CAG Group AB (publ)

Välkomna till dagens sändning. Du har med oss CIG Group. Där Åsa Landén Eriksson kommer att presentera bolagets bokslutskommuniké för 2025. Önskar du ställa frågor till Åsa? Går det bra med formuläret till höger så tar vi upp det efter sändningen. Och med det slår jag ordet till dig Åsa. Varsågod.

Tack så mycket Martin och välkomna alla som lyssnar. Åsa Landén Eriksson heter jag som sagt var och det känns väldigt bra att få packa ihop det åttonde helåret under min tid på CAG och den här rapporten är väl lite mer nyhetsbäckande än vanligt så det är väldigt roligt. Om jag börjar med vad som är lite key takeaways här så är det ju så att vi igår annonserade ett förvärv, det första på ganska länge. But on the other hand, a very, very good acquisition. I think I am very pleased that we have managed to do this. It is a company called Klara Financial Consulting and it strengthens our banking and finance segment. More about that in a moment. It also means that we will have two very equal strong segments and the other is defense, which is not least important for our national security and for us as a company and for us as shareholders as well. We also grow nicely in operation and management, IT service operations as it is called in English, and there is the largest part of our recurring revenue, which is a bit over 20%, often on three-year contracts. The last key takeaway is that there has been a positive price trend up here, and we have had that for quite some time now. So that feels good. And with that said, I'm just going to make a quick overview before we get a little more into this acquisition. Ni som har lyssnat förut känner igen det här. Vi tittar någonting jag vill gärna påpeka så är det att vi sedan något år tillbaka kör Winning Tempo Mäter. Vi var med i Great Place to Work tidigare och fick väldigt bra betyg. Nu möter vi det som kallas för Employee Net Promoter Score och vi ligger på en fantastisk nivå där. 64 är jättehögt. Så det är jag väldigt nöjd med. Annars är det inga större nyheter här. Klara, who we hire, is in the middle of Stockholm as well, so we stay a lot around Mälardalen. This is what it looked like in Morro Bitti. You can see to the right the five members in Klara and our chairman Bosse Lindström and me. We had to check a bit when we designed this. This is a company we have known for a very long time. It was the same when we bought Syntell. We knew very well who we were dealing with. And Klara is a very competent company. It is a bank and finance specialist that focuses primarily on capital administration, asset management. You have about 40 consultants and the management is very senior and professional. Consulta mycket själva ute hos kund, vilket vi sätter pris på, för det är ofta det bästa sättet att sälja på också, skapa förtroende med den kompetens som man har. Bolaget omsatte 102 miljoner nu 2025 med en väldigt fin marginal på 22%. And a special area in capital management is that, just like CAG, you actually work a whole lot with a portfolio management system called Simcorp. Simcorp Dimension, rather, the one that says SCD in the parenthesis. But of course you also have knowledge in other asset management systems and processes around capital management, not least. Man hjälper till med allt från strategi och processutveckling till mer systemnära frågor. And at CG, our management and management company, CG Datastöd, has also worked with Simcorp for a very long time, but from a more technical perspective, application management, where you make sure that these very important portfolio management systems work with all integrations around systems. and so on. The customers here, who are many, are common between CG Data Support and old CG and Clara. are many leaders, both public and private capital administrators. A large part of our pension money is, for example, within these customers and also many larger private ones. And for this we have been able to pay, or we think that we hope that we will be able to pay the entire sum, I should say. At 123.5 million SEK. It is an initial purchase difference of 85 million SEK. And it is divided into 75% in contents and 25% in C&G shares. So we have had a partnership here of new, very competent, committed shareholders. I think that's great. And then there is an additional purchase difference that can be a maximum of 38.5%. Den faller ut över tre år givet att vissa lönsamhetsmål nås. Jag känner ett väldigt engagemang hos Klaras ledning att jobba vidare. Man tycker det är roligt och det är väldigt kompetenta medarbetare i det här bolaget. Alla på CG har också varit mycket nöjda över att få säljas av ett till syskon. Framöver blir vi tio dotterbolag då. och vi planerar att stänga den här affären första april. Trots lite skämtsamma datumet så är det bra att börja i ett nytt kvartal. Så ser det ut. Det är om detta. You can see the figures for the whole year here, I will come back to that later. We have had a continuous growth and profitability, and it is not really true on the revenue side, as you can see in the last two years, a little more beige. It is due to the fact that we closed our daughter company on technical tests. i början av 2025 och det var också två färre arbetsdagar i det året då. Däremot så ligger ju vår vinstnivå kvar och vi har en högre marginal i 2025 än året