FIRST QUARTER - CONTINUED GROWTH AND STRENGTHENED PROFITABILITY 

We started the financial year with a high level of activity and continued profitable growth. With clear variations between different parts of the operations, sales grew by 7 percent, of which 1 percent was organic. Exchange rate fluctuations had a negative impact of 4 percent on net sales. EBITA increased by 11 percent to SEK 922 million (831), corresponding to a stronger margin of 15.8 percent (15.3). P/WC rose to 77 percent (71) and we welcomed two new companies with strong positions in attractive niches to the Group. Overall, a good first quarter where our well-diversified operations and attractive business model continue to show strength.

MARKET TREND

For the Group as a whole, the market situation was favourable during the quarter. The market for infrastructure products for national and regional networks and products and solutions for defence customers had the strongest overall growth. Demand in the medical technology, electronics, mechanical- and process industry segments varied between different parts of the operations but remained stable overall. The market situation in the sawmill industry remained weak, although order intake increased slightly during the quarter. The market for specialised vehicles developed positively during the period, while companies exposed to data and telecom and building and installation, with the exception of data halls, continued to experience challenging business conditions. 

From a geographical perspective, the market situation was good in Norway and Denmark, somewhat weaker in Sweden and in Finland, where we saw some improvement compared to the fourth quarter. In our principal markets outside the Nordic region, the business situation was weak in the DACH and Benelux regions, while it was generally stable in other countries. 

ACQUISITIONS

We continue to deliver on our strategy to use our own cash flow to acquire well-run companies with superior value generation. Two companies, AMP Power Protection in the UK and Novatech in Canada, were acquired during the quarter, adding total annual sales of around SEK 330 million with good profitability. The acquisition climate remains favourable and our operational- and ownership model continues to attract entrepreneurs, which is rapidly filling our pipeline with attractive acquisition candidates - both in the Nordic region and in new strategically selected markets. We have an ambitious acquisition strategy and given our strong financial position, with a historically low debt/equity ratio, we enjoy favourable conditions for continued value-generating acquisitions.