SFS Group AG (SFSN) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

So good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for presenting the annual report of 2025. The following presentation of the 2025 annual results can be found on our website at www.sfs.com, under the Downloads section. Now it's not moving to the next slide. Somehow it's not moving to the next slide. Can you -- someone is on the braking pedal, most probably you. Sorry for that. Volker Dostmann and I are pleased to present the SFS Group results for the financial year 2025. It was yet another year characterized by a demanding market environment, geopolitical uncertainty and continued currency headwinds. Despite this, SFS delivered solid results. Our diversified positioning across end markets and regions once again proved to be a strength. At the same time, we initiated important structural measures that will strengthen our competitiveness for the years ahead. So next slide, I have to say. Let me briefly guide you through today's agenda. In the next roughly 45 minutes, Volker and myself will actively walk you through the highlights of the year. I will start with a short reminder of how SFS is positioned and how we create value for our customers. After that, I will summarize the key takeaways of 2025. Volker will then walk you through the key financial figures in more detail, and then I will return with a short overview of the segment developments before we conclude with our outlook for 2026, and open the floor for questions for the remainder until noon. Now we got kicked out. Okay. I'll start with the positioning of the SFS Group. SFS as a company is people throughout everyday life, often unnoticed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our mission-critical precision components, fastening systems and quality tools are embedded in the products and processes of our customers. While our products are often small components within larger systems, they play an essential role in ensuring reliability, safety and performance by focusing on mission-critical applications. We help customers achieve efficiency and cost effectiveness across a wide range of applications. This positioning is built on a long-term customer relationship, engineering expertise and a deep understanding of our customers' applications. Our guiding principle is simple, inventing success together. In many cases, the direct cost of our products represents only a very small share of the overall cost of our customer products. The real value lies in optimizing the overall process. Through value engineering, we improved product performance, simplify installation processes and reduce supply chain complexity for our customers. This is where we, as value creators, create measurable gains. Our activities are structured in 3 segments. Engineered Components focuses on highly precise customer-specific components and assemblies. Fastening Systems develops and markets application-specific fastening solutions for the construction industry. And Distribution & Logistics provide tools, fasteners and C-part management solutions for industrial manufacturing customers. Optimizing the product. Let's now take a look at the specific end market with an aerospace application. This example illustrates how value engineering works in practice. Instead of simply supplying a standard component, SFS engineers analyze the entire application and redesign a new solution. By replacing the conventional bracket solution on the left side with a hybrid insulated pin fixation with bolts on the right side, we can reduce weight and operating cost. At the same time, customers benefit from easier installation and lower procurement complexity. The next success story as well in aerospace shows the engineering capabilities of our Engineered Components segment in the aerospace industry. From the initial customer idea to first flight, the development took only 16 months, which is very short for aerospace projects. The solution combines advanced plastics and metal processing technologies to create an ultra high-strength composite overhead compartment hinge for the refurbishment of existing aircraft cabins. It provides more space for passenger luggage, improves boarding and deboarding and contributes to both sustainability and cost efficiency for airlines. To give another example from the aerospace market. Many of the solutions developed by SFS are not visible to the passenger, yet they are essential for the performance and safety of the aircraft. Typical examples include cabin assemblies, assembled solutions, injection molding components and new also aerospace fasteners. These solutions require a very high precision and close cooperation with the customers already during the design phase. SFS supports customers from engineering and prototyping all the way to serial production, creating strong and long-term partnership. In the Fastening Systems segment, SFS combines products, tools and digital engineering solutions into integrated fastening systems. Our approach is not only to supply fasteners itself, but to optimize the entire fastening process. This includes specialized insulation tools and calculation software that ensures the correct application of the fastening solution. By combining these elements, we improve reliability, productivity and efficiency for our construction customers. In Distribution & Logistics, SFS focuses on optimizing the supply and the management of tools and C-parts for industrial customers. Through smart tool storage and digital issuing system, employees have immediate access to tools and consumables at any time. This improves availability while reducing inventory levels and administrative effort. At the same time, the generated data enables further optimization of procurement and production processes. Payback for the customer is usually less than 5 years. The concept can also be compared to a razorblade model. The system itself is the infrastructure, while the tools and consumables represent the continuously used blades. Through this system, we not only supply the tools but also generate transparency on consumption and usage patterns. This allows us to provide additional services such as cost optimization, inventory reduction and process improvements for our customers. To act as a true value engineering partner, it is essential for SFS to have a clear focus on specific end markets and customer applications. For this reason, the SFS Group implemented several organizational changes to sharpen its end market exposure and strengthen collaboration across the segments. As of January 1, 2026, the Engineered Components divisions were reorganized around applications, and the new region, Asia was created to further develop the important Asian growth markets. Urs Langenauer was appointed as Head of EC segment; Martin Reichenecker to go with the leadership of Region Asia; and Iso Raunjak became Head of D&L segment; while Christina Burri joined the Group Executive Board as Head of Corporate HR, Communications and ESG. These changes also reflect the generational transition in leadership and ensure continuity in the execution of our strategy. I'll start with the key takeaways of 2025 at a glance, resilience in turbulent times. The year 2025 proved to be another intense year against the backdrop of an adverse market environment. SFS realized solid results, thanks to its broad positioning across different end markets and regions. A program to streamline the global production and distribution network was proactively introduced with the goal of realigning production capacities with partially reduced customer demand and strengthening focus on core activities. Third party sales of CHF 3 billion was generated, plus 0.6% versus prior year. Organic sales growth of 2.9% demonstrates strong market positioning, currency effects again had a significant impact with minus 2.9%. And adjusted operating profit EBIT of CHF 371 million, in the prior year CHF 350.2 million was achieved, which resulted in an adjusted EBIT margin of 12.2%, in the prior year 11.6%. Reduced earnings per share of CHF 5.63, in the prior year CHF 6.21 were caused by the economic environment and the nonrecurring effects from our program to streamline global production and distribution network. Expenditure on plant equipment, hardware and software declined considerably to CHF 103.7 million, in the prior year CHF 148.9 due to the completion of several major projects. Organizational adjustments, as mentioned, were completed to support the generational transition and to strengthen customer focus. The key takeaways are clear. Consistent progress was achieved. In 2025, SFS achieved total sales growth of 0.6%, while organic growth reached 2.9%, demonstrating the solid underlying performance of the business. Currency effects had a negative impact on the reported figures. The main growth driver during the year was the electronics end market, which showed particularly strong demand. As a result, sales in electronics increased from around CHF 400 million to CHF 422 million, confirming the strong positioning of SFS in the targeted electronics applications. On the environmental side, interim targets were exceeded. Sustainability remains an important pillar of SFS' long-term strategy. In 2025, we made further progress in reducing our environmental footprint. Compared to the 2020 baseline, Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions were reduced by 77.1% measured as CO2 emissions in metric tons relative to net sales. At the same time, we continue to increase the use of renewable energy, 81.5% of our total electricity demand is now covered by renewable sources, reflecting our continued efforts to decarbonize operations and move towards our long-term climate targets. On the social side, dual education goals were secured, progress in accident rate finally achieved. Alongside environmental progress, SFS has also made further advancements in the social dimension of sustainability. Our training and development targets were successfully confirmed, reflecting our strong commitment to education and continuous employee development. A significant number of employees are engaged in education and training programs, reinforcing the importance we place on developing skills and future talents. At the same time, we achieved a significant improvement in workplace safety. The accident rate measured as the number of accidents per million hours worked, declined noticeably, reflecting the continued focus on safety initiatives across the group. With that, I'm now handing over to Volker for the presentation of the key financials.

