projects, Finland has been able to compensate for the drop on the classic telco operator customer segment. One part of this important development is that we were able to sign a new agreement with Caruna on Smart Grid during the quarter, of course, really important. But I also see that overall in the company, the new business, as we have selected or chosen to call it, has increased with 16% in the quarter to be compared with a 6% a year ago. For the full year, that would mean 11% of net sales is coming from this new area. Norway is a story by itself, of course, and we are happy to show you that the fourth quarter came out on the right side of the 0 meaning that we have no losses in Norway in the fourth quarter and the development is really good. In Norway, we have not had the possibility to compensate within new services or even though the business outside the telco operator segment, meaning that offshore, defense, other public services and also more and more attention towards the Data Center segment. This has not been possible to compensate for the decline in the telco operator segment. So even though significant pushback on the net sales, Norway deliver, what we call, a black number in the fourth quarter. So that is, of course, extremely important for us that we are on the right track there and take another important step in Norway. Last quarter, we talked about the heavy storms in Norway. This quarter, I would like to lift my Finnish colleagues and the great effort and achievement they have done during the rescue work after the Storm Hannes in Finland during December, but also work came in quite far into January. We had more than 100 colleagues working very, very consistent to restore the infrastructure after the storm. So well done, great work done. Overall, I would say that the market is very active and a lot of things is happening, quite a dynamic market. And particularly here when we look at the Power segment, in this also Data Center and energy storage is sort of those 2 areas where most things are happening most rapidly. But I'm impressed of the organization's capability to adjust towards the situation and embrace the strategy we have in the company. So when I think of those 10 quarters we have done, how the organization is delivering on our strategic initiatives, how I see that my colleagues are able to adapt to rapid changes. I come to the conclusion that I'm confident that we have the target of 5% profitability. We have that within reach, within a time spectrum of 12 to 18 months. And this is, of course, extremely important for us, and we are very thorough in our work towards that. But then if I zoom out and look a bit on the full year of '25, we see a bit of net sales growth. And here, I have to admit that I have taken the high-voltage unit we had in Poland. As you might remember, we sold that in the second quarter of '24. When I take those numbers out, I see an increase of EUR 2.7 million on top line. Not so impressive maybe, but at least it is in the right direction. Loss profit has increased with EUR 16 million. I think that is a decent achievement from us. Also this -- in this statement, I exclude High Voltage in Poland. So with operation as it is today, same operation '24, we have EUR 16 million more in gross profit and that lead us to have an adjusted EBITA that is almost twice as it was a year ago. So we are now coming out here with EUR 20.7 million in adjusted EBITA to be compared with EUR 10.5 million for a year ago, and the margin have, by that, improved to 2.5% full year. And what is the sort of behind this. Yes, I would say the pattern is a bit different in the different market. We see our initiative to broaden the customer base, particularly towards the public infrastructure, has sort of given us results. We see important contract in Norway towards the Norwegian defense. We see that the same work or similar work in Sweden towards the armed forces is gaining momentum. So this is, of course, a part of the Swedish growth that comes from this. But also other public infrastructure like transport and aviation also are important here, but this broadening the customer base have helped us keeping up the revenue and the profitability during the year. We see also that these new services are gaining momentum. I would like to highlight Data Center here. We have during this year, 1 or 2 really important contract here, one with Hyperco and one with DayOne. And those 2 together are significant for our buildup in this area, so EUR 16 million and EUR 38 million each of those. So a very important step here. Power, as an area is of course, getting more and more attention, and we see that in different parts of our company, we take steps forward in this area. I would claim that Finland has the lead internally in our internal competition. Internally, the company Finland is ahead when it comes to growth in Power. And also, you remember that we signed for -- a year ago, we signed a very large solar park in Finland and we are delivering as we speak on that. So those activities are extremely important, and I see that during 2025, Finland have gained momentum in this sort of activity. But equally important, we have signed a large agreement in Power, for example, in Sweden, towards the customer E.ON that we now during the beginning of '26 is starting delivering on. But overall, I would say, continued growth in Power and Renewable Energy, the broadening of the customer base, equally important and this give us this -- I would claim, for Eltel, a very important step now with the fourth quarter and the full year result of '25. But to get a bit more and better understanding of the numbers, I hand over to Tarja, and let's have a look at the figures.

