Proact IT Group AB (publ) ($PACT)

So good morning, everyone, and welcome to our Q1 2026 report presentation. My name is Christopher, and I'm Investor Relations and Communications Manager here at Proact. With me today, I have Magnus Lonn, President and CEO; and Asa Regen Jansson, CFO, who will walk you through an introduction to Proact followed by a quarterly update, financials and lastly, our closing remarks. After that, we will open up for Q&A. You can either raise your hand or submit a question in the chat, and I will read them out at the end of the presentation. So with that, I'll hand over to you, Magnus.

Super, and thank you, Christopher. So let me introduce you to Proact, to give you a short overview of what we are and so forth before we dig into the Q1 results yet. So we are a Swedish tech company, currently present in 12 different European countries, as you can see here on the map. And we are a specialist in data storage and handling modern infrastructure in all this flavor. And we have been doing this in 30-plus years and which means that we are really super experienced and have really high skills around this topic. And if you think about that, modern infrastructure, data storage, that is what is key for basically every company out there. If you want to do anything with AI, you need to have a lot of data and every company out there is basically protecting their data that is generated. And we, as private individuals and also companies are generating more and more data. So even if we were founded 30 years ago, I would say that we are by far more relevant today than 30 years ago, especially with what's happening in our surroundings and environment. We have a yearly turnover of SEK 5 billion, and I have been listed on the stock exchange since '99. Half of our revenue comes from what we call system sales and half of it is roughly annual recurring revenue, so our recurring revenue. And I will walk you through our different revenue stream in a short while. As you can see also in the graph here, we are on a growth journey since '21 and up to today, we have grown roughly 30%. And also, you can see we have by far improved our results under the way as well. So when you look at Proact, and when you evaluate this is a key message that you need to understand. We have 4 distinct revenue streams, and all of them are sort of hooking into each other and also strengthen each other. I start from the left here with our system sales. That is when we provide hardware and technology to our customers. It can be a GPU, it can be data storage, and it can be also software related to that. This is where Proact was founded 30 years ago, which we started off. And then over the years, we have sort of keep to that and then have evolved that over time. We are working with large and enterprise customers, meaning that the size of the deals that we are doing in the system business can be quite big. That means that if you evaluate on a quarterly basis, our top line can also differs a little bit between when system sales come in, if it's on the right side of the quarter or not. So I think when you look into us, it's important to evaluate over a longer time. Then when we sell system, we always -- and this is the key thing we provide. That's our competence. And then we provide our support services. This is a super good example of us building long-term customer relationship. Our support is a key thing for us. And this is a good example of recurring revenue. Contract length is often very long. It's 3 to 5 years. and payment is done upfront. Then everything we sell as a system, we can also provide that as a service to our customer. And that is what we call managed cloud services. And then when we sell it as a service, that means that we have our own staff, European local staff that are taking care of our customers' most critical data. And I would say nothing of this could happen unless we have super skilled consultants and experts that are advising and helping our customer design solution or work in their environment, building modern cloud solutions like Docker, Kubernetes and public cloud transformations. And you also -- I mean, some of the trends that, of course, are on top of everyone's mind is cybersecurity, how can you protect your data? Proact is by far really out there working with our customers building solid solutions. And then, of course, AI, everything starts with data. If you don't have access to data, it's hard to get some value out of it. Also, something that I think is really remarkable of Proact is actually our customer base. If you can see here on the picture, our solution and what we are working with is basically across all sectors and regions. It doesn't really matter if our customers are in the public sector, it's manufacturing or energy. Basically, as the world have developed today, everything is digital and our solution and our competence is