Investor AB (publ)

Good morning and welcome to Investors Results Call for the fourth quarter and full year 2024. I am joined here today by our new CFO Jenny Arsman-Hakvinius. Warm welcome to you Jenny and our CEO Kristian Sederholm. Both will soon give their presentations and after that we will be opening up for questions. both on the call via our operator and online. And with that, over to you, Christian.

Thank you, Jacob. And hello, everyone. Warm welcome. Let me start with a brief summary of the full year before jumping into the fourth quarter. Net asset value grew by 20%, and investor B returned 27%. This compares with 9% for 6RX. All three business areas contributed to our NAV growth in 2024. Our portfolio companies generally performed well in a quite demanding environment, delivering profitable growth and cash flow. Also, they've invested significantly to future-proof their business, both through organic initiatives, but also M&A. We continue to push for accelerated use of data and AI to enhance efficiency and customer value. Investment activity has been high and we've invested across all three business areas during the years. Including investments in Ericsson, add-on acquisitions in Patricia Industries and gross investments into EQT funds. Supported by positive cash flow from all business areas and a strong balance sheet, the board has proposed a dividend of 5.2 krona, which represents an increase of 8% versus last year, in line with our ambition to pay a steadily rising dividend. Let me move now to the quarter. At the end of Q4, our net asset value stood at 970 billion kronor, This represents a decrease of 2% in the fourth quarter and a total return on our B-share of minus 6%, same as for six Alex returned during that period. Let me briefly go through the three business areas, starting with listed companies, which represents about 70% of our portfolio. Total return was minus 4% in the quarter with mixed returns in individual companies. As usual, the companies have been active, both delivering here and now, but also investing for the future. AstraZeneca, as an example, committed to a US$3.5 billion investment in the US, its single biggest market. The investments include the R&D Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a next-generation biologics factory in Maryland. I had the pleasure of meeting with the CEO of Alexion, AstraZeneca's rare disease arm, in Boston in November. I was very impressed with the development of both the existing treatment and the future pipeline, of course to the benefit of patients around the world. David Meek has been appointed new chair of Zobe, and Torbjörn Lööf was nominated new chair in Husqvarna in addition to his current position as chair in Electrolux. More broadly, we've seen good activity level in a number of nomination committees. If I move to Patricia Industries then, total return for Patricia Industries was 6%, including cash, with good underlying earnings growth and also some significant tailwind from the strong US dollar, especially towards the end of the quarter. Our major subsidiaries grew sales organically by 3% and underlying EBITDA by 11%. While, for example, Labori and Mönlycke contributed to growth in a nice way, Brownability and Atlas Antibodies both had a tough fourth quarter with weak demand in their respective end markets. Innovative products continue to drive growth for several companies, including OptiLoom for Labori that we mentioned before. We've seen no major add-ons during the quarter, but activity continues to be high. And add-on acquisitions is and remains an important complement to organic growth and a great way to add people, products, technologies or enter new markets. Strengthening of the boards has happened in several companies and we have announced a new share in Vektura. For the full year then, organic sales ended at 6% for the Patricia subsidiaries, and underlying earnings grew by 9%. If I turn to Mönlycke specifically, they reported 8% organic growth in the quarter, with all business areas and all major regions contributing. The EBITDA margin was up about one percentage point, supported not the least by growing sales and foreign exchange. Wound care grew 10% with growth in all regions, and, encouragingly, products from prevention of pressure ulcers, including dressings and turning-in-position solutions, continued to grow well. In the quarter, Mönlyk also announced a strategic minority investment in a US-based company called Siren, which focuses on an innovative solution for prevention of diabetic foot ulcers. ORS grew 3% organically, primarily helped by good development in Chase. And gloves continue to grow, supported by strong growth in the Middle East and a stable US market. On a reported last 12-month or rolling 12-month basis, sales in EBITDA, including here our 40% in 3 Scandinavia, grew and ended up north of 66 billion in sales and north of 16 billion in EBITDA. Investments in IQ-tiden, our third business area, which represents about 10% of our portfolio, Here in Q4, the value change was minus 5% in total, which was driven by the decline in EQT AB, the listed share, while the fund performance was up. As you know, our performance or valuation in funds are reported with a one quarter lag. We could see this morning in EQT's result that the fund performance in Q4 continued to be strong. Investment activity has remained high and several exits have been made too. One third of the Q4 fund proceeds relate to partial exits in Galderma and Idealista as two examples of exit activity. It was a strong year for fundraising overall as well for EQT. So, to summarize, we have a strong platform and a clear strategic direction. To continue deliver on this, we focus relentlessly on performance, portfolio and people. Performance, as you know, is about profitable growth here and now and investing appropriately to future-proof our businesses. Portfolio is about making sure we're invested in strong companies in attractive industries. People. This is about attracting and retaining great people to Investor and to our companies to drive performance and transformation over time. If we do this well, we will be able to deliver on our three strategic priorities, which is to grow net asset value, to pay a steadily rising dividend and to deliver on our ESG targets. All in line, of course, with our overall purpose, which is to create value for people and society by building strong and sustainable businesses. With that, I'd like to leave over the word and the pointer to Jenny.

