BHG Group AB (publ)

Hi, my name is Gustav Orn and I'm the CEO of BSG. I hope that you're enjoying the summer and we're super pleased that you're listening in and we are sorry if we are interrupting your summer holiday. I am here together with Jasper Flamme to present our Q2 report. We will also be available after the presentation to do our best to answer your questions. Slide two, please. The financial highlights of the report. Another challenging quarter from a market perspective, and sales was down approximately 30% organic versus the same quarter last year. Earnings came in with a profit of 99 million in the quarter, and we are pleased that we managed to improve our result versus last year. Please also be mindful that Q2 was our strongest quarter last year, where we had the majority of the positive effect from the inflation.

And the improvement in earnings came from a reduced direct selling cost and reduced SGMA. being the result of the hard work we have done in the last year. We can happily summarize that our hard work We had a positive cash flow of $328 million also considering the seasonal patterns cash flow perspective. When comparing with last year's cash flow, please be mindful that we lost here, as mentioned, a massive inventory reduction.

We reiterate the message from the last few quarters that we for 2024 will prioritize profit over cash flow. Slide three, please. A few words about the market. Even with positive macro signs, macro indicators, demand in our categories remains challenging. The main driver of demand, disposable income, is still subdued due to primarily high interest rates. Even with strengthening consumer confidence following the first interest level cut in the Swedish market, the consumer remains low on disposable income. It is very comforting to see the increase in number of household transactions in the last two quarters coming from low levels, but will over time have a positive effect on demand.