Kalmar Oyj (KALMAR) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Interpreted] Dear shareholders, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I'm Jaakko Eskola, and I am the Chairperson of Kalmar's Board of Directors. And on behalf of myself and above the Board of Directors and the company's management, I would like to warmly wish you all here present and also those who are following the meeting virtually. So a warm welcome to this Kalmar Corporation's first Annual General Meeting as an independent listed company. It is a truly great moment to be here at Little Finlandia here in Helsinki today. And I would like to especially thank everyone who have been on this company's journey and who have been involved in enabling a successful listing and business success. Year 2024 was for Kalmar, a significant year, full of important milestones and also historic in many ways. We have driven forward our strategy with determination, and we have strengthened our position as a leading player in heavy materials handling. We are proud of our role as a forerunner in this important global industry. Cargotec's Annual General Meeting decided in May last year to separate Kalmar into an independent company. And Cargotec's Board at the time assessed that separation of Kalmar would increase shareholder value. And with this arrangement, Kalmar would independently pursue sustainable and profitable growth opportunities. And after the first 9 months, we can say that also Kalmar's Board of Directors believes that this demerger was the right solution, both for shareholders and for Kalmar's customers as well. During the past year, Kalmar work has been done on company's renewed strategy and listing and the work progressed according to plan on schedule. In May 2024, Kalmar published its new strategy and its plan towards a sustainable and profitable growth. And it was listed as an independent company on 1st of July 2024 to Helsinki Stock Exchange. If share price development can be used as one of the indicators, the markets have expressed their support of the Kalmar's independent journey. Since last July, the Kalmar share price has increased about 30%. And at the same time, the number of shareholders has increased by several thousand. I would like to, at the same time here emphasize that we continue to operate in a challenging geopolitical situation that affects us all. The market environment was not easy during 2024. Geopolitical tensions continued interest rates remained high and customers were carefully considering their decisions. Market activity was slower and sales volumes were lower than in previous years. And during previous years, as I said. And market estimates predicted and they are still predicting that only sluggish growth will take place. Despite of the general uncertainty, Kalmar has managed to maintain a strong performance and continue to invest into future growth and sustainable innovations, especially in the areas of electrification and service business development. Although the company invested heavily and secured the conditions for the demerger last year, Kalmar did not forget the business performance. For the whole year, financial performance was solid, and this should be appreciated. I would like to also thank the entire staff of Kalmar for their commitment and their good work as well as the Board of Directors for their excellent cooperation. Your contribution has been crucial to company's success. Today, we are going to discuss important issues that concern our company's past year, but also the future. Amongst other things, we will be reviewing the results for 2024, including sustainability reporting, decide on dividend distribution and remuneration policy, and we shall elect the members of the Board of Directors. I am convinced that together, we can continue Kalmar's success story and create value for our shareholders in long term. I will now open Kalmar Corporation's first Annual General Meeting. And I propose that as Chairperson of this meeting will be as according to the organizational document published as an attachment to the notice of meeting, attorney at law, Mikko Heinonen. Apparently, this is convenient for shareholders since there are no other proposals made. And therefore, Mikko Heinonen is the Chairperson of this meeting, and I would like to ask Mikko to take his seat. Please. Thank you all. Thank you for your trust. Also on my behalf, I would like to welcome both people here present in the meeting room and those who are following the webcast online. So welcome to Kalmar Corporation's Annual General Meeting. I will state that Secretary of the meeting, according to the organizational document that was published as an attachment to the notice, so company's General Counsel, Ulla Bono. So Ulla, please. Furthermore, to begin with, before the actual items of the agenda, I would like to state that in a case of evacuation, Little Finlandia's security control will announce instructions with the public address system and we will urge the audience to leave the venue by using the nearest emergency exit. And the emergency exits are located in the back of this hall. And there are also security guards here who will direct people out. And in addition, announcement will indicate you the assembly points, which is located in front of the main entrance in the law and in front of the building. And now let's now go through the procedural questions and practical questions. I think there's somebody's phone ringing. So please could you mute your phones. So please mute your phones. That would be excellent. If you could do that, please. So now procedural questions and the organization. That has been already described in the attachment to the notice, so in this organizational document and in particular, relating to items 1 to 5. And these matters will not be in detailed explained during the meeting, but I will just highlight the key points. The most important one maybe is that you all have the right to speak here during this Annual General Meeting. And if ever, you get the right to speak here or when you first ask for the floor, so raise your hand. And after that, a microphone will be brought to you. And at the beginning of your address, please indicate your name and also any possible shareholder that you may represent and also then by your voting slip. And furthermore, this meeting is also interpreted into English. Translated into English language and the headsets will be available next to the entrance room if needed. And furthermore, the meeting participants have been distributed the materials of the meeting, including agenda, and we will follow the order of the agenda when we deal with the items. And there's also a description of procedure at the general meeting and also proposals of decisions by the Board of Directors and Shareholders' Nomination Board in their entirety and also the proposed Board member CVs. So these were the key points related to procedures. Can we follow these procedures? I take we can do that. And the organizational documents will be attached to the minutes of the meeting. We are now at Item #3. This is the election of persons to scrutinize the minutes and to supervise the counting of votes. And I propose that as described in the organizational document, we shall elect 1 person to scrutinize the minutes and 1 person to supervise the counting of votes. And as said, the person proposed to scrutinize the minutes is Camilla Maikola and the person to supervise the counting of votes is Alexander Lebedev. And Maikola, are you here? Yes, she's here, and you will accept the task and Lebedev is where? Over there in the back. Okay. And are there any other proposals as for the persons to scrutinize the minutes and supervise counting votes? No. And therefore, Maikola and Lebedev have now been elected. We are now at Item #4. This is recording the legality of the meeting. The notice of the meeting has been published on the company's website and as a stock exchange release on the 13th of February and meeting documents have been available on the company's website for the period required by the Finnish Companies Act before this Annual General Meeting. And the mentioned documents also are available here at the meeting venue. And I state on my behalf that the general meeting has been convened in accordance with the Articles of Association and in compliance with the provisions of Limited Liabilities Companies Act, and thus, [ thearefullly, ] it is legally convened and has a quorum. What about [ past month ] shareholders? Do you have any remarks about the notice of the meeting or about the quorum of the meeting? No remarks by anyone. So in that case, we can state that according to Articles of Association, according to Companies Act, this is legally convened and has a quorum. And we are now at Item 5, recording the attendance at the meeting and adoption of the list of votes. And shareholders participating in the meeting are considered to be those shareholders who have duly registered for the general meeting before the end of registration period and who have the right to participate in general meeting pant Chapter 5, Section 6 and 6a of the Finnish Companies Act and who have either voted in advance during the advanced voting period or are participating in the general meeting right now here at the meeting venue. And the voting list, which has at the beginning, the list of shareholders, proxies, assistance represented at the beginning of the meeting as well as the number of shares and votes held by each shareholder is held by the Secretary. So Ulla Bono, who is the Secretary of the meeting, will next state to us the attendance at the beginning of the meeting. So Ulla, please take the floor.