innan. Så det känns bra tycker vi. Och innan jag kommer in mer på siffrorna då så tänkte jag bara repetera där. Vi har 35 % av våra intäkter i försvarssegmentet och vi jobbar ju väldigt mycket med Materielprojekten, det är verkligen verksamhetsnära om man får säga så, inom alla försvarsgrenar. Och med förvärvet så kommer redan vår fjärdedel bank och finans snarare bli en tredjedel. Så det blir väldigt välbalanserad portfölj där. If you look at the customer list, in the upper right corner, you can see many of the customers in capital administration, such as both CHG and Klara. We also work more with the retail side on SEB, Handelsbanken, Swedbank. We work with Riksbanken. Finansinspektionen och den typen av kunder. Men också, som ni ser, många väldigt fina försvarskunder och andra kunder också inom övre offentlig sektor. Och på PIM och e-handelssidan har vi mycket B2B, men också lite retail. Gant och Boots Apotek till exempel kan man peka ut. So that's about our customers, you may have heard this before. If I go on, that's the funniest thing. We have had a good flow of new contracts and deals during the quarter and it's fun. It feels like the conjecture is tinkering a little bit. We have taken a very important renewed contract with Alekta, where we now have an extended contract that is valid for three years and can be extended for two more years. Myke myke värdefullt för oss detta och även ett nytt bra avtal med Folksam som gäller i tre år. Ett ramavtal med Region Gotland som är helt nytt för oss inom healthcare-sektorn. Och sen jag höll på att säga the usual aspects då FNV, SAAB, DI Systems Hägglunds, I should say, who are very important customers. And also Finansinspektionen, KPA Pension, Skandikon, customers that we have been working with back and forth. And also within Drift och Förvaltning we have had new ones and others. You can see how nice the customers are. Micronic is fun. There are a lot of things for the semiconductor industry that are exciting. Now I'm entering Q4, the fourth quarter, and there was a small decline in revenue due to the shutdown of the company during the technical test, but we have compensated for it quite well. Exclusively during consultations, we go back by one and a half, but of course we are never satisfied when it goes down. Now, when we have made a contract, all figures will of course be much higher, and that's fun. But what is nice is to see that we actually have a small margin strengthening in the quarter. In terms of money, we are very close to the previous year. And the cash flow was also very good. We had the days with us and the customers paid very well. So the results after the tax are also very close to the previous year. Results per share also. And we will then come up now in... The number of employees and also counts on that we will be able to come back to a net recruitment, so to speak, on the old CAG as well. Not just acquired growth. If you look at the whole year, we ended up, as you saw earlier, at 149 million. And this little downfall is completely explained by the shutdown of the company in the technical test and these two fewer working days. So yes, it has not been the world's most fun market. It is a bit divided. There is good demand in defense and management. The rest of the market has continued to be a bit slow. But in terms of margin, it is very nice to see that we are strengthening the margin. Tuggar uppåt lite granna, ligger väldigt nära i kronor. Bra kassaflöde, resultat efter skatt väldigt lika. Och det får också till följd att styrelsen har föreslagit en utdelning på 4,30 per aktie, vilket är en yield på lite drygt 4%. And that means that we, during my eight years, have had a progress in the distribution level every year, actually. And that's something that we think is good. We think we know that you shareholders value a certain level of distribution. So we are very capital-efficient in our business, so we will see that in May, quite simply. And if you look at our financial position, we have continued to have a very good one with net and cash, how you count. We hope to get a new mandate on 10% of outstanding shares from Stämman, which is May 7th. And that, together with our very low reward and good cash, you see that we had 122 million in the cash in the year shift, means that we also, after the acquisition of Klara, have a very good position to continue to acquire. That's how it is. So if you look again at Key Takeaways, I brought the same four points here as I had in the beginning, and I couldn't let it go and add such a consulting point. Boring for the employees, maybe, but we have to work two extra days this year, 2026, than last year, and just that implicerar då att det blir tillväxt på 0,8% om vi håller takten och de dagarna infinner sig i Q2 och Q4 som också är starka kvartal. Jag kanske ska avsluta också med att säga att som vi skriver i rapporten så det är lite... Yes, it's a bit difficult. Even though I have decided it myself, this is my next last report for CEG. I hope to be able to do, or I plan to do, the Q1 report on April 28, together with my successor, Peter Strömberg. I look forward to that, and I am completely convinced that Peter will take care of CEG in the best possible way. So that was what I was going to present, Martin, and maybe we can open up for questions.