needed across our sectors. This also creates a good risk profile because we are not dependent on any specific sector. We have a sort of broad spectrum when it comes to our customer base. And in the middle and the center of this one is, of course, the key thing. We are building long-term customer relationship, and that is the key, I would say, for Proact, taking care of our customer and helping guide them through the complex situations that is out there. So that's a short, short, and quick introduction to Proact, what we do and what we are working on, on a daily basis. And with that, let's move over to the quarterly update here and the highlights of the quarter. As you've probably already seen, we delivered a strong quarter, especially when it comes to our EBITDA. We grew that with over 45% and there's actually 2 big reasons for this one. For you that has followed us for a while, we have, during last year, really done a lot of hard work internally to sort of break the negative trend that we have had outside the business units from the Nordic, where we have sort of seen falling performance over a long time. So we did a cost program last year, and -- with that in place, we have actually seen the sort of early result of that here in Q1. We are a little bit ahead of our cost program compared to what we planned. And that, in combination with the sort of exploding memory prices that also have occurred here during quarter 1 created this sort of strong result that we delivered in Q1. And I will get back a little bit more around the details and dynamics around the price increases in a short while. But these 2 factors are by the far most contributing to the strong results that we delivered here in Q1. Also during the quarter, we were selected by Broadcom to be one of the few European partner that have the right to sell the solution. And I think this is a sort of really great testimony to our competence. And this is, for sure, something that we will continue and work and see how we can even more better help our customers going forward. Also, after the quarter, we did 2 things. Yesterday, we released a press release that we are divesting part of our staffing operations in Netherlands. This is part of our plan to do the turnaround in the business units and improve the profitability and also create focus to maintain in our core services and also core offerings. So that's part of our plan. So I'm really glad that we got this in place. And now we will work with a local partner to see how we can provide this even further. And also, I already mentioned around the strong quarter and so forth. This is area where I think it's worth spending a few minutes to understand the dynamics, what's happening in the market. If you can see here in the graph, this is the sort of index price for DRAM and NAND, which is the sort of standard components used in everything when it comes to tech and memory. Memories are located both in servers like NVIDIA and GPUs. It's reflected in data storage. It's reflected in computers, memories everywhere. And with AI and the huge sort of demand, this has created a perfect storm that for let's say, the capacity of the available memories has been limited. And when this has then been limited, it has had an impact on the price. So prices have increased dramatically. And this is what we actually saw during Q1 here, which is the box. And we have a close collaboration with our vendors. So we knew that price increases will come. So we have actively worked with our customer. So during Q1, we have also seen a lot of customers that have sort of bought earlier than maybe planned, and this is to avoid future price increases. So we have used and worked with our customer to help them avoid future cost increases. And this is what has been one of the main driver here during Q1. We expect that the price increases of memory will last at least throughout the year. It takes a long time to establish new production capabilities and the demand is still very high. And looking into the crystal ball, I think first half of the year, we will see a good momentum. And then, most likely during second half of the year, it will be a little bit slower pace, because if customer buys early and then we also see long delivery times that should during second half of the year, probably dampen the delivery times. This is snapshot as of today. And as you all know, the market is changing constantly, but this is the sort of best guess that we have right now. So this is the sort of the story and what's happening in the market when it comes to the memory prices. But to sum it up, I'm really glad that during Q1 here, all our business units is back to positive numbers and growth. And that, I think, is a really great testimony to the team and all the hard work that has been done. So with that said, I think it's a good segue over to you, Asa, to guide us through the financials.