Yes, with pleasure. Thank you. So thank you, Hakan. I'm pleased to present Eltel's results for the fourth quarter and the full year '25. And as Hakan already elaborated, we closed the year with an excellent quarter behind us. We delivered nearly 6% net sales growth. Sweden remained the growth engine, and Finland was growing with a moderate increase. While Norway and Denmark, Germany still face Communication-driven declines, the overall group trend is positive and strengthening. In the full year comparison, we'll remind, like Hakan, you mentioned that '24, our net sales, included approximately EUR 14 million from the divested HV Poland. Excluding this, our existing business pushed itself into the level that we are above the last year level. Our workforce is now 445 employees fewer than a year ago. This reflects our ongoing efforts to scale operations effectively as well as changes within our service portfolio. Profitability improved in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Fourth quarter adjusted EBITA reached EUR 8.3 million, the best fourth quarter in a decade. Full year EBITA doubled compared to the prior year, reaching EUR 20.7 million. We are now moving clearly and steadily towards our 5% EBITA target. The achievement is seen reachable within 12 to 18 months. We have been executing our current strategy since the beginning of '23. The latest 10 quarters, we have delivered our year-on-year adjusted EBITA improvement. Our confidence is building with another year of EUR 10 million improvement in adjusted EBITA. And the 5% profitability target no longer seems distant. It is with the continued cost discipline, focused working capital management and solid top line development. And then the segments. First, Finland, which accounts now 43% of group's operations. Finland continued modest growth despite the fiber-to-the-home project phasing and significant decline in fiber investments in '25. Total volumes recovered to last year's level. The lower Communication volumes were fully offset by continued growth in Power. And there, especially Solar PV and Data Center. Profitability remains strong. Euro-wise, we improved EBIT. Margin-wise, we remain on par with previous year. Here, both our business areas were contributing. Full year adjusted EBITA margin improved to 5.8%. This demonstrates our ability to adjust operations effectively amid substantial volume shift like Hakan elaborated. Overall, Finland's performance provides a solid platform for continued progress. Then Sweden, which is now 31% of group net sales. This quarter, Sweden's growth accelerated being the strongest within the group. Quarterly net sales increased more than 25% and full year growth approached 13% in reporting currency. Communication volumes continued to grow, driven by telecommunication and public infra demand. This is setting Sweden apart from the trends from our other segments. Growth in Sweden is both strong and profitable. EBITA margin improved from 4.2% to 5.3%. This is supported by both Communication and Power. The lower headcount underscores our strong scalability and operational discipline. Denmark and Germany, which together now count 15% of group net sales. The net sales decreased by $800,000, primarily due to reduced Communication volumes in Denmark. Power operations in both Denmark and Germany continued on a growth path. Profitability declined in the quarter, largely due to lower Communication volumes following contract completions and associated personnel reductions, temporarily burdened the result. Power operations continue to improve margins. And then Norway, which now contributes 11% to group operations. Customer investments in Communications have remained low, resulting in EUR 3 million decline in net sales. New customer acquisition is progressing well, but it's not fully compensating the reduction from traditional customers. Focus on profitability has remained a priority and the result improvement is significant. Norway delivered its second consecutive quarter with positive EBITA. This marks a clear operational turnaround. Quarterly EBITA improvement was more than EUR 2.3 million year-on-year, and this is following enhanced operational efficiency. Norway achieved positive EBITA for the entire second half of '25. Norway is now on positive track and with clear elements of sustainable improvement. And then a brief look on the balance sheet. The year-end net sales -- year-end net debt in this case, year-end net debt was EUR 142 million versus last year EUR 114 million. The increase here is due to the refinancing we completed in the second quarter. And there, we reclassified the hybrid bond from equity to debt. On a comparable basis, the net debt would have been EUR 117 million. The same effect impacts leverage. Reported leverage is 2.8. On a comparable basis, leverage would be 2.3. And last year, the leverage was 2.5. Net working capital has remained strongly negative, now negative EUR 60 million versus last year's negative EUR 61 million. This reflects our continued discipline in cash flow contract management. And with that, a reminder of the financial targets, which have remained unchanged. Profitability, adjusted EBITA margin 5%, growth between 2% and 4%, leverage between 1.5 and 2.5 and dividend payout subject to leverage target. And then Hakan will share the latest from the strategy execution. There you go.

