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• Quarterly Sales Growth: 11% growth in sales for Q4 2024, with 4% organic growth and 6.4% from acquisitions.

• Quarterly EBITA Growth: 9% increase in EBITA for Q4 2024.

• Profit Before Tax: 12.5% increase in Q4 2024.

• Earnings Per Share: 8% growth in Q4 2024.

• Full Year Sales Growth: 6.9% increase for 2024, with a 0.5% organic decline and 8% from acquisitions.

• Full Year EBITA Growth: 4.5% increase for 2024.

• Dividend Proposal: SEK 2.4 per share, a 14% increase from the previous year.

• System Solutions Sales Growth: 22% increase in Q4 2024.

• System Solutions Margin Increase: Margin improvement in Q4 2024.

• Interest-Bearing Net Debt to EBITA: 1.2 times, slightly up from 1.1 times a year ago.

• Operating Cash Flow Growth: 19% average growth since 2015.

• Free Cash Flow Per Share Growth: 23% average growth since 2014.

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Release Date: January 31, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Lifco AB (STU:1L30) reported an 11% growth in sales for Q4 2024, driven by a 4% organic growth and a 6.4% contribution from acquisitions.

• The company achieved a 9% increase in EBITA and a 12.5% rise in profit before tax for the quarter.

• Operating cash flow remained strong, with a notable increase in earnings per share by 8%.

• The Lifco Board proposed a 14% increase in dividends to SEK2.4 per share, reflecting confidence in the company's financial health.

• The systems solutions division showed robust performance with a 22% sales growth and a 26% increase in margins, supported by strong contract manufacturing deliveries.

Negative Points

• The demolition and tools division faced weak market conditions, resulting in negative organic growth and impacting overall profit margins.

• For the full year, Lifco AB (STU:1L30) experienced a slight organic sales decline of 0.5%, indicating challenges in certain business areas.

• The dental business area saw a weaker quarter with a nearly 1 percentage point drop in margins due to normal quarterly variations and extra costs.

• Inventory levels remain above pre-pandemic levels, indicating potential inefficiencies and challenges in inventory management.

• Selling expenses grew significantly by 30% in Q4, compared to a lower growth rate in the previous quarter, raising concerns about cost management.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you elaborate on the margin drop and the extra costs mentioned? A: Per Waldemarson, CEO, explained that the margin drop was due to various costs occurring simultaneously in the quarter, such as inventory valuation adjustments and organizational changes. He emphasized that this is not a trend and the full-year numbers remain stable. The margin drop is not a cause for concern unless it continues in future quarters.