Thank you very much, Jens, and a warm welcome also from my side. The financial year 2025, as said, was to be seen in the front of a backdrop mixed with geopolitical and economic challenges, distinct FX development and instability of international trade. We may report good results and satisfactory development in such difficult environment. The team showed great dedication to their end markets to their customers and found opportunities despite all of that. We thank all of the 30,646 employees for their dedication. And I summarize the performance as a consistent progress. We grow, we optimize ourselves, namely the production and distribution network. We drive profitability and we generate with that significant levels of cash. But let me go into the details, starting with sales. We show sales of CHF 3.056 billion, which is 0.6% growth adversely affected, as you see, by the FX environment, CHF 88 million up to the tune of 2.9% that is lost against the appreciation of the Swiss francs. Sales dynamics during 2025 have been challenging, as said, but after a muted first half year by geopolitics and hesitations in order patterns globally, we report a pickup in Q4 especially versus prior year, and our organic growth is despite the adverse conditions at 2.9%, just shy of our midterm guidance. This is largely based on the positive developments in Engineered Components where we see, especially in the electronics end market, replacement cycles in mobile phones. Additionally, the increase of stamped parts that we deliver to the respective customers successfully support our top line. In parallel, we continue to ramp up the known brake systems in the automotive end market. That's happening in Switzerland, in China, in India and in the U.S. We are on track to see good progress there. Distribution & Logistics shows very solid development in an end market where especially machine builders and manufacturers restricted their demand painfully and kept their priorities on operational necessities. Still, the team has managed to achieve organic growth of 2.4%. With construction activities in Central Europe being very sluggish versus a more dynamic North American market, the segment Fastening Systems saw headwinds from the weakening of the U.S. dollar. Gradual improvements during the year were dampened towards year-end again. Overall, we see a slight negative performance throughout the year for the Fastening Systems segment. As said, FX development, again, mainly against Swiss franc, dollar, euro, Swiss franc, melted off a significant portion of the locally made progress 29% up to the tune of CHF 88 million. Looking into breakdown by geography and industries. I would like to highlight that we stay very solid in Europe at 56.8% and the share. But also we'd like to point out the shift in North America and Asia, where we gradually gain footprint to Asia 14.3%, and the Americas 17.8%. Sales breakdown by industry shows a stable situation as well. Industrial manufacturing at 27%, just losing a wee bit in an extremely competitive market environment. We managed to keep the footprint almost stable. Construction and automotive, both at the 20% reach. Our local for local approach remains a strategic pillar. And with that setup, we see ourselves well positioned against tariffs and customs discussed. And also the unilateral measures taken by the respective countries. The uncertainty and the volatility from the end market demand is more of a concern to us at these days as the tariffs itself. Operating profitability is at the CHF 371 million or 12.2% or EBITDA, CHF 505.8 million, 16.6%, which is a normalized figure. Reported, we are at CHF 324.3 million, 10.6% or EBITDA of CHF 466.6 million, 15.3% of sales. We adjusted to CHF 46.7 million one-time nonrecurring cost in the program of streamlining our production and distribution footprint, and this shows the results. We have managed to lower our personnel expense quota by 0.5 percentage points, and OpEx by 0.4 percentage points in a sustainable way. Based on a stronger second half year top line versus prior year and the improved performance, we record an emphasized pickup in profitability towards year-end. As mentioned before, we tie that to significant part to the favorable economic environment in electronics, where we see this replacement -- the replacement cycle and also to the dynamics as such. We expect that to flatten out slightly during the coming months. And 2026 should not be such a distinct difference between first half year, second half year. Being on an adjusted basis back in the target of 12% to 15% EBIT range was possible due to the progress in the streamlining of the footprint of production and distribution networks. And I would like to give a bit more detail on what we are doing at the moment and where we are on the next slide. We said that we are going to reduce top line by CHF 110 million, phasing out technologies and legacy products. We are, at this point of time, at the range of 20% that we actually phased out. Individual discussions with customers are ongoing, and we are confident to reach the target. As a nature of the topic, this is going to take longer. 650 FTEs were announced that we want to reduce overall. We implemented actions affecting more than 330 FTEs by year-end. 50% of the workforce is therefore roughly targeted. And again, this is a topic where we take our time in order to find the best possible solution for the businesses, but also for the individuals. And we are working towards finishing all these measures by end of 2027. Reducing these 650 FTEs does and will involve closing as well as selling of individual sites. Divestiture is clearly there in the realm, and we would, in any case, prefer that as we can grant these people in the future in a different environment. Should you be looking at the overall FTEs on the group level, you will not find the 650. We have 2 counter effects that we would like to mention here, which have absolutely nothing to do with the streamlining of the profit -- of the production footprint. But you see the distinct workforce up in electronics, which usually is a temporary workforce, that is temporarily higher, as well as the ramp-up in India where we are expanding our product portfolio. The total cost for the adaptation program was targeted at CHF 75 million, which still is our total target. At the moment, we are more than 60% through the measures from a cost perspective, one-time cost perspective, as I said, the CHF 46.7 million. We are striving to improve 0.8 percentage points on EBIT. We've seen first minor effect in 2025. We'll see roughly shy half of that in 2026. So we are here on good track. If we look at what we did in a chronological order, then you see these different sites that are and will be affected. And I'll summarize as follows. We have places where we are through, sites where we are through like Brunn am Gebirge in Austria, like Olpe in Germany or Mocksville in the U.S. These sites are closed. The measures are fully implemented. On the other hand, we have sold Allchemet to the management in Emmenbrücke. That is one of these divestitures I mentioned. And we are lastly in implementation in Torbali in Turkey, in Turnov in Czech and also in Flawil, in Switzerland, where we are on track. And all measures as said shall be implemented by year-end of 2027, which brings me to earnings per share. And as already mentioned, we have earnings per share of CHF 5.63, which is CHF 0.58 down versus prior year. We have impact from the streamlining program and the one-time cost, which obviously are reflected in our earnings per share. On the other hand, we have a pickup in profitability and mix, which works counter this. We have no or minor impacts from the financial result this year. And we have a bit of a pickup as we pay nominally less taxes in the year 2025. Based on that result, the Board of Directors will propose to the general assembly of 22nd of April, a dividend of CHF 2.5. As in prior year, we will distribute part of that CHF 0.50 out of privileged capital reserves, which is an advantage to the individual shareholders in Switzerland. The rest, the CHF 2.0 will be distributed as a genuine dividend. With that, we stay in a payout ratio of below 50%, which is a clear signal that we will continue to deleverage our balance sheet. Dividend yield is at 2.3% measured with the share price end of the year. Net working capital development remained flat, which was quite of a challenge in a situation where we had tariffs and uncertainty from a logistics point of view. We managed to keep that flat, especially focusing on inventories. Overall, we stay at 28%. Clearly, it remains a topic to come down on these levels again. Brings me to capital expenditure, where we say with 3.4% of sales, we are reaching a historical low which is clearly down and below D&A ratio of 4.7%. This is clearly the outcome of the streamlining of the production floor print and the increase of utilization of existed installed capacity. Additionally, of course, we have the trends from the ending of the investments in Heerbrugg, which were large. And in China, in Nantong, where we had larger investment cycles during the last 2 years. We keep the rigid view on CapEx, and we will reconfirm here the bracket of 4% to 6% of sales going forward in investment into CapEx as we take the positive cash flow from that element. We go to the operation free cash flow, which is a very strong signal at CHF 274 million. And therefore, at 57% of EBITDA or 124% of net income, which we deem as a strong signal and a clear document of the good ability to generate cash. As I said, whilst we optimize ourselves whilst we grow and therefore, also deleverage our balance sheet, and we will strive for that further. Net working capital management, diligent CapEx decisions and profitable growth are cornerstones in our decision-making. We see ourselves positioned to keep the cash generation up and reconfirm the target bandwidth of [ 40 to 50 ] of EBITDA going forward. As said, balance sheet ratios come back steadily and the equity ratio that we lowered deliberately in 2022, acquiring Hoffmann Group and expanding distribution and logistics has come back to 64.4%. Meanwhile, good, in the range and above the targeted 60% threshold. Our first outstanding bond has been reimbursed against the revolving credit facility and we strive, as said, to go that path further as we go along. Return on capital is fluctuating or moving exactly in parallel with our profitability and comparable levels to prior year along those performance indicators. Effective tax rate, to our dismay, did raise again. We were aiming to reverse the trend and fighting against it, but we have some elements to line out here. One is the closure of sites made us write-off deferred tax assets as we lose them, which drives the tax rate. Secondly, we have a distinct hunger of the economies to generate tax income and the creativity in Germany, France, Italy and Hungary, with new taxes drives our tax rate and our ability to counter react was somewhat limited. And lastly, the continued moving out of our tax shield in the U.S. is counter affecting our other measure. If we look at tax rate on strict statutory rate, we would end up at 23% as we are positioned today. So there is a potential, and we will implement measures to drive that down and/or keep it flat. That brings me to the KPI summary. I conclude my detailing on the performance. Thank you very much for your attention, and hand back to Jens.

