VBG Group Stock price
📊 Peer Group
📈 What is it?
The peer group consists of the companies with the most similar business model. They serve as a benchmark for putting a stock into context.
🧮 How is it selected?
Based on similarity of business model, meaning companies from the same industry with comparable products and a similar customer base. That's the only way to compare apples to apples.
🏛️ Why does it matter?
Whether a stock is cheap or expensive is best judged by comparison. A P/E of 18 or an EV/FCF of 20 can look cheap or expensive depending on the yardstick. The peer group gives you the most accurate one: companies with a similar business model that operate under the same conditions.
🎯 What does it mean for investors?
When a metric sits below the peer average, the stock is valued more cheaply relative to its competitors, and above the average more expensively. A discount to the peer group can be an opportunity, but it can also have a reason (for example lower growth). The comparison is a starting point, not a verdict.
Is VBG Group a Top Scorer Stock based on the Dividend, High-Growth-Investing or Leverman Strategy?
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Key metrics
📘 Market Capitalization
📈 What is it?
Market capitalization shows how much a company is currently worth on the stock market.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps classify companies by size (Large, Mid, Small Cap) and indicates their market presence and relative stability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Large-cap companies tend to be more stable, often pay dividends, but may grow more slowly.
- Smaller firms may offer higher growth potential but come with more volatility.
- Market capitalization is a useful indicator of company size — but not a measure of whether a stock is undervalued or overvalued.
📘 Enterprise Value (EV)
📈 What is it?
Enterprise Value represents the total cost to acquire a company — including its debt and excluding its cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(= Market Cap + Net Debt)
🏛️ Why is it important?
EV gives a more complete picture of a company's value than market cap alone and is used in key valuation ratios like EV/FCF or EV/Sales.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Enterprise Value shows the true cost of buying a company, including all financial obligations.
- It is more accurate than just looking at market cap, especially when comparing companies with different levels of debt or cash.
- Professional investors prefer EV-based multiples because they better reflect the company’s full financial footprint.
📘 Net Debt
📈 What is it?
Net Debt shows how much debt remains after subtracting a company’s available cash reserves.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It indicates how dependent a company is on borrowed money and how easily it can service its debt in the short term.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low or negative net debt signals financial strength and flexibility.
- Companies with strong cash positions are better positioned in crises.
- High net debt increases financial risk — especially in environments with rising interest rates or economic downturns.
📘 Cash
📈 What is it?
Cash represents all liquid assets a company can access immediately — including cash, bank deposits, and short-term investments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It reflects a company’s financial flexibility and resilience — enabling investments, buybacks, or buffer in downturns.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A strong cash position means greater room for maneuver and crisis resistance.
- Cash-rich companies can invest, pay down debt, or repurchase shares.
- But excess idle cash might indicate a lack of growth opportunities.
📘 Shares Outstanding
📈 What is it?
Shares outstanding represent the total number of a company’s shares currently held by investors — excluding treasury stock.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s the basis for key metrics like Earnings Per Share (EPS), Market Capitalization, or the Price/Earnings ratio (P/E).
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Fewer shares in circulation typically increase earnings per share — making each share more valuable.
- Share buybacks reduce the number of shares and boost per-share metrics.
- Issuing new shares does the opposite — diluting shareholder value and lowering per-share figures.
📘 Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E)
📈 What is it?
The P/E ratio shows how many times a company's earnings per share are reflected in its current share price — in other words, how "expensive" the stock appears relative to its profits.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The P/E ratio is one of the most widely used valuation metrics. It helps investors assess whether a stock appears cheap or expensive compared to its earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
📊 P/E (TTM) = Based on earnings from the last 12 months (Trailing Twelve Months):🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/E may indicate undervaluation — or signal underlying issues.
- A high P/E may reflect strong growth expectations — or an overvalued stock.
📘 Price-to-Sales Ratio (P/S)
📈 What is it?
The P/S ratio shows how much investors are paying for $1 of the company’s revenue – regardless of profitability.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/S is especially useful for evaluating growth companies or businesses not yet profitable. It reflects how the market values the company’s sales.
🧮 Calculation
Market Cap = kr7.83b | Revenue (TTM) = kr5.54b
Market Cap = kr7.83b | Estimated Revenue = kr5.90b
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low P/S may indicate undervaluation — or low profitability.
- A high P/S can reflect strong growth expectations — or excessive optimism.
- Especially helpful when evaluating companies where profits are low, volatile, or negative.