Thank you, Tarja. Yes, as a short reminder and a little bit comment on our strategy. So the first and most important part of our strategy is to improve the efficiency and profitability in our current business. This is priority #1. And here, I see great movement and progress in all our markets, I will claim. Now we have come into a mode where we have this consistent way of always try to improve and find new way of solving the task. So really happy about this. Broadening the customer base, addressing new customer segment, based on the competence and the capacity that we have since so many years, mainly working for infrastructure owners in the Power segment or in the Communications segment, we now address a broader market. And here, I see there's good steps forward. I would have to say that the Swedish unit is having the lead of the pack in this race as we, as always, compete a little bit internally. The third part here is the new adjacent market as, for example, Data Centers, Solar and so on. Here, we see positive moves and the revenue full year of this part of our business is, during 2025, 11% of the net sales, 16% in the quarter. In this part, I would say, our Finnish colleagues is leading the pack and demonstrate a great capability to build this new business in a quite rapid way, I would claim. Then of course, we have the sustainability as an integrated part of everything we do, and we meet our formally setup target for this. And then, of course, always working with our concept and our commercial capabilities, and we more and more, within Eltel, talk about the winning culture and how we are developing ourselves as a company going forward. If I then do, as I normally do here, show you a little bit based on the KPIs. I see that improved efficiency and profitability, our priority number one, is gaining momentum here. And we have a gross profit increase of 18%, meaning EUR 5 million. Full year, we improved with 16% and EUR 5 million is then, as you understand, a good development in the fourth quarter. 10 consecutive quarters with improved adjusted EBITA. And I forgot to say that -- I should have said that on the first slide I have here that you can see the seasonality in our business that there is still a very big difference quarter-by-quarter. So that is also a reason why we have to follow 12 quarters rolling or quarter-to-quarter, year-over-year. But 10 quarters, happy for that. The largest contributor to the improvement during the fourth quarter is actually Norway. So it's good, of course, that they are on the right side, but also great to see that they are the largest contributor in profit improvement than Sweden. But it doesn't mean, for example, I have to highlight the solid performance in Finland. I think due to the circumstances and rapid changes in the business, the adaptability that the Finnish unit have proven to deal with this is really great to see.

Yes.

Yes, really prudent. Customer base. We see that more and more organizations and customers -- potential customers are asking for the type of competence and the services that Eltel is offering. And of course, one area of this that we see more and more activities with is, of course, the defense sector. So order book development, good development increase in most segments, but not Norway yet, might also have to do, of course, that we signed a very large agreement in the summer of '24, and we are producing on that as we speak. But otherwise, I would say that we are happy of the development of the order book, both so the new contract, but also how we evaluate the existing contract and what value those will give us in the future. Growth in new adjacent market. We see Data Center, Solar and when it comes to Solar, it's mainly Finland, the big solar product that I mentioned before. Development is doing fine there, more and more activity here. I see that this will continue to increase. Energy storage is a subject in Finland, Sweden, Denmark. We have been, during '25, most successful in Denmark in this area. I have hope and expectation on the units that we will be equally successful in the future also in the other markets where the service is relevant, but maybe not yet in Norway. As mentioned before, new business increased from 6% to 16% in the quarter. And on the right side, you can see the pipeline. We have more than half of the pipeline in this new and adjacent market. My ambition is that we're going to, from now and forward, talk about these areas emerging services. They are -- might not be so new for us anymore. We have done this now for 2.5, 3 years. When it comes to the total value of contracts signed for the quarter, I think the 7% is a bit shy, could have been better. Net sales, 16%. I'm pleased with the 16%, but as you can hear, 7% in TCV, I would have hoped for a bit more. Then if we look at the situation, how it was a year ago, you can see the progress there. So I would claim the strategic initiatives, they work for us, they deliver, the organization have embraced them, and we are delivering on what we have said. With that, I think we are ready for questions.

Thank you, Hakan. Thank you, Tarja. Yes, we have quite a few questions coming in via the web. [Operator Instructions] I believe we do have a call on the telephone conference. So let's begin with that.

The next question comes from Henric Hintze from ABG Sundal Collier.

This is Henric stepping in for my colleague, Adrian here. So first of all, it was good to see you putting a timeline on the EBITA margin target. I was just wondering if you could summarize the main improvements that you see in the coming 12 to 18 months, which make you confident enough to give us this time right now?

It is purely in line with our priorities that the operations, both operational excellence and commercial excellence in the existing business, the bulk of our business that we have had for many years. When we see the progress we do there and what potential we have going forward, I will say that, that is the largest contributor, but then also that we have the possibility with new -- addressing new markets, meaning broader customer base and this new services, they are in that order contributing to this.

Okay. And also on the margin targets, some of your segments, such as Finland and Denmark and Germany are already close to the 5% or above that target. So should we consider these to be sort of capped in terms of profitability there? Or does the margin target include you're making more gains in these segments as well?

No, no, I see no reason to do that. I have expectation that everyone is better than that same unit was a year ago.

No change in attitude.

No, no. Of course, everyone can do better. Yes, we have on the level you see it. And even if we go further down on more granularity. Of course, we have a unit that is performing fantastic. So -- but we have that mindset that everyone can do better. If you have a high margin, it might even be easier to improve than if you have a low margin. So I will claim that there is no excuse accepted anywhere for not improving.

