Q1: President’s statement

Strong performance in chassis springs and several industrial niches.

Group

Growth in the quarter was both acquisitive and organic. Demand in was stable overall, but varied across the Group’s diversified customer base. Certain customer segments, such as the automotive aftermarket, medical technology and other niches, displayed good growth, while demand was weaker in the broad industrial segments, which displayed slightly declining volumes.

Subsidiaries

Lesjöfors noted mixed demand across customer segments and geographic regions. Both net revenue and order bookings grew organically. The Chassis Springs business area delivered good growth in all major markets thanks to strong end-customer demand, normalized inventory levels and high service levels. In Industrial Springs, the Nordic countries, the UK, the US and Asia contributed some growth. In Central Europe, however, demand was weaker in relation to general industrial and construction activity. The operating margin improved sequentially compared with previous quarters as a result of actions taken and mix effects in various customer segments.

For Beijer Tech, demand was generally stable, but varied between business areas. In this report, we are presenting the new Niche Technologies business area for the first time, which delivered high growth thanks to acquisitions and organic growth in sectors driven by trends other than industrial demand. Fluid Technology and Industrial Products experienced generally weaker demand. The Norwegian market contributed to growth, while demand in the Finnish market was lower since it was impacted by strikes.

Acquisitions

During the quarter, Beijer Tech acquired the company AVS Power Oy, a leading Finnish technical wholesaler and manufacturer of pneumatics, industrial valves and compressors. The company and its product range are a good fit with the Fluid Technology business area, where we already have similar operations in Sweden.

The activity level in the M&A market was generally high during the quarter, and we are engaged in discussions with several companies that could strengthen the Group by contributing future profitable growth. At the same time, our operating environment continues to be characterized by uncertainty and high interest rates, leading to a balancing act between growth initiatives and savings.

Henrik Perbeck, President and CEO