Munters Group AB (publ)

Good morning and welcome to today's presentation of Muntbash Q4 and 2025 full year results. My name is Lina Duvan and I'm head of Investor Relations, joined by our CEO, Claes Forsström, and our CFO, Katarina Fischer. So Claes and Katarina will begin with presenting the results and then we will have a Q&A session after that. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Lina, and good morning, everyone. Let me start with a few sentences to summarize the quarter and the year and then dig into the details. The year 2025 ended up with a quarter showing the strength of our leading offer across our prioritized end markets. All in all then, resulting in more than three times organic growth, I mean over 200%, a book to build of 1.6. I have to say an exceptional achievement by our teams. Earnings, weakened to 10%, primarily driven by dual site costs and underutilization in air tech. as well as temporary tariffs and transition costs when it comes to moving different products in and out of the DCT system. I'm not pleased with the result, but very confident that most of this will diminish after Q1. All in all, 2025 was a year to be proud of. Delivering record order intake, solid profit and strong cash flow. It was also a year building industry-leading capabilities to produce, to show stellar innovation and offer build-up paired with improved efficiencies. All this while balancing in a fast-changing world of trade conflicts and wars. I entered 2026 with a positive view on our end markets. Strong or slightly improving market demands across our segments. Even better is the momentum across monitors. Innovation is the core of a company. An innovation drive that is reaching a vitality index of more than 50%. Production capacity built for current and future growth. We're able to handle 50% more growth. And modern and forward-leaning digital food tech. Operational improvements in air tech. And accelerating this into 2026. And an order backlog that sets us up for record 2026 and beyond. After Q1, when short-term holdbacks will diminish, we are set to deliver at 2026 with historical high turnover and strong margins in H2. In a nutshell, 2026, a year to look forward to. So let's dig in a little bit into the details then. And as I said, exceptional demand while earnings weakened. Order intake, plus 191%, organically, 200%. Very pleasing, Airtek also delivered growth with a book-to-bill over one. Data center technology, significant increase. Of the orders received, about 5.7 billion was announced in orders before the quarter report. Foodtech organically declined, some lower software orders, partly offset by controllers, but we also met a very, very strong quarter here. Order backlog all in all increased with 53%, currency adjusted with 80%. It's mainly DCT, and orders to be delivered in 2026 and 2027, and as I said, a book to bill of 1.6%. Net sales declined. Airtech declined, lower sales in EMEA. As you know, EMEA had a few working days less, but it was a weaker backlog that we had to eat from. DCT increased successful execution on order backlog, but also here in DCT. I mean, we closed for a couple of days, as always, during Christmas. Food tech increased, driven by strong growth in controllers, and that was partly offset by lower software. All in all, for the full year, net sales increased with 8% organically about that. Adjusted EBITDA margin, 10% in the quarter. It's the tariffs that represents about 4% in DCT. When it comes to air tech, lower volumes and underutilization due to weaker battery market. That counts for about 2% units. And an adjusted EBITDA margin in the year of close to 13%, 12.7%. When it comes to regions, significant variations in between the regions. Americas stands for 86% of our orders in the quarter. EMEA about 11% and APEC 4%. Of course, it is DCT that stands out with 95% orders in Americas. But also very good to see 5% of the total orders in the quarter came in Europe. So we start to see a European data center market that is starting to grow and we are taking our share in that. And then when it comes to food tech and more call it normal balanced quarter. All in all, we look upon the quarter air tech soft with pockets of growth, pretty much in all the different regions, but clear signs of especially the base business, 95% of our business starting to show some growth moving forward. Data center continue to rapidly expand in Americas. It is a smaller market in Europe, but we start to win here in a good way. And then when it comes to APAC, a good market outlook, especially in Southeast Asia and the Oceania region. And food tech, very much continued positive market as such. Moving into Airtek, a book to build of 1.1. Water backlog stable. Pleasing to see that the water backlog did increase. And as you can see now, when it comes to the orders, about 90% in the year is outside battery. So it is a sign that we now are moving into capturing orders in a stronger market that is outside battery. And here I think it's very clear. This quarter is, water intake wise, one of the best, I would say the best quarter in the last eight quarters, with one exception. And if I take a look upon outside battery, it's for sure the best quarter in the last couple of years. Also important to see here, as you can see, there is an up picking trend the last couple of quarters. And so that is the reason why we are saying it is a market that seems to become stronger and stronger. When it came to net sales, a lower outcome, and that resulted in a lower profitability. All in all then, something that was very good to see, that is the share of service, 23%. And when it comes to components, 19. Here we have a shift in components. So we have more evaporative pads than what we have than desiccant wheels. When I look upon our innovation pipeline, and you have heard me say that we have a vitality index of more than 50% now, I think this is an important slide to talk about. When it comes to Airtek, Airtek is exposed to many different end-user segments. You drive energy efficiency and customer value to primarily two different components here. It is material science and technology leadership when it comes to the media. And then it is how you use and how you control your equipment. And if I take a look upon this, I mean, what I see that is the material science and the new media gives opportunities for customers to increase, improve their energy efficiency in between 10 to 20 percent compared to old versions. And if you take the connectivity and using artificial intelligence and better controlling the setup, it is a similar value, 10 to 20% more improvements. And if you combine this, I mean, then you can have up to 40% energy efficiency. What is also clear, that is, that in some of the underlying segments here, as pharma, defense, and service, I mean, we see continued upgrade and higher demand coming forward. Also important