Earnings call transcript: Alimak Group Q2 2025 sees EPS surge, stock rises

Alimak Group, a $1.75 billion market cap company with a "GREAT" financial health score according to InvestingPro, reported a robust second quarter for 2025, with earnings per share (EPS) rising by 28% to 1.74 SEK, driven by a 5% growth in adjusted EBITDA despite nearly flat revenue. The company’s stock responded positively, climbing 1.65% to 160.6 SEK following the announcement. This performance comes as the company continues to strengthen its market position in vertical access solutions and expand its global footprint.

Key Takeaways

• EPS increased by 28% to 1.74 SEK, marking a strong financial performance.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin reached a record 18%, with a net result up 28%.
• Stock price rose by 1.65% in pre-market trading.
• Continued growth in the Industrial division and stable wind market in the U.S. anticipated.
• Strategic acquisitions and product innovations remain a focus.

Company Performance

Alimak Group’s Q2 2025 results highlight the company’s strong operational execution despite a challenging construction market. The firm achieved a significant milestone with an 18% adjusted EBITDA margin, supported by a healthy gross profit margin of 40.62% and a strong current ratio of 2.38, reflecting effective cost management and strategic investments in innovation. The company’s decentralized structure and global reach have enabled it to adapt swiftly to market demands, contributing to its competitive edge.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: Flat compared to the previous period.
• Earnings per share: 1.74 SEK, up 28% year-over-year.
• Adjusted EBITDA margin: 18%, a new record for the company.
• Net result: Increased by 28% to 184 million SEK.
• Organic order intake growth: 10% year-to-date.

Market Reaction

Following the earnings announcement, Alimak Group’s stock rose by 1.65% to 160.6 SEK. The stock is performing near its 52-week high of 162 SEK, with an impressive 41.84% return over the past six months. According to InvestingPro analysis, the stock’s RSI indicates overbought territory, suggesting investors might want to monitor valuation levels carefully. The positive market reaction is aligned with the company’s strong earnings growth and operational efficiency. For deeper insights into Alimak Group’s valuation and 10+ additional ProTips, consider exploring the comprehensive Pro Research Report available on InvestingPro.

Outlook & Guidance

Alimak Group remains optimistic about its future prospects, particularly in the Industrial division, which is expected to continue its growth trajectory. The U.S. wind market is projected to remain stable through 2027, supported by tax incentives. The company is also focusing on expanding its service contracts and maintaining its acquisition strategy, leveraging financial flexibility to drive growth.

Executive Commentary

CEO Ole Christian Jodal emphasized the company’s commitment to its strategic initiatives, stating, "We continue to deliver on the new heights program." CFO Sylvain Granc reinforced the focus on capital allocation, noting, "Our capital allocation priorities remain unchanged." These statements highlight the leadership’s confidence in sustaining growth and enhancing shareholder value.

Risks and Challenges

• Construction market softness could impact future revenue growth.
• Tariff uncertainties in the U.S. wind market may affect order intake.
• Restructuring costs in the Facade Access division could pressure margins.
• Global economic volatility poses potential risks to market demand.
• Supply chain disruptions could affect production timelines and costs.

Q&A

During the earnings call, analysts inquired about the company’s strategy for maintaining margins in the challenging construction market. The management expressed confidence in the Facade Access division’s ability to sustain above-group-average margins. Questions also focused on the potential impact of U.S. tariffs on the wind division, with executives maintaining a positive outlook despite uncertainties.

Overall, Alimak Group’s Q2 2025 results underscore its resilience and strategic focus in navigating market challenges while capitalizing on growth opportunities.

Full transcript - Alimak Hek Group AB (ALIG) Q2 2025:

Conference Operator: To the Alimac Group QT twenty twenty five Report Presentation. For the first part of the conference call, participants will be in listen only mode. During the questions and answers session, participants are able to ask questions by dialing 5 I will hand the conference over to the speakers, CEO, Ole Christian Jodal and CFO, Sylvain Granc. Please go ahead.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Thank you, and welcome to this quarter two twenty twenty five call for Alimak Group then. And as always, I have Silva with me here. So turning page and a short recap of the group, global industrial company focusing on vertical access and working at height solutions. Around 3,000 employees, truly global business. We are supported by some fundamental global trends for our business, urbanization, more happening at height to land these gears, Health and safety, it’s, of course, a very important factor, but also I would highlight, automation, the robotization as our machinery makes, are movable and makes, you know, a possibility for for these new technologies to to operate from our systems.

We do have a leading market position in our niches, which give give gives us a strong position. We have, existed for a long time, so our global footprint footprint and a large installed base, which is also a fundamental piece for our service business. And overall, a solid balance sheet, good cash conversion and financial position to invest. Turning page, new heights strategy, something we launched then back in 2020. It’s a simple but also a powerful strategy that has served us very well with a decentralized divisional structure where all the result and the business is happening with a simple and to the point strategy and strategic drivers.