Thank you very much, Volker, and I'm happy to continue with the presentation of the segment development. I'll start as usual with the headlines of the Engineered Components segment. The Engineered Components segment delivered good growth in both sales and profitability supported by several end markets and application areas. Within this segment, the electronics division was a key growth driver, particularly through stamped components used in mobile devices and components for nearline HDD applications. The aerospace business showed a very encouraging performance throughout the entire year, reflecting strong demand and successful project execution has proven through the introduction. In contrast, demand in the medical device industry developed somewhat below expectation during the year. Despite excess capacity in the European market, the automotive division achieved solid results, demonstrating the competitiveness of its product portfolio. In addition, several ramp-up projects in Switzerland, China, India and the United States are progressing. Finally, George Poh and Walter Kobler retired from the Group Executive Board, and Urs Langenauer assumed the role of Head of Engineered Components segment. The Fastening Systems segment was impacted by the economic environment, particularly in Europe. In the context or in this context, the segment recorded a slightly negative sales development and weakening currencies further reduced operating profit in this sluggish market environment. At the same time, the North American construction industry proved more dynamic than its European counterpart. In addition, regionally cold and unusually long winter conditions at the beginning and the end of 2025 had a temporary negative effect on construction activities. Nevertheless, demand recovered slightly over the course of the financial year. And finally, market access in North America was further expanded through the acquisition of DB Building Fasteners in the United States on August 1, 2025. The Distribution & Logistics segment showed subdued market momentum during the year. Nevertheless, the segment delivered solid results in this challenging environment, supported by prudent cost management, the onboarding of partners and a comprehensive range of products and services. The planned acquisitions of the partner companies, Gödde, Oltrogge and Perschmann will further strengthen the platform. These acquisitions will enable the further internationalization of the trading business. They will also allow us to pull resources and realize advantages in terms of expertise and costs. Furthermore, the purchase of a 51% stake of the 3D-printing platform, Jellypipe AG now renamed Hoffmann Additive Manufacturing expands our technology offering. Since January 1, 2026, Iso Raunjak has been leading the Distribution & Logistics segment. Looking ahead to the financial year 2026. The outlook is still characterized by considerable uncertainty. Against this backdrop, the group will continue to focus on its rigorous customer orientation, pushing ahead with innovation projects and ensuring efficient and profitable business processes. We will steadfastly continue to pursue and implement the global production and distribution network, streamlining programs introduced in the year 2025. For the 2026 financial year, the SFS Group is focusing on the midterm guidance and expect organic growth of 3% to 6% in local currencies as well as in our adjusted EBIT margin of 12% to 15%. Looking ahead, we continue to focus on our main strengths and opportunities with a clear emphasis on disciplined strategy execution, our key priority is building a fit-for-purpose global manufacturing and disposition network that reflects the current economic environment and includes targeted site-specific optimization measures. At the same time, we remain committed to maintaining a strong financial foundation supported by operational cost discipline in response to the challenging market conditions. In addition, we'll continue to pursue selective bolt-on M&A opportunities that strengthen our technology portfolio, market access and distribution capabilities. Alongside these initiatives, we aim to further increase the equity ratio, ensuring that SFS remains financially robust and well positioned for sustainable long-term growth. At this point, I would like to thank all employees of the SFS Group for their commitment, expertise and innovative energy, which were essential for the good results and development achieved during the year. I also extend my sincere thanks to our customers, business partners and shareholders for their trust, loyalty and constructive collaborations, which supports the long-term success of SFS. Thank you for your attention. And now Volker and myself are happy to answer your questions you may have. We'll start first here in the room. [Operator Instructions]