Thank you, Magnus, and good morning, everyone. Let's have a closer look at the financials, starting with total revenue. Total revenue amounted to SEK 1.243 billion, which is an increase of 2.3% versus last year. Organic growth amounted to 2.9%, where the contribution from the acquisitions, BlakYaks and Consular of 2.9% was more than offset by an adverse impact from stronger Swedish krona of minus 3.4%. System sales grew by 3.5% year-on-year and 5.6% on a like-for-like basis to SEK 712 million. The development was a combination of volume, partly from a pull-forward effect as described by Magnus, and the higher prices successfully introduced over the quarter. Support revenues largely followed the system sales and grew by a little bit above 4%. Managed Cloud Services declined by 2.6% and 2.3% on a like-for-like basis, where growth in NOBA was offset by decline in the other business units, driven by a lower customer intake in relation to churn during last year. Consulting Services increased by 7.7% and declined by 6.1% on an organic basis, where the growth was driven by BlakYaks, compensating for a weaker underlying performance in U.K. Total service revenues amounting to SEK 531 million were stable and made up 43% of total revenue in the quarter. Moving over to top line development in the business units. Revenue increased in all business units except for Central, driven by system sales and growth in NOBA Services as well as contribution from BlakYaks in the U.K. The weaker revenue development in Central is largely explained by more cautious investment decisions following implemented and announced price increases. All in all, the decline in Central was compensated for by growth in the other business units, which, as mentioned, was largely driven by the system sales. Recurring revenue amounted to SEK 429 million, a slight decline in reported numbers year-on-year, but an increase of 1.3% on a like-for-like basis. Annualized recurring revenue has grown over the years with a dip in '25 due to the lower intake of new customers and challenges with churn in some of the business areas. There are, however, positive signs of recovery and returning customers. New cloud contracts of SEK 151 million were signed in the quarter, an increase of 24% compared to first quarter last year and are expected to start generating revenue later in '26. Moving on to the results in the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to SEK 115 million, which is an increase of close to 46% year-on-year and equal to an EBITDA margin of 9.3%. The strong earnings is, as Magnus described earlier, a combination of higher gross profits and the effects from cost reductions and improved efficiency reflected in both gross margins and administration costs primarily. All business units are back on black figures on EBITDA level, and we expect to see further effects from last year's efficiency program in business unit West and Central going forward. Having a look at the capital allocation over the last 12 months. Starting at a net cash position of SEK 101 million by the end of Q1 '25. Cash flow from operations have contributed with close to SEK 0.5 billion, SEK 472 million to be precise, which has been put in use through M&A of SEK 84 million, dividend payout in Q2 '24 -- sorry, '25 of SEK 64 million and shares have been bought back to a value of SEK 157 million. Amortization of leasing amounts to SEK 122 million over the last 12 months, ending Q2 '26 at a net cash position of SEK 21 million, including leasing debt. Total cash amounted to SEK 499 million by the end of Q1 to be compared with SEK 568 million by the end of Q1 '25. A new loan facility agreement has been signed during the quarter, replacing the facilities that were due to expire during Q2 -- Q3 this year. The facility consists of a fixed term loan facility of EUR 20 million, which is currently utilized and a revolving credit facility of SEK 600 million, including an overdraft facility of SEK 150 million, none of which has been utilized as of now. The underlying cash generation has allowed Proact to increase dividends over the years and initiating share buyback programs. The dividend payout has increased by 17% per year in average for the years '21 to '24 and the proposed dividend for '25 of SEK 2.6 per share, equal an increase of 8.3% year-on-year. In addition to dividends, as mentioned, Proact has with the mandate given at the AGM, been running share buyback programs since Q4 '23 to further manage the capital structure and generate shareholder value. Since last AGM in May '25, Proact has repurchased 1,549,511 shares and currently holds 1,845,745 shares in owned custody, corresponding to 6.8% of total shares. total number of shares. Going forward, the ambition is to continue optimizing capital allocation, balancing direct return to shareholders and investment in growth. And that was it for me. Thank you. And now back to you, Magnus, for some closing remarks.

