VASRO has initiated equity research coverage of Zaptec ASA (Oslo Børs: ZAP) with a BUY recommendation and a target price of NOK 72.00 per share. Against the NOK 50.30 close of 28 August 2026, the valuation implies potential upside of 43.1%.
The investment case rests on the view that Zaptec is no longer adequately described as a charger manufacturer. The company designs smart chargers for electric cars, has them built under contract in Norway and Germany, and sells them through installers, wholesalers, utilities and carmakers in thirteen European countries. In 2025 it was Europe's largest AC charging brand, with 10% of the 2.4 million chargers sold, on independent LCP Delta data that ties to its own installation count.
The operating turnaround is already in the audited numbers. Gross margin rose from 37.7% to 42.5% across nine quarters and stood at 40.7% in the latest, operating costs fell from 35.9% of revenue to 30.5%, and rolling twelve-month EBITDA increased from NOK 28.3 million to NOK 186.0 million. Economic profit was positive in FY2025, an audited year rather than a forecast.
The share price has not followed. At NOK 50.30 the market values Zaptec at NOK 4,402 million, below the NOK 5,412 million VASRO's discounted cash flow attributes to the charger business alone.
A second value pool sits on the balance sheet and is not currently priced. Every charger sold carries a five-year connectivity obligation, NOK 111.3 million of it recognised at 30 June 2026. Zaptec charges NOK 24.79 per charger a year for that service today, against NOK 659.16 for the only published European commercial rate. VASRO values this layer separately at NOK 9.59 per share, on the assumption that a fifth of the installed base begins paying from 2028 at 19.5% of the published rate. The installed base is the asset that accumulates: Zaptec reported more than 240,000 installations in FY2025, more than 650 a day.
Growth outside Norway now carries the group. In the first half of 2026 the Netherlands passed Norway into second place at NOK 218.7 million, up 122.9%, Sweden remained the largest market at NOK 222.8 million, up 24.9%, and Germany grew 138.1% to NOK 23.8 million. Distribution runs through an E.ON framework covering 18 European countries, a renewed Polestar relationship, Sonepar in Germany and British Gas in the United Kingdom.
The NOK 72.00 target is derived from a discounted cash flow at a 9.557% cost of capital, which values the charger business at NOK 61.83 per share, plus NOK 9.59 per share for the connectivity layer.
The principal risks are the Swiss market, 11.7% of first-half revenue and still declining while the Swiss market grows, maintaining gross margin above 40% as the mix shifts, and competition from Ohme, Elli and Easee. The base case assumes no Swiss recovery before FY2028E, so little in the forecast depends on it.
Management and the board hold 4,034,179 shares, 4.61% of the company and more than twice the 1.98% shown in the 2025 annual report. Zaptec has not raised equity since February 2023.
Read the full VASRO Zaptec ASA Initial Equity Research Report for the complete valuation, scenario framework and financial forecasts.
Disclosure: this is a summary, not investment advice, and not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. VASRO is commissioned by the company for this research; the analysis, the rating and the target price remain VASRO's own. Full disclosures are contained in the report, available at vasro.de.
The post Zaptec ASA: Europe's Largest AC Charging Brand, With the Service Layer Priced at Zero - VASRO Initiates Coverage With BUY appeared first on VASRO GmbH.
