Eqva ASA (EQVA) Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Everyone, and welcome to our presentation of EQVA's results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025. My name is Olav Hilmar Koloy, and I'm the CEO of EQVA. I assumed the role as a CEO in November. I have over 30 years' experience in the maritime industry. Over the years, I've held various positions in several companies. I have worked my way up through most roles, starting as a general worker in 1994 and after that as a plate fitter and welder in [ MellercAarlsen ]. At FNV, I worked as a dock coordinator, project coordinator and production manager. At ED Marine Service, I served as a technical inspector and site manager for new builder of well stimulation vessels in China. At DOF management, I worked as a project manager for conversions of projects worldwide. Most recently, I spent the last years -- last 8 years as the Managing Director of LOS Marine. This background is the reason I have been appointed as the CEO to take the part of the development of EQVA. I'm joined today by Daniel Molvik, our CFO, who stepped into the role in December. Daniel previously served as Head of Strategy and Business Development in EQVA and brings extensive financial and strategic experience, including as a state authorized auditor. It has been a busy period for the group, both operationally and structurally. And I would like to thank our employees, customers and investors for their continued effort, trust and support. Today, we will first give a short introduction to EQVA and highlight the key events and after that, the quarter. Daniel will take you through the financials. And as always, we will end with the Q&A. Let me begin with a short overview of who we are and what we do. EQVA is a full-service industrial service group built on long-term ownership and strong niche companies. We will deliver both projects and recurring maintenance service, primarily across process industry and smelters industry, aquaculture, maritime and offshore value chain. Our toolbox is broad, but the logic is simple. We provide critical service that keep customers' operations running and support upgrades and new builds. That includes engineering, mechanical service, steel and piping and power and automation. In addition, we have capability within the development and operation of small hydropower plants. The operation model is decentralized. The group consists of local companies that run close to the customers. EQVA support them with governance and shared functions, which creates scale and synergies while maintaining speed and proximity in execution. The key takeaway is that with an asset-light setup and a strong focus on cash generation, the platform is built for profitability growth over time. On this side, you see the platform has been built. EQVA was -- as we know it today, was established in 2022 with the acquisitions of BKS Group and Fossberg Kraft, marking the start of a journey to become a full service provider of industrial service. Since then, we have executed on our strategy by expanding EQVA's industrial solution through our targeted acquisitions. In the presentation, you will see the key steps, including the acquisitions of Kvinnherad Elektro, IMTAS and Austevoll Rorteknikk. What these acquisitions have in common is that they expand our service scope and strengthen our position in strategic important regions, especially along the coast, while also increasing exposure to attractive customer segments, including Aquaculture. So in the short, we have built a broader platform with more capabilities and a stronger footprint and a more diversified revenue base while keeping the local operating model intact. Let me also say a few words on how the group is structured and how we can generate revenue. We operate through 3 segments with Industrial Solutions representing the clear majority of the revenues in '25 with 99%. Within Industrial Solutions, revenues are diversified across the main end markets, process and heavy industries, aquaculture, maritime and offshore value chain, supported by additional exposure to other important industrial segments. That diversification contributes to a stable and recurring revenue profile and supports stable cash generation. Geographically, our companies are positioned along the Norwegian coastline, close to our customers, and we become increasingly geographically diversified across Norway. Now also expanding further into Southern Norway throughout the recently announced acquisition of mechanical and electromechanical operations of Einar Ogrey Farsund. And finally, we create value through the combination of local presence and technical expertise, supported by collaboration across the companies in the EQVA portfolio. Before we dive into the numbers, let me share a few reflections on the period and highlights the most important events after the quarter. Over the last months, we have sharpened the strategic direction. The focus is strengthen EQVA as a long-term industrial owner of leading service companies along the Norwegian coastline. In practice, this means a clear emphasis on cash generation, disciplined capital allocation and targeted acquisition that reinforce our position and support execution within important customer segments. First, the refinancing. On the 12th of January, we successfully completed a NOK 500 million secured bond issues. This strengthened our financial flexibility and gives us the capacity to execute our strategy, both throughout organic initiatives and selective M&A. We operate in a niche market with several attractive bolt-on opportunities. The key is to stay disciplined, only do transaction where we see the strength, capability, position and customer access and where we can see a clear path to value creation. That brings me to the second point. The announcement of transaction of the mechanical and electrical mechanical operation of Einar Ogrey Farsund is a good example of a target growth. It strengthened our position along the coast this time in Southern Norway, adds a strong technical competence and increased capacity in both existing and complementary service areas. The business has more than 60 employees and is expected to contribute with approximately NOK 160 million in revenue and NOK 15 million in EBITDA. Based on estimates from '25 figures, closing is expected in Q2 '26, subject to customary conditions. Finally, operationally, and our companies continue to deliver and we strengthen visibility into '26. On a rolling 12 months order book increased by around NOK 60 million versus Q3 and ended the year above NOK 1 billion. Overall, this shows that we are executing our plans and building a stronger platform for further growth. With that, I will hand it over to Daniel, who will take you through the financial highlights and performance.