[Interpreted] Thank you. At the beginning of the meeting, we have here represented 518 shareholders, either by voting in advance or in person at the meeting venue or represented by a legal representative or authorized proxy. And I said that at the beginning of the meeting, we have here 8,820,201 Series A shares and 35,151,385 Series B shares and a total of 43,971,586 shares. And the total number of votes is 12,335,167, which corresponds to about approximately 82% of the company's total votes.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Ulla. And I further state that based on the advanced votes, the majority required for each item supports the proposals made to the general meeting. And a summary of the voting list is attached to the minutes and it's available for viewing on Chairman's desk. And furthermore, the voting list is, of course, confirmed to reflect the participation at the start of any voting. And also a summary of distribution of votes cast in the advanced vote is attached to the minutes. And a resolution proposal that was subject to the advanced vote is considered to have been presented unchanged at the Annual General Meeting. And furthermore, in addition to shareholders here present at the meeting, we have current members of Kalmar's Board with the exception of Lars Engström, who couldn't come to the meeting and also the proposed new member is here as well. And Kalmar's CEO and top management is present, and Kalmar's auditor, responsible auditor and sustainable reporting assurance provider and some technical staff are present. And that is now stated. And also, we confirm the list of votes according to the situation at the beginning of the meeting, confirmed. And now we are going to enter the Item 6, which is the actual substance, meaning that the financial year that ended on 31st of December 2024, the presentation of financial statements for that year, including Board of Directors, including sustainability report and auditor's report and sustainable reporting assurance providers report. And the company's CEO, Sami Niiranen, will next present to us the financial statements and also a review on the company's operations and sustainability program in 2024. And after this, company's auditor and sustainability reporting auditor, Kristina Sandin, will present the company's audit report and sustainability reporting assurance report. And after these points, we will open the general discussion and the opportunity to ask questions to company's management and of course, to the auditor, if you have any. So now Sami Niiranen, please.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much, and good afternoon to everyone. Welcome For my part as well to this first General Annual Meeting of Kalmar. It's a great honor and pleasure to be telling you about the first year of Kalmar as an independent company. So in the program today, we have first our strategy. I will go through the strategic principles until 2028 and then some highlights for 2024. And then sustainability is there on the agenda and, of course, the financial year 2024. I would like to point to this disclaimer because there are certain items on the presentation, which make reference to the future. Now 2024, the absolute highlight was Kalmar's listing on the Helsinki Stock Exchange main list on 1st of July. This took place according to plan and our teams in different parts globally did excellent job, not just with the listing, but also in terms of the continuity of business operations. So this is great news. And already last year, we were able to apply our strategy in different parts of the organization and in different parts of the world. So this is good news for growth. And here, we can see a summary of our strategy until 2028. And I would like to point out our brand promise, making every word count. So we want to create added value to all our stakeholders, the shareholders, customers and staff and partners and societies. So this is a very important part in our operations combined, of course, to our dynamic and forward-looking vision. So we want to be pioneers in heavy and sustainable machines handling machines. And here, we want to be pioneers. We want to be market drivers towards more productive and sustainable operations. And we have the market drivers, global megatrends support our activities. Some of them are mentioned here, especially a strong focus on safety and improving productivity, smarter devices and solutions, cutting emissions and geopolitics, of course, has an impact on our operations, but also gives us opportunities to grow. And the availability of labor force is very important in our field as well. So how do we achieve these objectives in the future. We have 3 strategic pillars. First of all, we invest in product development, sustainable innovations. And there, I would like to point out digitalization, electrification, automation, robotics, et cetera. But innovations are key here, very broadly speaking. And then secondly, a strategic pillar, very important one, maintenance and the change in our corporate culture towards customer orientation. And then thirdly, effectiveness, improving efficiency in our operations and also in terms of customers. So these are the 3 important strategic pillars, which stand on the solid base in our company, a very solid profile, and we operate in more than 120 countries, very close to our customers, and we have 68,000 equipments in use actively all over the world. So this is our starting point. And then our economic objectives, financial targets. So we want to achieve 5% sales growth per year over the cycle by 2028 and also a 15% comparable operating profit margin by 2028. And we also want to achieve more than 25% of ROCE and SBTi targets with 1.5 degrees commitment is here. Now globally, our sales and services network is very extensive. We have 1,400-plus service technicians for production plants in Poland, Malaysia, China and Australia. And this is something that creates a solid basis for us. We have 4 innovation centers in Sweden, Singapore and the U.S. And then our partners, dealers. They covered 34% of our global sales in 2024. And here are some pictures of our portfolio, market leaders. So we have read stackers. These are very versatile equipment that can be used. And then we have, of course, forklift trucks. Then we have terminal tractors here in the middle. And then straddle carriers, a fantastic 12-meter high equipment that are used in terminals and in ports. And then we have spreaders. So this is a very compact equipment portfolio that we can move around very easily. So sales and customer contacts are not just about selling equipment, we sell solutions to our customers. So these equipment combined with technology, electrification, digitalization, et cetera, and added maintenance and spare parts. So this is a great combination, a solid combination where we can keep our competitors behind us, behind our back for the next 75 years. So this is a very solid concept. And in discussions that I participate, we always go through why take these equipments. Their maintenance is emphasized. This is very important, and it creates trust in our and their operations. Now if we take a look at the geographical distribution of our operations, first of all, we have Europe and the Americas, North and South America and then emerging area is AMEA, Asia, Middle East