And, that program was now first part was up to ’25, and we are now working on the next step up to 02/1930. And, we are then planning to, have a Capital Market Day on November 25, where we will talk more about that route to 02/1930. Turning page and our financial and sustainability targets, as you have seen with us, and we are en route to deliver on this. Turning page into Q2. And yes, after a strong Q1, we are again delivering strong performance and continued margin improvements in quarter two.

So we are off, I would say, to a very good start of the year, the first half. Order intake was down 4% in reported figures, but still an increase of 4% in constant currencies. And the revenue were down 1%, but an increase of 7% at constant currency. So here, we have a 8% negative currency impact. We continue to see increased earnings and margins.

So we reached an EBITDA adjusted EBITDA margin of 18% in the quarter, up from 17%. And also here, we saw a huge currency impact of seven percent in the quarter. And if you look year to date, order intake is now 10% organic, and we report a 17.7% EBITA adjusted margin for the first half year. So a strong start to the year. We signed after the end of the quarter, July 8, an agreement to acquire Century Elevators, permanent industrial elevator business in The U.

S. It’s a business with a turnover close to SEK 100,000,000 SEK and the margins in the vicinity of the group margins. And this is something that will strengthen and be part of our industrial division in the group, and they have a position then and business in U. S. And Canada.

We also delivered cash flow improvements in the quarter, and we are now at leverage ratio of 1.74%, down from the 2.29% a year back. Turning page, a little bit more details in the quarter. Order intake was 1,000,000,000.72 down 4% then and 4% up in constant currency. We saw strong performance in industrial and facade excess, while we had a decrease in construction, wind and HSPS divisions. Revenue was 1,791,000,000 in the quarter, down 1% or up 7% in constant currencies.

And we saw positive contribution from industrial and facade access. And also here, if you take the currency into account, it’s a negative impact of SEK 134,000,000. So it would have been SEK 1,925,000.000 if currencies of last year. EBITDA at SEK $322,000,000, up from the SEK $3.00 7,000,000, giving a margin then of 18%, up from the 17,000,000. And important to note also, this is the first time ever that the group is touching the 18% mark, which, of course, we are happy with.

And it’s supported by improved margins in industrial, wind and facade excess. And also here with the currency impact, that’s SEK 23,000,000 in the quarter, so else it would have been SEK $3.45. Turning page, Service. The order intake was down in the quarter, 10% or 2% at constant currencies and $661,000,000 versus SEK $733,000,000 last year. And it’s industrial and construction division that’s reporting a little bit lower order intake, but nothing, you know, more to take into that, that it’s timing effects, and it’s, of course, something that we continue to drive and and focus on equally as before.

Revenue was up 512% at concentrates to SEK $694,000,000, up from SEK $6.60, and especially strong performance in the wind division. Turning page into Fastald Access. Order intake was $451,000,000 in the quarter, up 24% or 35% at constant currency. So good order intake, but also towards a little bit lower comparable. We saw strong North America order intake as especially on the infrastructure side, nuclear energy, we took orders and also on the service side with refurbishment, retrofit and replacements, giving us nice orders, while the main BMU market, building maintenance unit market, is still soft in in North America.

Europe also contributed positively in the quarter. Revenue was 500,000,000, up 1% or up 9% at concentrates, and we saw organic growth in all regions. EBITDA at SEK 56,000,000, up from SEK 50,000,000, giving a margin then of 11.2% versus SEK 10,000,000. And the expansion is due to what we have been doing for a long time, pricing, project execution, but also still then negatively impacted by a low factory utilization due to, again, the the soft BMU market, but also also soft margins because of losses on some legacy projects that are in the final stage. And as we have said, these are expected to be finished, more or less, by the end of the year.

Turning page and a little bit more on the business update. We are having an organizational change. So Philippe Gatineau, who has been then Head of Facade Access Division, he has decided to leave the group. And I first of all, I would like to thank Philippe. He has been instrumental in he was the CEO of TrackTel, and he has been instrumental in in integrating TrackTel into the group and starting off a very good solid strategy and execution into facade access.

So that’s why we see these great improvements. And I wish him all the best for for his new role that he’s picking up. And we have then Harveros, which is currently head of Facade Access division in North America that will then take on the role as the new EVP for Facade Access. And, of course, I’m very, very happy that we have internal candidates, and Harvey is not only an internal candidate, a very strong and perfect person for this role. We are also focusing on, of course, the margin uplift.

The division is still not delivering the margins that we are sure should be there. And due to that also the BMU market is remaining to be soft. We have decided to take out some more fixed costs. So we are launching a restructuring program focusing on Europe and and where we also will see planned or we plan to do capacity reduction in our factory in in Spain. And the restructuring cost is SEK 60,000,000 with an expected annual saving of SEK 30,000,000 as of next year.

