Organic growth, stable EBITA margin and record cash flow
Fourth quarter 2024
- Order intake was unchanged and amounted to SEK 8,038 million (8,044). Comparable units showed a decline of 5%.
- Net sales increased by 7% to SEK 8,336 million (7,821). For comparable units, the increase was 2%.
- EBITA increased by 7% to SEK 1,221 million (1,141), corresponding to an EBITA margin of 14.6% (14.6%).
- Profit for the quarter increased by 3% to SEK 732 million (710) and earnings per share amounted to SEK 2.01 (1.95).
- Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 1,599 million (1,520).
- The Board proposes a dividend of SEK 3.00 (2.85) per share.
CEO's message
Indutrade summarises a successful 2024, with stable financial development and important strategic progress as regards the development of our scalability and our ability to maintain sustainable profitable growth. Revenue totalled SEK 32.5 billion with an EBITA margin of 14.4%. Our decentralised model, with agile companies and local decision-making close to the customer, is now even stronger thanks to our new segment-based Group structure. We also had a high acquisition pace and welcomed 16 new companies to Indutrade!
Fourth quarter
Order intake for Q4 was in line with the corresponding period in the previous year and amounted to SEK 8.0 billion (8.0). More than half of the companies had order growth during the quarter, although order intake overall decreased by 5% organically. The decline is primarily due to strong comparative figures in the previous year, which included large orders for pharmaceutical production in Denmark. Demand was otherwise strong among customers in medical technology and pharmaceuticals during the quarter. Demand did vary between different companies, but all in all development in the energy sector, engineering and large parts of the process industry was relatively stable. Companies with customers in infrastructure and construction continued to experience slightly subdued demand.
Net sales increased by 7%, of which 2% organically, and amounted to SEK 8.3 billion (7.8), with growth in half of the companies. The strongest growth was seen in the Life Science and Process, Energy & Water business areas, thanks to high invoicing in the majority of the companies.
Profitability remained strong and EBITA amounted to SEK 1.2 billion (1.1), corresponding to an EBITA margin of 14.6% (14.6%). The underlying EBITA margin, excluding non-recurring items, amounted to 14.3% (14.6%). The decrease compared to the previous year is explained by subdued organic development, while acquisitions and divestments had a positive effect. Even so, the companies were successful in their pricing efforts, and the gross margin was further increased.
Operational cash flow improved further from the previous year's high level, to a record SEK 1.6 billion (1.5). Working capital developed well and our companies continued to reduce inventory levels. Despite a high acquisition pace, the Group retains its low net debt-equity ratio and strong financial position.
In terms of sustainability, we were delighted to have our climate targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) during the quarter. It is clear that innovation and demand relating to sustainable technological solutions are continuously increasing, which is creating many business opportunities. With a strong emphasis on people, innovation, products, and relationships with customers and suppliers, we continue our shared journey in contributing to the ongoing transition.
Acquisitions
The acquisition pace was high during the year, and we welcomed 16 stable, well-managed companies to Indutrade, with total annual sales of SEK 1.6 billion. Four companies were acquired during the fourth quarter: Geoteam and PG Flowteknik in Denmark, Tidyco in the UK, and Hansa Engineering in Sweden. Geoteam specialises in measurement technology and advanced positioning solutions, and PG Flowteknik offers high-quality components for instrumentation and process control. Tidyco is a component manufacturer offering products and maintenance services for the British railway industry. Hansa Engineering is a technical trading company specialising in industrial spraying processes. All these acquisitions strengthen Indutrade's position in attractive market segments.
We have also made our first acquisition of 2025: the German company Ecoroll, which makes tools for surface treatment. The inflow of interesting acquisition candidates remains strong, which bodes well for a successful year of acquisitions in 2025.
Outlook
Despite a weaker macro-economic situation in major customer segments, demand remained stable throughout 2024. There is however still considerable uncertainty generally surrounding the next few quarters, and the order backlog is slightly down on the previous year. However, we have flexible, agile companies, along with an expectation that expansive fiscal and monetary policies in many countries will create a foundation for a gradual increase in investment willingness among our customers. The long-term needs are significant in many of our industries, such as medical technology and pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, and the energy sector.
Our new Group structure was introduced at the beginning of 2024 and our companies, business segment leaders and employees in the business areas have done an amazing job deploying and developing the new structure. With greater strategic engagement, improved knowledge sharing between companies and proactive acquisition efforts from our business segment leaders, we are strengthening our foundation for both organic and acquired growth. This gives us a stable platform for continued competitive value creation.
Bo Annvik, President and CEO
For further information, please contact:
Bo Annvik, President and CEO, tel. +46 (0) 8 703 03 00,
Patrik Johnson, CFO, tel. +46 70 397 50 30.
This report will be commented upon as follows:
A webcast of the report will be presented on 30 January at 09.30 a.m. CET via the following link:
https://indutrade.events.inderes.com/q4-report-2024
To participate in the presentation by phone and ask questions, please register via the link below. After registration, you will receive a phone number and conference ID to log into the conference call.
https://conference.inderes.com/teleconference/?id=5006462
About Indutrade
Indutrade is an international technology and industrial business group that today consists of over 200 companies in some 30 countries, mainly in Europe. In a decentralised way, we aim to provide sustainable profitable growth by developing and acquiring successful companies managed by passionate entrepreneurs. Our companies develop, manufacture, and sell components, systems and services with significant technical content in selected niches. Our value-based culture, where people make the difference, has been the foundation of our success since the start in 1978. Indutrade's net sales totalled SEK 32.5 billion in 2024, and the share is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm in Sweden.
This information is information that Indutrade is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 2025-01-30 07:30 CET.