to see that is when it comes to what we call clean technology, air quality and pollution control, we also see a strong underlying market as such. Moving over to data center. an exceptional order intake in the quarter. Demands across both co-locators, hyperscalers, very much driven by artificial intelligence related investments, but really across the full type of board. We announced orders of 5.7 and we reached 9.2 in total orders. The order backlog increased and here we talk about deliveries into 2026 and then carry in to 2027. The book to bill in the quarter was impressive of 7%. Also, what I think is important, if you take a look upon the circles there, I think that exemplify the product transition that is taking place. The 38% where we have the split system that is represented in the past, very much by cycle, in the future, very much of split system based on, as an example of Schiller's. Now we're building up Schiller capability, and when Schiller capability are then increasing, that we can produce it more in an industrial way, the Schiller profitability will increase in the same way as we showed with cycle. The main effect of the margins in this quarter came from tariffs. And here we deliberately decided that it's better to take market share, establish ourselves in the US even before we have full-fledged production of shillers in the US. If I would bring that back, I mean, we would be in a range of around 18%. And if I then add also the changes in the product mix, etc., I mean, we would be in the 19% range. But all in all, I mean, I'm very confident moving forward that we will continue over a period, over a year to be in the high teens range. But this and also next quarter will be affected by tariffs. We are filling up the order backlog and we are building up capacity. and capacity you build up by building factories, driving efficiencies, driving the way you produce, but also how you interact with customer, how you pre-plan, how you actively secure critical components and so on. And if I take all that then on the right side here on the slide, that we have now capacity to be able to take 50% more orders moving forward. And that gives me very good confidence. Of course, it varies in between the different factories. In some factories we have not much more to gain, in other factories substantially more to gain. This is also why I say that with this backlog, I mean, I'm extremely confident that we will have a strong invoicing year in data center. And what type of products are we then bringing in? I think the best way to describe it, that is across the board. Some cases, it is more dedicated cross, custom-designed cross that have high efficiency. In other cases, it is shillers. And yet other examples, it is more what I would call it hybrids, where you combine chillers, custom designed CDUs and cores. And for me, that is the strong point of Manters today. We can cater all different type of product demands and all different types of cooling demands there is in the market. Also very pleasing that we took a sizable order in EMEA. That includes your climate chillers and cross. And this puts us in a very good position also for a strong fill rate in our EMEA factories. On and off, I and we get questions about, I mean, what is driving the success in data center and how, what about the market? You have heard me talk very much about, I mean, we have evolved from being a niche specialist to now having a comprehensive, very wide cooling portfolio that can expand into many different type of data centers. That has been driven by the innovation engine. Innovation through own innovation and combining with acquisitions that we then have brought into the system. They accelerated the time to market for next generation cooling systems and I think that we have a current and a world leading time to market when it comes to new systems. They are also in parallel strength in the service setup. I mean with own personnel, but also contractors and partners. So gradually we are expanding the service coverage also. Capacity. We have built up capacity and we never take and accept orders that we cannot deliver on promise. We have been building capacity ahead of the plan i.e. that generates some cost in the beginning but we have also proven that when we have scalable footprint we can also generate the bottom line. And then the discussion about what type of cooling solutions are there and what is then affected cooling. I think you have to come from two perspectives. First, you have to have very dedicated type of data center cooling setups, but then you also have hybrid readiness. in the very best liquid cooling data center, there is still need for in between 20 to 25% air cooling. So you need to have the width on this. So all in all, I think we have an extremely strong platform for continued growth and profitable growth moving forward. If I go back to food tech, the first thing I think is important to recognize is that we have completely shifted what food tech is now compared to a year ago. Now it is 100% digital and software driven. there is when we have increased the number of controllers or the sales of controllers still a seasonal effect that the controllers are sitting in the farms etc etc so in quarter four and quarter one there is a weaker controller demand but all in all it is a more stable business area compared to the past a strong market outlook moving forward Margin remains strong. What affected margins was our continued investments to support growth, a shift in products that we have more controllers this quarter than we had software. And then on the positive side, price increases and efficiency initiatives. But all in all, a strong underlying margin. I predict that we will continue to grow over years in between 20 to 30% when it comes to the ARR. This quarter, slightly lower, but that is very much due to the comparables of last year. For me, this is one of the most important pictures of the future in food tech. It is about the full value chain and data-driven connected supply chain. Our products and solutions are very much focused on the growth segment, where the chickens, the swines, the animals, the plants are growing, but it is also handling data and help the customer manage the full value chain. And this is something that is extremely sought after. Of course, it takes some time. If you start in the middle, you have a unique offer there. combining controllers with software it takes some time to sort of expand out in the full value chain but what I see that is that our customers are very attracted to this and if we talk about the software side Churn, low churn is important. And we have a very low churn, about 2% and below. And then, as I said, the ARR then expected to be in between 20 to 30% year by year. This quarter, a little bit lower due to very strong comparables last year. With that then, I leave it over to Katarina.