Thank you, Olav, and thank you to everyone attending the presentation today. As Olav mentioned, it's been a busy and eventful period. We have made solid progress over the past year, both strategically and operationally. Let's start with the key financial highlights. For the year ended 2025, the group delivered revenues of NOK 1.3 billion with an EBITDA margin of 6.7%. As noted, the order book at year-end was above NOK 1 billion heading into 2026. And the book value of equity remains strong at NOK 404 million at year-end. We also present pro forma figures. These reflect the full year effect from recent acquisitions and aligned reporting with the definitions in the new bond loan agreement, including covenant leverage definitions. On a pro forma basis, the revenue in 2025 was NOK 1.4 billion with an EBITDA margin of 8%. The pro forma net leverage was 2.24x EBITDA based on net interest-bearing debt of NOK 252 million. Now I'll go into the details. And let's start with the yearly figures. For the full year, revenue reached approximately NOK 1.3 billion, up 17% year-on-year. Of the increase in revenue, approximately NOK 300 million stems from acquired entities, IMTAS and Austevoll Rorteknikk combined. And in the same period, the EBITDA increased to NOK 86 million, up from NOK 79 million in 2024. And it's worth noting that 2024 results are impacted by a NOK 34 million gain from the sale of PSV Charisma. If you exclude that gain, the underlying improvement in EBITDA in 2025 is materially stronger. In Q1 2025, Vassnes Group was divested, but the sale gain and the results for Q1 are included in discontinued operations totaling NOK 29.6 million. The net profit from continuing operations was NOK 16 million and including discontinued operations, the total net profit was NOK 45 million. The earnings per share for the year was NOK 0.54 per share compared to NOK 0.41 per share in 2024. The earnings per share from continuing operations was NOK 0.19 per share. Now let's look closer at the Q4 specifically. The revenue in Q4 was NOK 358 million, which is slightly up from the NOK 348 million in the same quarter last year. Overall, that reflects stable activity levels and healthy performance in what is somewhat tougher market conditions. The Q4 is also seasonally impacted by holiday leave and reduced activity from customers, which is normal for this quarter. On profitability, the Q4 marks another quarter with solid development in EBITDA, supported by both operational execution and the inclusion of acquired companies, IMTAS and Austevoll Rorteknikk, which was acquired in Q1 and Q4 2025, respectively. The net profit in the quarter is impacted by isolated events. We accrued operational unit bonuses in Q4, and we also booked an interest accrual related to the service credit for IMTAS, which will be settled in Q1 2026. The interest relates to the full period Q1 to Q4 2025. And the key message is that this is primarily a timing effect in financial expenses rather than a change in the underlying operations. Depreciation and amortization totaled NOK 18 million, which is up from NOK 5 million in the same quarter last year, and this mainly reflects acquisitions and the group-wide IFRS 16 lease alignment, which was implemented in Q4, where the full year effect is recognized in the fourth quarter. The operational expenses are reduced, while depreciation and interest expenses increased accordingly. Now let's turn to our segments. The Industrial Solutions is clearly our largest segment, representing the vast majority of both revenue and EBITDA in 2025. The EQVA Renewables had limited activity in 2025 as we did not deliver any development of small hydropower plants to external buyers during the year. The Real Estate mainly included properties used by operating companies and the revenue in this segment is fully internal. In the Other segment, you will find the EQVA parent company and other holding companies. The cost level includes certain nonrecurring items related to leadership and organizational