Alessandro Foletti from Octavian. I have a couple. Maybe starting with the top line guidance for 2026. You had 2.9% organic in '25, and now you're guiding for a little bit less than that for '26. So I wonder what was special in '25 that is not repeating and what are the risks and chances for '26?

Last year, we also guided 3% to 6% in local currency, same as we do. This year, Volker will give us a little bit of the breakdown then in detail on where we expect this growth happening. Overall, I think when we go back a year from now, at that time, we also clearly said we have innovation projects and in general, initiatives in the organization to grow 3% to 4%. And this is roughly where we also ended up. And so also this year, we have a range of initiatives, which we are implementing as we discussed, so ramp-ups, which we expect to have in the year '26, also probably in that range of around 3% to 4% overall. I don't know whether you want to?

Maybe it's important, in that mix, we will see roughly CHF 50 million that go out as we streamline our production and distribution network, right? So from this CHF 110 million that we overall target, we expect roughly CHF 50 million in 2026 to materialize. So that is a headwind that you need to factor into your calculation.

Right. But then you have -- I don't know if this works, but then you have about CHF 100 million plus/minus, if I calculate correctly from M&A, right? And this is 3%. So you have CHF 50 million going out, that's 1.5%. So you have a 1.5% tailwind only from M&A or scope of consolidation, right? So looking at organic, it doesn't seem to be very dynamic, what you are indicating, at least the bottom of the range. So I wonder what are the moving parts? And where are the challenges?

I mean moving is -- the volatility, I think we mentioned earlier, we do not see yet a clear trend of recovery, right? We do see first sparks. We do see good months in some end markets. We see lower months in the same end markets. It's not a consistent trend that we have at the moment that signals recovery. That's the volatility that we alluded to, right? And yes, we are, from that point of view, we take our reservations. I think that's clear.