Thank you, Asa. So just to sum up here. So we started off the year with a strong quarter. It was mainly driven by the work that we have done internally around our cost program and also, as I said in the beginning, the memory price increases here. Looking in the crystal ball, I think we will continue to see this positive momentum also in Q2, but with most likely that we will see a more dampening effect later in the year. But I'm also glad that we, during the quarter, are back to profitable numbers in all business units. We are continue taking the steps to improve them. And if you that have followed us for a while, you also see in the graph here that NOBA and U.K. are on a really good path. And with the steps that we are taking now, we also see really good movement in Central and West. So we will continue to focus on that and update you all. And with that, I think we conclude a good Q1 and looking forward to talk to you more soon again. And with that, Christopher, I think we should open up for questions.

Yes. So if you have any questions, just raise your hand, and I will hand you the word or submit them in the chat, and I will read them out loud. Let's see handing the word to Daniel Thorsson.

Yes. A couple of questions. First one, you had 4% organic growth in system sales in Q1 despite both volume and price increases, as I said here in the report. So that looks quite low to me if both these drivers were boosting sales. But I guess that this was explained by longer lead times and more deliveries in Q2, perhaps. Should we therefore expect a higher organic growth number in Q2 than we saw in Q1 for system sales. Is that correct understanding?

Yes, that's correct, Daniel, but we shouldn't over boost the sort of volume to be expected. But you're absolutely right that during Q1, we definitely saw longer delivery times. And my prediction is that this due to the shortage of memory in the market will continue throughout the year. So that could be a little bit problematic for customers that even if they want to buy, there is actually nothing to be delivered. But you're absolutely right in your assumptions.

Okay. I see. When I looked at inventory then in the balance sheet, it's up -- you usually have quite low inventory, but it's almost doubling since the Q4 report from SEK 24 million to SEK 53 million. I guess this is due to good orders at the end of Q1 and also longer delivery times. Can you say something about the gross margin mix in the pipeline? Is this inventory that you have been able to buy at lower prices during Q1 and now being able to sell and deliver in Q2 at a higher price so that we will see a good gross margin in Q2 as well?

I would say that it's actually a mix where we have increased inventory levels. And I wouldn't say that, that necessarily means that this will drive gross margin during the coming quarter. It's still -- even though it's a high increase, it's still a fairly small number that we keep in inventory.

Yes. Okay. So it's probably more a result of longer lead times, the orders you got in end of March weren't delivered and they go out in April instead of something like that.

Yes. That's a relevant interpretation, yes.

Okay. Fair enough. And then on the cost reductions, number of employees here in Q1 were down 29 people, I think, roughly. What's the outlook for the rest of the year? Is this a level where you feel comfortable? Or should we see any further reductions of smaller size or...?

I mean, as we released yesterday, we also did a divestment in the Netherlands, and we are still working on some of the part of the cost program. So that's on one side. At the other side, we're also investing in our business where we see that we have potential to grow and so forth. So it will be a balance. But yes, so that's my best guiding. We will -- yes, probably end up Q2 a little bit lower, but due to what I just said.

I see. Okay. And yesterday's divestment in the Netherlands, how many people were affected by that, roughly?

Roughly, it was around 20 people impacted. And then in that, we also had some subconsultants that have been working for us. So it will have a limited impact on our overall numbers, but this is a super important step for us in building our business going forward.

Yes. Okay. I see. And then a final one on the segment here. Did you see prebuying and stronger gross margins in segments West and Central as well, helping Q1 EBITDA to be positive? Or would you have reached a positive EBITDA driven by cost reductions purely?

I mean, we saw growth in actually every business unit, except in Central, where we also made some decisive decision when it comes to some of our customer and also sales in Q1. But with that said, I think we continue to focus on the things that we can impact and also sales, for sure, is a key thing for us. So that's what we are working with.

Perfect. So then over to some questions we have received in the chat, starting with George. Regarding memory component price, could you try to quantify the tailwind/benefit you experienced in terms of and the product price increase both in terms of system revenues and pull forward demand and impact on margins, isolating the margin impact on gross margin versus the scale effect from increased revenue?