Thank you so much, Christian. And good morning, everyone. In Q4 2024, adjusted net asset value was 970 billion. This implies a decrease of 2% compared to Q3. However, looking at the full year, net asset value grew 20% compared to 6RX of 9% for the same period. Looking more closely at the quarter, performance was mixed across our business areas, a positive 6% return for Patricia Industries, while we saw a decline in listed companies and investments in EQT. However, again, looking at the full year, we see that all business areas contributed to the strong growth of 20%. And now I will comment more specifically on each of the business areas, starting with listed companies. And within listed companies, share price performance was mixed. Highlights include Ericsson, Nasdaq and Saab, while some of our larger companies had a weaker share price development in the quarter. Nevertheless, total return was a negative 4%, so still outperforming 6RX, which was a negative 6%. And if we look at absolute contribution, it paints a similar picture. But of course, with Atlas Copco as the biggest negative impact on net asset value, given the weight and the size in our portfolio. Moving on to Patricia Industries, we saw 6% growth in estimated market values compared to Q3, so from 225 billion to 239 billion, including cash. Currency is the biggest value driver, and that's explained by a weaker Swedish krona in relation to US dollar, in part boosting earnings, but also from translation effect in valuation. However, the value increase was also underpinned by growth in earnings, while somewhat offset by a lower valuation multiple. And looking at operating performance in the companies to highlight a few themes, most companies reported good growth with significant contribution from new and innovative products. For Laboree, we continue to see good growth from Optilum products launched in 2022 and late 2023. And for Mönlycke, as Christian already mentioned, we continue to see good progress in products for pressure ulcer prevention. Braunability and Atlas Antibodies had a tougher ending to the year, mainly due to weaker market demand. Margins held up well overall and were supported by operating leverage, while somewhat offset by continued OPEX investments to ensure sustainable and profitable growth long term. Looking at value development across companies, we see North American companies in the lead, in part explained by currency, as mentioned earlier. Worth highlighting is a capital contribution made to Victura of 342 million to support ongoing project developments, and also a second distribution from Mönnlycke for 2024, which was 3.5 billion in the quarter. And then finally on to investments in EQT, the total value change was a negative 5% in the quarter and that was driven by the weaker share price performance in EQT AB, while the value of our fund investments increased 5%. On the right hand side we illustrate the net cash flow from EQT to investor which was positive with 1 billion in the quarter as the sum of dividend and proceeds were larger than drawdowns. As highlighted by Christian, we have a proven business model and a clear strategic direction. And to deliver on our strategy and strategic priorities, financial flexibility is key. We have three business areas, all of which generate cash flow to support investments and a steadily rising dividend to our shareholders. From listed companies, we receive ordinary as well as extraordinary dividends. In Patricia Industries, the portfolio companies generate cash flow, which can be reinvested in the companies or paid in distribution. And for investments in EQT, we have an ownership in EQT AB, which yields an annual dividend, as well as fund investments where cash flow is by definition lumpy and dependent on drawdowns and exits, but remains a strong contribution to cash flow over time. And from listed companies, we've received 97 billion Swedish kronor in ordinary dividends since 2015. And on top of that, an additional 8 billion in extraordinary dividends and redemptions. The ordinary dividend received has grown with 8% on average per year. In Patricia Industries, we have a strong growth in EBITDA across major subsidiaries, and these companies also have a very strong cash conversion. So this translates into cash flow that can be reinvested in the businesses or paid as distribution. For EQT, as already mentioned, net cash flow is inherently more lumpy, but looking since 2015, the average annual net cash flow from EQT to investor has been north of 2 billion per year. So this platform with three strong business areas provides a broad-based cash flow that supports continued growth and distributions after management cost and financial net. The incoming funds provide strong investment capacity and have been deployed across all of our three business areas. And as mentioned by Christian, we've invested in 2024, roughly 10 billion. And on top of that, an additional 5 billion financed by Patricia Industries companies through cash and debt. While sustaining high level of investment activity, more than 50% of incoming funds have been distributed to shareholders. So that's a total of 100 billion since 2015. and we have continuously delivered on our commitment to pay a steadily rising dividend. The average annual growth has been 9% during the past 10 years. The dividend proposal for 2024 is 5 kronor and 20 öre per share, which is an increase with 40 öre per share compared to 2023. And as you know, our balance sheet remains strong, supported by value creation and underlying cash flow. Leverage was 1.2% in the quarter, in the bottom end of our policy range, and we have a strong rating by both Standard & Poor and Moody's. Our average debt maturity is roughly 10 years and we have no repayment due until 2029. Onto my last slide. Here we illustrate average annual total return for the investor B share. And we are concluding that the investor B share has beaten our internal return requirement, which is highlighted in orange, as well as our benchmark index 6RX in the short term, but also in the long term. And with that, I will leave the word back to Jacob.