And I think if we go back to the numbers, as you mentioned, the Gödde, Perschmann, Oltrogge is around 3%. Then we had other acquisitions last year, smaller ones, which will give us an additional 0.3% to 0.5% effect on that one. And then we expect roughly around 1% to 2% from projects. And when we go through the segments and take a look at the opportunities and start with the Engineered Components segment, we have a ramp-up ahead of us in aerospace fasteners that's one specific direction we take. Secondly, we have new programs also in the electronics area, where we add and increase value-added on the smartphone side. Then in automotive, we still have ramp-ups ahead of us with braking systems. These are more or less the main growth drivers broadly in Engineered Components, especially in China and India, we see that automotive demand is good and solid. We have roughly around 70% market share in China with ABS Valve components and see new customers coming. And we're also working on ball screw drive technology customers in China. Besides that, we also have ball screw drive technology customer in India, which we acquired, low volume, low momentum, not a large market, only 6 million cars being produced in India. So maybe that's to be taken a little bit more on the cautious side. Then we have also to realize that most of the ramp-up projects, which we have seen over the last 2 years have not yielded yet the full top line impact as we expected. This is naturally given because the market environment has been a little bit more challenging. And we have also seen that some of the customers overestimated the change in technology. But sooner or later, we also expect that this will be happening and maybe this will take a little bit more time, and that's growth opportunity which we have in the back end. Then in the segment Fastening Systems, we have seen that we had good organic growth in North America, a little bit challenging environment in Europe. And here, we have to say that in North America, we are gaining new customers. Our competitors have supply chain issues. So we expect here to also make further inroads on the construction market side. And then in Europe, it's more or less, it's a matter of recovery of confidence because the mega trend is clear. There are not enough apartments. There are not enough buildings out there. We have seen a substantial better performance against our competitors in Europe with our numbers as we have shown. So also we believe, we gained market share in general in Fastening Systems. And then in Distribution & Logistics, which is mainly the industry environment in which we are. We have seen, I would say, a sharp correction over the last 2 years in Europe. We believe this correction is almost through. And we should see slightly improvement in the European environment. We see new applications like defense, for instance, is giving momentum to the industry in Europe and the general industry, the automotive is maybe more challenged on that side. But we also see that, I would say, the adjustment cycle, we believe, is gone, is through. And now the demand cycle will slowly start to build up, not quickly but slowly.

Just one small addition to that. Acquisition of the partners in D&L will yield only 3 quarters of the year. That might affect your...

Okay. 130 times 3 divided by 4.

Yes, it's still, given on the CHF 3 billion, it's still an impact.

One question then I'll pass on the mic. Maybe can you give a little bit more precise guidance on the CapEx? Because we really hit historic lows.

We're not going to be consistently below depreciation, right? I mean we are not going to stay consistently for a longer period below depreciation. We said 4% to 6%, we'll stay for this year rather to the lower end. But we will see, we will see eventually other expansion projects coming. We are, at the moment, building out India. We will have -- during this year, we will have machinery being added there. That's not going to change it significantly, but we will see that figure coming up. That's why we say 4% to 6%. For 2026, you can expect us to the lower of that range. But we will not stay consistently below this 4%. That's not going to fly.

Well, what I wonder is, we look at the past, you had very often like sort of normal CapEx and then a couple of bursts where it really went above the 6%, et cetera. Is it just not possible to keep it less volatile and more sort of kind of preparing today, future ramps? Or you really have to do it this way? And you will always have this sort of big chunks?

The big chunks, as you write out properly has a lot to do with technology and changes, shifts usually require that. Then as we know, I mean, positions are usually occupied on the supply side within applications. I mean a door is opening, you need to go in full force. And this is where we usually then see a peak. We have seen quite a few peaks in automotive due to the braking systems, for instance, then also in electronics due to stamped products and such things. So that's very much a characteristic of the Engineered Components segment. In FS and D&L, it's more as we go. We need initial CapEx on a smaller basis. So we cannot promise it depends more or less on bigger opportunities. And the profile of SFS is clear. We need to go in early when the technology is new and fresh and form and shape, then the design so that we are specified in then for the rest of lifetime. And that usually requires that we do a leap forward. Otherwise, we leave the room and the space to others, and following usually is not as attractive on the margin side.

Christian Bader from Zürcher Kantonalbank. I have a question regarding your capital allocation. Now that your equity ratio is so high and net gearing is lower than everybody was expecting. So can we expect an acceleration of M&A activity in the short term? Or will it take a breath now having done a few deals in Europe?

Overall, we are not afraid of heavy cash around us, and it gives us an opportunity then to maybe also be a little bit more flexible and a little bit more constructive in -- on the M&A side, what we do with it. So I believe first priority for us is that we take a look at the quality of the M&A opportunities, which are out there in the market. That's key besides adhering to our strategy on the M&A side. Secondly, having more firing power is usually not a disadvantage. So we will be patient. And I think when we go back in history in time, SFS, we had quite a few years where we got asked a lot. When do you do a step forward, and we were patient to wait and then do the right move forward, for instance, with the Hoffmann Group or with Tegra Medical later on. Same as we speak now. We certainly see more opportunities in the market. You see every year, we do usually 2 to 3 acquisitions. But once again, we are patient. We are in there for the mid and the long term and quality is key. We do not want to distract ourselves, management and the operations from customers and innovation by having to solve problems, which we cause by rushing into maybe M&As, which are not beneficial maybe there on that side.

And maybe a question on your supply chain. I mean given what's ongoing with the war in Iran. Are you affected at all by any supply chain constraint or maybe increase in the freight cost?

The questions are mounting as soon as it started, the telephones are running hot, everyone is calling and asking this question. And as we have experienced also from the past, when you know early on, the ships get rerouted and maybe it takes 2 weeks longer. And in terms of inventory management, that's not much of a challenge. So we expect that we deliver to our customers on time and as promised. We do not expect that this will leave a mark on the top and on the bottom line. Besides that, we have, I would say, in terms of total sales, on the marginal volumes, which we ship from Asia to Europe, it's specific products. Usually, we source locally very strongly. And from that point of view, we do not expect an impact. We expect an impact that this is a further dampening of the sentiment overall that maybe consumers but also industrial customers will probably remain more on the cautious side and maybe on the opportunistic and aggressive side, that's probably the effect we will be seeing. On the capital allocation side, the M&A side, certainly high focus on Fastening Systems, construction market. That's the key. But we have also seen that when there are opportunities around in the D&L segment, that will also act there. If we could wish probably, we would ask for more opportunities maybe in the Americas and Asia. But that's on the wish list. Then we had a question here.

Tobias Fahrenholz from ODDO BHF. Can we speak a little bit about Germany? I mean it's an important region for you. Do you see some signs of improvement there? When would you see at the earliest some benefits from the bigger programs there? So thinking about D&L then maybe a little bit later cyclical, the Fastening Systems business. And how is your expansion of the product portfolio with the new fastening high runners going on?