The easiest answer is we will not, in detail, do -- I mean, the numbers that we have released in our quarterly report, I think, is the amount of detail that we can go into here. But I think if I try to answer it in another way is that I think in Q1, we have for sure get some tailwind related to the cost increases. So that, I think, is important for everyone to understand. Will the cost increases be sustainable and live forever? I don't think so. I think it will remain on a high level for at least '26. But -- and if and when the production capacity, I think we will see a more normalization when it comes to memory prices. And then there was a question around the revenue impact from divestments and perhaps also -- as I also mentioned there, the sort of overall impact of whole Proact, it's quite small when it comes to revenue impact. But it is an extremely important piece that we got in place yesterday in our plan to build a more profitable business unit to invest. So for us and the work and what the team have done, this is a super important piece in that, building a more profitable Proact. Then there is a question around M&A. This is, for sure, something that we are really, really looking into. I have said this before, and I will continue to echo that. I strongly believe in doing M&As where in areas where you have a strong business. If you look into our numbers, that means that in the Nordic and U.K. market, I see definitely potential for growth. If you have a good operational business, that means that you have a good home. Also, one thing that we have changed since last year when I entered this is that when it comes to buying companies and also the integration work coming after that, we are now more focusing on having a light integration and focus more on sales. I am really glad that we, during the quarter, also celebrated 1 year with BlakYaks. And I think how we have done it and what the team in U.K. and BlakYaks have done throughout the year is a really, really great example of how you can better create value when it comes to acquisitions, things like that. And also, as you that have followed up, you noticed that we bought Consular in December and also the team have done a fantastic job here during Q1, and I'm really looking forward to follow them going forward. So yes, we are definitely looking into M&A. But for us, it's more important that we find the right target that fits into our portfolio.

Next question. Could you help me understand how rising memory prices benefit you and how it affects your gross margin? You've stated before that you don't take price risk and only order when your customers do. Are you able to charge more when prices are volatile?

It's a good question, Oscar. I mean, it's actually both. Foremost, what has happened during the quarter is that prices have increased 300% to 400% in some cases. And prices continue to change on a daily basis. So of course, it's a volume effect that the prices is going up. Then we, as a partner, we have different partner programs and things like that. Some of them are based upon volume. So just pure mechanical that, of course, creates also a better contribution. But we are also really trying hard working with our customers to help them avoid customer -- sorry, price increases. So -- but with what's happening in the market now, this has had a positive effect.

So what was the SEK contribution from Consular in the quarter? Looking at the reported organic growth versus nonorganic growth, it doesn't seem to add up to a level of annual sales of DKK 8 million.

What we can say is that Consular, that mainly then is a systems business. They were affected by longer delivery times. So it is a good remark. Q1 was a bit slower maybe than expected, but that is mainly then due to deliveries slipping into -- or slipping away from Q1.

So last question. Can you comment on support services attachment rate/retention rates, given that your ordinary sell some form of support for systems, shouldn't we expect to see support services as much higher percentage of revenues overall?

Yes. I mean that's a really good question as well, Anil. By far, I would like to increase our support even more, and that's something that we are working with. I think you should see this as it's a mix around that the hard -- the physical hardware, the price for that is super expensive. And then our support services that we add on top of that is then spread out over the full contract time and so forth. So just by the difference in number, that creates the maybe some skewed relationship when it comes to 14% versus 5% to 55% when you look into the revenue. So that's one of the explanations here. But as I said also in my presentation, our support, that is a key thing for us, and also something that I know our customer really, really value because if you think about this, the environments that we provide to our customers, that's part of their critical infrastructure. So a bank, a hospital and you can take any industry hardware needs to function and otherwise, it creates really hard impact to both the society and also the customers to our customers. So that's a key thing. Good. Do we have any final questions? Then I would like to thank everyone for listening in. It's -- I'm really glad to also report a strong quarter, and it's a good start of the year. And I know my team and everyone at Proact are working 100% commitment in helping our customers and things like that. So -- as you see here, that also creates result, and I'm really looking forward to talk to you soon again, and give you even more updates in the coming quarters and so forth. So once again, thanks a lot for today and see and talk to you soon again.