and Africa. So that combined to our 4 customer segments, ports and terminals. So the market is the biggest there. But we have 3 other segments, which are heavy logistics, distribution and manufacturing. So globally, we are present in 3 different areas combined to these 4 customer segments, this provides us with resilience. And of course, maintenance services, 33% of our operating profit came from these operations, 1/3. And this is a good base for the future. And then, of course, I want to emphasize this very successful eco portfolio solutions, hybrid equipment, electrification and maintenance, 41% of our sales came from this particular portfolio. It was a rise from 35% to 41% last year. And then we have these 5,207 members of staff all over the world working for us. So the total market is very big, and it's based on organic growth, not based on acquisitions. Of course, partnerships are very important. But if we look at this organic market in 2023, the size of the market was EUR 13.40 billion. And it is expected to grow with 5% per year by 2028. And our objective is to grow and develop markets and develop electrification, use it as a driver for the market in order to cut down on emissions, and this is a great focus. So 2023, about 15% of the whole market covered electric devices, equipment, and it's about to grow about 28% per year by 2028. And then that would cover more than 40% of the total market. So this is something where we want to focus on the electrification. 1/4 of our product development was directed towards electrification. And then a few highlights from last year in terms of investments and launchings and partnerships. Here, we can look at electrification, 2 very important product launches for the main portfolio. We have the totally electric tractor and empty container handling equipment. So electrification, electrified models are in the markets. And our partnership with Elonroad, where we test dynamic -- a dynamic charging possibility on road. And this happens in Ljungby center, innovation center in Sweden, where we want to invest heavily in a new testing center. It's a state-of-the-art testing center, which will be constructed there in Ljungby in Sweden next year. And if we look at our partnerships, I would like to mention 2. First of all, Italian producer that produces heavy reachers, and we made a partnership contract with them. And also in the maintenance side, we have a collaboration with Volvo for the maintenance of engines. So this is quite extensive, what we are doing in terms of partnerships. And then our vision, it's very clear. It's good to mention we want to be a foreigner in sustainable material handling equipment and services. And this is not only our goal, but a deep commitment to leading our industry towards a more sustainable future. And this vision drives our strategy and strengthens our partnerships as we lead the way in reshaping the material handling industry. But it's not only about cutting CO2 emissions, but it's also about circular economy, biodiversity, human rights, health and safety, equality and ethics, business ethics and responsible sustainable sourcing. So these -- all these values cover the whole value chain, including our partners. Now 2024 annual report includes a sustainability statement, the report, which has been prepared as part of the Board of Directors report in accordance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. This statement is available in both Finnish and English and has been assured by the EY. In line with the directive, Kalmar has identified its material topics through the so-called double materiality analysis. Now here are some examples of Kalmar's sustainability efforts related to material topics. And of course, in the report, you can find a lot of details on this. First of all, environment, climate change, on electrification is in a very important role. And then social responsibility. Here, we focus on health and safety at work. And in the future also, this is one of our major focus areas. We also want to improve the diversity of workplaces with a clear road map in terms of equal and inclusive treatment of a diverse workforce. And as mentioned, we are more than 5,200 committed Kalmar members of staff and safety at work is at the heart of everything we do. And we want all of our members of staff to go from work to their homes safely. And then let's take a look at the management team. And when I call your name, please stand up for everyone to see. Let's start with Sakari. Sakari Ahdekivi, Chief Financial Officer. And then Ulla Bono, General Counsel; Thor Brenden, Terminal Tractors, President; Carina Geber-Teir, Communications and Marketing Director, Mathias [indiscernible] could not make it here. Then we have Arto Keskinen , President, Horizontal Transportation; Thomas Malmborg, President of Services; then Tommi Pettersson, President of Strategy, Sustainability and Technology; and [indiscernible], President, [indiscernible]. Thank you very much. Then let's look at the financial performance in 2024. Our financial profile has remained strong. In 2024, both orders and sales, EUR 1.7 billion and comparable operating profit margin was 12.6% and ROCE was 18.7% return on capital employed. And the comparable operating profit margin went up to 12.6% in 2024. So we managed to achieve a solid resilience in our operations. We were effective, and this is very much linked to the business operations and comparable operating profit. Now there are certain differences between the different geographical areas here. We continued our work towards a sustainable and profitable growth during the year. Now received orders in 2024 were about EUR 1.68 billion and order book, EUR 995 million. So a good result. The fourth quarter, we received a few bigger orders for container reaches. So this might then have an impact on the order book between the different quarters. In Ports and Terminals, which is the biggest market, their demand has remained on a stable level. Demand in the U.S., especially with the terminal tractors and distribution segments has remained slow, and we see no signs of pickup in the short term in the U.S. or the Americas as a region. And short-term significant improvement will not appear in that segment. However, we have 3 strong markets geographically. Europe, 44%; the Americas, 31%; and AMEA, 24%, as you can see. Now sales remained at a healthy level. And services from this was 1/3, services and maintenance. Now we have 2 strong reporting segments: Equipment and Services. They both performed well. Last year, the -- with equipment, this was 12.91% and services 17.5%. Our balance sheet is strong. And the strong balance sheet support growth. Net interest-bearing debt-to-EBITDA ratio is only 0.3%. The services part was EUR 249 million per year, and that amounts to 104%. So the Board of Directors is proposing to a dividend payment of EUR 1.0 per each outstanding Class B share and EUR 0.99 per each Class A share. And the record date is 31st of March 2025 and payment date is April 7, 2025, and this is according to the dividend policy of the Board of Directors. In February, we also published guidance for 2025, and we expect our comparable operating profit margin to be above 12% in 2025, which is in line with our long-term target of reaching a 15% margin by 2028. That's all for my part. Thank you very much.

