Relais Group Plc, Stock Exchange Release 14 August 2025, 9:00 a.m. EEST
This release is a summary of Relais Group's Half-Year Financial Report January
-June 2025. The full release is attached to this release and is available on our
website at https://relais.fi/en/investors/.
APRIL-JUNE 2025 IN BRIEF
· Net sales totalled EUR 82.9 million (April-June 2024: 74.3), change +12%
· Comparable EBITA was EUR 7.6 (7.3) million, change +3%
· Comparable EBITA margin was 9.1 (9.9) %
· Earnings per share, basic was EUR 0.08 (0.18)
· Net cash flow from operations was EUR -0.2 (9.5) million
JANUARY-JUNE 2025 IN BRIEF
· Net sales totalled EUR 165.7 million (January-June 2024: 157.0), change +6%
· Comparable EBITA was EUR 16.7 (17.0) million, change -2%
· Comparable EBITA margin was 10.1 (10.8) %
· Earnings per share, basic was EUR 0.41 (0.39)
· Net cash flow from operations was EUR 2.4 (14.1) million
2025 OUTLOOK AND LONG-TERM FINANCIAL TARGET
Relais Group does not provide a numeric guidance for the financial year 2025.
The company has a long-term financial target published on 2 March 2023,
according to which it aims to reach a pro forma comparable EBITA of EUR 50
million by the end of the year 2025.
KEY FIGURES
(EUR 1,000 4-6/ 4-6/ Change 1-6/2025 1-6/2024 Change 12 Change
1-12/
unless 2025 2024 months
2024
stated rolling
otherwise)
Net sales 82,899 74,261 +12% 165,697 157,017 +6% 331,286 +3%
322,606
Gross 40,724 35,400 +15% 81,817 73,592 +11% 159,135 +5%
151,219
profit
Gross 49.1% 47.7% 49.4% 46.9% 48.1%
46.9%
margin
EBITDA 11,775 11,056 +7% 24,774 24,558 +1% 52,080 0%
51,863
Comparable 12,144 11,070 +10% 25,373 24,586 +3% 53,277 +1%
52,490
EBITDA
EBITA 7,198 7,304 -1% 16,150 16,976 -5% 35,300 -2%
36,126
EBITA 8.7% 9.8% 9.7% 10.8% 10.7%
11.2%
margin
Comparable 7,566 7,318 +3% 16,749 17,004 -2% 36,497 -2%
36,753
EBITA
Comparable 9.1% 9.9% 10.1% 10.8% 11.0%
11.4%
EBITA
margin
Operating 6,264 6,587 -5% 14,410 15,549 -7% 31,845 -3%
32,983
profit
Profit for 1,476 3,274 -55% 7,333 7,158 +2% 18,708 +1%
18,533
the period
Earnings 0.08 0.18 -55% 0.41 0.39 +5% 1.04 +1%
1.02
per
share,
basic
Cash flow -221 9,494 2,440 14,131 23,146 -34%
34,837
from
operations
Net working 94,716 62,150 +52%
68,208
capital
Net working 4.1 4.8 -15%
4.8
capital
turnover
Interest 226,938 146,722 +55%
141,283
-bearing
net
debt
Net Debt to 4.36 3.03
2.72
EBITDA, LTM
Interest 128,031 85,763 +49%
82,672
-bearing
net
debt
excluding
lease
liabilities
Net Debt 2.46 1.77
1.59
excluding
lease
liabilities
to EBITDA,
LTM
Equity 27.7% 32.6%
35.6%
ratio
Return on 43.3% 51.3%
53.4%
net
working
capital
Return on 12.3% 13.1%
16.2%
equity
Return on 12.7% 12.9%
13.2%
capital
employed
The change percentages in the tables have been calculated on exact figures
before the amounts were rounded to millions of euros.
CEO ARNI EKHOLM COMMENTS THE SECOND QUARTER AND FIRST HALF YEAR OF 2025
A solid performance
“Our acquisition driven business model proved its resilience again during the
second quarter of this year. Our business is predominantly focused on the
commercial vehicle aftermarket, which by nature is more defensive and less
cyclical than many other vehicle and mobility related businesses. Commercial
vehicles need to be running even during weaker economic times, and critical
repair and maintenance and equipping cannot be postponed for too long. In
addition, by making well targeted and successful acquisitions we can accelerate
the growth of the company over a business cycle.
