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Investing.com -- Lifco AB (ST:LIFCOb) shares rose more than 8% on Friday after the Swedish industrial acquisition group reported higher third-quarter profit and sales, lifted by acquisitions and organic growth across all divisions.
Net sales for the July-September quarter increased 8.9% to SEK 6.84 billion from SEK 6.28 billion a year earlier.
EBITA rose 10.4% to SEK 1.54 billion, and the EBITA margin improved to 22.6% from 22.3%.
Profit before tax grew 10.2% to SEK 1.12 billion, while net profit advanced 18.9% to SEK 900 million.
The company said earnings were affected by a lower effective tax rate in Germany, which reduced deferred tax liabilities by about SEK 63 million.
For the first nine months of 2025, net sales rose 9% to SEK 20.72 billion and EBITA increased 7.4% to SEK 4.60 billion.
Profit before tax was SEK 3.44 billion, up 7.6%, and net profit grew 10.6% to SEK 2.62 billion. Earnings per share rose 11.1% to SEK 5.71 from SEK 5.14 a year earlier.
“Net sales increased 9.0 per cent to SEK 20,717 (19,013) million in the first nine months of the year as the result of acquisitions and organic growth in all three business areas,” President and CEO Per Waldemarson said in a statement.
“EBITA increased 7.4 per cent to SEK 4,600 (4,284) million in the nine-month period as the result of acquisitions and the EBITA margin declined 0.3 of a percentage point to 22.2 (22.5) per cent, mainly due to lower organic sales within parts of Systems Solutions.”
Acquisitions contributed 7.4% to the company’s nine-month sales growth, while organic growth added 4.3%. Exchange rate effects reduced sales by 2.8%.
Thirteen new businesses were consolidated during the period, adding about SEK 1.87 billion in annual net sales.
These included Arnold Deppeler in Switzerland, Fraga Dental in Germany, Gestenco International in Sweden and MaxiMover in the UK.
By business segment, the Dental division posted a 1.4% rise in sales to SEK 4.74 billion and a 2.1% increase in EBITA to SEK 1.01 billion.
The Demolition & Tools unit reported a 6.5% gain in sales to SEK 5.08 billion and a 13.5% increase in EBITA to SEK 1.28 billion.
Systems Solutions reported the strongest growth, with sales up 13.9% to SEK 10.90 billion and EBITA up 7.1% to SEK 2.44 billion.
The EBITA margin for Systems Solutions declined to 22.4% from 23.8% due to lower organic sales in some divisions.
Cash flow from operating activities rose 4.2% to SEK 3.14 billion in the first nine months and 16.4% to SEK 1.39 billion in the third quarter.
Net debt stood at SEK 13.26 billion at September 30, compared with SEK 11.59 billion at year-end 2024.
Interest-bearing net debt was SEK 9.15 billion, or 1.3 times EBITDA, within the company’s target of up to three times.
In July, Lifco expanded its Medium-Term Note programme to SEK 8 billion and in August issued a SEK 1 billion unsecured bond, bringing total bonds outstanding to SEK 4.75 billion.
Lifco had 7,707 employees at the end of September, up from 7,193 a year earlier, with about 300 added through acquisitions. After the reporting period, the company announced plans to consolidate Italian dental firm Nobil Bio Ricerche in the fourth quarter.