Relais Group Oyj: Relais Group Plc Financial Statements Review January-December 2024 (unaudited): A Record Year
Relais Group Plc
Stock Exchange Release 13 February 2025, 9:00 a.m. EET
This release is a summary of Relais Group's Financial Statement Review January-December 2024. The full release is attached to this release and is available on our website at https://relais.fi/en/investors/.
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2024 IN BRIEF
- Net sales totalled EUR 90.7 million (October-December 2023: 80.9), change +12%
- Comparable EBITA was EUR 10.6 (7.8) million, change +36%
- Comparable EBITA margin was 11.7 (9.6) %
- Earnings per share, basic was EUR 0.37 (0.35)
- Net cash flow from operations was EUR 16.4 (8.4) million
- At comparable EUR/SEK exchange rates, EBITA would have been approximately EUR 0.1 (0.2) million higher than reported *)
JANUARY-DECEMBER 2024 IN BRIEF
- Net sales totalled EUR 322.6 million (January-December 2023: 284.3), change +13%
- Comparable EBITA was EUR 36.8 (28.9) million, change +27%
- Comparable EBITA margin was 11.4 (10.1) %
- Earnings per share, basic was EUR 1.02 (0.76)
- Net cash flow from operations was EUR 34.8 (30.6) million
- Return on net working capital was 53.4 (44.0) %
- At comparable EUR/SEK exchange rates, EBITA would have been approximately EUR 0.2 (1.5) million higher than reported *)
- The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of maximum EUR 0.50 (0.44) per share to be paid for 2024. Of this dividend EUR 0.30 would be paid in April 2025. In addition, the Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting authorises the Board of Directors to decide, at its discretion, on the distribution of a maximum additional dividend of EUR 0.20 per share in November 2025
*) The EUR/SEK impact has been calculated by converting the SEK denominated EBITA of the Swedish entities to EUR with the reporting period average EUR/SEK rate as well as the comparison period average EUR/SEK rate and comparing these two (translation difference).
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 3 February 2023, according to which it aims to reach a proforma comparable EBITA of EUR 50 million by the end of the year 2025.
KEY FIGURES
| (EUR 1,000 unless stated otherwise) | 10-12/2024 | 10-12/2023 | Change | 1-12/ 2024 | 1-12/ 2023 | Change |
| Net sales | 90,682 | 80,942 | +12% | 322,606 | 284,252 | +13% |
| Gross profit | 41,596 | 35,288 | +22% | 151,219 | 128,923 | +18% |
| Gross margin | 45.9% | 43.6% | 46.9% | 45.4% | ||
| EBITDA | 14,293 | 11,738 | +22% | 51,863 | 43,542 | +19% |
| Comparable EBITDA | 14,878 | 11,746 | +27% | 52,490 | 43,841 | +20% |
| EBITA | 10,008 | 7,794 | +28% | 36,126 | 28,552 | +27% |
| EBITA margin | 11.0% | 9.6% | 11.2% | 10.0% | ||
| Comparable EBITA | 10,593 | 7,802 | +36% | 36,753 | 28,851 | +27% |
| Comparable EBITA margin | 11.7% | 9.6% | 11.4% | 10.1% | ||
| Operating profit | 9,035 | 6,972 | +30% | 32,983 | 25,147 | +31% |
| Profit for the period | 6,733 | 6,304 | +7% | 18,533 | 13,739 | +35% |
| Earnings per share, basic | 0.37 | 0.35 | +7% | 1.02 | 0.76 | +35% |
| Cash flow from operations | 16,365 | 8,436 | +94% | 34,837 | 30,598 | +14% |
| Net working capital | 68,208 | 67,068 | +2% | |||
| Net working capital turnover | 4.8 | 4.4 | +9% | |||
| Interest-bearing net debt | 141,283 | 151,010 | -6% | |||
| Net Debt to EBITDA, LTM | 2.72 | 3.47 | -21% | |||
| Equity ratio | 35.6% | 33.6% | ||||
| Return on net working capital | 53.4% | 44.0% | ||||
| Return on equity | 16.2% | 12.8% | ||||
| Return on capital employed | 13.2% | 10.0% |
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 FINANCIAL YEAR 2024
A Record Year for Relais Group
"The year 2024 was a record year for us. We reached the highest Net Sales, EBITA, Net Profit and Earnings per Share in the history of Relais Group Plc. The Return on Capital Employed increased from 10.0% to 13.2% and the Return on Net Working Capital increased from 44.0% to 53.4%. This demonstrates the strength of our business model and strategy even during economically challenging times. During the last five years, we have practically tripled our net sales and simultaneously more than doubled our profit. We have succeeded in establishing Relais Group as a significant commercial vehicle aftermarket growth platform even on a European level and created significant value for our shareholders.
Segment overview
Both of our geographical segments Finland and Baltics and Scandinavia managed to reach a double-digit turnover growth during 2024. The harsh winter conditions during the first quarter boosted the sales especially in Finland, but also to a certain extent in Sweden. The positive market development continued in both segments in practice the whole year, and our sales developed well even during the last quarter of the year despite the relatively mild winter conditions. The Scandinavian market showed robust growth during the year and also the Finnish market improved during 2024 as opposed to the relatively flat development during the earlier years. The turnover growth of segment Finland and Baltics was +12% (organic: +7%) and respectively +15% (organic: +9%) for the segment Scandinavia.
