Relais Group Plc, Stock Exchange Release 14 August 2025, 9:00 a.m. EEST
This release is a summary of Relais Group's Half-Year Financial Report January-June 2025. The full release is attached to this release and is available on our website at https://relais.fi/en/investors/.
APRIL-JUNE 2025 IN BRIEF
- Net sales totalled EUR 82.9 million (April-June 2024: 74.3), change +12%
- Comparable EBITA was EUR 7.6 (7.3) million, change +3%
- Comparable EBITA margin was 9.1 (9.9) %
- Earnings per share, basic was EUR 0.08 (0.18)
- Net cash flow from operations was EUR -0.2 (9.5) million
JANUARY-JUNE 2025 IN BRIEF
- Net sales totalled EUR 165.7 million (January-June 2024: 157.0), change +6%
- Comparable EBITA was EUR 16.7 (17.0) million, change -2%
- Comparable EBITA margin was 10.1 (10.8) %
- Earnings per share, basic was EUR 0.41 (0.39)
- Net cash flow from operations was EUR 2.4 (14.1) million
2025 OUTLOOK AND LONG-TERM FINANCIAL TARGET
Relais Group does not provide a numeric guidance for the financial year 2025. The company has a long-term financial target published on 2 March 2023, according to which it aims to reach a pro forma comparable EBITA of EUR 50 million by the end of the year 2025.
KEY FIGURES
| (EUR 1,000 unless stated otherwise) | 4-6/ 2025 | 4-6/ 2024 | Change | 1-6/2025 | 1-6/2024 | Change | 12 months rolling | Change | 1-12/ 2024 |
| Net sales | 82,899 | 74,261 | +12% | 165,697 | 157,017 | +6% | 331,286 | +3% | 322,606 |
| Gross profit | 40,724 | 35,400 | +15% | 81,817 | 73,592 | +11% | 159,135 | +5% | 151,219 |
| Gross margin | 49.1% | 47.7% | 49.4% | 46.9% | 48.1% | 46.9% | |||
| EBITDA | 11,775 | 11,056 | +7% | 24,774 | 24,558 | +1% | 52,080 | 0% | 51,863 |
| Comparable EBITDA | 12,144 | 11,070 | +10% | 25,373 | 24,586 | +3% | 53,277 | +1% | 52,490 |
| EBITA | 7,198 | 7,304 | -1% | 16,150 | 16,976 | -5% | 35,300 | -2% | 36,126 |
| EBITA margin | 8.7% | 9.8% | 9.7% | 10.8% | 10.7% | 11.2% | |||
| Comparable EBITA | 7,566 | 7,318 | +3% | 16,749 | 17,004 | -2% | 36,497 | -2% | 36,753 |
| Comparable EBITA margin | 9.1% | 9.9% | 10.1% | 10.8% | 11.0% | 11.4% | |||
| Operating profit | 6,264 | 6,587 | -5% | 14,410 | 15,549 | -7% | 31,845 | -3% | 32,983 |
| Profit for the period | 1,476 | 3,274 | -55% | 7,333 | 7,158 | +2% | 18,708 | +1% | 18,533 |
| Earnings per share, basic | 0.08 | 0.18 | -55% | 0.41 | 0.39 | +5% | 1.04 | +1% | 1.02 |
| Cash flow from operations | -221 | 9,494 | 2,440 | 14,131 | 23,146 | -34% | 34,837 | ||
| Net working capital | 94,716 | 62,150 | +52% | 68,208 | |||||
| Net working capital turnover | 4.1 | 4.8 | -15% | 4.8 | |||||
| Interest-bearing net debt | 226,938 | 146,722 | +55% | 141,283 | |||||
| Net Debt to EBITDA, LTM | 4.36 | 3.03 | 2.72 | ||||||
| Interest-bearing net debt excluding lease liabilities | 128,031 | 85,763 | +49% | 82,672 | |||||
| Net Debt excluding lease liabilities to EBITDA, LTM | 2.46 | 1.77 | 1.59 | ||||||
| Equity ratio | 27.7% | 32.6% | 35.6% | ||||||
| Return on net working capital | 43.3% | 51.3% | 53.4% | ||||||
| Return on equity | 12.3% | 13.1% | 16.2% | ||||||
| Return on capital employed | 12.7% | 12.9% | 13.2% |
The change percentages in the tables have been calculated on exact figures before the amounts were rounded to millions of euros.
CEO ARNI EKHOLM COMMENTS THE SECOND QUARTER AND FIRST HALF YEAR OF 2025
A solid performance
"Our acquisition driven business model proved its resilience again during the second quarter of this year. Our business is predominantly focused on the commercial vehicle aftermarket, which by nature is more defensive and less cyclical than many other vehicle and mobility related businesses. Commercial vehicles need to be running even during weaker economic times, and critical repair and maintenance and equipping cannot be postponed for too long. In addition, by making well targeted and successful acquisitions we can accelerate the growth of the company over a business cycle.