[Interpreted] Thank you for that. Thank you, Sami Niiranen, for this. And before I will open the floor for questions, let's next have on stage APA auditor and Sustainability auditor, Kristina Sandin, who will explain to us about the auditing and explains also the auditor's report to us and of course, the assurance report for sustainability reporting. So Kristina?

[Interpreted] Thank you very much, and good afternoon to everybody. My name is Kristina Sandin, and I'm the responsible auditor for the company. Now briefly, I will go through the audit and sustainability report for past year. First, the audit. We have audited the financial statements and the group statements for past year. This was carried out with the IFRS accounting standards for the group and the parent company in accordance with the Finnish accounting standards. And the EY teams have carried out these audits in all the key locations of Kalmar. Now the timing and our reporting a bit exceptionally -- this has been performed during July 2024, whereas the report was given on 12th of February, and this exception is due to the fact that Kalmar as an independent company was created last summer. Our Audit and Risk Management Committee includes audit plan, interim audit findings and a summary of year-end audit. Now in the report, we look at the key audit matters, and there was one for Kalmar last year, valuation of goodwill. And here, we then give rounds for why this particular key audit matter is central and what were our audit methods in respect to this key audit matter. And we have also looked at the principles, how the consolidated financial statements have been prepared because of the demerger in June. And this has been -- this can be also found in the financial statements. And then finally, the auditor's opinion, both the consolidated and the parent financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial positions as well as the financial performance. And this is a statutory form report. And then finally, very briefly about the sustainability audit report assurance. And this has been carried out with the European standards, and we have carried out a double materiality assessment, and this is linked to the annual report. Thank you very much.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Kristina Sandin, for that. And as you are now reflecting on questions to the management or to the auditor, I would like to state for the record that financial statements include the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and notes and the consolidated financial statements have now been available for shareholders to view on the company's website from the 4th of this month onwards. And these documents have also been available here at the meeting venue and also in the materials distributed to the but you can download the QR code and get the electronic versions of these mentioned documents.

[Interpreted] Now I will open general discussion on this item that is the financial period and the company's operations and financial position. Does anyone want to ask for the floor? I see in the first row here. There is a request. Please wait for the microphone, please.

[Interpreted] I'm [indiscernible]. Voting sum is 58. And I have to say that there were a lot of more concrete ideas for me compared to previously when you were part of larger Cargotec. But I was thinking of the math myself. I was following your presentation, and you said that the markets are growing about 4% annually. And as you have a look at Kalmar's numbers, it looks to me that order backlog and net sales annually, they are going down. So what is the reason if one now concludes that you're losing markets? Why are you losing market shares? And then I will have another one as well, other question. As you think of market shares, so what are the market shares you have globally? So how strong of a player are you globally speaking? I have some more questions if other shareholders not ask more questions.

[Interpreted] We'll start with these questions. CEO, Niiranen, please.

[Interpreted] Thank you. Thank you for the questions, very relevant indeed. And I have to say that if you think of net sales and orders and the level we have currently, I would say it is very much according to what we have planned and according to guidance, what we said in the Capital Markets Day last year in May. So 2024, 2025 indeed are going to be rather flat markets or years compared to 2023. So we indicated that already. So there is indeed a big sort of a decline, but that leads to us the fact that growth that I referred to 5% or plus annual growth is not [indiscernible]. It means that we are now sort of predicting things and 2024, we were able to see and progress according to what we have said. But I'm not agreeing that we are now losing market shares. I can rather tell you that we have been very positively aggressive in winning market shares. One example is Q4. So last quarter, orders received. There, I would say you have -- well, also winning market shares in these numbers, even though the total demand is stable as a whole. But I would say this is one of the drivers for growth. We are active ourselves related to orders. And then about the market shares furthermore, there was also indication in the presentation where you saw some piece of equipment. So what is the proportional share we have? We're #1 or #2 in practice in all of our segments, main segments. 100% is not market share. No. There's still potential for growth, and there is also potential in services. But we do have a strong technology. We are leaders. We are also leaders in innovation in many of these areas. I could give you an example of the straddle carriers or spreaders. We have top, really top-level products in place, but I will not further explain the percentages. compared to competition. But there is potential, and I can promise you that this year and in the future, we will be very positively active here.