Thank you, Claes. So, starting with the fourth quarter, net sales declined 8% or remained flat currency adjusted, primarily reflecting the lower volumes in Airtek. The adjusted EBITDA margin declined, and this was mainly due to the temporary tariff effect in data center and the lower volumes and underutilization in Airtek. Net income declined, and this was due to the lower operating earnings, but also due to the increased items affecting comparability in the fourth quarter. They amounted to 174 million SEK. The driver of this was a contingent consideration of 98 million SEK due to recent acquisitions. So this was mainly related to the 20% holdback of the transaction price for the acquisition of the remaining shares in the EmTech systems. And that was closed in March 2025. And this amount then has been paid in full now in January this year and was fully accrued at year end then. Looking at cash flow was very strong. I will come back to that later on. Sorry, I should also say on the items affecting comparability, we also have restructuring charges of 77 million. They related to air tech. And here we are progressing according to plan on the cost measure activities that we announced in Q3. If you recall, we announced then that we will take a charge of 150 million in total over Q4 and Q1. We also had a very strong operating working capital to net sales ratio in the quarter. It improved further, so that reflects our strong discipline in this area. Looking at the full year, net sales increased 8% or 15% currency adjusted. And this was then driven by the continued strong growth in data center and food tech, and partly offset by weaker development in air tech. And the adjusted EBITDA margin declined due to lower volumes and the continued dual site cost and underutilization in Airtek, as well as the tariffs then in data center. And also for the full year, the net income declined then for the full year due to the lower operating earnings and the increased items affecting comparability. And this continued considerations effect was then almost 200 for the year then. And stable cash flow for the year and also, as I said, very strong operating working capital. Then looking at the margin, the margin declined in the quarter. While this was below our ambitions then, it was due to temporary effects such as the tariff impacts and the lower volumes and utilization in Airtek. The volume then had a negative impact, what's mainly due to Airtek in EMEA, partly offset then by DCT and Foodtech. I'm very glad to see that we continue to have a positive net price impact, both in DCT and Foodtech. However, the margin was negatively impacted then by the temporary tariff headwinds in DCT and also a negative product mix across all business areas and also an adverse regional mix in tech. From the operational excellence perspective, the underabsorption in AirTag weighed on the margin and also the transition to new products in data center had a negative effect on the margin. We continue to invest in our business, of course, to scale the business and also to digitalize further and automate and also do more investments in the footprint. If we compared to the Q3 margin of 13 and a half percent, the margin then declined. And this was the primary drivers for that was the increased tariff headwinds, but also lower volumes and changes in the product mix. In addition to this, we also had currency headwinds, which impacted the quarterly results then negatively. Looking at the cash flow, we had a strong cash flow from operating activities in the quarter. So even though the operating earnings were lower, we were able to offset this with positive contributions from operating working capital. And this was mainly driven by advances in TCT. In the investment activities, we had an impact from business acquisitions. So these were then retention payments or holdbacks related to acquisitions of Geoclima and AEI, which were closed during 2024. So there were some remaining payments for those two. And then we have also bought the remaining shares, 40% in the Brazilian company, Inobra. Looking at year to date, we have a stable cash flow from operating activities, a little bit lower, but due to the operating earnings and also a less favorable development in working capital for the full year. Looking at cash flow from investing activities, it was impacted by lower capex and also lower cash flow from the business acquisitions during the full year. Looking at investments then, our capital allocation principles remain disciplined and selective, so we continue to focus our investments where they create sustainable growth and also create long-term value creation. And in the quarter, the ratio was 7%. So this reflects a higher level of activity than where we continue to invest in competencies, upgrading operations, doing more digitalization and optimization in our business. For the full year, this number was 5.8%. Looking into 2026, we continue to invest in DCT footprint, and the Virginia production facility, including the test lab, will be up and running in the second quarter of this year. And efficiency improvements and volume ramp up will take place gradually, of course, and with the main improvements to be seen in the second half of the year. Looking at capex for the full year, we expect it to remain broadly in line with the full year number for 2025. Operating working capital, then, as I mentioned before, very strong number if you look at the chart there. So at 7.3 right now. If we look at leverage, the leverage ratio remains stable at 2.9 compared to Q3, slightly up there, reflecting lower operating earnings. However, we had this very strong cash flow, which then enabled us to manage this acquisition-related payments during the quarter. And if you compare to the leverage at the end of Q4 last year, the increase is driven by increased lease liabilities. While we do not have a fixed leverage target, we do have an ambition to be within 1.5 and 2.5 over time. And we are not worried by temporary deviations above this level, as they are then related to strategic investments that support our future growth and also increase our competitive position. Diversification of financing and strengthening our funding basis is, of course, also important. During the quarter, we have issued a bond of 400 million, and we have also increased our outstanding commercial papers. Also want to highlight then that during the first quarter now this year, we have then paid the remaining, the holdback 20% for EmTech, the 18.5 million US dollars. So that payment was done in January this year. Turning to sustainability then, we continue to have a very focused agenda that we execute diligently on and that spans across climate, social aspects and responsible business practices. And if we start with climate, we during 2025 inaugurated our new flagship factory then in Amesbury in the US. And if we look at our ambitions for 2030, Our scope one and two for the year increased 3%, and if we look at scope three, emission intensity, it increased with 19%. And this increase in scope three was related then to higher activity in regions where the emission intensity is higher and also a different product mix. But, of course, this highlights that we, as many others, need to continue to focus on delivering on our decarbonization roadmap. And in parallel, we also continue to develop products that are more energy efficient, products and services, and we also work with our customers to find renewable energy solutions. Looking at gender equity, here our ambition is very clear. We want to achieve the 30% of women leaders and women in workforce, and we drive many different initiatives linked to this, where we have and support inclusive employee networks. We also drive initiatives to promote interest in technology-related fields and so on. And we also aim to broaden the talent base through very focused training programs and defined goals. On the responsible business side, we are aligning with the CSRD, and we are, of course, also preparing for the upcoming CS Triple D. This is then underpinned by us continuously upscaling our workforce, where we have many different trainings in human rights, anti-corruption and related topics. And of course, this is very important with these training programs, because we really want to make sure that we have consistent standards in our day-to-day decision-making across operations and our supply chain. And then finally, you know that we have this service and components ambition to be above one third of net sales. And during the full year, these net sales grew organically and we achieved a percentage of 25%. And with that, I would like to thank you and hand it back to you, Claes.