Thank you very much, Jenny. Thank you, Christian. At this point, we are now ready to take your questions, and we will start with the questions through our operator. So, Sonja, please.

Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star 1 1 on your telephone keypad and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 1 1 again. To ask a question by the webcast, please type it in the Q&A box available on the webcast link and click submit. We will now take our first question. Please stand by. And the first question comes from the line of Linus Sigurdsson from DNB Markets. Please go ahead. Your line is now open.

Thank you. Good morning. Starting with a question on Mondlikum. Is there anything we should be mindful of if you look at the slightly higher CapEx, slightly lower working capital contribution here in Q4? Or is it more just a reversal from high contribution last year? Thank you.

I can take that one. There is nothing that we're choosing to comment on in terms of the cash flow. And it is, as you point out, a bit lumpy quarter by quarter, but we remain focused on and convinced that we can generate a good cash conversion over time in Malnyke.

All right, thanks. And then if you look at EQT today, I mean, the impression is that exit markets are obviously in a good place. But if you think about it from your point of view or from a Patricia Industries point of view, what can you say about the acquisitions that you're looking at, whether it's add-ons, a new platform, you still see attractive opportunities there? Thank you.

Absolutely. I would maybe moderate the comment on the exit market. I think that while exit activity in EQT has been high during the end of the year, as pointed out in the report, if we look at it from a proceed perspective, it is still on a relatively low basis in a historical context. That said, your other question on our investment pipeline, we certainly see that there continues to be a healthy pipeline for add-on investments and we continue to be open for and scout for new platform acquisitions as well. And we have seen no significant change in terms of market sentiment in the last quarter, I would say. But Jenny, would you like to chime in?

No, but I think that's a comprehensive response.

Okay, thanks. And then my last question. I mean, you talk in the report about the potential impact on global trade policy in 2025. Could you just talk a bit more about how you're working to navigate sort of different scenarios or levels of tariffs across your companies? Thank you.

Thank you. It's a great question. And obviously there is a lot of movement in that area at the moment. I think first and foremost, it's too early to tell where things will end up. But this is something that is high on the agenda in all companies, I would say, and importantly, has been high on the agenda for a number of years. I mean, tariffs is one part of it, but you also have the other geopolitical instability, including, unfortunately, war in a number of regions. As well as, for example, the learnings from COVID, where supply chain resilience sort of came out as something that we need to work on. So it is high on the agenda. It has been high for some years. And really, the answer and the solution will depend on which company and which situation we're in.

Okay, thank you very much.

Thank you. We will now take our next question. Please stand by. And the next question comes in the line of Derek Laliberte from ABG Sandal Collier. Please go ahead. Your line is now open.

Thank you. I'd like to start out with Parmobil here. It seems the margin was a bit on the low side here, and you mentioned someone also wondered if you could provide what the adjusted margin was like in the company.

Thanks. You're right, we choose not to specify how much extraordinary cost we had in this quarter. But since we point it out, you can assume it is, let's say, a significant share of the decrease.

Okay, great. Thank you. And on Cernova, you mentioned there was weaker demand within cardiac response. Is that driven by sort of high inventories and distributed stocking in the market or is it something else driving that lower demand?

Yes, thank you for the question and you are right. In 2023 there was a spike in demand as well as supply chain challenges. So that led to stock build and now during 2024 we've seen a market correction with inventories being reduced.

Thank you. And on Braunability, also relating to demand, I wonder if you could pinpoint the reason for this in Q4, because it seems to have been a pretty big dip there.

I can start. Yes, it was a challenging quarter for vulnerability, as you mentioned. And it's due to weaker market demand due to an inflationary US, which impacts both the end user and dealers.

All right. And finally, on the entry to Scandinavia, I might have missed something, but the sales are down, but service revenue is up. So just wondering what the reason is for this and also why the margin is down so much in the Swedish market.

Thank you. So thank you. The difference between the total sales and the service revenue is basically number two, or due to number of factors, one of the largest being handset sales. So the service revenues sort of the value add from three. And then we have chosen not to comment on the margin per country, more than showing it.

Okay, I understand. Thank you. That was all from me.