📘 Enterprise Value to Sales (EV/Sales)
📈 What is it?
EV/Sales shows how much investors are paying for $1 of revenue — considering not just equity, but also debt and cash. It’s the capital structure–adjusted version of the P/S ratio.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It’s ideal for comparing companies with different levels of debt. It reflects a company's true cost relative to its revenue.
🧮 Calculation
Enterprise Value = kr8.78b | Revenue (TTM) = kr5.54b
Enterprise Value = kr8.78b | Forward Revenue = kr5.90b
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EV/Sales allows for capital structure–neutral company comparisons.
- A lower ratio may indicate undervaluation; a higher one may signal strong growth expectations or overvaluation.
- Especially helpful when evaluating high-growth companies with low or negative earnings.
📘 Enterprise Value to Free Cash Flow (EV/FCF)
📈 What is it?
EV/FCF shows how many years it would take for a company to "pay back" its enterprise value using its free cash flow.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It focuses on real cash generation, ignoring accounting noise — ideal for assessing profitability and value based on liquidity, not earnings.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low EV/FCF may signal undervaluation and strong cash generation.
- A high EV/FCF might reflect weak recent cash flow or aggressive growth expectations.
- Best suited for stable, mature businesses with predictable free cash flows.
📘 Price-to-Book Ratio (P/B)
📈 What is it?
The P/B ratio compares a company’s market value to its book value — showing how much investors are paying for each dollar of net assets.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
P/B is commonly used for asset-heavy industries like banks or industrials. It helps assess whether a stock is trading above or below its net asset value.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A P/B below 1 may signal undervaluation — or weak profitability.
- A P/B above 1 implies the market expects future value creation (e.g., brand, IP, growth).
- Best used for companies with tangible assets and strong balance sheets.
📘 Dividend per Share (DPS)
📈 What is it?
Dividend per Share shows how much cash a company pays out to shareholders for each share they own – usually on an annual or quarterly basis.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
DPS is the absolute value of the payout per share – crucial for income-focused investors and dividend strategies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A stable or growing DPS often signals a strong, shareholder-friendly business.
- DPS alone doesn’t tell you how attractive the payout is – the stock price also matters (→ see Dividend Yield).
- Long-term dividend growth is often a hallmark of high-quality companies – like the dividend aristocrats.
📘 Dividend Yield
📈 What is it?
Dividend yield shows how large a company’s dividend is in relation to its current share price.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It allows investors to compare dividend payouts across stocks, regardless of price or payout size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A stable yield can reflect reliable distributions.
- Comparing 1Y and 5Y yield shows whether dividend growth keeps pace with stock price appreciation.
- A low yield isn’t always negative – it can signal strong past performance or growth focus.
📘 Dividend Growth
📈 What is it?
Dividend growth shows how much a company has increased its dividend per share over time.
🧮 How is it calculated?
5Y: Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
🏛️ Why is it important?
Consistently rising dividends are often a sign of financial strength and shareholder orientation – especially relevant for long-term investors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stable dividend growth is a sign of sustainable earning power.
- High dividend growth can significantly boost your total return:
- If a company pays $1 in dividends and increases it by 15% annually over 5 years, you’ll receive $2 per share in year 5 – twice as much as at the start!
📘 Payout Ratio
📈 What is it?
The payout ratio shows what percentage of a company’s earnings (per share) is distributed to shareholders as dividends.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess whether the dividend is sustainable – especially in relation to the company’s profitability.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low payout ratio means the company retains more earnings for reinvestment – typical for growth companies.
- A moderate payout (e.g. 25–50%) indicates a healthy balance between returns and reinvestment.
- High payout ratios may seem attractive but can carry risk if earnings decline.
📘 Consecutive Dividend Increases
📈 What is it?
This metric shows how many consecutive years a company has raised its dividend per share – without any cuts or pauses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
(Special dividends are not considered.)
🏛️ Why is it important?
A long track record of increases reflects financial strength, consistency, and shareholder commitment.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A long dividend increase streak builds confidence – especially in volatile markets.
- Such companies are seen as reliable and income-friendly investments.
- The longer the streak, the stronger the company’s dividend discipline.
📘 Revenue
📈 What is it?
Revenue shows how much a company earns in total from selling its products and services – the gross income before any costs are deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Revenue is one of the key figures to assess a company’s size, market position, and growth potential.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing revenue indicates rising demand and can be an early signal of future earnings growth.
- Comparing actual and expected revenue reveals trends in the market environment and analyst sentiment.