Soft market conditions during the second quarter
Despite the soft market demand during the quarter we managed to grow our Net
Sales with 12% vs. last year, mainly based on the recent acquisitions. The
organic Net Sales growth was -2%. The Scandinavian segment reached an organic
growth of +1% in comparable exchange rates, whilst the Finnish and Baltic
segments had an organic growth of -4%, reflecting the general economic
development in that area. The comparable EBITA grew with 3%, which is a solid
performance considering the weak market conditions. In fact, this quarter marked
the highest level of Net Sales and comparable EBITA on any second quarter in the
history of Relais Group.
Major strategic steps taken
We have taken major steps to reach our strategic objectives during the first
half of the year. As a sector focussed and competent compounder it is vital that
we at all times have a healthy pipeline of acquisition targets. Perhaps even
more importantly, we also need to have the ability to make things happen and
execute the deals having a strong strategic fit and a good value creation
potential for the group.
Our determined and disciplined efforts have resulted in several acquisitions
which have a material impact in reaching our growth targets. In early July we
finalized the acquisition of Matro Group in Benelux, giving us a strong foothold
in the European truck accessories business. In June, we finalized the
acquisition of the Norwegian Team Verksted and Lastvagnsdelar, further
strengthening our position as the biggest operator of independent commercial
vehicle repair and maintenance workshops in the Nordic region. In addition, in
early July we announced the acquisition of two strategically located heavy
commercial vehicle workshops in Eastern Finland. The closing of this deal is
expected to happen during the third quarter of this year. All in all, these
acquisitions represent an addition of ca 11 MEUR to the EBITA of our group on an
annual level.
Heading towards new targets
We are successfully approaching the end of the current strategic planning
period. Our current long term financial target is to reach a pro-forma run rate
level of 50 MEUR comparable EBITA by end of this year. During this autumn we
will review our existing strategic and financial objectives and make a solid
plan for the next strategy period starting as of January 2026. The new strategic
and financial objectives will be announced in due course later during this year.
Outlook for the rest of the year
Despite the certain softness in the markets during H1, we start to also see some
cautious positive signals in the demand of our products and services. As said,
the commercial vehicles need to be up and running and with our large
geographical coverage with workshops in strategic locations in Norway, Finland
and Sweden we are well positioned to help our customers to run their operations
efficiently. The demand for spare parts and equipment is also showing some
encouraging signs, and now with a direct access to Central-European customers we
have a much wider area to sell our products to. With this in mind, I feel that
we have all the possibilities to successfully pursue our strategic objectives
also during the second half of this year.
In this connection I want to thank all our over 1,600 professionals in eight
countries for your tremendous performance during the first half year of 2025. In
addition, I want to warmly welcome all the new Relais family members to the
team! Lastly, I want to express my gratitude towards our customers, shareholders
and business partners for your continued support.“
EVENTS AFTER THE REVIEW PERIOD
· Acquisition of Autodelar Sweden AB
· Completion of the acquisition of 70 percent of the shares in Matro Group
· Acquisition of two heavy commercial vehicle workshops from Wetteri Auto Oy
FINANCIAL CALENDAR FOR 2025
Relais Group Plc will publish the following financial report during 2025:
· Interim Report January-September 2025, on Wednesday, 22 October 2025
The report will be published at approximately 9:00 a.m. Finnish time on the
above date.
INVITATION TO THE WEBCAST
Relais Group's CEO Arni Ekholm and CFO Thomas Ekström will present the result to
the media, investors and analysts at a webcast on Thursday, 14 August 2025, at
10:00 a.m. EEST. The webcast can be followed at
https://relais.events.inderes.com/q2-2025
Presentation material and video will be available on the company's website at
https://relais.fi/en/
after the event.
Relais Group Plc
Board of Directors
Further information:
Arni Ekholm, CEO
Phone: +358 40 760 3323
E-mail: arni.ekholm@relais.fi
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Key Media
www.relais.fi
Relais Group
Relais Group is a leading consolidator and acquisition platform on the vehicle
aftermarket in the Nordic and Baltic countries. We have a sector focus in
vehicle life cycle enhancement and related services. We also serve as a growth
platform for the companies we own.
We are a profitable company seeking strong growth. We carry out targeted
acquisitions in line with our growth strategy and want to be an active player in
the consolidation of the aftermarket in our area of operation. Our acquisitions
are targeted at companies having a good strategic fit with our group companies.
Our net sales in 2024 was EUR 322.6 (2023: 284.3) million. During 2024, we
completed two acquisitions. We employ approximately 1,600 professionals in eight
different countries. The Relais Group share is listed on the Main Market of
Nasdaq Helsinki with the stock symbol RELAIS.
www.relais.fi