And this one off cost will be recognized in the second half of twenty twenty five. I also would like to highlight that if we look into a little bit more the geographies of this business, in North America, where both Alimak and Tractel had a very strong base from before, we see a very successful development. You know? We are driving new initiatives, and the business is developing extremely well. And we also have margins into that business, which which is well above group average.

While in Europe and Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, it’s still where we have way too low margins and where we now put extra effort, of course, to ensure we can lift. But this also means that we have comfort in that that we will lift the margins to what to levels which is, you know, respectful for for this group. Turning page and into construction. Order intake was SEK $327,000,000, down 28% or 21% at constant rates. And it’s basically affected by volatility in demand between quarters and regions, but also the fact, of course, that the construction market still remains soft globally.

So you it’s a fight day by day to win orders and be close to customers and make things happen. But overall, I think we are doing well. We saw weaker order intake on the rental side in Germany, Benelux and Australia, and also on the used business somewhat in US, but driven by also high comparables. Order intake for mass climbing work platforms was good, and that’s also where we have a very strong commercial focus and then have a lot of expectancy for the future. Revenue was SEK $4.00 7,000,000, down 4% or up 3% in constant rates.

And we saw stronger revenues from mass climbing work platforms in Australia and Europe, but somewhat lower revenues in hoist and rental in North America due to some project delays. EBITDA, 68,000,000, up from sorry, down from SEK 71,000,000, giving a margin of 16,700,000.0, up from 16,600,000.0. Yeah. And it’s driven by the revenue, but also happy to see that we deliver a small margin uptick and a decent margin level in these difficult times for the Construction business. Turning page.

So we continue to invest in people, product development and operational efficiency. And I think this is important to note, we are employ even though this market is challenging, we employ more people front end. We have employed sales people. We employ business development people. So we continue to drive very aggressively.

We invest in product development and in our product range, and we also drive operational efficiency everywhere taking out costs where that could be done. And this is all the things that contribute to us holding up this business in challenging times. We launched a new ScanClimber mass climbing work platform in the quarter, a small, very neat machine that can take 2.5 tons, very cost effective design, and something that can go go for the global market. And we have also invested significantly in France. We have upgraded our rental facility in in France, North Of Paris, And, of course, taking into also stain sustainability standards of today, we have developed a new training center there for our customers and our own people.

And it is because, you know, we believe in France. We have a strong presence presence in France, and we want to continue to grow there. Turning Page HSPS, a bit softer quarter. But again, due to challenging market conditions, order intake was SEK $316,000,000 in the quarter, down 10% or 4% at constant rates. But also important to note, we are still 4% up year to date first half.

Lower order intake was due to some slow slow construction sector, but also primarily in Central And Southern Europe. But also offset by good things. You know, we continue to focus very heavily on our elevator segment. It’s a very important segment for us, and we are close to our customers. And we take market share in that business.

Revenue was $321,000,000, down 9% or down 3% at constant rates and following the same trend then as order intake due to the closeness of book to bill. EBITDA at SEK 55,000,000, down from SEK 69,000,000, giving a margin of 17.2% versus 19.5%, and this is then driven by the somewhat lower revenue, but still also relatively resilient, I would say. Turning page, business update. So here, we also focus investing and driving things forward. We have new management in this division.

So we are focusing even more now on product development, driving operational and organizational efficiency and changing somewhat. But also, we continue to drive our specific focus into verticals, customer segments. So and I will as I was alluding to on the previous page, elevator segment, it’s important to us, and we take share. We focus on all parts of the world now. And we also drive, really, our focus on confined space.

Some nice success stories working with our end customers. We have fall protection systems installed on transformers in Germany and Poland. And we also got a nice business with retrofit of high safety systems for high voltage transmission infrastructure in Germany. Turning page, industrial, and very happy to see, you know, we continue to develop very, very strongly with this business. Order intake was SEK $481,000,000, up 9%, 16% up at constant rates.

And actually, it’s 22% up year to date organic, very strong. We see strong performance primarily on new equipment orders within oil and gas, but also government and public and multiple heavy industry segments. The aftermarket business was, as I already was alluding to, a little bit down in the quarter, but it’s due to lower refurbishment and timing of orders. Revenue was $399,000,000, up 10% or 17% at constant rates. And, yeah, it’s driven by higher, equipment deliveries, but also good aftermarket performance in the quarter.

EBITDA, 105,000,000, up from SEK 82,000,000, giving a very slow margin of SEK 26.3, up from 22.7. And, also considering, that we are continuing to invest in sales resources and product development and services, so, you know, still on the move forward and upward. Turning page. We acquired, as I was saying, you know, the, or signed an agreement to acquire, the industrial part of Century Elevator on July 8. Turnover of 9,700,000.0 US dollar or 100,000,000 SEK, and they are operating then close to our group margin.

