Good morning and good afternoon, everyone, and warm welcome to Bufab's Q4 report. My name is Erik Lundén and I'm President and CEO of Bufab Group.

Together with me here to present the quarter, I have Helena Häger, Acting CFO. This presentation will be recorded, and by attending to the meeting, you agree to the recording.

I will start to take us through the full year of 2025 and some highlights from Q4, and then I leave the word over to Helena for some financial details before I go through each of the regions. Then at the end, we will have time for Q&A.

If we then start with 2025, it was another successful year for Bufab. ...results, despite a weak market.

We had a total growth of 0.5% in the year, whereof the organic growth was 0.3%. It was a record high gross margin at 31.9%, and adjusted operating margin ended up at 13.3% for the year.

The Board proposed a dividend of 1.3 SEK per share for the year. We continue to have a strong execution of our strategy.

We have added more and more value-added services to our customers... Oh, we have some technical issues, we need to wait for a minute.

We try again. Sorry for the technical issues.

We try to start to recap the full year 2025, and it was another successful year for Bufab. We end up with record high results, despite a quite weak market out there.

Our total growth in the year was 0.5%, whereof the organic growth was positive 0.3%. We delivered a record high gross margin at 31.9%, and our adjusted operating margin ended up at 13.3.

The Board proposed a dividend of 1.3 SEK per share for the year. What I'm very pleased with is that we continue to execute very well on our strategy.

We add more value-added services to our customers and also improving how we work with value-based pricing. From sustainability point of view, we also had a good 2025.

We launched new offering to our customers, and we got recognition as from EcoVadis with platinum rating in 2025. I'm also very pleased how we work with customer and product mix, and we secured many very interesting projects during 2025 in key segments like defense, infrastructure, and in general industry.

We also acquired Novia Group in Q4, and we also divested a small manufacturing part of CSG in US during the year. All in all, I'm pleased with the performance.

We have strong momentum and put ourselves in a good position to deliver our profitability target for 2026. If we then jump into the highlights of the quarter, Q4 was a strong end to a successful year for Bufab, and I'm overall pleased with our performance.

We continue to focus on things within our control, and most of our sisters out there deliver very strong results in the quarter. The organic growth was slightly positive, 0.3%, and the modest growth reflects the continued uncertainty we see in the market, with big variation between countries and customer segments.

Demand was strong in energy, agriculture and food, digital infrastructure, and defense, while the mobile home, trailer market was stable, and construction, furniture, interior design, and automotive industry remained weak. We delivered a very strong gross margin, 33.8% versus 29.3% last year, and adjusted operating margin improved to 13.1% compared to 11.8%.

The underlying cost level was unchanged compared to last year if we then adjust for Novia and acquisition of Vital. We continue to maintain strong focus on cost control while we, of course, continue to invest in growth in sisters where it makes sense.

All regions except UK/Ireland delivered strong results in the quarter. I will then leave the word over to Helena for some financial details.

Please, Helena.

Thank you, Erik. Let's review the financial highlights, starting with net sales.

Net sales for the quarter increased by 3.7%, resulting in a total of 1 billion 931. We see positive increase of 0.3% in organic growth.

However, this growth varies across the regions, showing positive results in Europe West and the Americas, while in contrast, Asia-Pacific, North-East, and UK/Ireland experienced negative organic growth. That is, as Erik said, reflecting a continued uncertain market, but is also partly explained by two larger project sales in Q4 in previous year affecting this one.

The change in net sales is also influenced by a negative currency impact of 6.6%, and that is the strengthening of the Swedish krona that has led to this revaluation effect. Additionally, we have the acquisition of Novia Group and Vital that contributed 10% to the net sales increase.

Moving forward to the margin, we are pleased to see a significant improvement in our gross margin, as well as a high operating margin in the quarter. The gross margin for the quarter was 33.8%, representing an increase from 29.7 in the same period last year.

Additionally, gross margins improved across all regions, and the improvement is driven by several different factors: it's driven by savings in purchase, active work with improved customer and product mix, and also price adjustments and currency. The strong gross margin has been a key factor in achieving this high operating margin, which has resulted in an adjusted EBITA margin of 13.1%.