Business Area overview
In the Technical Wholesale and Products business area virtually all our Group companies grew their sales in a significant way. The demand situation for spare parts and equipment was strong in all our operating countries, demonstrating the defensive nature of the vehicle aftermarket. The ageing vehicle parc demands more spare parts and services, and during economically tough times existing vehicles are used longer before changing into new ones. In addition, the long period of extremely low temperatures during Q1 boosted the spare parts and equipment sales. We also intensified our efforts in bringing new spare parts under our private label product family "NPD". We aim to clearly increase the share of private label sales of our total spare part sales in the coming years.
Our broad product portfolio, excellent customer service combined with our best-in-class digital customer interface and efficient logistics gives us a unique position in this market. We work in close partnership with our customers and help them to do a better business, every day.
Looking closer at our Lighting product group, the year 2024 was yet another year of net sales growth. The export success of our Strands brand continued especially in the Central European markets. In the Scandinavian markets we relaunched our Optibeam brand and introduced several new products in that range. The main season of the Lighting market starts typically during September-October. This year the season started somewhat later, meaning that a relatively bigger part of the sales now happened during fourth quarter. Although the absolute majority of our Lighting products goes to business-to-business customers, consumer demand also plays an important role especially during the peak season in November-December. After a few years of sluggish consumer demand our on-line sales to consumers showed encouraging development during Q4.
In the Repair and Maintenance business area the year 2024 was a year of continued and profitable growth. The net sales of our commercial vehicle business area grew with 15% (organic: 7%). Our operating units Raskone (Finland), STS and Skeppsbrons (Sweden) continued their strong performance. The targeted and strategic acquisitions of M. Ahlqvist in Finland and Team Verkstad in Sweden further strengthened our competitiveness and service offering, especially in the trailer repair segment in Finland. We continued to gain market share in strong and close partnership with our customers in Finland and Sweden. The continued work to increase the capacity utilization of our workshops, including a systematic benchmarking and implementation of best practices is giving real results also in the profitability of this business area. In only a few years the commercial vehicle repair and maintenance business area has become a major profit and cashflow contributor to Relais Group.
Acquisitions
We continued to scan the market for good acquisition targets and have been engaged in several discussions and negotiations with owners of relevant companies. When looking at acquisition targets we search for companies having a stable financial track record, a well-managed business with a highly committed team and perhaps most importantly, a solid path for future profit growth as a member in the Relais family. During the year 2024, we completed two well-targeted acquisitions and strengthened our commercial vehicle repair and maintenance business area with M. Ahlqvist and Team Verkstad joining our team.
We also intensified our acquisition efforts by empowering the Group company management to actively engage suitable acquisition targets within their specific area of expertise. We expect that to increase the pace of acquisitions during the year 2025.
Sustainability and good governance
The year 2024 was important for us in advancing sustainability and good governance. We conducted our first group-wide employee satisfaction survey, and the results were encouraging. This provides a solid foundation for further developing our employee experience and workplace. We also focused on strengthening HR management and ethical business practices by creating a group-wide HR policy that provides guidelines for personnel management and launching a Code of Conduct training program for all employees. Additionally, we clarified our internal governance model by standardizing the management of our group companies, which has improved structural clarity and operational efficiency. In 2024, we further developed our sustainability reporting in accordance with European reporting standards, focusing on the Double Materiality Analysis. Our commitment to sustainability is ongoing, and the steps taken in 2024 lay a strong foundation for future development.
Outlook 2025
Relais Group's strong performance in 2024 creates a solid platform to continue the positive trend also during the year 2025. We expect the market demand to be on a stable level in our operating countries. We also aim to increase the pace of acquisitions and continue to create value for our shareholders. We feel that we are well positioned to continue our growth story also during 2025 and beyond.
Finally, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all our over 1,200 professionals for your dedication and hard work during the record year 2024. Additionally, I want to thank all our customers, shareholders and business partners for your support and commitment to Relais Group. We will do our best to earn your trust also during the new fiscal period."
EVENTS AFTER THE REVIEW PERIOD
Entering of the cancellation of treasury shares into the Trade Register
The Board of Directors of Relais Group Plc decided on 23 December 2024 to cancel the 71,785 own shares held by the company. 71,735 treasury shares cancelled were acquired through the share buy-back program that began on 8 May 2024 and ended on 5 November 2024 Relais Group. On 28 January Relais Group notified that the cancellation of the shares were entered into the Trade Register.
FINANCIAL CALENDAR FOR 2025
Relais Group Plc will publish the following financial reports during 2025:
- Interim Report January-March 2025,
on Tuesday, 13 May 2025 - Half-Year Financial Report January-June 2025,
on Thursday, 14 August 2025 - Interim Report January-September 2025,
on Wednesday, 22 October 2025
The reports will be published at approximately 9:00 a.m. Finnish time on the above dates.
Relais Group Plc's Annual Report 2024 will be published on Friday, 14 March 2025 on the Company's website.
The Annual General Meeting 2025 is planned to be held on Thursday, 10 April 2025.
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 13 February 2025, at 10:00 a.m. EET. The webcast can be followed at https://relais.events.inderes.com/q4-2024
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 1,300 professionals in six different countries. The Relais Group share is listed on the Main Market of Nasdaq Helsinki with the stock symbol RELAIS.