They will give us a strengthened position in US and Canada, and it gives us then access to a complementary cost efficient elevator design because this business, there has been exclusive distributor of PEEKA, Czech brand elevators in The US and Canada. And this is something that we will continue. In addition, they also, of course, did service. Around 20% of the business was service. So we see a very nice opportunity to, of course, also grow service with this business.

And we get along, you know, with the business, a nice set of very high talented and skilled service people. So, of course, we will continue to grow grow that piece. And then we see also, of course, some some overhead cost synergies. Another positive thing, we bought this from brand Zepway, which is one of our biggest customers in North America on the they are on the rental side, so on the construction side. And we have agreed also that we will work even closer together going forward.

So I think also that’s something I’m very happy to see. Turning page and wind. Order intake was SEK 158,000,000, down 22% or down 15% But also here, I think it’s important to note timing effects, etcetera, is still up 4% year to date. But it was negatively affected by The US tariff uncertainties that we have been seeing.

You all have, I’m sure, you know, picked up on what’s happening in The US. And, so far, this tariff uncertainties in q one affected the willingness to to decide on, on new investments. We also had somewhat high comparable year over year with, with China. Revenue was SEK 179,000,000, down 8% or down 2% in concentrates. And the service training safety offerings partly offset somewhat lower equipment sales than in Americas and Southern Europe.

EBITDA at SEK 38,000,000, slightly down then from SEK 39,000,000, but a record margin for the wind business of 21.4%, up from 19.8% and good share of aftermarket and also that we have been able to mitigate the tariff effect. So that’s something we are, of course, very happy with. Turning page. We continue to see growing opportunities in the wind market. We take share, and we work very close with the Chinese OEMs, and we expand with those.

We also India is becoming a more important market. And there, we also take very nice orders, and we see that this is a market we need to be very close to going forward. And then, of course, we continue to invest and drive our aftermarket business. And in the quarter, we were also rewarded for our innovation. So we received this Eolo Innovation Award for a patented service lift concept that we have developed.

To say a little bit more about, you know, US and the wind market, we, have now also, as you know, gotten this big beautiful bill, which, will take away, tax incentives for the, renewable energy in in US in the coming years. But, it’s still valid, you know, for, all projects that start up this year, it’s said, and to be finished by 02/1930. So what we see is that and when we talk with our customers is that market looks to be very stable and solid for us at least in the next couple of years, ’26, ’27. So we really have no worries about The U. S.

Market neither in the next coming two years. And then we are turning page and into the profit and loss summary, and then I hand over to Sylvain.

Sylvain Granc, CFO, Alimak Group: Thank you, Ole. Good morning, everybody. Once again, we are pleased to see an adjusted EBITDA going by more than revenue. It’s it’s almost becoming a habit. It’s a 5% growth for adjusted EBITDA versus an almost flat revenue, and this common supplies to both the quarter, q two twenty twenty five, and the first semester versus same periods last year.

And we trust this is a testimony to the strengths of our business model and the continuous improvements in operational efficiency, and I’ll I’ll give some more color around that on the next slide. As there were no items affecting comparability in the quarter, below EBITDA, the amortization charge is consistent with q one twenty twenty five and our expectations is coming down versus q two twenty twenty four as a result of tactile related intangible assets now being fully amortized. Finance net is is done as well due to the reduced debt and lower interest rates. That’s that’s in line with our expectations, which is around 40,000,000 per quarter this year. Taxation rate in the quarter is is up versus q two twenty twenty four.

That’s that’s really a factor of the evolution in the country mix. But at a level of 25.7%, we are close to the average of 25% we foresee. So higher adjusted EBITDA, no IAC, lower amortization lower amortization charge lead to a significantly higher EBIT. It’s a 16% growth in the quarter. And and combined with the lower finance net despite a slightly higher taxation rate, we grow the net results by 28% in the quarter.

Next, please. So I’m not not coming to the key EBITA drivers, gross margin, and operating expenses. This has been a strong quarter from a gross margin point of view with an improvement in all divisions except for access where we saw a small degradation. It’s interesting to see that we have managed to fully mitigate the adverse foreign exchange rate developments and the new US tariff. This has implied adjustments to our supply chain, some customer price increase whenever this was needed.

And those we believe those swift actions have been enabled by our agile, decentralized operating model, which is proving its value in those relatively challenging times. Operating expenses, as a percentage of revenue, are coming down in the quarters. That’s the second driver to the EBITA growth. And the operating expenses, you know, for all divisions except industrial were either flat or down in the quarter despite some cost inflation, such as labor or some voluntary cost increases as mentioned by Houlet, typically product development, digital. And as we have said in in the previous quarter, industrial division has expanded its cost base.

That’s primarily a factor of of growing sales organization, which is being built to to support the sales growth. So overall, as a group, we continue to very actively work on our cost efficiency. We reduce the cost we don’t need, and we spend, you know, wherever we need to fuel our profitable growth strategy. Next, please. So as I said, you know, result for the period was up 28%, 184,000,000 versus 143,000,000 SEK in q two twenty twenty four.