Okay. Very good. And is there anything concrete you can say about wage inflation in 2026. Are there labor union negotiations ongoing? Or have they been finalized? And what numbers are being discussed.

I don't have any news for you in that area.

Okay. All right. Well, then maybe just one final question for me. Considering your leverage ratio has come down quite significantly during the year. Are you nearing a point where dividends could become relevant? Or what leverage do you want to be at to feel comfortable distributing capital to shareholders?

This is a Board decision. It's not us. We are on our way, but it's -- no comment on that.

So nothing else on the telephone conference. Let's turn to the web then. And we have, first, a few questions from Christoffer Jennel from Inderes. Cash flow -- a cash flow related question. "Cash flow was strong in Q4, as expected, given the seasonal pattern and working capital release. However, looking at the full year 2025, free cash flow generation after lease payments was still relatively modest despite the improved profitability. What are the key initiatives to improve cash conversion further in 2026 and when do you realistically expect to be back within the target leverage range?"

Okay. I would comment the cash flow that '25, it was very much about the project phasings. So we have a good development within the company. And with the cash flow, it is like every piece of the well-oiled machine. So it's not one piece. But the main contributor to the cash flow, it was very much like the project phasings. But cash flow is the area that we continue working, and we have been working on that area. So work continues.

Absolutely. Good. Given the very -- again, a question from Christoffer, "Given the very cold and snowy weather conditions across the Nordics so far in Q1 2026, how has this impacted your revenue development particularly in telecom, where field services and installations are weather-sensitive. Have you experienced project delays? And if so, do you expect this to be a timing shift or any risk of lost revenue?"

So now we are talking about '26.

Well...

Yes. But let me say so that there is a seasonality. We are used to the winter, what has been a little bit different in the beginning of '26 might be that it also have impacted Denmark. So there has been sort of no excavation for a certain time in Denmark. And that might not be what we are used to. Otherwise, I would say that the year have -- yes, it is cold. Yes, there is circumstances there, but we -- we know -- it will be a winter, and we have to cope with it.

And we're mitigating by working with new services?

Yes. This is, of course, when we have these storms that lead to extra work, of course, but that is not so significant. If you think like, as I mentioned, there's 100 people, we have 4,000. So but it has an impact, yes, but not material.

Okay. Let's go to Norway. Norway has now delivered positive margins for 2 consecutive quarters, albeit only marginally now in Q4. Could you provide more color on what has fundamentally changed in the Norwegian operations to sustain profitability despite the soft market. Let's take that first and go to the next question after -- yes.

Yes. As we have described before, we have adjusted the organization towards how we see the market, and it has been a cost of adjusting coming into sort of a new size of the organization. Today, we have less overhead. We have less indirect overhead, and we have a smaller organization in Norway than we had 2 years ago. And I think we have been quite brave and taking some strong measurements in Norway to reach this point. From here now, we will more and more focus on growth and top line. The cost side, I would say, we have dealt with.

Really proud of the work in Norway.

Yes. Wouldn't it be fair to also mention something about a mind shift in the commercial efforts.

Yes. I think that goes for Norway and it goes for the whole Eltel, I would claim, that we, during the last years have had much more proactive attitude towards the market. And this is very visible in our Norwegian team to how we act and how we talk about things and what actions and how we do things. So if I may say, a little bit from maybe not leaning back, but from not so proactive to really forward leaning in proactivity and go out and address the market.

Yes. Perhaps we could also like refer like a cultural change as well.

Absolutely.

Yes.

All right. Let's -- Christoffer had a follow-up question on that. I'm not sure you're going to get an answer to this one, Christoffer, but given that traditional telecom volumes remain under pressure there in Norway, what visibility do you have on maintaining positive margins throughout 2026?

Yes. It's is an ongoing dialogue with our customers about what type of volume, what type of services. So we have like a forecast process where we have this type of dialogue with our customers. And that is the way that we can prepare ourselves. It is a decision by the customer to put the volume in the market, selecting us or someone. There is a lot of frame agreement in the market. So this is something we have to work actively on all the time. There is no free lunch. We have to be there. We have to be the best choice of the customer. And I would say that, that's -- to me, I think we are more and more successful in this.

Yes. And then Christoffer has a similar question to that of Henric's regarding the 5% margin. Looking at the full year 2025, adjusted EBIT margin are of around 2.5% and your path towards the medium-term target of exceeding 5%. What are the main building blocks to reach that targets? How much of the remaining improvement will come from operational efficiency versus mix -- business mix shift towards higher margin segments.