Absolutely. Thank you very much for that presentation, Åsa. And if you want to ask questions, it's good when the formula is correct. If you find it on the right, we'll take it up as I said now. Let's start with the first question, which sounds like this. Clara, the acquisition sounds valuable. Was there competition about the acquisition and what drove the transaction and that they chose just CAG?

Ja men det var lite som jag nämnde att vi har känt varandra egentligen ända sedan Klara bildades mer eller mindre eftersom vi har den här shared the work area within capital management and specifically Simcorp Dimension and the customers who run that portfolio management system are quite many of both large public and private capital managers. So we have known each other all the time and we have actually even offered larger businesses together over the years. It's a very smart group on Klara. They have received many propos from others, I think. But we have been more relaxed and finally managed to attract them. And I think that it has landed, or I know that it has landed very well. I can see that they fit incredibly well in with us. Delad kundbas med datastöd, delad kunskap fast på helt olika nivåer om Simport Dimension och också vår consulting mot storbankerna. Även om det är mer retail så liknar själva affärsmodellen Klaras. Det tror jag de har värdesatt också, att komma till ett bolag de känner, de känner vår kultur. Vi har väldigt lika kultur. De har sett att vi har Precisely as they have made a good progress during these years and we trust each other. I think that was what made the decision there.

Thank you for that answer Åsa. If we continue a little about this acquisition then. How is the acquisition of Klara going to contribute to growth and margin development already in 2026?

Yes, that's what it's going to do. First of all, I want to point out that it will of course become, like all other C&G companies, an independent dotter company. But you have to say that you are very profitable, you have had a real growth in revenue over the years and it is of course our plan that it should continue. It is a very appreciated competence you have, you run the company very efficiently. As I mentioned, the management debuts a lot to customers because it is an incredibly valuable competence. And I think that we together will also get synergies, I notice that immediately. Already last night, a question arose, do we have this competence within CAG that we clearly can talk about to our customers? Yes, we do, that's good. Så jag tror absolut att det finns en stor ambition både hos oss och Klaras ledning att fortsätta utvecklas och göra det på ett mycket lönsamt sätt. Det finns ju tillägg i köpeskillingen också så det är klart att det blir bra betalt och man gör bra resultat. Så det tror jag absolut att det blir definitivt ett tillskott till SEGAs lönsamhet under 2026 redan.

Tack för det svaret Åsa. Marginalen ökade ju trots lägre omsättning. Vad skulle du säga har varit de viktigaste drivkrafterna bakom den förbättrande lönsamheten?

Primarily, I would say that it is this trend around increased inflation and a continued price development upwards that we have seen for quite a few quarters now. That is the biggest part and it is also a good question in –for defence and banking and finance as well– –in terms of operations and administration. There was also a reason for us to shut down the company– –during a technical test. When we announced it in Q1– –we said it would be a weak marginal reinforcement. And we can see that it has been. So that's the answer.

Thank you for that answer, Åsa. And you see, as I said, a lightening in the connection, but continued tough competition. How does that affect pricing and recruitment now during 2026?

Yes, I have to say that I am very pleased that our price development has gone up despite this competition. And I think it depends on that, partly we have the segment that is strong, for example, defense, where prices often rise indexed. But it is also the case that we have on all fronter i alla bolag väldigt duktiga seniora medarbetare som är attraktiva så att säga. Så även om det är hård konkurrens så kan vi faktiskt höja priserna på många sätt. Så kan man väl säga. Men det är klart att det är... Man får vara bra i det här gemet och ligga på och sälja. Kundrelationerna är väldigt viktiga. Vi har väldigt många starka, långa kundrelationer som hjälper oss i konkurrenssituationer.

Tack. Då tar vi nästa fråga här. Kan du kvantifiera hur mycket bolaget inom tekniskt test omsatte i Q4 2024?

Sju miljoner.

Tack, det var ett snabbt svar. Är det fortsatt så att ni förväntar er öka antalet konsulter slash overhead per team nu under 2026?