[Interpreted] Thank you. That was a good question, a good answer. There were 2 other requests for the floor in the first row, please.

[Interpreted]. I'm [indiscernible]. 77 is my voting slip number. Sami Niiranen was speaking about things like geopolitics and how that creates opportunities. I would like to ask you, if you think of European defense industry, currently, they are under great boom, so orders coming in through doors and windows. I would like to ask you, does Kalmar have any link to defense sector? In other words, do you have clients, customers in the defense forces or armies of different countries? And I think we all agree that if you think of Army, so Army is a place where you have the logistics, heavy loads up and down, laterally moved, et cetera. So I would like to ask about that. Is that a sector where possibly you could find growth in the future?

[Interpreted] Thank you for your question. I could say that the current situation is that there is no major business there, but I try to sort of say that a few percentage points maybe of our net sales are related to defense sector.

[Interpreted] Very small. That is currently the situation. And furthermore, on my right-hand side, second row, you have the microphone already?

[Interpreted] I'm [indiscernible]. Voting slip number 17. I did not see if you had a number related to R&D inputs. How much do you invest into R&D? And is the objective to even have a wider portfolio of products, extended thinking of handling of bulk materials, for instance?

[Interpreted] Right. Yes, I think I mentioned that I perhaps forgot to say that aloud, but 3.1% is the R&D input or investment into R&D 2024. And we talk about more than EUR 50 million in numbers. Since innovation and R&D is one of the key areas and pillars in our strategy, so it means automatically that we really have inputs, investments there. In addition to the 3.1%, it's good to mention that we have Ljungby, as I referred to, the test center is going to be built. It's not directly in the percentages of R&D, but there are investments, heavily investments to something that will enable our technology leadership also in the future. The portfolio is reviewed constantly. And I can say that I am happy personally with our compact equipment portfolio as there has been no decisions made some years ago on the heavy crises. So this is a great basis as linked all of this to technology and to service business. So I would say the basic portfolio is indeed there and where we do heavily investments is getting more and more electrification in the equipment in the portfolio. So you can see them already last year, 2 of them, but also automation will be involved. We also help our customers to be more safe and more productive. So definitely, there will be investments made. And then handling of bulk materials, one comment on that. Stackers, if you think of stackers, it's just for containers that we have spreaders. We also have bulk materials, spreaders can handle tires, heavy materials, even windmills or the -- what is the name of that part of the windmill. So yes, good number of applications.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much. Any other questions? [indiscernible,], as he promised, he will continue. Yes. Otherwise, the Q&A would have been a bit short.

[Interpreted] Just to make sure we talk about a global position in the markets. You're #1 globally. Could you continue on this? Who are your major competitors? Are they coming from China or from where? And then one more. If we think about if Mr. Trump gets going and imposes tariffs, then how would that impact your market position?

[Interpreted] Thank you. Yes, global figures for a global company. So we operate in more than 120 countries. So that's how we can compare the market shares. And then the competitors, if I put it very simply, and if we go back 5 years, then we had basically the same competitors then as now. So nothing has changed. But in the electrical market, Chinese have come in there 5 to 10 years with equipment, with products did not exist back then yet. Well, globally, Konecranes, SANY from China, PMC provide stiff competition. And this is a healthy competition. And it's very positive for us because it keeps us on our toes, but we trust our strategy, our services, our market strategy. So we are not stiff. We want to be very agile and flexible. Of course, there are certain regional competitors in terms of certain products. And then geopolitics and possible tariffs, of course, speculation is going wild. And this is the topic which we are always discussing. Of course, this is very relevant. And let's just say that if we talk about the U.S. markets, we have a fantastic production plant in the middle of the U.S. in Kansas, in Ottawa, we have tractors. And that combined with our dealers, distribution chain and also our maintenance portfolio. So we are pretty strong in the U.S., and we see opportunities there as well, not just negatives. Of course, depending on possible duties, tariffs, how high they are, if they are 10% compared to 60%, that's a big difference. In Kalmar, we want to prepare different scenarios to be prepared for all this. But our main vision is unchanged. And as a global company, we have to have plans that can be then changed somewhat. the global operation scheme for power plants and all these countries and product development and innovation is a very solid base for all this. Thank you.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much. I think the gentleman who posed the question is satisfied. And then we have another question.

[Interpreted] [indiscernible] is my name. Voting slip, 164. Now as President Trump is excitedly doing his thing and is not all the time just in the U.S. He tries to be friends with Putin. He's also active in Mexico, Canada and very eager to go to Greenland. I understand that there are minerals, gas and oil available there. So my question, what kind of impact does this have for Kalmar as a company? Have you already done something about this? It's great that there is a big production plant in the U.S. and production is ongoing. However, not all equipment, not all machines are produced there. Have you already shipped equipment and spare parts from Europe to the U.S. to prepare yourselves for possible duties?