Excluding the ICs, the net result was the same, 184, but versus 154 in q two last year. This is a 19% increase. The EPS was up by the same percentage, 28%, so 1.74 versus one thirty five with the same number of shares. Adjusted for ASE and acquisition related amortization, EPS was 1.98 SEK in the quarter versus 1.78 last year. This is a 11% increase.

So moving to operating cash flows, we we continue to to focus highly on cash generation, and that allow us to, you know, to keep calling twelve months cash flow on a good level as you can see on the right hand side graph. We have increased cash flow from our impression in the quarter versus q two last year, so it’s 182 versus one sixty four. Although we have increased working capital in the quarter due to the effects of contract phasing in fast access division primarily. And we believe those effects will be reversed mostly in the second part of this year. So overall, not a bad quarter.

Although we think we can do better and then, you know, we’ll continue to drive those improvements in the future. So net debt in the quarter was slightly up, 2,600,000,000 versus 2.4 at the end of q one twenty twenty five. The increase is due to the dividend payment around 300,000,000 SEK in the quarter and the revaluation of the euro loan and those negative effects were partially compensated by, of course, the positive operating cash flows. The leverage is 1.74 at the end of the quarter. This is slightly up versus q one twenty twenty five, but still well in line with our financial target of being below 2.5.

And and, you know, the our focus on cash generation will contribute to to future deleveraging. Our capital allocation priorities remain unchanged. We will continue to invest in organic growth. You know, I’ve I’ve mentioned several examples of expenses related to to that. As we have said, you know, for some time, you know, we we have the financial muscle to make acquisitions.

We are very pleased. We have signed and soon closed the Century acquisition, and and we continue to work actively on future acquisitions. And, of course, we are committed to to delivering dividends according to the policy, which is 40 to 60% of our net earnings. So, of course, it’s it’s a board proposal in the end and AGM decision. And finally, regarding ROCE, we are pleased to see another sequential increase.

This is an important metric for us. We are not at 26.8% excluding goodwill, 11% including goodwill. That consistent increase over time is driven by the improvement in profitability and, of course, the underlying recurring improvement in performance. On that, I’m pleased to pass the baton again to Ulle.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Thank you, Sylvain. And, yeah, we turn page to the summary. So strong quarter, I would say, and a strong start to the year, the first half. We continue to deliver on the new heights program, which serves us well then, as you have seen, with the 4% order intake growth and 7% revenue growth in constant currencies in the quarter. But also, as I was saying, on a year to date base, we have a 10% order intake growth organic, and we are at 17.7% adjusted EBITA after the first half year.

We continue to take actions to improve profitability and take out cost or structure we don’t need. So and that you also see now in Facade Access, we do something more. And we also do have this solid financial position that we are, talking about, you know, so which allowed us to make this nice acquisition, which is then due to close end of the month. So it should be part of the group from July 1 sorry, from August 1. Then, this also financial position allow us to continue to drive this.

So so, you know, we are working on our acquisition funnel, and and I think we will see good activity also on this going forward. And we continue to invest in all divisions to drive profitable growth. I think also what’s nice to see when you look into the divisional result and as a group, we do very well. We continue to lift, but you also see that it’s potential in all divisions to also absolutely do more. And we are working also, of course, on the future, as I was saying.

So on November 25, we are planning to have a Capital Market Day, where we will give more details about that. So with that, I would like to thank you, and we move over to Q

Conference Operator: Next question comes from Sofia Sorling from DNB Carnegie Investment Bank. Please go ahead.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: Yes. Hello. This is Sofia from DNB Carnegie. Can you hear me?

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Yes, Sofia. Hi. We hear you well. Yeah.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: Great. Thank you. Okay. So my first question is related to the Passat Access division. So I noticed this order intake.

You mentioned that the infrastructure projects are rolling in. What about the profitability level here in this type of infrastructure projects? Should we expect that these are in line with your EBITDA margin target for Alma Group? Or should we expect that these orders have quite of a lower margin level? That’s my first question.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Yeah. I think very clearly, they you could expect that they will support continue to support our business, you know, with where they have taken most of this is in North America now where we also do have, you know, a margin on the facade access business as I was saying, which is well above the group average. Average. So so absolutely, we expect to have good margins, and we do have good margins on that business.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: Okay. And a follow-up question. So in terms of complexity and length of the projects, do it differ significantly or or not at all compared to the other orders within Pathfinder Access, that could actually, I mean, make it more difficult to set pricing for this type of orders in your view?

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: No. I wouldn’t say you know, it’s it’s not big of a difference, but maybe if anything, it’s maybe a little bit shorter, some of them. But, you know, typically, I think you would see also one to two years of time between order and delivery. You know? But it could also be shorter, but not so often, which is they are when they are much longer.