The largest contributor is operational excellence, commercial excellence, that is. And then, of course, there is a positive contribution in the business mix from the new services, yes, but they are in that order.

Yes. And one last question then from Christoffer. Telia and other operators are emphasizing tighter cost control and capital efficiency. Are you seeing increased pricing pressure of -- or tougher demands -- or tougher efficiency demands from key customers like Telia? And given the headwinds Telia reported in Finland and Norway, including lower EBITDA and network consolidation efforts, do you see any risk of reduced volumes or delayed investments in those markets? And how are you positioned to mitigate that?

The last one there. Yes, we just have to be the best choice of the customer, for sure. But otherwise, yes, we see the same. The market development is so that classic telco operators might not invest more during '26 than what they did in '25. We expect it will be less. But the important part is that we are able to adapt and sort of get a high utilization of our resources. I claim that we can be profitable on one level or a higher level or a lower level, but it has -- it's all about predictability. So as long as we have the visibility of the changes, we should be able to adjust.

Yes, of course, we need to say that a share of wallet in the operator market. There are like other contributors in that. So not to link directly us and the telecom operators.

All right. And then we have a few questions from Kyle, Kyle Koka, Arctic Securities. You mentioned headcount reduction costs burdening Denmark and Germany in Q4, but the IAC line is 0. Are those costs in the adjusted EBITA? And if so, what could the -- what would then the clean margin have been? How much of an impact did this have on the segment?

That is something that we haven't reported, but we have taken the costs as operational expenses.

All right. Another question from Kyle, backlog. Backlog impacted well in Q4, up to 13% quarter-on-quarter to EUR 537 million. Can you help us understand the conversion timeline and what portion of this backlog is expected to translate into revenues in 2026 versus later years? What can we say about that.

It's a big question.

At this time of the year, of course, a very big portion of everything we're going to produce during '26 is in the -- at least in the order book, but also in the backlog. But I would say that contract -- new contract that we win, say, up to Easter, maybe a little bit to May 1, summer, they might contribute to this year. So of course, that -- a very big portion of that is something that we would sort of deliver on during '26 if it is a quarter or if it is 1/3, that is after '26, I can't say.

It varies a lot.

It varies a lot to '26, yes.

Okay. And then we have finally a few questions from Markku Moilanen, Nordea. A bit along the same lines regarding Norway. How do you see Norway's profitability developing going forward if the sales continues to drop. Is it enough to absorb the cost base?

Sorry, is it enough...?

Is it enough to absorb the cost base?

I would say that our agenda is, of course, to have an improved top line. And that goes for all our markets, thinking of '25, I would say, Sweden -- Swedish business unit within Eltel. Yes, they do it great, both in what type of business they have won, but also the size of it. So Finland very well in new services, adjusting towards the changes in the market, great. But both Communication, Denmark have to find a new revenue, Norway have to find new revenue. That's just how it is. We see growth in Germany, Germany is Power. So Power Denmark also good development, especially the best area, but Power generally, this is doing well in Denmark. Communication, yes, there we have to find new revenue.

Just to say that our strategy applies to all of our segments, including Norway.

Yes.

But there, we could also say that the need is, of course, most visible like in Norway that have had double-digit decline for some time.

And last question from Markku. You seem to be quite confident in reaching the target profitability in the fairly near future, 12 to 18 months. Do you see any risks that could push the target further?

Yes. Life is about business and life is about, of course, managing opportunities and risks. And so also for me and the team. So yes, that's what we do daily. It's -- we see opportunities. We see risk and we're dealing with them. We talk to our colleagues about it. Of course, this is not something that we can say that this is 100% sure, this is us sharing with you our best estimate of the knowledge and the insight we have today. That's it. I can't predict the future. But I have a view about Eltel's business and the market and the progress we have done based on all of this, how the organization have embraced the strategy, how we are delivering our strategy, the progress we have had during these 10 quarters. You have asked this question many times, when will you deliver on the 5%. So we came to the conclusion that it's fair to share with you our best insight in this. That's what we have done. We can't guarantee anything. And I think that's how it is in life and business life.

Okay. That concludes the questions. Are we happy with closing our con call now?

Yes, we are very happy about the fourth quarter. It is -- for me and the team, it is a very important proof point that we are delivering on what we have said.

Another step.

Another step in the right direction. We have more steps to be taken, yes. But we are happy for this one.

Okay. Thank you very much and thank you for listening. We will release the results for our first quarter 2026 on April 30. Hope to see you then. And in the meanwhile, don't hesitate to reach out to any one of us if you have any questions. Thank you for now. Bye-bye.

Thank you.

Thank you.