Thank you, Katarina. So let me summarize the year and also take a look into the future before we open up for Q&As. The year we ended up on a growth of 15% on an EBITDA margin of 12.7 on an operating working capital through net sales of 7.3%. In the quarter then, not much growth adjusted currency and an EBITDA margin of 10%. And of course it is the same number when it comes to operating working capital. The board is proposing a dividend of 1.6 SEK per share moving into the general meeting then. From this quarter, we have started to give outlooks. If we start then with a status, where are we in the different business areas? First of all, I mean the efficiency programs that has started and are driven in Airtek. delivers plus 100 million in this year. The second program that we announced mid this year is aimed to deliver in between 250 to 300 million run rate by end of this year and both programs are operated according to the plans. We have also improved the capacity utilization step by step by reallocating our sales force to what I prefer to call the base business, i.e. all the business that is less project driven, less battery driven. And here you can see that we are gradually then increasing that type of business. When it comes to DCT then, You have heard me talk about our success in broadening our portfolio by undeveloped and acquired type of portfolio components. We have invested and increased our global footprint, both when it comes to production capacity, but also when it comes to sales capacity. And we have then delivered a record order intake that takes us for sure through 2026, well into 2025, and actually what are touching already now, 2028. it comes to food tech we have completely transformed this it's now a fully fully digital offer it is a offer that no one else in the market has and it generates a lot of attractions from customers we have entered new regions and we have been growing the share of recurring revenue step by step if i then move to the market then And this is how we look upon the market for the full year 2026. In Airtek, with all the different segments, it is flat to a positive market. And the positive sign that is, of course, in everything outside battery. And today, everything outside battery represents pretty much close to 90% of what we sell. So, flat to positive. In data center technology, we predict a continued positive market demand for the year. But of course, and I highlight this, it is extremely difficult to predict how much oil intake will come quarter by quarter. But we see still a very, very strong underlying market. No changes there. And when it comes to food tech, continue the positive market outlook. Business then outlook for the year. First of all, it is clear that our net sales growth is expected to develop positively. And I said I expect it to be a record year on invoicing and how to substantiate that. If we take the backlog in data center. at least 30% more invoicing will come. With the right customer demand, it could be as high as 40% increase in invoicing. And then a slightly increase also moving into AirTag supported by a better order intake. When it comes to adjusted EBITDA margin, after Q1, we expect that it will diminish the tariff impact in data center and the margin improvements in Airtek will start to pay off. So you can look upon This year, a little bit reverse to last year. I am substantially better H2 than H1 when it comes to adjusted EBITDA module. All in all, I mean, this sets us up for a very, very exciting 2026. With that, Lina, I hand it over to you and everyone on the call for Q&As.