As Erik mentioned before, the underlying cost level was in line with previous year when adjusting for Novia Group and Vital. We also had some favorable impacts related to currency affecting the cost, while acquisition cost had a negative effect compared to last year.

As we said previously, we continue to maintain a focus on cost control throughout the organization, while we also invest in companies and projects that will help us to grow for the future. The cash flow from the operating activities amounted to 224 million SEK, corresponding to a cash conversion of 93%.

The cash flow from operating activities in the quarter was higher than in the comparable period, explained by improved earnings combined with improved working capital. The increase in inventory was smaller than in the comparable period, and on a full-year basis, we can see that the inventory levels in the companies have normalized after the pandemic years.

The working capital in relation to net sales amounted to 30%, which is then mainly due to reduced capital tied up in inventory. Finally, the net debt/EBITDA ratio is up after the acquisition of Novia, landing on 2.6.

Maybe you remember, but in our last call in October, we communicated an expected net debt of 2.7 by the end of '25. After the Novia acquisition in late October, net debt was 3.0, and positive to see by quarter-end, it is now improved to 2.6.

That was all from the financial highlights. Thank you.

Thanks, Helena. I will then continue and give you some details from the different regions, and I would like to start with region Europe North and East.

The total growth was -4.6% in the region, and organic growth was negative 1.8%. Demand in the furniture and kitchen sector where HT Bendix in Denmark operates remained low, while demand in defense, digital infrastructure was strong.

Gross margin was very strong for the region, up 4.3 percentage points driven by active work to improve our customer and product mix, price adjustments, and consolidation purchasing volumes, and also positive currency effect on the gross margin. Operating expenses was up versus last year mainly due to one-offs related to workforce restructuring, but also inflation pressure.

The adjusted operating margin improved to 12.9% compared to 10.5% last year. If we then continue with Europe West, the total growth was 39.2%, of which 30- 40.4% was acquisition and 3.9% was organic growth.

We saw good demand in general in energy and defense, while automotive and construction industries continued on low activity levels. The gross margin was up 6 percentage points driven by price adjustments, increased added value services on new projects, and also Novia contributed positively on the gross margin.

Adjusted for Vital and Novia Group, share of OPEX was lower than the previous year, and we ended up on a very strong operating margin of 16.2%. Novia Group actually had a negative impact on the operating margin for the region due to the full-year bonus provisions and currency effects booked in Q4, but Novia expect to have positive impact on the region during 2026.

If we then continue with Americas, they showed total growth of -4.1%, and organic growth was positive 9.1%, mainly driven by price increases. Demand was stable, but on a low level for the mobile home and trailer market, and low demand was also noted in the automotive industry for CSG.

The gross margin was up 8.4 percentage points driven by price adjustments, the divestments in CSG part CSG, and also reclassification of obsolescence reserves. Some explanation here: the gross profit in Americas has been influenced by reclassifications of obsolescence, which involves relocating costs between GP and OPEX.

These adjustments in one time gave a positive effect on the gross profit for the quarter, alongside a partially offsetting negative effect on OPEX. Additionally, obsolescence cost has risen over the year, primarily in Q4 due to enhanced compliance with our reporting guidelines.

If we adjust for this, we still have a very positive development in the gross margin and end up on around 37% for the quarter. We also saw higher operating expenses mainly due to increased obsolescence reserves for Americas and end up on a positive development for operating margin and end up at 11.3%.

I can also mention that we have previous quarter have some positive impact on the gross profit due to tariffs on tariffed goods in inventory, and that didn't have any impact in the Q4. If we then continue with UK/Ireland, total growth amounted to negative 12.5%, of which the organic growth was -2.4%.

We saw low demand in the manufacturing industry impacted Bufab UK, combined with lower market prices, which impacts Apex and their stainless business. Gross margin was up as well, 3.0 percentage points, mainly driven by sourcing savings and lower freight charges.

We saw higher cost level due to inflation from higher social tax and national minimum wage in UK. The adjusted operating margin ended up at 8.1% compared to 9.0% in Q4 last year.

Then finally, Asia-Pacific, the total growth for the region amounted to -22.4%, of which currency was 12.7% and organic growth was negative 9.7%. Bufab Shanghai delivered strong numbers, and Bufab India noted a mild negative growth, and Bufab Singapore had a larger decline due to larger one-time project sales in Q4 last year, as also Helena mentioned.