- Note: Strong revenue alone isn’t enough – margins and profitability matter just as much.
📘 EBITDA
📈 What is it?
EBITDA stands for “Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.” It reflects a company’s operating profit before the effects of financing, taxes, and accounting depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBITDA is widely used to evaluate a company’s operating performance – especially across capital-intensive sectors or international comparisons.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high or growing EBITDA indicates strong operational profitability – independent of taxes, interest, or accounting methods.
- It’s especially useful for comparing companies across sectors or geographies.
- Important: EBITDA is not a net income figure – it excludes key costs like depreciation and interest.
📘 EBIT
📈 What is it?
EBIT stands for “Earnings Before Interest and Taxes.” It reflects a company’s operating profit after depreciation, but before interest and tax expenses.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT is a core profitability metric that shows how well the company performs in its main business operations – independent of capital structure and tax environment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT indicates strong profitability from the company’s core business – before financial and tax effects.
- It allows better comparison between companies with different debt levels or tax structures.
- Compared to EBITDA, EBIT already accounts for depreciation and reflects capital intensity more clearly.
📘 Net Income
📈 What is it?
Net income is the company’s total profit – the amount left after all expenses, taxes, interest, and depreciation have been deducted.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the most comprehensive measure of a company’s profitability – showing how much actual profit remains after all business and financing costs.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growing net income indicates that the company is managing all of its costs efficiently.
- It directly influences valuation metrics like P/E ratio and the company’s dividend capacity.
- Over time, net income trends reveal how resilient and profitable the business model really is.
📘 Free Cash Flow (FCF)
📈 What is it?
Free Cash Flow shows how much actual cash remains after a company covers its operating expenses and capital expenditures.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF reflects a company’s real financial strength – regardless of accounting profits. It shows how much flexibility a company has for dividends, share buybacks, or debt reduction.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High free cash flow means the company generates real, usable cash – independent of reported net income.
- It’s often the most reliable base for sustainable dividends and buybacks.
- Declining FCF can be an early warning sign – even when profits appear stable.
📘 Revenue Growth
📈 What is it?
Revenue growth shows how much a company’s sales have changed compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on forward projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected revenue ÷ Revenue in prior year − 1) × 100
Forward growth is based on analyst estimates for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Rising revenue signals growing demand, business expansion, and market share gains – especially important for growth-oriented companies.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Growth is the engine of long-term value creation – especially in tech and growth sectors.
- What matters is not just current growth, but its sustainability.
- Forward projections reflect whether analysts expect continued momentum – or a slowdown.
📘 EBITDA Growth
📈 What is it?
EBITDA growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) has increased or decreased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBITDA ÷ EBITDA from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Growing EBITDA indicates improving operational profitability – regardless of financing or accounting effects.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Strong EBITDA growth signals operational efficiency and scalability – especially during growth phases.
- EBITDA growth can be an early indicator of margin and earnings expansion – but should be assessed alongside revenue and EBIT.
📘 EBIT Growth
📈 What is it?
EBIT growth shows how much a company’s operating profit (after depreciation, but before interest and taxes) has increased compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected EBIT ÷ EBIT from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate is based on analyst projections for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EBIT growth is a direct indicator of a company’s business performance – taking into account capital intensity through depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Rising EBIT signals improving operating profitability – even after accounting for depreciation.
- It’s especially important for evaluating companies with significant capital expenditures.
- Combined with revenue and EBITDA growth, EBIT growth provides a well-rounded view of operational progress.
📘 Net Income Growth
📈 What is it?
Net income growth shows how much a company’s bottom-line profit has increased or decreased compared to the previous year – both on a trailing basis (TTM) and based on analyst projections.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Forward = (Expected net income ÷ Net income from prior year − 1) × 100
The forward estimate reflects analysts’ expectations for the current fiscal year.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net income is the ultimate measure of profitability. Growing net income signals stronger efficiency, cost control, and sustainable earnings power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Stronger net income boosts valuation, dividend potential, and investor confidence.
- If profits stall while revenue grows, it may signal margin pressure.
📘 Free Cash Flow Growth
📈 What is it?
Free cash flow (FCF) growth shows how a company’s available cash – after covering operating expenses and capital expenditures – has changed compared to the previous year.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Free cash flow reflects real financial strength. Growing FCF indicates more flexibility for dividends, share buybacks, and reinvestment.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Declining FCF may point to rising investments, increasing costs, or weaker operating performance.