[Interpreted] Thank you. Yes. Let's continue with this global theme. Yes, the U.S. market is the biggest market for us. And when we combine it with South America, we can see how big the region is. We have done already last year many preparations we produced plans. A big part of the U.S. business is covered by terminal tractors. And of course, there is also export from Poland, for instance, forklift towards the U.S. So there, we have to analyze the situation, see how the markets develop and what type of tariffs might have an impact. So according to our information, all these equipments that you saw in our portfolio, nobody -- none of our main competitors can produce all these 4 different types of equipment. So there are certain business-critical products that we are talking about. When we look at straddle carriers, they are very important in this respect. So it's a mixed situation at the moment. What we are facing, then there are certain critical products that are not produced there by anybody. So they must come from somewhere. And as I mentioned, we are #1 in the markets for those, and it gives us a good negotiation position. So of course, they all in the markets, they want to achieve the best possible solutions in terms of products.

[Interpreted] Thank you. And then there's another question here in the middle.

[Interpreted] [indiscernible]. 68 is my voting slip. Continuing on the previous. Do you produce equipment and machines for the storage? So would it be possible for you to provide them with ready-made products from the storage?

[Interpreted] Well, mainly, we act upon the orders that we receive from customers. But if we look at our portfolio, product portfolio, we have certain equipment types that move pretty fast, not the big ones. I'm talking about forklifts and smaller equipment. So this is possible to have in a strategic warehouse, not just linked to the U.S., but globally, this is important to win certain market shares. So we want to make the supply times shorter.

[Interpreted] Thank you. And then another question.

[Interpreted] Again, [indiscernible]. 146 voting slip number. Do you have any plans since you are making profit from maintenance and services, do you have plans to expand to acquire, for instance, local service companies.

[Interpreted] Well, let's say that 2028 strategy for 5 years is based on organic growth and strong partnerships, as I mentioned in my presentation, both on the portfolio side and also on the maintenance side. Possible acquisitions in terms of technology or maintenance work or portfolios. Well, that's not a priority in our current strategy. So we now want to invest on the EUR 13.4 billion markets by 2028. So we see this as a potential, and we keep to the 3 strategic pillars, innovations, Business Finland, that's a positive news. Business Finland yesterday and a press release is out now. We get more inputs from Business Finland and then services and efficient operations. So these are the 3 pillars that we want to concentrate on. There's a lot of work for us in the coming years.

[Interpreted] Thank you. Any other good questions? It doesn't seem to be the case. In that case, I want to thank the CEO for good answers. And we state that financial statements annual report, including nowadays the sustainable report and auditor's report and sustainable reporting assurance report for the financial year that has ended have now been presented to the general meeting, and they will be appended to the minutes of the meeting. We now move on to Item #7. This is adoption of the financial statements that were just presented to us. So can we now adopt the financial statements and the consolidated financial statements as presented? Nobody is asking for the floor. So in that case, we have adopted the financial statements for the financial year that ended on 31st of December 2024. We now move on to Item #8. This is resolution on the use of profit shown on the balance sheet and payment of dividend. And as you already have heard, the Board proposes to this Annual General Meeting that for this financial year, there will be a dividend paid, EUR 0.99 per each Class A share and EUR 1 for each outstanding Class B share that shareholders wll get that according to the payment of 31st of March, which is the record date and the 7th of April will be the payment date of the dividend. Any requests for the floor concerning this proposal? There is one request over there on row 2. We get a microphone. Please go ahead.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Chair. I'm [indiscernible], 146. I think that the percentage proportion of dividend is very good, and I hope that you will keep this in the future as well. And I now say to the future Board of Directors, please consider that in the future, the dividend will be paid in one installment during spring. So they will not stretch out the payment over the year or any further. So I do second this proposal.

[Interpreted] Thank you for seconding the proposal. Also thank you for the mechanism of payment. So there are greetings to the future Board of Directors. Nobody else is requesting for the floor. So in that case, the meeting has resolved to pay dividend according to the proposal by the Board of Directors. We now move on to Item #9, and this is resolution discharge of members of the Board of Directors, President from liability for the financial year that has ended. And this was a half of the year because there was a demerger in the middle of the year. So this will cover all members of the Board of Directors and the CEO. Does anyone want to ask for the floor concerning discharge from liability? No one has asked for the floor. So in that case, the AGM meeting has resolved the discharge from liability, the members of the Board of Directors and the CEO of the company. Next item is #10, consideration of the remuneration policy for governing bodies. And the Board of Directors of Kalmar has proposed to this Annual General Meeting that it supports the remuneration policy for the company's governing bodies and that this policy resolution is advisory and that the remuneration policy has been available on the company's website since the 13th of February onwards. In addition, the participants have received the materials of the meeting where you have a QR code and you can download the whole policy in electronic form. And also next item is related to this because Item 11 is the remuneration report. And I ask now the Board's Personnel and Remuneration Committee Chair, who is also Chairman of the Board, Jaakko Eskola, will now present to us the company's remuneration policy and the next item 11 related remuneration report. And after this, we will then handle and decide on these matters separately, individual items. But Jaakko Eskola, please.