changes. And on a normalized basis, we expect EBITDA for the segment to be in the range of negative NOK 25 million to NOK 30 million. However, we continue to work to simplify the structure and reduce holding level overhead. Now let's look at a more detailed view of the pro forma calculation. As noted earlier, the pro forma definition follows the new bond loan agreement and the covenant definition. We had results from acquired entities for a period prior to legal consolidation, Q1 for IMTAS and Q1 to Q3 for Austevoll Rorteknikk and Einar Ogrey is not included. EQVA Renewables is outside the bond perimeter and is therefore adjusted for. We have also adjusted for minority interest in BKS, VVS and Marine Support. On the cost side, we exclude expenses related to M&A and refinancing as well as one-off expenses related to management transition. In total, the pro forma full year EBITDA was NOK 112 million in 2025, and the pro forma profit from continuing operation was NOK 48 million. The purpose of this pro forma view is to give a clear picture of the underlying earnings capacity and scale of the group after portfolio changes that has happened during the year. Now let's look at the order book. Visibility is a very key part of our business model. The order book shown here is reported historically, meaning it's not adjusted pro forma for acquisitions back in time. At year-end, the rolling 12-month order book was above NOK 1 billion, and it consists of solid blue-chip customers where EQVA has long-standing relationships over many years. This means that we have already secured a significant portion of 2026 revenue and the contracted backlog of around NOK 1 billion is close to 70% of our last 12 months pro forma revenue base, which gives us a strong baseline going into the year. The remaining gap is largely timing. We have advanced tenders and late-stage customer dialogues and some capacity is typically contracted later in the year due to normal project lead times. That also gives us upside and flexibility as capacity frees up. We can be selective, prioritizing margin, risk profile and strategic fit. And importantly, we have staffing flexibility so we can scale capacity without taking unnecessary fixed cost risk. And this is a key reason why this model is resilient through cycles. Now lastly, let's turn to the balance sheet. The total assets were about NOK 1.1 billion at year-end, while equity stood at NOK 404 million, which corresponds to an equity ratio of approximately 37%. The interest-bearing debt consists of long-term loans related to operations and real estate portfolio as well as revolving credit facilities, lease liabilities and the sales credit related to IMTAS. The free cash was NOK 127 million adjusted for restricted cash, which results in a net interest-bearing debt of NOK 259 million. When we adjust for EQVA Renewables RCF and we're using the pro forma EBITDA, the pro forma net leverage ratio was 2.24x EBITDA at year-end. And just to be clear, the bond issue completed in January strengthens the capital structure and improves financial flexibility going forward. And this covers the key financial topics from my side. So I'll hand it back to Olav.

Thank you, Daniel. To wrap up, over the past year, we have executed on the sharpened strategy, strengthened the balance sheet, delivered solid project execution across the portfolio and continue to build the group targeted acquisition. We intend to continue on the same path in 2026. The order backlog at the start of the year gives a good visibility and activity and earnings, and we continue to see solid demand from our customers. At the same time, the global environment is more uncertain. Geopolitical tensions, cost inflation and market volatility creates a more cautious backdrop in the market. We maintain close dialogue with our customers and monitor development carefully. We believe EQVA is well positioned to grow even in a more challenging environment. With that, thank you for your attention. We are happy to take questions.

