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Investing.com -- Synsam AB (ST:SYNSAM) on Friday reported a 32% drop in second-quarter profit despite higher sales, as margins narrowed and costs weighed on earnings.
Profit after tax fell to SEK 114 million from SEK 168 million a year earlier, the company said in its interim report for the period April to June. Earnings per share decreased to SEK 0.79 from SEK 1.14.
Net sales rose 6.9% to SEK 1.84 billion from SEK 1.72 billion, while organic growth totaled 9.1%.
Subscription sales for spectacles increased 8.2% to SEK 947 million. Sales in the cash business grew 5.4% to SEK 894 million, with contact lens subscriptions contributing SEK 108 million and online sales SEK 92 million.
The gross margin fell to 73.1% from 74.3% in the same period last year. EBITDA was SEK 470 million, nearly unchanged from SEK 469 million, but the EBITDA margin declined to 25% from 26.9%.
EBIT decreased to SEK 267 million from SEK 275 million, with the EBIT margin at 14.2% compared with 15.8% a year earlier.
By region, Sweden delivered 11.7% sales growth with organic growth of 10.9%, supported by the rollout of Synsam EyeView.
Norway reported 11.7% organic growth and Finland 16.6%. Denmark’s sales declined 8.2%, with organic growth at negative 3.9%, as amended credit legislation continued to impact subscription sales.
For the first half of 2025, net sales rose 9.4% to SEK 3.55 billion from SEK 3.24 billion, with organic growth at 10.8%.
Profit after tax for the six-month period totaled SEK 201 million, down from SEK 224 million. Earnings per share were SEK 1.39, compared with SEK 1.52 a year earlier.
Cash flow from operating activities was SEK 413 million in the second quarter, compared with SEK 435 million a year earlier.
Net debt increased to SEK 3.04 billion at the end of June, up from SEK 2.75 billion a year earlier and SEK 3 billion at year-end 2024.
Synsam refinanced its bank loans during the quarter, signing new five-year multicurrency term loans and revolving facilities totaling SEK 3.50 billion with Danske Bank (CSE:DANSKE), Nordea and Swedbank.
The optical retail company opened 11 new directly owned stores in the quarter, including outlets in Sweden and Finland, bringing its total to 598 stores, of which 573 are directly owned. A new premium concept, NK Eyewear & Optics, was launched in Stockholm.
After the end of the quarter, Synsam introduced smart glasses in 200 Nordic stores and expanded its second-hand eyewear offering across its store network.