Gross margin was up 2.3 percentage points due to purchasing savings and active work with our value-based pricing. We also saw a higher share of OPEX in the region, primarily due to lower volumes and a smaller currency impact.

The adjusted operating margin improved to 14.7%. Before we sum up the quarter, I would like to share a group news, and this time, I will highlight one of the customer deals that we've closed in 2025, and that is a major project within a world-leading supplier in the semiconductor industry.

We signed this contract in 2025 after long discussions with one of the world-leading manufacturer to a semiconductor industry. This is mainly Bumax products that we will deliver, but also C-parts through Flos, and it is tailor-made solutions that is part of this package to the customer.

In this type of deal, we deliver typical peace of mind and clear value to our customers through cost savings, short lead times, quality quality control, etc., full-scope support for the customer. This is a high-volume project that we start that we started in Q4 this year- sorry, last year, and we predict this project to ramp up during 2026 and 2027.

Why is this type of deal good for Bufab in the future? This is in an industry where we aim to grow, where we see long-term growth potential.

We can also utilize our strength as a group with our broad offering and our capability to give tailor-made solutions for our customers and give the right services and solutions that they need. We deliver clear value for the customer, and this is a win-win.

If we perform well, we will also deliver strong growth and also higher margins and much higher than the average margin that we have in Bufab. Our aim is to create a long-term partnership and a win-win situation for the customer and for Bufab, of course.

If we then finally sum up the quarter and talk a few words about priorities and outlook. I would like to say that I'm overall very pleased with our performance in 2025.

We continue to focus on things within our control and execute our strategy very well, and I'm proud we delivered a record high gross margin and operating margin for the year. I'm also pleased that we deliver a strong Q4 despite quite weak markets still out there.

Over the past 10 quarters now, we have gradually strengthened our gross margin, and we expect the gross margin continue to have a positive development also during 2026. Despite the uncertain market conditions, we are optimistic about the future.

We continue to focus on things within our control and give value to our customers, and, of course, continue to try to grab market share in a market that is actually good for market share growth. Continue to focus on improve our margin, with focus on improving our gross margin, but, of course, also be cautious with cost.

Finally, continue working with our networking capital and secure a strong cash flow also in 2026. To sum up, I think we have a good momentum right now, and we put ourselves in a good position to also deliver on our profitability target for 2026.

That was my final slide, I will now open up for Q&A.

Good morning, Erik. Can you hear me?

Yes, we can. Hi, Jonnie.

Hi. Hello.

A couple of questions from me. I think I will start with North America.

Obviously, very strong gross margin here in the quarter, and we touched upon that a little bit, but could you maybe break down the effect from the reclassification of obsolescence reserves here in the quarter and general underlying improvements and the effects from the divestment, if you could break down the drivers a little bit closer? Thank you.

I will not share all the details, but we have, if you adjust them for obsolescence, we have an improvement in the quarter, ending up around 37% on gross margin compared to 33% last year. That is driven by the improvement in CSG, when we divested the manufacturing part of CSG, that is improving our overall profitability situation with a better customer/product mix.

On top of that, ABS and also CSG is working well with their pricing management that is contributing. We're going from a level of 33% to 37% if I adjust them from the obsolescence that gave also boost then in the quarter.

That is a little bit of what I can say about the gross margin in Americas.

Yes. Okay.

Sounds interesting. Majority is structurally obvious then.

On demand, a quick question there. I think book-to-bill is back above one here in the quarter, which is good.

How should we think about demand going forward, would you say, and what sort of visibility do you have in new customer contracts getting on board, as you take market share, or what is your gut feeling there?

Yeah. What I can say is that it's still a certainty in the market, it's very difficult to predict how the demand will turn out now in 2026.

If we look at things that we can control, I'm pleased with the performance in '25 in terms of market share gains, and also secured some big projects that we know that will help us and support our growth levels in 2026 and 2027. That is sure.

Then if we get some tailwind from the overall market that is in the crystal ball, to say, but I'm optimistic we put ourselves in a good position to, I would say, harvest when the market bounce back. Because we still see many industries and segments with quite low demand and not picked up yet, we continue to put ourselves in a good position to hopefully get some leverage from that when the market bounce back.