But, again, you know, it it depends so much for the list. So if anything, I would say slightly shorter than the Bemus. Alright.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: Okay. And maybe a technical question here. But

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: No. Sorry.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: Yeah. Sorry. Did you have something more in the answer?

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: No. I was just trying to say, which gives us even more control over it, of course, you know, when it’s shorter time. Yep.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. And somewhat of a technical question, but this one off item of SEK 60,000,000 in the second half of twenty twenty five, is it expected to be like a split of this cost into Q3 and Q4? Or is it rather closer to the latter part of the second half of twenty twenty five?

Or how should we think about this cost?

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: No, you would see it in both quarters.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: Okay.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: So you will And we will more know, we will start to do some of these things now, you know, and in in as soon as we are back after vacation or it’s going. You know? And so it’s I can’t give you an exact split between the quarters and the months, you know, but it will happen throughout the next six months. Okay.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: And could you give some more details on what type of capacity cost that you are taking out here?

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: It’s a little bit related to everything. It’s a mix of things that we are looking at across Europe, but also, of course, a significant piece in the factory, where we also try to take down fixed costs. So it will involve both on structure and also people.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: Okay. Thank you. And, yeah, let’s go to wind division. So you mentioned, this US tariffs that was fully mitigated during the quarter. Do you believe it will be possible to mitigate this ahead as well?

Or, I mean, what is the investment appetite among your customers here? What do they do you think demand will come down now due to this? Or

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Yeah. No. But that was actually the thing, yes, that that so we believe so. There in with the big, beautiful bill, you know, and that’s the policy change, you know, that you see. And and that’s the biggest impact, you know, the the way we see it because that will take away the tax incentive for renewable energy in the coming years.

But it has a lag, so it’s not coming into effect until the end of this year, which means that, all projects that have started by the end or during 2025 will still, get the tax, grants. You know? And when we talk to our customers, they plan to start, more than enough projects, this year so that we don’t foresee any drop in volumes rather maybe the contrary, you know, for us in the next couple of years in North America.

Andreas Koski, Analyst, BNP Paribas Exane: And

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: then when it comes to tariff situation, it’s related to some aluminum and stuff, you know, that we need there. But those things, we have basically already mitigated. So we don’t we don’t foresee the tariffs per se to impact our business wind business for now. It’s more been this uncertainty of the investment climate, which now seems to be stabilized when the big beautiful bill was sanctioned. Even though it’s not positive news long term.

It’s positive news, it seems like, almost in the next two years. And and then you could also believe, which I think most people believe, you know, by that time, the senate will look different. And most likely, the, you know, the climate from ’28 and forward would also look different. Yeah. So not major concern at our end.

No.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: I see. Thank you. And, yes, on the, HSPS, division, you mentioned it’s somewhat of a softer demand here. Could you say anything about the specific order trend during the quarter? Has it been different compared to Q2 last year?

Yes.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Yes. We saw a little bit softer market, a little bit across the board in the quarter. But we also know that we have a lot in the pipe, so it’s nothing fundamental. You know? And orders are flying in, you know, beginning of this quarter.

So it’s, we don’t have a general, you know, major concern about this. It’s more a timing again. You know? It market was very volatile and with the geopolitics and everything around us. So everyone’s cautious.

And these products, we mostly sell, you know, and through distribution, and that has been somewhat slower in the quarter. But we have no major concern about that. And but at the same time, we also drive a lot of changes, you know, in in that business to really fundamentally, you know, dig into where we can find, you know, good growth and and profitable growth going forward. So we are making a lot of changes there to the better. So we see a lot of potential.

Absolutely. Okay.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: And within this division, overall, how do you experience the competitive landscape here at the moment? Any aggressive price pressure, etcetera? No.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: I wouldn’t say it’s that, you know, because where we have, you know, our products, most of it, you know, we are competitive. We have an edge. We have a position, you know, and customers are loyal too because it’s related also to health and safety and, you know, comfort around the good solutions. So Yep. That’s the problem.

It’s more the market thing. We are strong in the niches where we operate, but it’s also so huge this area. You know? So we are also very, very small in the niches where we operate. So so, you know, so it’s a lot of opportunity that we are digging more into.

Okay.

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: Alright. Thank you. That was all my questions. Thank you for your answers.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Thank you.

Conference Operator: The next question comes from Andreas Koski from BNP Paribas Exane. Please go ahead.

Andreas Koski, Analyst, BNP Paribas Exane: Thank you and good morning. Three questions, please. The first one is on construction and the order intake, which was relatively weak in this quarter. And I’m sorry if you’ve already elaborated on this, but I was a bit late on the call. But can you talk a little bit about the underlying demand situation in construction?

Is the weakness mainly related to larger project businesses? Or do you see underlying weakness from, let’s say, companies or your own rental business? Or what explains the relatively weak order intake in construction for this quarter? And what do you expect going forward?