[Interpreted] Distinguished shareholders, and I will next go briefly through the remuneration policy. So remuneration, it's good to note here that it was adopted last year, 2028 in Cargotec's Annual General Meeting, but now it will be presented for the first time here during Kalmar's Annual General Meeting. And if you think of remuneration and its plan here at Kalmar, it is important to take into account the value of the company and want to commit our employees to a successful strategy and its implementation. And at the same time, of course, we want to create long-term shareholder value. And this policy includes the CEO's remuneration, and we follow earlier policy in this regard. We have short-term incentive program where the maximum is 130% and a long-term incentive program where the maximum is 230% of annual base salary. And this remuneration policy is valid for the next 4 years, and it will be again later presented to the Annual General Meeting. And as the Chair of this meeting already explained, I will also, at the same time, briefly go through remuneration report for 2024. And the remuneration report follows fully the remuneration policy. And I will perhaps start by saying the -- what are the highlights that are related to remuneration report, what has affected this last year. Main points was, of course, the demerger. Kalmar been listed to the stock exchange. And there was a will to have a solid foundation for the future of the company for its future growth and also continue focus on commercial and operational excellence, and that enables us to get good results. And furthermore, we are then able to see that when the CEO presented numbers. And just a moment, Okay. Okay. There's a new slide. Very good, very good. The slide -- slides are following here. Let's now move from the report to remuneration of the CEO in 2024. I would say this is rather important part of the remuneration report. So the CEO remuneration is comprised of short- and long-term incentives. And it's good to note that Kalmar CEO receives a fixed base salary on top of that variable pay and the performance target level has been 64%. So this would be in line with the remuneration policy and how company develops. And as for 2024, short-term incentive program was based on comparable operating profit and on cash flow, both. And according to this, there were payments made to remuneration for EUR 130,360 paid. On top of that, the CEO had also a long-term incentive program. And through the last 2 years, there have not been any payments made related to this program. But if you consider the next program, 2025 onwards, then Kalmar's new share programs have been launched this February. And Kalmar will continue the short-term incentive program where the criteria for earning is about 80% financial one, so the marginal cash flow related, but there's 20% also ESG criteria. And this is related to improving safety and improving effectiveness in leadership. And as for the new share-based incentive plans, it's good to note that the following terms are being set for 3 years. So the performance reduction periods are set for 3 years. If you've been here previously as Cargotec shareholders, it was 3 years, but the payments were set annually. But now this is a change. This is sort of a new period that has been introduced. And then performance share plans, they are still based on the company strategy and long-term value creation. And they also include indicators such as total shareholder return service revenue growth, CO2 emissions reduction and also improving gender diversity in senior and leadership positions. And then my last slide relates to the Board of Directors' remuneration. A few words on this. So the remuneration of the Board are shown on this slide. I'm not sure if you can see because it's quite small text, but you can find this in the report itself. And it's good to note as for remuneration of the Board that there's an annual fee. And of that, 50% is always paid in Kalmar shares. Thank you all.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Chairman of the Board and rather actually Chair of the Personal Remuneration Committee. So yes, thank you for the presentation. And next, we will handle the remuneration policy. Does anyone want to ask for the floor related to remuneration policy? To remuneration policy. Nobody is asking for the floor. So in that case, we can state the meeting has decided to support the policy and the policy will be appended to the minutes. Now Item 11, this is remuneration report. So consideration and approval of it, and we just heard the presentation. You can find that also with the QR code. It was made public of March 4th of March, and we now open discussion on remuneration report. Does anyone want to ask for the floor? Nobody is asking for the floor. In that case, the An meeting has adopted the remuneration report, and it will be also appended to the minutes. Now Item 12, resolution on the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors. Kalmar Corporation has a shareholders' Nomination Board. And this Board has made a proposal to this Annual General Meeting related to remuneration of the Board members and also related to the number and composition of the Board. And this has been also published on the 5th of December last year. And the proposal is right now shown on the screen. It follows actually the fees that were paid out last year. So no increase of the fixed fees, but there will be an additional to the annual fee, 1,000 as meeting fee. And if you are in different countries or having meetings in different -- on different continents, there will be higher meeting fees for those meetings. And about 40% of the fixed annual remuneration will be paid in Kalmar [indiscernible] shares and the shares will be purchased from the market. And price formed in public trading and the rest in cash. And furthermore, company will pay for transfer or rather travel expenses or other expenses related to the Board work according to the company's policy. This is the proposal. Does anyone want to ask for the floor? I don't see anyone asking for the floor. In that case, this meeting has adopted the remuneration of the members Board as proposed. Item 13, this is a number of members of the Board of Directors according to Articles of Association, the number is from 5. So that's a minimum up to a maximum of 10 members. And currently, there are 7 members, and the proposal is to now elect 8 members to the Board. Does anyone want to ask for the floor related to this proposal? Nobody is asking for the floor. So in that case, this meeting has resolved to elect 8 members to the Board of Directors. Then Item 14, election of the members of the Board of Directors. So these 8 members should be adopted. Article 5 of the Articles of Association says that the term of office of the Board expires at the end of the Annual General Meeting following the first election. In accordance with the resolution just adopted by the general meeting, it is stated that the shareholders should take a stance on the whole proposal. So the members would be the same added with Casimir Lindholm, Jaakko Eskola, Lars Engström, Marcus Hedblom, Teresa Kemppi-Vasama, Vesa Laisi, Sari Pohjonen and Emilia Torttila-Miettinen as current members and Casimir Lindholm as a new member. The term of office would begin in the beginning of next month as soon as he leaves the Cargotec OY Board duties. So Casimir Lindholm is the new member in the Board. We do not perhaps need to be present him because he has also been a Board member in the Cargotec Corporation, and he will also be the Vice Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Investment and Project Committee and at the CEO of Meyer Turku, he's also present here at the meeting, and you are able to ask him questions if you so wish. So this was the proposal from the Nomination Committee. Are there any comments on this? Any questions here in the front? You have the floor, sir.

