Bokusgruppen AB: Bokusgruppen year-end report October-December 2024

Q4 2024

• Net sales increased 8.4% to MSEK 721.4 (665.2)
• The gross margin increased to 45.3% (45.1)
• EBITA increased to MSEK 115.5 (110.8)
• Net profit increased to MSEK 76.8 (75.1)
• Undiluted and diluted earnings per share amounted to SEK 4.75 (4.65)

Full-year January-December 2024

• Net sales increased 6.3% to MSEK 1,988.9 (1,870.3)
• The gross margin increased to 42.9% (42.5)
• EBITA increased to MSEK 120.3 (114.9)
• Net profit increased to MSEK 41.9 (40.6)
• Undiluted and diluted earnings per share amounted to SEK 2.60 (2.51)

Significant events in the quarter

• Acquisition of BTJ Sverige AB, strengthening Bokusgruppen's B2B offering.
• New long-term financing solution in place to provide increased flexibility for continued growth initiatives.

Comments from the CEO

Full-year 2024 ended on a strong note with a successful Christmas season. Sales for the quarter increased a full 8.4%, attributable to organic growth as well as the year's store acquisitions. We also delivered strong margins during the quarter as well as EBITA that was 4.2% higher than the last year's record-breaking performance. This led to full-year sales growth of 6.3% and EBITA of MSEK 120.3, up 4.7%. We can thus proudly declare 2024 one of our best years ever.

Akademibokhandeln in particular continued its positive trend and delivered a strong final quarter and full year. A strong brand, a higher number of active customers and increased customer satisfaction are proof that we are continuously strengthening our already leading position and delivering an attractive and competitive customer offering. Our Akademibokhandelns Vänner loyalty club also grew by 110,000 members during the quarter to 2.3 million members. We added eight stores during the year, far more than normal. One of these was a new establishment, while the other seven were converted franchises that had been acquired and become part of our store network.

Bokus also delivered growth for the quarter and for the year, encouraging news since online retail faced some serious challenges overall and growth in the year-earlier quarter was unusually high. Digital books, sold as a subscription in Bokus Play and single books sold through Bokus, increased 13.1% in the quarter. As stated in previous reports, Bokus had a challenging year in terms of its gross margin and EBITA, which we have introduced measures to address. Numerous investments were made during the year, including an improved logistics solution and developing new online shopping systems. The improvement to logistics has already had an effect in the form of a better shipping offering and improved customer experience. The figures for active customers and NPS improved during the year. The new online shopping systems will be launched gradually in 2025 and will allow more rapid development of the customer offering and provide more effective work tools for our employees.

The gross margin for Bokusgruppen improved 0.2 percentage points in the quarter and 0.4 percentage points on a full-year basis. Like last year, there was a great deal of focus on price optimisation and supplier negotiations, which continued to have a positive impact. As previously announced, our improved logistics solution for online shopping entailed higher logistics costs. The focus is now on gradually increasing the productivity of the logistics solution in order to bring down costs while retaining a high level of quality in customer deliveries.

EBITA increased 4.2% in the quarter, driven by increased sales and an improved gross margin. The cost side was impacted by acquisition costs and increased costs for IT development related to online shopping. The EBITA margin for the full year was 6.0%, which was in line with the previous year. When the upgrade of the online shopping systems is complete in 2025, we will have the right conditions for achieving our long-term goal of an EBITA margin of 8%.

Successful acquisitions

We carried out three acquisitions in 2024. We added seven stores to our centrally owned store network through two franchise acquisitions. All of these networks noted increased sales and profitability for the quarter and the full year. BTJ, which was acquired in December, has a complete offering of books and related services for libraries and schools. This strengthens Bokusgruppen's sales to companies and the public sector. As the government increases funding for educational materials and school libraries to promote reading among children and young people, we see this as a strategic complement to our existing operations. BTJ is not included in sales for the fourth quarter, but the quarter was charged with acquisition costs.

Adapting to new sustainability regulations

In addition to the sustainability activities we carried out in all parts of our operations, we focused on adapting to the new regulations for sustainability reporting that entered into force in 2025. Our sustainability reporting in the 2024 Annual and Sustainability Report will largely be presented in line with the new directives.

Outlook

We are going into 2025 with plenty of momentum: more stores, a new acquisition that adds value to our B2B offering and the imminent launch of our new online shopping platform. Altogether, this gives us confidence that we can continue our positive development. I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to all of our employees and partners, who work together every day to make this possible.

In 2025, we will also continue to spread the joy of reading to everyone, every day! Especially now that annual national book sale is starting in just a few days.

Maria Edsman, CEO

Further information

For more information, please contact Maria Edsman, CEO Bokusgruppen, on +46 76 888 26 10 or Susanna Gyllenbaga, Press Contact, on +46 709 710 110

The Company is listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market. The Company's Certified Adviser is Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ).

Bokusgruppen AB (publ)
Corp.reg.no.: 559025-8637
Box 2100, 103 13 Stockholm, Sweden
Lindhagensgatan 126, plan 5, 112 51 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: +46 10-744 10 00
Email: info@bokusgruppen.com