Ja, alltså det är väl ändå min tro här att dels får vi en tillväxt med Klara men även på så att säga existerande CAGB, we see that the conjecture hopefully finally rises a little bit. It still affects us a little more out there and it is absolutely our ambition to come back to an organic network recruitment. Sorry, I might have forgotten to comment on the previous question. It's a little easier to recruit, you have to say. That's how it usually is. The conjecture is weaker, easier to recruit and vice versa. That's our ambition.

And just as you mentioned, you plan to go back to a positive network recruitment. In which competence areas would you say is your greatest need?

In defense, it is of course very, very big needs. It is not always easy to find people there, because we really work with the core business within the material project and Det gäller att hitta personer som inte bara kan projektledning eller vad det nu kan vara, utan man måste kunna materien i det man jobbar med också. Veta någonting om luftvärnssystem eller vad det kan vara vi jobbar med. Så det är ju kanske... den mest uppenbara behovsdelen. Men jag ser att vi ska nettorekrytera över alla segment.

Precis som du nämnde så ser ni försvaret som ett stort område för rekrytering, men försvarssegmentet står för ungefär 35 % av era intäkter. Hur ser ni på det här beroende av försvarsindustrin framåt?

Ja, men jag brukar säga det att vår största kund är ju FNV och ska man vara beroende av någon kund så brukar jag säga att FNV är väl den bästa i så fall att vara beroende av. För det vet ju vi alla, tyvärr är det ju så att vi har en lång period av upprustning framför oss och det kommer att Money is invested in the defense sector and we really have to do that to avoid ending up in a situation in Ukraine. We really don't want that. And then it is so that 20% is a large customer, but I have worked for other companies where the customer base has been clearly larger. Vi har ju väldigt många andra kunder i sektorn också, SAAB och B&E och Weibel och liksom norska försvarsmyndigheterna också. Plus en massa andra stora kunder såklart inom bank och finans och andra sektorer. Så jag tycker ändå det känns bra.

Thank you for that answer. And the cash flow was strong during the quarter. How do you prioritize between distribution, acquisition and organic expansion in the future?

What should I answer? My usual answer is to choose when you can get both or rather all three. We generate a very good cash flow in normal cases. We have a profitable business. And if I start with the easy part of our issuables, then we would like to have a regular progression in the issuables. And since we have such a strong balance sheet, we can handle the acquisitions through de egen genererade medel utöver utdelningen som vi behöver plus såklart att vi har ju ett lånutrymme för tillfället har vi ju nästan inga räntebärande långfristiga skulder så att vi har ett lånutrymme som är väldigt stort som ni såg om jag inte kommenterar det så har vi ju liksom en net debt genom EBITDA som är liksom minus 1,2 så vi har ju ett jättestort utrymme Tack.

Och med ett vd-skifte nu den första maj, kommer den strategiska inriktningen att förändras eller fortsätter ni på inslagen väg om man säger så?

Yes, that is the task of the new board of directors, but that is my opinion. We are probably very pleased to have these three equal, if you can call it that, segments. Peter Strömberg has been in the board of directors for six years, so he has also been involved in and formed our strategy. What he has Han har ju djupare kunskap inom bank och finans. Han har jobbat länge med börssystem på Nasdaq och varit CTO och CPO på Avanza. Det är mycket Java där som CK jobbar med också. Han är en väldigt bred person. Jag tror att för att knyta in till strategifrågan, jag tror absolut att Vi ser att vi har en väldigt bra strategisk position med försvarssegmentet som kommer att vara starkt länge. Det kan man konstatera. En god tillväxtmotor också inom drift och förvaltning och ännu mer en väldigt ökad punch inom bank och finans generellt. Det är toppen tycker jag. En sista kommentar är väl, jag har inte nämnt det, får man kanske skämmas, men systemutveckling och AI och så vidare, vi är ju väl... in efficiency, both in our internal work and the customers' work with AI and system development. And that is also something that Peter is very good at. So I think we will probably, as I see it now, keep our strategic orientation, absolutely.

Thank you very much for those answers, Åsa. And with that, we end today's question time here. And then I'll leave the floor to you for a few final words.

Yes, I would just like to thank everyone who is listening and hopefully the shareholders. Thank you for being with us during 2025. It was a very fun ending, I think myself. And I hope that you will continue to be with us in 2026. And if there are employees at CLG or Klara who are listening, I would also like to thank you very much and not least our customers and partners. Verkligen stort tack för 2025 och det blir ett bra år 2006 också. Och jag hoppas vara tillbaka i det här formatet tillsammans med Peter Strömberg den 28 april när vi har vår Q1. Och ha en bra dag!