Thank you, Claes and Katarina, for presenting. So we are ready for questions. And for those of you dialing into the telephone conference, we ask you to please limit yourself to two questions at a time so we can hear from as many of you as possible. And of course, you're welcome to join the queue again. So we will begin with a caller from the telephone conference.

If you wish to ask a question, please dial pound key five on your telephone keypad to enter the queue. If you wish to withdraw your question, please dial pound key six on your telephone keypad. The next question comes from Adela Dashian from Jefferies. Please go ahead.

Thank you and good morning. Two questions for me then. Obviously, you had very, very strong water intake in the DCT segment, and it would be great to try to understand whether or not this is timing-related lumpiness or if you expect this to be a sustainably higher run rate given all the AI deployment.

Thank you, Adele, for the question. I think it's fair to say, as I said many times, I mean, by nature, data center order intake is lumpy. This quarter, I think everyone understands that this was an extraordinary quarter. With that said, What we have done over the last couple of years, that is, we have expanded our product portfolio and we have expanded our capabilities to sell in many different regions. So from that perspective, we have more opportunities to gain customers. to gain attractiveness. But I think you should look upon this as an extraordinary quarter. Don't expect this to be the new baseline, so to speak. But with that said, I see, we see a strong underlying market in data center.

That's really helpful. Thank you, Claes. And then if I stay on the DCT track but move to margins, you're outlining here a path to get back to mid-teen DCT margins as the tariff headwinds ease and also volumes ramp up from the second half and onwards. But does that margin trajectory fully reflect the incremental investments that you might need given the elevated backlog?

Yes, it does. I can very confidently say that we, when it comes to production capacity, we have constantly been investing ahead of the curve, so to speak. And this we have done also this year. And we could have taken a decision not to take orders and sell and deliver, call it, chillers in North America and thereby avoided a tariff hit. We deliberately decided that it's so important that customers are exposed to our fantastic chillers and thereby then securing the orders that will be delivered after we have the production set up here so if i take a look upon i mean the call it the margin development and just ballparking it out i mean we have a four percent when it comes to the to the tariffs and that will diminish after q1 And then we also have the very logical setup. When you start to produce something new, in this case, chillers in North America, I mean, you will gradually then move the margins up on that. So from that perspective, if I take a look on the full year, that is why I say that when it comes to DCT, it is, of course, a very strong delivery of top line and also a restore the profitability in ECT for the second half of the year. And when it comes to air tech, the easiest way to describe it is by adding some volumes that we are at current and by cutting out the costs of the 250 to 300 million, we will step-by-step restore that margin as well.

Thank you. Just to clarify quickly, I guess the question, I appreciate all the color on the near-term outlook or the 2026 outlook, but I guess my question is also more related to medium term or long term? Do you feel like high teams is still sustainable even as your backlog grows?