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Yes. But it is some timing effects. This market has been soft, as we all know, for a long, long time. And then the willingness to invest in our machines, you know, because most of our machines goes to either rental companies or to construction companies. And, of course, they don’t invest in this type of new machinery unless they have to, you know, in principle, when the times are difficult.

Then the rental companies have their yards, you know, a lot of these machines in their yards. And, of course, they don’t renew, so maybe they delay renewal, programs, you know, when, when it is like it is now. So, so we are a little bit, lagging in that cycle. So when the construction market really starts to come back, then we expect, of course, these things to kick in again, but also with a little bit lag. Then we also have our own rental, as you know, and as I also said now that we saw a little bit lower order intake in our own rental in this quarter.

But we have had good order intake in Q1 in rental. So that also comes with some swings between months and quarters. So not something that we are fundamentally seeing any trend changes on. Not at all. So it’s more this thing that the market still continues to be very challenging.

And and the willingness to invest in new machinery when the market is weak, it’s not there to that extent. But of course, you know, machines also go to industrial projects. It go to infrastructure projects, and these things are still moving. So there is, you know, a baseline thing there, and we are convinced we take market share. We have also won a lot because we installed, you know, globally our used concept.

So instead of in places where it’s not possible to sell new, we have been selling a lot of used, which is you could say, yeah, it doesn’t load your factory. No. But, you know, it ties these customers to us, you know, because they choose our concept, which is something that, is a choice they make for a long time. So it’s also very good for us to do that. So and we know multiple competitors are struggling.

They are in bankruptcy and have gone bankrupt. You know? So, overall, we still feel that we do a good job. But the market remains very, very challenging, and it’s a fight day by day for everything we win here.

Andreas Koski, Analyst, BNP Paribas Exane: Yep. And how how to think about your your backlog in construction? Because I remember q four twenty three and the when you had weak orders, and then in q one twenty four, your revenue dropped quite significantly in construction technique or in construction. Sorry. And that that impacted your margins quite meaningfully.

Should we will we be worried that something similar could happen this time around?

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: We feel relatively comfortable going into q that because, you know, the order intake we have has given us a decent volume in the factory, you know, where the factories. Yeah. So so so so that should be relatively okay. But it’s also depending on the mix and so forth in the quarter, but we are not overly concerned and do not believe that we should fall back to the levels that you referred to.

Andreas Koski, Analyst, BNP Paribas Exane: Yes, yes, yes. And then on Industrial, which continues to be extremely strong, I mean, another quarter with very strong organic order growth. Is this mainly driven by your expansion into new applications, etcetera? And can you see those kind of solid double digit growth rates continue for several quarters or even several years? Or how to think about the very strong performance in Industrial?

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: We plan and we work and we believe that we can see a lot of growth in this business for a long time. Absolutely. The thing is that we are exposed to some nice segments for the time being also, you know, which is support, you know, mining and, you know, energy and stuff, you know, where where we see. We are also now you know, since we drive this dedicated division, you know, which didn’t exist really five years ago, but really with focus on segment by segment, we are also you know, as soon as there are new things like data centers, you know, they they need cooling towers with or three floor high, and then you need lifts and systems like this. You know?

So we are on to also these new things that pop up. And we are since we have this segment focus, we are also, you know, challenging and helping customers to maybe choose these systems instead of ladders, you know, where they typically have you had the that manual type of thing, you know, or and now have Lyft instead. So this is the way we proactively work, and we take market share and gain position. And so we feel very positive about, you know, the market. We said also now, you know, governmental things, you know, the investments into into the military that, has already started to see come.

You know? We we also see that, you know, because, that means sites or structures, at multiple floors where where they need our means. So there is a lot of opportunity.

Andreas Koski, Analyst, BNP Paribas Exane: Yeah. And and and the aftermarket base yeah. Correct.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Maybe also one more thing is that, you know, these these platforms that we’re having, you know, which is especially the mass slumming work platforms, it’s a technology which will also allow, you know, because it’s centimeter by centimeter moving up or down, and they are wide. You know? So these machines will allow robots or, you know, automation to actually be used at places where you don’t have where you never have thought about that today. So that’s also structures and ways, you know, we are working on. So we see a lot of potential also in that respect going forward.

Yeah.

Andreas Koski, Analyst, BNP Paribas Exane: And the aftermarket business is an important part of the industrial traditional business area. Do you see the same kind of growth rate on the aftermarket side? Or is there a risk that equipment is growing much faster now and that is a lower margin business and over time, this will lead to a negative mix effect? Or how to think on the margins, I mean, how to think about that?

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: The margin side, you I would say, you shouldn’t be overly concerned about. You know? We also secure that we have good margins on on the new sales. So Okay. So we are, you know, getting out, I would say, good margins in both ends.