I mean, alluding a bit to that, that we are all waiting for these big investment programs to happen, right? I said it before, until it drizzles through the supply chain and really creates orders at our sites, we mentioned we expect 24 months. What we would have hoped for was increase in sentiment, improvement in sentiment in the respective end markets, and that would kick in much faster than we would see the genuine money distributed to come our way. We don't see that sentiment changing significantly. The pessimistic view in the market is persisting and that keeps that sluggish situation in construction, in Distribution & Logistics. And I think in the general industries, automotive area, it's widely discussed. So from that point of view, we see there a pocket of improvement. But as I said before, not a consistent trend where we say the market as such is showing maybe signs of one or the other direction.

And I think the pocket is the key. As you mentioned, the opportunities are out there as we talk defense and aerospace, for instance, is on the positive side and general machine building, mainly companies which had a major export to India, China, those are challenged overall. But I think fast key besides understanding the market key is then what is the need in the market. And there, we deliver good solutions. Everyone needs improvements on the cost side, needs to become competitive, needs to have a partner at the site, which we believe we are, who tells him there is room for improvement for potential to become more efficient. And I believe that's the opportunity now. We lay the groundwork for the next leap in growth. Now you specify yourself into situations with new tools, new solutions, which then scale later on when the environment will improve again.

Maybe one more on the outlook, especially the profit margin. I mean we managed to get to the 12% at the lower end. As you said, well, you expect some savings from the program, let's say, maybe 30, 40 basis points. So you mentioned the wide range was 12% to 15%. Is this year's range somewhere between 12.5% and 13% or?

If that's your calculation. I'm not going to counter that one. I mean we said we want to see roughly half of the improvements until end of 2026, and that would go into that direction, yes. The range is rather wide. But we stick to it with our with our capital tied in and with our end markets and the respective risk. We belong into a bracket of 12% to 15%. And we just wanted to signal also that is where we are committed to be.

So next question. Yes. Right here.

I would have a question on the big topic of AI. There will be potentially a big improvement in labor productivity, especially the white collar labor productivity. Have you tried to quantify that? Or can you give us a kind of tangible forecast, what that means for you? What you do in order to implement these new technologies in the company?

Yes, yes. That's a very good topic. And I think we are full force on the AI side, committed to use it as a tool to improve productivity, but also to develop new solutions for our customers, increase efficiency. Last year, we had our international management conference exactly under the theme of AI, the next step opportunity. We have around 100 use cases in the organization on AI, where we work on to be implemented besides that we have many opportunities already implemented. So if we start in the operations, we have a tool in place, which we call [indiscernible], that's our own developed manufacturing visualization and improvement system where year-by-year, we expect to improve productivity just by the system, 2% to 3%. The system captures data from all the working centers and brings them up, visualized in a good way so that the operator understands what are the main levers he or she has to improve productivity. In the background, we collect all the data, analyze it and also further improve. So from that point of view, if we go back 5 years when we had an issue on an operating center, maybe it took you 3 to 5 days to fix the problem and solve it. Today, it's a matter of half a day because you have the data, and you can, from there, derive the root cause of the problem. So that's maybe on the operational side. And certainly, we have also on the white collar side, as you say, expectation is when you go out there and take a look at white papers that you can improve productivity by around 15%. Our ambition is that we said we want to improve productivity annually between 3% to 5% on the white collar side. So that's a clear ambition we have given to the organization and we budget year-by-year, the main initiatives and improvements going forward. And thirdly, also on the market side, use AI tools and the e-shop, for instance, to lead customers easier, better and faster to their specific needs and products, which we have available to them. So overall, holistically, we clearly see this as a big opportunity. It's innovative. It's increasing productivity. And especially us, we see ourselves between the customer and usually a hardware product. But in between, it's all about digitization. That's the main enabler. And maybe on the IT side.

I mean we have formed a dedicated team that is administrating and realizing implementing selected initiatives out of this funnel of 100-plus initiatives, which gives also the organization tools at hand and environments where they can safely test their options. We deem it as very important that employees start working with the tools, right? And we felt like it was also -- there was a hesitation around in respect of security, of what am I allowed to do, how can I, right? We gave there, meanwhile, a very good platform that is heavily used. And we see adoption is being really fast. And it sparks new ideas. And I think that is not to be underestimating the element in the AI environment is that you have dynamic from areas you never would have targeted before, right, because we have spread it out now. And that is working very well. And we'll look forward to realize some major steps where we also have then actually a reduction in workforce at certain process steps.

Okay. Maybe a second one. If I look at volume-wise, I mean you don't report the numbers, but given the organic growth that you report volume-wise, the group hasn't really grown that much in the last years. This year again with FX against you reported growth going to be flat, most probably you're closing or divesting 8 sites in these 3 years. So basically in front of this backdrop of sideways or shrinking kind of overall development. There are two other big topics out there. One is defense. Second one is robotics. I understand that your exposure to these 2 sectors is not significant or not that great at this point in time. What do you do in order to jump on this bandwagon, so to speak, in order to capture part of the growth that is probably coming from the 2 sectors?

We are certainly exposed to those areas. Defense has been quiet for many decades, we can say, in Europe mainly. But we are certainly active in North America where we have specific applications for instance. But it never has been truly a focus area where we say we want to set the future strategy and group on per se because when you take a look at the SFS Group, we have a sharp focus for consumables. And in defense, it's the cycles that can be quite intensive. And in consumables, like ammunition, we do not want to go. That's not our expertise. That's not our focus. So we are mainly with the indirect enablement in defense. That means if new production is opening up, if someone is producing specific defense products and solutions, then we help this organization in equipping a manufacturing site with the needed tools and the needed infrastructure to do so, but we are not spacing ourselves into specific defense applications. So from that side, we have seen good growth. I think, top of my head, around 20% growth in the defense applications we are focusing on. Last year, this has been some of the pockets and niches where we have seen growth also in Germany, in the DACH region, for instance, that's essential to us. And secondly, I believe also part of the DNA of the SFS Group is that its consumables so that we have a steady continuous ongoing growth and not too much variation because, especially us with our DNA of automation and CapEx and investment, it always provides then the risk that you are maybe underutilized for quite a few years and maybe invested in specific applications you then cannot take to other end markets. That's the challenge. So the nature also of our Engineered Components business and D&L business is very much that we go into applications where we are flexible and reallocate and reuse the investments into maybe new applications, and that's somewhat limited in defense, in aerospace also somewhat limited. So we need to make sure we stay close to our DNA, and that's the path going forward.