- Especially for dividend investors, FCF growth is critical – since dividends are paid from actual available cash.
- A negative trend isn't always bad, but it deserves closer attention.
📘 Gross Margin
📈 What is it?
Gross margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains after deducting the direct costs of goods sold (like materials and production). It represents the company’s “raw profit” before fixed costs, taxes, and interest.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Or simply: Gross Margin = Gross Profit ÷ Revenue × 100
🏛️ Why is it important?
Gross margin indicates how efficiently a company can produce or procure what it sells. It is a key measure of product-level profitability and pricing power.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high gross margin suggests strong pricing power and efficient production.
- Falling margins may signal rising input costs or competitive pressure.
- Compared to peers, gross margin offers insights into the quality of a business model.
📘 EBITDA Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBITDA margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.It reflects operating efficiency without being distorted by financing or accounting factors.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBITDA margin reveals how much operating income a company generates per dollar of revenue – independent of capital structure and tax effects.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBITDA margin reflects strong core profitability – before accounting distortions.
- It allows for effective comparisons across companies and sectors.
- A stable or growing margin signals efficient cost control and business scalability.
📘 EBIT Margin
📈 What is it?
The EBIT margin shows what percentage of revenue remains as operating profit after depreciation but before interest and taxes.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
The EBIT margin reflects a company’s core profitability while accounting for capital intensity (e.g. machinery, infrastructure). It’s especially useful for comparing businesses with different levels of depreciation.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high EBIT margin shows that the company remains efficient even after factoring in depreciation.
- It’s especially relevant for capital-intensive industries.
- Stable or rising EBIT margins over time are a strong indicator of pricing power and business quality.
📘 Net margin
📈 What is it?
Net margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as bottom-line profit after deducting all costs, interest, taxes, and depreciation.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
Net margin reflects a company’s overall efficiency – across operations, financing, and taxation. It shows how much actual profit is generated from each dollar of revenue.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high net margin means the company is not only strong operationally but also manages financing and taxes efficiently.
- Peer comparisons reveal business quality and competitiveness.
- Declining margins despite revenue growth can be a red flag for rising costs or inefficiencies.
📘 Free cash flow margin
📈 What is it?
The free cash flow (FCF) margin shows how much of a company’s revenue remains as actual free cash after covering all operating expenses and capital expenditures.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
This margin reflects the true liquidity generated by the business – independent of accounting rules or depreciation. It’s especially relevant for dividends, buybacks, and reinvestment decisions.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high FCF margin means a company consistently generates strong cash flow.
- It’s a positive signal for financial stability and shareholder returns.
- The long-term trend is key – a declining margin may indicate rising investments or weakening operating efficiency.
📘 Equity Ratio
📈 What is it?
The equity ratio indicates what portion of a company’s total assets is financed by shareholders’ equity – in other words, how much it relies on its own capital.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
A high equity ratio reflects financial strength and stability, especially during downturns. It’s a key indicator of a company’s solvency and long-term risk profile.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Companies with high equity ratios are generally more resilient and less dependent on external debt.
- Low equity ratios can signal higher risk or aggressive financial strategies.
- Important: Always assess the equity ratio in combination with the return on equity (ROE). This shows not just how stable the company is – but also how efficiently it uses shareholder capital.
📘 Return on Equity (ROE)
📈 What is it?
Return on equity (ROE) shows how efficiently a company uses its shareholders’ equity to generate profit. In other words: how much net income is earned per dollar of equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROE is a core profitability metric. It helps investors understand whether a company delivers attractive returns on the capital provided by its shareholders.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROE indicates that the company is using its capital efficiently and profitably.
- It’s especially meaningful for capital-intensive businesses or firms with high equity bases.
- Important: A very high ROE can also result from high debt levels – always interpret it alongside the equity ratio to assess financial health.
📘 Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
📈 What is it?
ROCE measures how efficiently a company generates profits from its total capital – including both equity and interest-bearing debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It evaluates the return on all capital employed, regardless of how it’s financed.
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROCE is ideal for comparing companies with different financing structures. It shows how well management uses capital to create value for both shareholders and creditors.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROCE means the company uses its capital efficiently – regardless of whether it's funded by debt or equity.
- The higher the ROCE compared to peers, the more value the company creates with its invested capital.
- Especially relevant for capital-intensive sectors like industrials, energy, or infrastructure.
📘 Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)
📈 What is it?