Yes. And also here, I think I said it loud and clear that we have the operational footprint of handling 50% more order intake. What we need to then, of course, adjust. That is man hours, but that is in the larger scheme just adjustments, if I put it like that.

Great. That's the number I was looking for. I'll get back into queue. Thank you. Thank you.

We can take another caller.

The next question comes from Carl Bockvist from ABG Sundal Collier. Please go ahead.

Thank you, and good morning. I'll follow up here a bit on what you've already talked about. Developers would just like to understand the timeline of events that hold back the margins here. So one thing that we've talked about, of course, were the tariffs in DCT, but the dual site factory situation, you said it was complete by year 2025, i.e., this is something you have

alluded to how much it has impacted margins but should this be now entirely out of the margins from q126 i mean as as i said i mean we have completed that and then of course when when you start it up it will have small impacts also in the startup process but the majority of that is has disappeared yes

All right, understood. And then also on the just general industrial improvement here, is there anything in particular that you would highlight here within air tech I'm talking about now, whether or not it's just about hesitancy becoming, with customers seeing a bit more clarity on their investment decisions, or is there any particular, any other kind of trigger that you see would really make this area start to improve again?

But it's a very good question. And if I sort of then take it region by regions, you can say that in Asia, we see an openness, an improved, call it, market across all the different segments. In Europe, we see in, call it, the base business market, and improvements in the outlooks. And I give you a couple of examples there. We can talk about restoration. We can talk about defense, et cetera. There we see a stronger order intake. Here we talk about, of course, many smaller projects, not the large projects. And in North America, what we see there, there is still a hesitancy, but the order backlog in all three regions. moving up or sorry not order backlog the pipeline of orders are moving up so normally when you see that at a certain given time then you start to open up so that's the reason why I'm positive I don't see yes now it is substantially better but it's a stronger market in a non-battery market across all regions

Understood. That's all from my side. Thank you.

Thank you. And we will take another caller from the telephone conference.

The next question comes from Carl Dagenberg from DNB Carnegie. Please go ahead.

Thank you very much. Good morning. So a couple of questions from my side. I just wanted to maybe start on... The facing on the invoicing, of course, I heard your comments sort of on the full year for 26th expectation and also the ramp up towards the latter part of H2. But when we go now into Q1, just from a sort of revenue standpoint, is that what you're seeing now a similar level to what we saw in Q4? Because, yeah, it sounds like you're going to have facing the sort of similar issues now, Larry.

If I put it like this, I mean, we will have the Schiller production full up and running in U.S. after Q1. So the big increase of deliveries in U.S. will, of course, start to come from Q2 and forward. And then during the year, that will then quarter by quarter increase in progression. The first quarter we've had pretty much the same setup as now, so then it's more driven out what type of demands, when would customer like to have certain deliveries, so to speak. But the best call it guidance, that is, we will have a full-fledged production in the U.S. from Q2, and then we will definitely increase the deliveries.

Great. Then I wanted to also follow up a little bit on the large orders you have announced here in Q425. I note that some of them have been announced in Swedish krona, whereas a couple of other ones have been announced in US dollars. So I just wanted to understand a little bit the sort of currency structure you're taking, or let's say currency risk in between those two. I know that you have know a very local cost base in the us but how does that work with the orders that you've announced in in swedish chrome and i'll give in the currency movements um i i can start and then i can also hand it over to katharina but if you take it

The current currency exposure is on and about, depending on the different business areas, in between 7% to 11%, and the highest then is in data center. Then if you take a look upon the order intake situation, we have an extremely high then currency effect, but that is pure mathematics. I mean, you have... a low comparison, and then you add a humongous large order quantity on top of that, and then it becomes, I mean, 11% on a very high number becomes a large percentage on the lower number, if I put it like that. But if I then summarize what you can say, as long as we deliver from Europe to U.S., then we will have a currency effect. But when we start to deliver from U.S. production, I mean, a U.S. dollar is a U.S. dollar. So then the exposure in U.S. dollar will disappear because then they balance it off, if that made sense. Katarina, any more flavors on this one?

No, but the U.S. contracts are in U.S. dollars. And, yeah, we have most of our cost base in U.S.

dollars as well.

Yeah, the reason for asking was just that I noted that some of the large orders were announced in Swedish krona.

Yeah, it's just the way that we announce it in the press release, Carl. So the order is taken in U.S. dollars. That's just the way that we have chosen to announce it. It's taken in U.S. dollars.