[Interpreted] Voting slip number, 93. Well, personnel representative is not here. Do you have plans that later on in the Board, you would have also a member representing staff?

[Interpreted] Thank you very much for this question. And perhaps the CEO or the Chair of the Board would like to reply.

[Interpreted] Well, I will state that in Finland, the legislation provides for this possibility in many ways, in groups, it is possible to agree on a staff representative in the Board with the staff. And this dynamic usually starts as a staff initiative and then the company can negotiate on this with them. Ilkka Herlin, you have the floor, sir.

[Interpreted] Ilkka Herlin Voting slip number, 82. On behalf of the Nomination Committee, I can state that this is not in the planning. So from the company side, this is not planned. And of course, it is up to the staff members to consider how would be the best way to go about this.

[Interpreted] Any other questions in terms of the composition of the Board? No requests of the floor. So it is stated that the AGM has decided to elect the Board members on the basis of the proposal of the Nomination Committee. And then Item 15, resolution on the remuneration of the auditor and the sustainability reporting assurance provider. The Board, in accordance with the recommendation of the Audit and Risk Management Committee has proposed to the Annual General Meeting that the fees of the auditor and the sustainability reporting verifier assurance provider be paid according to the invoice approved by the company. Are there any comments? If not, then the AGM has decided that the auditor and the sustainability reporting assurance provider will be paid a fee according to the invoice. And then Item 16, election of the auditor and the sustainability reporting assurance provider. Here, the Board has made a recommendation on the basis of the Audit and Risk Management Committee that we reelect the Ernst & Young OY as the company's auditor for the term of office ending at the close of the Annual General Meeting in 2026, and they have informed the company that Kristina Sandin, APA would act as the principal auditor if Ernst & Young is elected as the company's auditor. In addition, the Board of Directors in accordance with the recommendation of the Audit and Risk Management Committee has proposed that Ernst & Young be appointed as the company's sustainability reporting auditor. And here also Kristina Sandin in addition to APA is also an SRA would act as the lead sustainability reporting auditor. This is the proposal when -- since Kalmar was only established last year, last summer, and Ernst & Young has operated in their capacity only for less than 1 year. So I don't think there's anything to stop them being elected again. Are there any comments? No. So the AGM has decided to appoint Ernst & Young on the basis of the proposal. And then Item 17, authorizing the Board of Directors to decide on repurchase and/or the acceptance of as pledge of the company's own shares. The Board proposes the AGM that it authorized the Board to decide on the repurchase and/or pledge of own shares in one or more tranches. On the basis of this authorization, a maximum of 6,400,000 shares of the company may be repurchased and/or pledged, of which a maximum of 952,000 may be Series A shares and a maximum of 5,448,000 Series B shares corresponding to approximately 10% of Kalmar's registered shares, Series A shares and approximately 10% of B shares may only be acquired with the company's free equity capital and would also entitle to so-called directed acquisitions in derogation from the right of shareholders to sell their shares in proportion to their shareholding. This proposal is attached to the notice to the meeting and can be seen here on the screens. Are there any comments? No. So the AGM has decided to authorize the Board to decide on the repurchase and/or pledge of own shares in accordance with the proposal. Now Item 18, authorizing the Board of Directors to decide on the issuance of shares as well as the issuance of option rights and other special rights entitling to shares. Here, also the Board proposes that the -- this would cover the maximum of 952,000 Series A shares and 5,448,000 Series B shares, and they correspond to approximately 10% of each series of shares. And this authorization covers both the issue of new shares and the transfer of treasury shares. And this would entitle the Board to derogate from the shareholders subscription rights provided that there is a strong economic justification for doing so. This proposal is -- can be seen here on the screen and is also attached to the notice to the meeting. And [indiscernible], you have the floor.

[Interpreted] Chair, voting slip is 17. Since this proposal to authorize the Board to decide on all conditions of the issue of shares. So does this wording allow to freely issue Series A shares if the Board interprets that there is a considerable economic reason justification? Well, if this wording is not that clear. Chair, would you have a comment on this, a legal comment?

[Interpreted] Thank you. I could reply first. Yes, this authorization would grant the Board to derogate also from this privilege if there is a strong economic justification. Of course, the company does not have yet any history of shares issuance. It's a young company. But since there is no practice since 2005 on this type of issuance, but it is good to give this opportunity or this possibility for the Board if there is a certain justification for that. And I can see that the Board members are nodding. So perhaps there is no need to continue with a new question. Are there any other questions or comments on this? If not, then it is decided that the matter is adopted and the authorization is given to the Board. And then the last but final item, authorizing the Board of Directors to decide on donations. Here, it is proposed that the AGM authorized the Board to decide on donations of up to EUR 200,000 for university corporation, charitable or other similar purposes and to decide on the beneficiaries' purposes and other conditions of the donations, which may be made in one or more installments. So this is the proposal for the AGM, EUR 200,000 limit. Are there any comments? Any questions? If not, then the AGM has adopted this proposal. Then finally, Item 20, closing of the meeting. The items listed in the notice to the meeting have been discussed and these resolutions adopted were supported by all shareholders present unless otherwise stated in the minutes. The minutes will be available to the shareholders of the company -- on the company's website no later than 2 weeks after the meeting. So on 10th of April at the latest. I thank the participants and very good questions, very good replies. Thank you very much. And I declare the general meeting closed at 17:25. Thank you all. [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]