Torsten Sauter from Kepler Cheuvreux. I'm not quite sure I understood your comments on the tax development, which is kind of higher than the statutory tax rate 26% versus 23% or something. Can I take the 23% as an indication of some sort of a guidance for the medium term? And what sort of tax can we expect for the year ahead?

Okay. So I was a bit fast on that, rather imprecise. 23% would be if we are in each and every jurisdiction optimally structured, right, which you never are, as you have adverse effects. And we need to work on that delta, number one, right, between 23% and 26.5%. But that's number one. Number two, we need to squeeze out the 1x effect from giving up legal entities, namely that's going to be the case in Turkey, and in Czech, right? And we need to dampen that out. And lastly, the question is how we work on our legal structure and how we, within the given jurisdictions, kind of optimize the overall flow of values. Now your question is towards where do we go? We would like to bring that towards '23, of course, not being in a position to give you precise date by when. But I would say we should see a first step this and next year, right? We must work on that. Yes.

Can I have a follow-up? Totally different topic. I understand that the European Commission has recently proposed this Made in EU framework. With your current setup and the products and verticals that you're shipping to, to what extent do you see SFS affected?

As we said and with local for local, we -- let's -- your shift of topic, let's come back with a completely different view on that. When we looked at tariffs and trade, we looked at streams that we really have crossing countries and delivering of one country to another, we ended up at roughly CHF 50 million for the group, right? So it is very limited where we really produce out of another country for a respective end market. From that point of view, I'm not very alarmed. I was alarmed when Switzerland was considered non-EU, which seems not to be the case anymore. That would have affected our trade between Switzerland and Europe in the long term, right? And that would have been a headache, but that's gone by now.

I believe it's even a huge opportunity since we -- on the D&L side source around 90% of the products within Europe, which we distribute in Europe. We are certainly one of the partners to be with, especially when we then talk about, for instance, on the defense side, 70% of the value added needs to come from within Europe in such applications we can support, we can be a partner, we can help to achieve that. So since there are no more questions in the room, we -- there's a question. Yes, last one, and then we go to the questions on -- that side, yes.

The question is actually quite simple. I've seen 2 multiyear trends. One of them is the ForEx, which everybody in the room knows. And the second one is your share of Swiss sales is also a multiyear decline. My question is you talked about Americas and Asia as a source of M&A. Have you ever looked at Switzerland with generational changes in small to medium companies that you would do acquisitions in Switzerland because you would no longer have the currency problem?

Absolutely. We do not exclude Switzerland as an M&A market. As a matter of fact, especially on the construction side, we have the clear intention to become stronger in Switzerland. We believe we are not well represented with our Fastening Systems segment in Switzerland. And so if there are opportunities, we would certainly go after that and take a close look at it. So now we have the questions from online, yes.

So we start now with questions from the chat. We will unmute Jörn Iffert for questions.

A couple of questions, if I may. The first one is, please, on the EBIT margin, on the core EBIT margin development in the second half 2025, which was, I think, a very strong improvement in D&L. Can you please tell us what exactly were the key moving parts here? Why it was so strong in the second half versus the first half? Because I think in absolute terms, revenues are not too different. And then the same for Engineered Components, if this was mainly product mix with HCV and smartphones? This would be the first question. If it's okay, I would take them one by one.

Yes. Thanks for the question. So the distinct shift in D&L and Engineered Components, Engineered Components, pickup in electronics. So really mix and dynamics in the end market underpinned there the EBIT margin. Second effect within the Engineered Components is also the phase of the ramp-up. The ramp-up as they continue reaped more on better profitability as in the first year. So both of that plays into Engineered Components. When you look at D&L, it is truly not a shift in dynamic from a top line point of view. But there, we see clearly effects from the distribution network adaptations that we did and which kicked in, in the second half year. So there, we see really, I would say, a productivity improvement sales per employee. That would be the factors. If that helps you with your question, Jörn.

Yes. And then maybe to follow up on the second question then on the margin outlook for 2026. First of all, to clarify, did you say organic sales growth, 3% plus? Or is this including these complementary M&A to double check on the operating leverage? But then additionally, I mean, like my colleague was stripping out, you have the efficiency gains on the margins from the [indiscernible] you are doing overall having contributions on total EBITDA, which I think is quite profitable from recent M&A. If I set this into context to the revenues, you have some operating leverage. So isn't this 13% run rate you have achieved in the second half the starting point to think about 2026? And if not, what are really in absence of macro risk, et cetera, the cost blocks we need to consider or reinvestments we need to consider on the margin bridge?

Okay. I think first, the question on the guidance. The guidance is clearly in local currencies, including scope effect, right? That's what we -- that's how we used to state it and how we keep it up, right? So no change from that point of view. And your question about the margin dynamics going into 2026. Now electronics replacement cycle that we saw -- we've seen in Q4 2025 as well as the ramp-up in automotive and engineered components. As I said, we expect to flatten out slightly, right? So we do not -- I mean you said, is that now at the beginning of the new level. It will come down slightly as we see electronics in its seasonality coming down, and it will also volume-wise kind of be a more muted situation quarter 1, quarter 2, 2026 as today, right? I would see no considerable cost blocks that we are adding. At the moment, we're working more or less to the other side. Of course, we are building up capacity here and there, but this is capacity that is mainly utilized and engaged already. So from a profitability point of view, not a game changer. And on the other hand, our streamlining of the production footprint will continue. As I said, adding a bit to the EBIT first half, we would expect to see by end of 2026 in the margin, right?