Perfect. Then finally, I also wanted to ask on Airtek. You know, I heard your comments, what you're talking about, sort of the mix change that you've seen this year measured in, you know, battery becoming a smaller part. And, of course, you've taken quite a few sort of measures now on production and utilization and so forth. And I just wanted to understand, you know, we've seen in the past that these battery contracts that you took back in 22 in particular were quite profitable for the division. whereas now you're sort of entering 26, 27 with a little bit of a different, let's say, end market mix. And on the back of the changes you've done here on the production utilization side, is it still a material margin difference, you know, battery relative to the other segments, or is that more balanced now, you would say?

I have to give you a little bit length answer, and then I will sum it up. Generally speaking, the non-battery side has always had a slightly better margin than the large batteries orders. With that said, when you have very large battery orders and you take another large battery order, then you set up a production system so you have, call it, volume effect so you can bring out a higher margin on that side. So if I then go back to service components and base business in general, product margins have a higher margin than the larger projects. But then of course, if you can fill a factory and deliver like we do in data center, then you have volume benefits on that, then, if it makes sense. So, moving forward, I see that if we have a couple of quarters in the range of the two billion that we have now, I mean, then we will have a good load of factories and a good way forward. And that will most probably be filled more of what I refer to general-based business than value projects.

Okay, great. That's clear. I think that was everything from me for now, so thank you very much.

Thank you. And we will take another caller.

Yes.

The next question comes from Gustav Bernablad from Nordea. Please go ahead.

Yes, good morning. It's Gustav here from Nordea. Just coming back a bit to the tariff situation there of 400 bits, how much would you say that you're able to offset with the new production line of shillers in Virginia, meaning sort of looking at age to 2026? If we say sort of ballpark, is it fair to assume closer to one percentage point tariff headwind, or is it less, or you can just?

And now I think when it comes to tariffs, I start with a little bit of a joke and then I become, tariffs have a tendency to change depending on the president's mood. But if we take as an assumption, nothing is changing. If we take that as an assumption. I mean, the tariffs are built up by two components. One is if we deliver a full-fledged system, to US, which are when it comes to chillers. I mean, then what we have, that is first of all, we have the general, the 15% tariff. Then there are other tariffs components, that is steel, as an example. And then you have to add another tariff ingredients on that then, on the steel part in what you have. When we start to produce in U.S., I mean, the first component is gone. Then the second component will be more or less gone due to the fact that if we can then supply with U.S. steel, et cetera, I mean, then we will have no effect. But if we need to supply, as all other U.S. companies have to supply then steel outside U.S., I mean, then we have a terrible component. But if I sort of summarize it, everything will not disappear after Q2 because there is a little bit of residual. But if we follow our plans, the very large majority of this will disappear in H2. Am I fair to say that?

Exactly right.

Perfect. That's very clear. And then coming back to the cost savings program there, I think there – I mean, can you just give us a bit more nuance on how we should, you know, interpret this in terms of what you're actually doing? Is it, you know, mainly personnel and we will see a sort of a front-heavy team? or more front-end loaded cost savings, or how should we think this is progressing in 2026?

No, I'm not talking so much. Maybe I'll hand it over to Katarina here.

For the program that we announced then in Q3, the one that will deliver 250 to 300 million in savings. That will start to come into play already in the first quarter. So that program is progressing well to plan. Then there is a second part of that program that will come into play more in the second half.

But is it possible to say anything if it's, you know, that the weight of the cost program is more, you know, tilted towards Q1 here or H1 or...

Yeah, I mean, towards the end of the year, it will be the full run rate, so to say. But it will start to build already from now.

So you can put it a little bit like this. I mean, everything that has been executed by end of this year, I mean, that will month by month add up. And then you will have a second go, put it like that, that will start to add up from mid-end of Q2. And then those two streams will then accumulate up to the total of 250 to 300 million.

Thank you. Got it. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Good. We can take another caller.

The next question comes from Anders Roslund from Pareto Securities. Please go ahead.

Yes, hi. Good morning. Yes, good morning. I have just one question regarding the margin in DCT in the fourth quarter. If adding back the 4% for tariffs, Is this relatively well reflecting the new product assortment or is it parts coming from the high margin cycle and less or what sort of high?