Okay. So if you look at the questions that have come in, starting with the first one, there have been several disclosed insider and shareholder transactions recently, including Arne Fredly exiting his position. What context can you provide? And should investors interpret this as a signal about the business? Thank you for the question. As a listed company, we do not comment on short-term share price movements or the trading activity of individual shareholders. But what we can say is that there have been some shareholder transactions in the later months, which have been publicly disclosed in line with market regulations. And based on what we understand, these movements have been driven by personal and financial considerations rather than any change in EQVA's operational performance or outlook. And from the company side, our focus is execution. It's delivering on our strategy, strengthening cash generation and maintaining disciplined capital allocation. The underlying business is progressing well and in line with communications. We hope that the presented Q4 report given now gave a transparent and understandable update on the recent operational performance. And just to put it into context, we have strengthened our financial flexibility through the NOK 500 million secured bond issue. We have announced Einar Ogrey transaction. And operationally, the order backlog has increased and is now above NOK 1 billion. Our priority is to continue to deliver operational results. And over time, that is what we believe creates value for all shareholders. Now the next one, do you expect management to increase ownership when the next trading window opens? Thank you for the question. We can't preannounce or commit to any share purchases by management. But what we can say is that EQVA operates with a strict insider trading policy and defined trading windows. Over the past period, we have had several inside information events and reporting processes, which has limited opportunity for management to trade. Management and the Board are aligned with shareholders and have a strong belief in the company's strategy and long-term value creation. And any transactions by insiders will, of course, be executed in accordance with the regulations, and this goes to the market through stock market announcements. And then Nordic Bank is still the largest shareholder in EQVA with 30%. Can you comment on your dialogue with major shareholders in general and whether there is any publicly available information on Nordic Corporate Bank's ownership intentions. Now, we maintain, of course, always a regular dialogue with our shareholder base, including the larger shareholders as part of the normal investor relations. When it comes to specific shareholders, we don't comment on their intentions or investment horizon beyond that, what they have chosen to communicate publicly. Nordic Corporate Bank has previously stated that they view themselves as a long-term owner in EQVA, and we appreciate their continued support. With the NOK 500 secured bond in place, can you walk us through the expected run rate impact on net financial expenses, taking into account the refinancing of existing facilities and the intended use of proceeds? Thank you. This is a very important question. And I think the right way to look at this is on a net basis, which is in 2 steps, which means refinancing and deployment. First, on the refinancing, roughly NOK 230 million of the bond issue will go to refinance existing bank loans and the RCF as well as NOK 54 million of the sellers' credit, which is principal plus interest on that sellers credit. So meaningfully part of that bond replaces other interest-bearing liabilities rather than adding a full incremental debt. Secondly, on the remaining proceeds, about NOK 210 million is intended for selected M&A and operational investments. And until deployed, that cash will be placed in interest-bearing accounts. So in the period before deployment, the net interest-bearing impact is mainly the spread between the bond coupon and the deposit yield on that cash balance. And when you then move from cash on deposit to actual investments or acquisitions, the intent is that those uses of capital should, of course, contribute to higher earnings and cash flow over time. So in summary, it's important to separate the interest cost of replacing existing debt and interest costs tied to growth capital that is expected to, of course, generate incremental results. Can you elaborate on the market trends in the respective market segments? What is growing more and less? Maybe, Olav, want to take that one?

Yes. Sure, Daniel. The short version is we see the strongest momentum in the industrial upgrades, land-based aquaculture and defense related to activity, while offshore investments is expecting to normalize from a very strong historical level. But overall, the portfolio is positioned towards several structural growth drivers with good visibility through our order backlog, while we stay disciplined in our project selection and margins in the more competitive segments.

And I think that is the main -- we have one more. Let's see. There are NOK 14 million in other operating expenses under eliminated, what is this category? This is mainly intercompany transactions relating to the rental properties as well as a back office cost allocation, which is done at group level. So it's primarily internal eliminations between the group companies. Yes. I think that's all today. So thank you for all your questions. I hope you enjoy the Q4 report. And as always, please feel free to contact us if you have any follow-up questions regarding the Q4 presentations or other matters relating to EQVA.