ROIC measures how efficiently a company generates returns from the capital invested in its core operations – regardless of whether the capital comes from equity or debt.
🧮 How is it calculated?
- NOPAT = Net Operating Profit After Taxes
- Invested Capital = Operating assets minus non-interest-bearing liabilities
🏛️ Why is it important?
ROIC is one of the most accurate indicators of capital efficiency. Unlike return on equity, it is not distorted by leverage and shows how much value is created for all capital providers.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high ROIC shows how effectively a company uses the capital that is truly invested in its core operations.
- Unlike ROCE, ROIC focuses only on the capital that is actively used to run the business – and that requires a return (i.e. interest-bearing).
- Especially useful when comparing companies with large amounts of excess cash or non-interest-bearing liabilities – giving a more realistic picture of capital efficiency.
📘 Leverage Ratio (Debt-to-Equity)
📈 What is it?
The leverage ratio indicates how much a company relies on interest-bearing debt (such as loans and bonds) relative to its shareholders’ equity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
This ratio helps assess a company’s financial structure and risk profile. High leverage can enhance returns – but also increases exposure to interest rate changes and financial stress.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A low leverage ratio signals financial strength and independence.
- A higher ratio can improve returns in good times but increases risk during downturns or rising interest rate periods.
- 👉 Always interpret in the context of industry, capital intensity, and interest rate environment.
📘 Earnings per share (EPS)
📈 What is it?
Earnings per Share (EPS) shows how much profit is attributable to a single share – and is one of the most important metrics for evaluating a company's performance.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The diluted share count reflects potential new shares that could be issued through options, convertible bonds, or other rights.
🏛️ Why is it important?
EPS is the basis for many key valuation metrics like P/E ratio, PEG ratio, or payout ratio. It enables comparisons of profitability across companies, regardless of their size.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- EPS captures per-share profitability and is especially useful for comparisons over time or with analyst estimates.
- Rising EPS may signal consistent growth or share buybacks.
- Important: Always use diluted EPS for more realistic valuations – especially in companies with stock-based compensation.
📘 Free cash flow per share (FCF per share)
📈 What is it?
Free Cash Flow per Share shows how much free cash flow a company generates per outstanding share – after investments, but before dividends or debt repayments.
🧮 How is it calculated?
Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures (CapEx).
🏛️ Why is it important?
FCF per Share reveals how much real cash is available per share – useful for dividends, buybacks, or reducing debt. Unlike net income, free cash flow is harder to manipulate and often seen as a more reliable metric.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- High FCF per share signals strong financial flexibility.
- It shows how much capital the company can effectively reinvest or return to shareholders.
- Particularly relevant for dividend payers and capital-efficient businesses.
📘 Short interest
📈 What is it?
Short interest indicates how many shares of a company are currently sold short – that is, borrowed and sold by investors who expect the price to decline.
🧮 How is it calculated?
It reflects the percentage of a company’s shares that are being shorted relative to the total shares available.
🏛️ Why is it important?
Short interest serves as a sentiment indicator: A high value may signal skepticism or bearish expectations – but also increases the potential for a short squeeze if prices rise unexpectedly.
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- Low short interest usually indicates market confidence in the company.
- High short interest can be a warning sign – or an opportunity if sentiment shifts.
- Especially relevant in volatile markets or ahead of key earnings releases.
📘 Employees
📈 What is it?
The employee count shows how many people a company employs worldwide – offering insights into its size, structure, and business model.
🧮 How is it calculated?
🏛️ Why is it important?
It helps assess operational scale, labor intensity, and cost structure. Combined with revenue and profit, it enables key metrics like revenue per employee or productivity.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high headcount can signal operational complexity – but also significant growth capacity.
- Revenue per employee is a key indicator of efficiency.
- Especially useful for comparing tech, industrial, or service-heavy companies.
📘 Turnover per employee
📈 What is it?
Revenue per employee indicates how much revenue a company generates on average per employee – a key measure of efficiency and productivity.
🧮 How is it calculated?
The employee count is typically taken from the most recent annual report.
🏛️ Why is it important?
This metric helps compare business models – especially between labor-intensive and technology-driven companies. A high value suggests automation, operational efficiency, or strong value creation per head.
🧮 Calculation
🎯 What does this mean for investors?
- A high revenue per employee indicates a scalable and margin-strong business model.
- A low figure may reflect labor-intensive operations or lower value-add.
- Especially helpful when comparing tech companies to industrial or service sectors.