Thank you. We will now take our next question. Please stand by. And the next question comes from the line of Jakob Heselvik from SEB. Please go ahead, your line is now open.

Good morning, everyone. My expertise is on equity. So a question on this topic, if I may. How does it work when equity increases fund size from a target size to a hard cap? So BPA9's new target is 2 billion USD higher than it reported in Q3. Does that mean you will keep your percentage share on the higher target? Or what is your investment strategy in these cases?

I can start and Jenny feel free to chime in. So normally what we do is we invest about 3% in the funds that we see fit with our strategy and meets our return requirements. uh we we can as we said before uh invest up to three percent on a carry free basis and normally it is uh exactly as you allude to that we we we lock in a or so we commit a percentage and then we have a hard cap we can sometimes have a hard cap on our commitment as well but normally when let's say the movement up to hard close is small to moderate our commitment moves with that does that answer your question yes slightly so should we then expect you not to reach three percent in bpa9 given two billion usd increases quite a significant uptick No, I think you can assume that we reach 3%.

Okay, thank you. That's clear. And then second, if exit activity is picked up going forward for EQT, how do you expect to allocate this additional cash flow into the new 100 billion euro fund cycle that EQT is launching or rather into Lister or the Patricio portfolio?

So the way we see it is that we have, as Jenny pointed to, we have three business areas all generating positive cash flow over time. And it's not so that whatever comes out of EQT needs to go into EQT. But we have the freedom to allocate between the three business areas. To answer your question on redeployment into the next fund cycle, the answer is yes, we will continue doing that as we've done before. Of course, on a fund by fund basis, but that's our general direction.

Perfect. Thank you.

Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone keypad and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. To ask a question via the webcast, please type it into the Q&A box available and click submit. We will now take our next question. Please stand by. And the next question comes from the line of Oscar Lindstrom from Danske Bank. Please go ahead. Your line is now open.

Yes, a couple of questions on organic growth in different parts of Patricia. Starting off in Mönnlycke, another quarter here with good sort of high single-digit organic growth. And you mentioned especially the post-op and prevention assortments. What's driving this sustained high growth? And is this sort of... temporary factors or is it you believe it's sustainable going into 2025 and beyond? That's my first question. And then a similar type of question on OptiLoom, which has grown around 20% throughout 2024. And I mean, I realize it's connected to the to the launch here. Sorry, it's it's It's OptiLube that's driven the high growth, of course, in Laboree. But should we expect that to continue into 2025 at this rate? So two questions there.

You can chime in, Christian. First of all, we don't provide guidance, but we can provide some flavor. So in terms of Mönnlycke, we see a solid momentum, especially within wound care. And that's on the back of growing markets, but also initiatives such as geographic expansion. Examples include Asia and Middle East. And in combination with having a very competitive product offering, as Christian mentioned, pressure also prevention is one example. And then also a clear go-to-market strategy. So the combination provides for a good growth momentum.

Or nothing special which sort of impacted in 2024? No.

Excellent execution, I think. All right.

Yes, and on Laborie, as you point out, a strong quarter with growth driven by the quite recently launched Optilum products. And we remain optimistic, of course, that Optilum products will remain a contributor to growth going forward. But, you know, over time, benchmark quarters will, of course, become more challenging. But given the current performance in Laborie, we are optimistic about growth going forward. Do you want to add something?

All right. Wonderful. All right. Thank you very much.

Thank you. As there are no further questions on the phone lines, I would now like to hand back to Jacob for any questions on the webcast.

Thank you, Sonja, and thank you for the questions. Let's then take questions from the web, and there is some overlap, I see, in some of the questions, but Alexander De Peze has one question. What is the split between currency and operating performance for the 6% performance of Patricia Industries, please, Jenny?

Yes, we do not comment on the split specifically, but as we alluded to in the presentation, the 6% growth is primarily driven by currency and that's the strengthening of the dollar. But we do also see positive contribution from underlying earnings growth in the companies.

Good. And then we have another one from Mikael Gilkens. Do you view, and this is somewhat related to you as question, but in a slightly different context, do you view the more structural favorable backdrop of the United States as a reason to focus future capital allocation more on this region as opposed to the European continent?

We don't provide guidance. I think we're willing and eager to deploy capital in all regions and in all our three business areas, as we've said before. That said, the US is a great market with lots of really strong companies. There is a breadth and a depth to the market. That is outstanding. And we have a great team on the ground there. So we hope to be able to continue growing the companies we have and potentially adding new platform companies as well.

Thank you. I can't see any further questions, and that means that it's time to conclude. Many thanks, Christian, and to you also, Jenny. Next scheduled call is our first quarter results, which are scheduled for April 23rd. Then we will be back at our normal premises at Arsenal Skatan in Stockholm. Until then, thank you and goodbye.

Thank you.