But also, at the same time, you know, when you look at service, I think this is also the strength of actually what we have done, the change we did back in 2020. Then at that stage, service division was a separate type of animal supporting all divisions. Now this sits in every division. Each division have their own service setup. And this means, you know, that, for example, in industrial, we, we are close to the customers because segment by segment, this also varies.

You know? Maybe in one segment, you sell the new machinery to one type of, you know, maybe an EPC or a developer while the service contracts goes to the direct end user itself, which is two different parties. But you are aware of it, so you can go after it. In other cases, it might still be the same cell. You know?

So you sell both the machine and the service contract as one go. So and this structure that we’re having now that allows us to really strongly focus. And, of course, wherever we sell a new machine, we are also doing whatever we can to make sure we get the service contract.

Andreas Koski, Analyst, BNP Paribas Exane: Understood. Thank you. Thank you very much for your time, and have a great summer.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Thank you. You too.

Conference Operator: There are no more questions at this time. So I hand the conference back to the speakers for any written questions and closing comments.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Yeah. Thank you. I when I look at the, at the screen here, we do not have any written questions. So unless they pop up, very quickly, I think we are at the end.

Conference Operator: The next question comes from Jenna Shu from Berenberg. Please go ahead.

Jenna Shu, Analyst, Berenberg: Hi. Thanks for the presentation,

Sofia Sorling, Analyst, DNB Carnegie Investment Bank: and thanks for taking my question. I just had

Jenna Shu, Analyst, Berenberg: a follow-up on what was asked about the wind division earlier. You mentioned that because of the uncertainty that we’re seeing surrounded in the tariff situation, it had an impact on the order intake this quarter. But given that big beautiful bill is slated to come into effect, I was wondering if this means that we might see the possibility that, you know, projects that were planned for ’26, possibly even ’27, will be pushed forward into ’25. And we would see, like, you know, a very good second half of the year for the wind division. Just curious on your thoughts on this.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Yeah. Yeah. But I think you’re absolutely right. But but it will not affect us in the same manner, you know, but projects will be because that is what this big beautiful bill is saying, you know, that if projects start in 2025, they will get the tax credit, you know, or the tax benefit. So that means that that from what we understand from our customers that they will try to start and and, you know, all everything, you know, and that will secure our volumes for ’26 and ’27.

You know? Because it doesn’t mean that that they will all be installed and delivered, you know, in in ’25. So it’s just that, you know, projects are be be getting kicked off, But we will have so what it means for us, the way we see it is that we will have a good ’25, we will have a good ’26, and we will have a good ’27 order intake wise and revenue wise in US for wind. No real change. But maybe it’s slightly better than what we foresaw actually half a year or a year back because they are pushing some things forward.

Yes.

Jenna Shu, Analyst, Berenberg: Yep. Could you just remind us quickly, like, what are the lead times like for the wind division?

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: The lead times. But that varies a lot. Sometimes we get the orders early, but, you know, it more has been six to twelve months, but could also be shorter. So it varies, you know. Mhmm.

But on average, plus minus six months.

Jenna Shu, Analyst, Berenberg: Okay. Great. And last question, on the margins. You know, we’ve had another stellar record quarter for the wind division margin. And I know you said previously, like, it would be very good if the wind division could have margins of 15% and up, but we’re at, you know, more than 21% now.

So where do you see this going forward, particularly since, you know, there’s also a huge focus right now on driving that aftermarket and that training and service opportunity?

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Yeah. I I I haven’t changed my view heavily. You know? I’m first of all, I’m very pleased, of course, with the margin that we are seeing and the the performance that we have in that division, the consistency, and the, you know, the structure, the way of working. So it’s it’s remarkable.

But at the same time, we shouldn’t, you know, forget what type of industry they are in and the market, how it operates. So so, you know, that that maybe, say, 15% is on the very conservative, you know, but that they should have be in the vicinity and or north of the group targets, you know, but that we should start to expect a lot over over 20, I I I doubt, over time, before for this market dynamics. But that’s that goal. So, you know, it’s not that we put the mix to this. You know, we just try to do it with a click on every day, and that’s what we see this team is doing.

And that’s why it’s also constantly developing. You know? So but pragmatically and realistically, you know, considering the business environment that that business operates in, I don’t think it’s likely that you will see something fundamentally different where we have seen over the last year or so. Okay.

Jenna Shu, Analyst, Berenberg: Thank you very much.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Thank you.

Conference Operator: There are no more questions at this time. So I hand the conference back to the speakers for any written questions and closing comments.

Ole Christian Jodal, CEO, Alimak Group: Yep. I see now that there still is no more written questions, here. So, unless it’s something popping up. No. So I think, with that, I would like to thank everyone listening in and also for the questions received.

I would like to thank our, their employees, you know, driving the group forward to new heights every day, customers, partners being close to us and loyal. So thank you all, and wish you all a great summer. Until next time. Thank you.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.