Soft market conditions during the second quarter
Despite the soft market demand during the quarter we managed to grow our Net Sales with 12% vs. last year, mainly based on the recent acquisitions. The organic Net Sales growth was -2%. The Scandinavian segment reached an organic growth of +1% in comparable exchange rates, whilst the Finnish and Baltic segments had an organic growth of -4%, reflecting the general economic development in that area. The comparable EBITA grew with 3%, which is a solid performance considering the weak market conditions. In fact, this quarter marked the highest level of Net Sales and comparable EBITA on any second quarter in the history of Relais Group.
Major strategic steps taken
We have taken major steps to reach our strategic objectives during the first half of the year. As a sector focussed and competent compounder it is vital that we at all times have a healthy pipeline of acquisition targets. Perhaps even more importantly, we also need to have the ability to make things happen and execute the deals having a strong strategic fit and a good value creation potential for the group.
Our determined and disciplined efforts have resulted in several acquisitions which have a material impact in reaching our growth targets. In early July we finalized the acquisition of Matro Group in Benelux, giving us a strong foothold in the European truck accessories business. In June, we finalized the acquisition of the Norwegian Team Verksted and Lastvagnsdelar, further strengthening our position as the biggest operator of independent commercial vehicle repair and maintenance workshops in the Nordic region. In addition, in early July we announced the acquisition of two strategically located heavy commercial vehicle workshops in Eastern Finland. The closing of this deal is expected to happen during the third quarter of this year. All in all, these acquisitions represent an addition of ca 11 MEUR to the EBITA of our group on an annual level.
Heading towards new targets
We are successfully approaching the end of the current strategic planning period. Our current long term financial target is to reach a pro-forma run rate level of 50 MEUR comparable EBITA by end of this year. During this autumn we will review our existing strategic and financial objectives and make a solid plan for the next strategy period starting as of January 2026. The new strategic and financial objectives will be announced in due course later during this year.
Outlook for the rest of the year
Despite the certain softness in the markets during H1, we start to also see some cautious positive signals in the demand of our products and services. As said, the commercial vehicles need to be up and running and with our large geographical coverage with workshops in strategic locations in Norway, Finland and Sweden we are well positioned to help our customers to run their operations efficiently. The demand for spare parts and equipment is also showing some encouraging signs, and now with a direct access to Central-European customers we have a much wider area to sell our products to. With this in mind, I feel that we have all the possibilities to successfully pursue our strategic objectives also during the second half of this year.
In this connection I want to thank all our over 1,600 professionals in eight countries for your tremendous performance during the first half year of 2025. In addition, I want to warmly welcome all the new Relais family members to the team! Lastly, I want to express my gratitude towards our customers, shareholders and business partners for your continued support."
EVENTS AFTER THE REVIEW PERIOD
- Acquisition of Autodelar Sweden AB
- Completion of the acquisition of 70 percent of the shares in Matro Group
- Acquisition of two heavy commercial vehicle workshops from Wetteri Auto Oy
FINANCIAL CALENDAR FOR 2025
Relais Group Plc will publish the following financial report during 2025:
- Interim Report January-September 2025, on Wednesday, 22 October 2025
The report will be published at approximately 9:00 a.m. Finnish time on the above date.
INVITATION TO THE WEBCAST
Relais Group's CEO Arni Ekholm and CFO Thomas Ekström will present the result to the media, investors and analysts at a webcast on Thursday, 14 August 2025, at 10:00 a.m. EEST. The webcast can be followed at https://relais.events.inderes.com/q2-2025
Presentation material and video will be available on the company's website at https://relais.fi/en/
after the event.
Relais Group Plc
Board of Directors
Further information:
Arni Ekholm, CEO
Phone: +358 40 760 3323
E-mail: arni.ekholm@relais.fi
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Key Media
www.relais.fi
Relais Group
Relais Group is a leading consolidator and acquisition platform on the vehicle aftermarket in the Nordic and Baltic countries. We have a sector focus in vehicle life cycle enhancement and related services. We also serve as a growth platform for the companies we own.
We are a profitable company seeking strong growth. We carry out targeted acquisitions in line with our growth strategy and want to be an active player in the consolidation of the aftermarket in our area of operation. Our acquisitions are targeted at companies having a good strategic fit with our group companies.
Our net sales in 2024 was EUR 322.6 (2023: 284.3) million. During 2024, we completed two acquisitions. We employ approximately 1,600 professionals in eight different countries. The Relais Group share is listed on the Main Market of Nasdaq Helsinki with the stock symbol RELAIS.
www.relais.fi