Okay. And the last question, just a technical one. Sorry when I missed this. You talked about your defense exposure was growing 20%, if I understood this correctly. Can you tell us what is the absolute amount you think you have as exposure to the defense sector when you were able to quantify the growth to it?

Yes, yes. Internally, we have a number which we usually say it's around CHF 30 million to CHF 36 million in defense. But question is always what do you count into defense and whatnot. It's somewhat not a black and white and a little bit of grayish area. That's roughly the basis.

Good. Then we continue with another question from the chat from Vitushan Vijayakumar from Baader Helvea.

So I would just have a question on -- so the growth drivers that are coming for '26 and even ahead. So I heard that there was a good momentum for the electronic markets with replacement cycles in mobile phones, as you mentioned. I wanted to know if this was rather a one-off effect? Or is it something that would be sustained in the future? And also, if you can just touch a word on -- about the footprint gaining in Americas and Asia as well, it would be good, yes.

First off, in electronics, that's unusual development replacement cycle we have seen in '25 for '26. We do not bet on it in the same amount and the same development, '26 is more about new value-added, meaning new components, new designs where we are able to participate and specify or being specified into new devices and solutions, which come to the market in '26. So we expect that the current base will continue in '26 with a number of smartphones and solutions being sold. And secondly, we expect them to have more value added in there. Then to the question on the footprint expansion we have seen in the United States that we, in the Fastening Systems segment, acquired DB Fasteners. So our ambition is clear to continue that also in the year '26 that we maybe have smaller bolt-on acquisitions on the construction-related or end market related smaller companies with that growing geographically in the United States and gaining access to new customers, which we do not have. Same in distribution on logistics and engineered components probably in the Americas and Asia, we would wish for -- so that means on the M&A side, strategically, we look sharper, more focused on Americas and Asia since we believe the opportunities are there. That's part of the strategy going into 2026. Also with Martin Reichenecker having now the Region Asia more in the focus, we also expect to hopefully create there more momentum. I hope this did I answer your question.

Just another one on the competition and the pricing one. So I just wanted to know if you see any changes compared to 2025 or 2026 in terms of competition, but also in terms of pricing?

Yes. The competitive environment is fairly stable, we have to say in the end markets, some of the applications in which we are. I would need to think very, very hard to give you even a name of a new entrant, usually in our core applications, very steady, very stable overall. Clearly, in an environment like we have seen in '25, prices become more flexible, maybe a little bit more aggressive to defend market. So we usually then have the strategy to defend our pricing levels and secondly, go in with new solutions, innovations, maybe new product lines to offset and not needing -- need to give too much away and rather focus on new solutions, which then yield a good margin profile. That's usually our strategy as we are not the one to go to focus on commodities, for instance, and a low price strategy. We are more on the innovation side, on the solution side, on educating the customer what to do and giving strong advice. That's our position. So life maybe became a little bit more challenging in '25, a little bit more on the defensive side. '26, we expect not too much change to that. We expect that the environment remains, I would say, with a high focus on cost and efficiency improvement on the customer side, and this is what we need to deliver. Good. Since there are no more questions online and are there any more questions. Yes here. Yes. Sure. Always.

Just yesterday, there were [indiscernible] reporting numbers, sort of similar, maybe a tick lower than you, but in general, comparable. What I kind of liked -- one of the things that I like about what they said was their strategy to follow their global clients, right, where they supply them like you do with [indiscernible] in Switzerland, but these clients are global, and they're really -- can you do the same? Are you doing the same? Should be a big opportunity for D&L?

Yes, yes, absolutely. That's the big opportunity. And historically, as the Hoffmann and D&L segment, is focused very much, I would say, on customers in Germany, Austria, but also rest of Europe. We see that they have very strong key account management, which we are also expanding to our Swiss customer base, and this key account management exactly does that strategically. We focus following customers as customers shift value added to different countries and regions maybe for various reasons. We are clearly there to their site to help them and support them. That's initiative number one, which is a given. Initiative number two is that we also are progressing in defining more local assortments, meaning that besides the global need and the global support, having them in China, Chinese assortment, which is more tailored to the Chinese needs and demands and characteristics, same we do in India and the same we do in the U.S. So we go into the future with a twofolded strategy following customers, but also local enablement with local solutions, which is key.

And is this kind of sort of already baked in, in what you're doing in the current growth rate of the company? Or is that, at some point, a change in the trend towards the upside?

That is baked in.

For '26, I imagine it is.

But also going forward because we see -- we must not underestimate, we see also the other way around. We also see global manufacturers building their automotive manufacturing sites or other manufacturing sites in Eastern Europe, in Mexico, in the U.S. And what they're doing, they bring their customer and they bring their supply chain with them wherever they come from, right? So we see also there quite a fierce environment. And as we showed last year once in a presentation, this switching costs for the relevant customer to switch between their current D&L provider and us as incumbent, that needs quite a bit of power and sales force until we can enter a new ground.

I think that's a very good point you make. In Engineered Components, we are already a little bit further there. We have customers we pick up in China, and they now come here to Hungary, for instance, or Serbia, and have a demand which we cover here even though we picked them up in China. In D&L, that would be the wish to be also at that point in the future. Not yet there. I believe that this local assortment initiative is starting and developing. We need to build it out more solidly. Good. And we are right on time, 12:00. That's great. So Swiss precision also on your end with your questions you had right on time. So thank you all, and we wish you a good lunch and happy to invite you for lunch. Thank you. All the best to you.