It's a very good question. And so the easy thing to deduct, if I call it like that, I mean, that is the 4%. That is just the way it is. Then we have other minor components, and that is, as you referred to Anders, we have the shift in the product portfolio, the mix. that then brings down it slightly, let's say one percent more, or just to take a number there. Moving forward, if you keep the four percent then at the end of next year that is gone basically then. Then the way you should look upon this, that is, when we then are ramping up the shillers, Then that will gradually then improve a positive product mix by the end, the second half or starting, I mean, mid quarter two. So you will have a little bit of cycle effect, but then let's call it the chiller effect then. when that is gradually then moving up in margin. So in the beginning, now we have a negative product mix, and at the end of next year, you can sell relatively said, you have a positive product mix.

But there's no cycle left in Q4 in the deliveries. Those have been completed.

Okay, excellent. And how do you see in general, Joel, You only talk about Shiller production. How is the production ramping up for the other product categories? And how will that affect margins?

That is, if we take a crow as an example, there are some variations in between the crows in margins. I mean, when you have a high density, high capacity crow, you have a slightly higher margin. But crows, as you know, look upon them as, call it, slightly lower margins. But a stable margin a crow is a crow and we are good in producing that so that is just adding up and then of course if you produce 100 and then 200 you're a little bit better but call it not that much efficiency more in between an efficient and on call it more a me too type of crow But there, I mean, there, as I referred to earlier, there you can say that that has been the negative product mix at current, that we are selling more cross than versus cycles. Moving forward, I mean, the cross will be at a stable level, and then it will be a larger mix of shillers then. I hope that was well enough described.

Excellent. No, that's okay for me. Thanks a lot.

Thank you. I think we have another caller.

The next question comes from Matslis from Kepler. Please go ahead.

Hi, thank you for taking my question. Well, looking at the chiller production there in Italy, and I guess you will sort of move part of that sourcing to the US gradually during the year. But what will happen in Italy, will that capacity come down until you get sufficient amount of demand in the European market? Or could you sort of say something about that?

It's a very good question, Mats. We are also gaining traction in Europe of shillers. We are actually also at current, and there we have no tariffs effects. We are to some extent supplying Asia from Europe. So without being, because I cannot be too specific, but I don't see any, call it overcapacity or worries that we will have not good enough coverage in our factories in Europe. When we have production up and running in U.S., I mean, not from day one, but in a quarter, everything after a quarter that is sold in U.S. will be produced in U.S. If there is not a specific, call it, emergency that we need to supply it in between. So, we will have a strong base capacity in Europe, for Europe, but also towards Middle East and towards Asia, as an example.

Okay, great, thank you. And I guess it sounds like you experience this very good demand in data center segment going into 2026 as well. And I just want to, well, Do you see customers maybe placing dual orders there to secure supply, or is it sort of not possible for them to do that, or could you say something?

I mean, when you take a look upon the extraordinary order size we had in queue for them, and then take that into when will that be delivered, so to speak, a large part will be delivered during 2026. I said like this, I expect a turnover of plus 30% and maybe a turnover increase of plus 40% depending on customer preferences of deliveries in data center during the year. But then a large part of this 9 billion order is also moved into 2027. And actually a few of those are moved into 2028. So I have never been this comfortable when it comes to the load situation in data center. 26. Done. We can take some more. We have availability, but as you know, I mean, after Q1, it's not very much you can fill there. And then we have a good situation already now for 27, and there we have at least five, six quarters more to go when it comes to fill that up. And we have already started to fill 2028. We had a book to bill of seven times in the quarter. Is that pre-booking or is it call it just customers that would like to have a relaxed situation when it comes to will they have it or not? I cannot say that, but that is how it is. We are well covered into 2027 and actually also into 2028 to some extent.

Thank you. Sounds reassuring.

Thanks. Thank you. I think we have Carl back on the line. We can take one question for you, and then we have to finish off.

The next question comes from Carl Bockvist from ABG Sundal Collier. Please go ahead.

All right. Thank you. Just a comment there on what you see ahead on the growth there. I assume this is talking about current prevailing currency rates, organic or assuming existing currencies.

I mean what we reported that is in call it year end currency rate and then currency move up and down but you can say that the majority of what is currency neutral in a way that it is sold in the U.S. and the majority, or pretty much all, that will be produced after Q1. Everything that will be delivered after Q1 will also be produced. So you may have a top-line effect there, but you will not have a bottom-line effect.

Very clear. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I think we will finish off there. Thank you, Klaus and Katarina, for presenting today.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, everyone, for listening in. And please feel free to reach out to us at Investor Relations if you have further questions or if you would like to meet up with us during the quarter. So thank you for listening and see you next time. Thank you.

Thank you.