Understood. Can you say something about how big the new contract with the leading manufacturer of semiconductor equipment is for you?

Also I think it's highlighted Babcock contracts and the size of that last quarter, is that any effect on that already now, or when will that show in numbers?

Yes, both those projects are for us significant volumes and that will contribute gradually on top line and right away on the gross margin because it's high-value services that we provide to those customers. They will have gradually positive impact on the net sales and also margin in 2026.

We will not be able to disclose any details about the numbers, but more than it will gradually help us during 2026 from top line and also margin point of view.

Understood. Thank you.

One final quick one: I think gross margin UK is also very strong and did quite a big jump here in the quarter year-over-year. Was anything particular that drove that, or how should we view the UK going forward here?

No, as I mentioned the call, I'm overall very pleased with our gross margin improvement during 2025. All regions are contributing, and also sisters in the regions, more or less all of them are doing a good job to improve their situation from gross margin point of view.

That is paying off step-by-step. Here UK is no exception.

There challenges is the market situation in UK in general, but of course also situation for stainless with tough prices out in the market. From a gross margin point of view, they alongside with the rest of the organization is doing a good job, I think, and gradually improve the situation.

That I'm pleased with.

Understood. Thank you.

That was all for me. Have a great day.

Thank you.

Yes, thank you. It's Gustav here from Nordea.

Just to start off here, maybe in Europe West, very strong margin. It would be interesting to hear just what do you see there in terms of temporary effects here impacting the margin positively?

If we look at Q4 in recent year, it has not really been a strong quarter, to say. It would be very interesting to hear.

Yeah. No, West have a good, as you said, development in Q4.

I think a little bit as I mentioned when Jonnie asked his question about gross margin, more or less all companies in the region West are performing well from a gross margin perspective and a good in improving their customer/product mix, and also adding value services with high margins to our customers. On top of that, there are projects like this supply to semiconductor industry that is starting to give results as well.

All in all, they're going to do a good job and improving the situation. Then also in Q4, they had a positive customer/product mix as well that contributed positively.

I would say the good work they've done for quite some quarters now is paying off, but also favorable mix in the quarter.

In regards to your comment here in the report as well, you say that Novia Group has had a negative impact on the margin as well. Is it possible to give any indication of that?

Yeah.

Yes, that's true. They give a positive impact on the gross margin, but a negative impact on the operating margin in the quarter.

That is because the way they have done their reclassifications. The previous owners would take a lot of the reservations and costs for bonuses and currency and others in Q4, impacting the operating margin negatively.

Having said that, with our way of reporting and putting reservations in place, we expect Novia to contribute positively to the region West from a operating point of view starting now in Q1 and continuing in 2026. If you remove Novia from the equation, the old West, to say, are performing very well in the quarter and have a good momentum.

Oh,

that's perfect. Then maybe on your comment here, it's not only in Americas we are seeing price increases, it sounds like West as well, but on a group level, what would you say out of the 0.3% organic growth is driven by price versus volumes in the quarter here?

I would not share any details around that. I would say that is a combination of factors that drives the improvement.

One is that the working with pricing management. The other that is very important as well is that we still continue to get sourcing savings and we keep them.

Thirdly, we are, I would say, bettering in doing value-added services that we are increasing every time. We give our customers a broader range of support that generates higher margin.

We have, as been mentioned before, also secured deals that is contributing positively. I mentioned this deal here in semiconductor industry, that for example is helping West in Q4 and will continue helping also in 2026.

The new deals that we are adding to net sales is contributing positively as well. It's a combination of factor that is helping us on the margin side and, yeah, all

regions. Thank you.

One last one, very quick one: are you seeing any change here to the situation regarding the buyers' market in China or is that still supporting you?

It's still supporting us.

Perfect. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Can you hear me?

Yes, can you hear me?

A question on forex impact on profitability, could you be able to quantify the impact on gross margin and operating margin coming from forex?

No, we don't disclose any details on the forex on gross margin and on net sales. We don't do that.

We have, as you can see, we have some countries, as I mentioned, and some regions we have positive effect driving, like we mentioned in North-East, for example, that is contributed positively, and others is an other effects, it's a mixed bag. We don't disclose more details than we have mentioned here through different regions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes. Thanks, everyone, for joining.

Wish you all a nice day ahead. Thank you.