VBG Group Stock Analysis
Analyst Opinions
9 Analysts have issued a VBG Group forecast:
Analyst Opinions
9 Analysts have issued a VBG Group forecast:
VBG Group Events
Past Events
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JUL
17
Q2 2026 Earnings Call
2 months ago
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APR
27
Q1 2026 Earnings Call
5 months ago
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FEB
18
Q4 2025 Earnings Call
7 months ago
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OCT
28
Q3 2025 Earnings Call
11 months ago
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VBG Group — Q2 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Welcome to VBG Group Q2 Report 2026 presentation. [Operator Instructions] Now I will hand the conference over to the speakers, CEO, Anders Erken; and CFO, Fredrik Jigneus. Please go ahead.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the VBG Group presentation of Q2 2026. It's me, I will give you a summary of the quarter 2, and Fredrik will give you all details, and then we will make a short discussion about the future. It's been another volatile quarter with new tariffs and geopolitical tension, especially in the Middle East. Still, revenue increased by 8.7% compared to the second quarter of 2025, and adjusted for currency and acquired volumes, sales increased by 8.3%.
75% of the growth was related to volume and 25% related to price adjustments. All divisions showed growth together with all 3 geographic markets: North America, Europe, rest of the world. In summary, the third-best quarter revenue-wise. Interesting is that the side-by-side segment within Mobile Thermal Solutions increased with 19% and the Defense segment within Truck and Trailer Equipment with 60% compared to second quarter last year. Ringfeder Power Transmission, our third division, showed growth in all industrial verticals. And we see a clear trend that the European truck OEMs increase their volumes. We see also a limited impact revenue-wise due to the tension in the Middle East. It's mainly the sales related to the semitrailer segment that is affected. Very important for us is that the order intake increased with 11% in the quarter compared to Q2 2025, which indicates good demand in the coming quarter. The group delivered an EBITA margin of 10%. It's worth to comment that the new tariffs and commodity price increases in Mobile Thermal Solutions had a negative effect on the operating result in the second quarter. And as mentioned in the press release in the end of April, we reserved SEK 19.3 million for restructuring costs in the division Ringfeder Power Transmission. And now to the details, Fredrik. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Anders. I will change picture. The second quarter was characterized by a strong -- continued strong demand across the group. Organic growth reached 8.3%, and all divisions contributed positively to sales development. Overall, sales increased by 8.7% to SEK 1.48 billion.
EBITDA amounted to SEK 149 million, and the EBITA margin declined to 10%. The lower margin was mainly driven by 3 factors: restructuring provision relating to the consolidation in Germany, higher raw material costs and the impact from changing U.S. tariffs that temporarily outpaced our price adjustments. Excluding the restructuring provision, the underlying profitability would have been stronger, of course. Cash flow was lower than last year due to the higher working capital requirements, mainly inventory and receivables, driven by growth in sales and preparations for the move of the Toronto facility.
Let's go through each and one of the 3 divisions, starting with Truck and Trailer Equipment. Truck and Trailer Equipment delivered another very strong quarter. Organic growth was 3.1% despite a relatively tough comparison quarter that included larger one-off orders in both U.S. and China. Demand remains strong in the Nordic markets and in Australia, while European trailer markets showed signs of recovery. The Defense segment continued to grow rapidly, increasing by approximately 60% during the quarter. EBITDA increased to SEK 82 million, and the EBITDA margin reached 20%, demonstrating the strength of the business model and the operational leverage.
Going over to Mobile Thermal Solutions. Mobile Thermal Solutions reported strong demand and a double-digit organic growth of 10.2%. Sales increased to SEK 783 million, and growth was particularly strong in the side-by-side segment, which continued to perform very well. Profitability was impacted by raising raw material prices and new updated implementation of U.S. tariffs during the quarter. Although we have implemented price increases, there are temporary timing lag before the full effect is reflected in earnings. And this is really tough when the environment keeps changing all the time.
We saw encouraging signs towards the end of the quarter as pricing actions started to take effect. Ringfeder Power Transmission, Ringfeder delivered its strongest sales quarter ever. Sales increased by 23.5% to SEK 285 million with an organic growth of 11.1%. Demand was particularly strong within automation, aerospace and defense-related applications, while Malmedie continued to develop according to plan. EBITDA was impacted by SEK 19.3 million in restructuring provision relating to the consolidation of production into Dobrany in Czechia. Excluding this item, profitability would have been stronger, of course. Product mix during the quarter was also negatively affected margins. Importantly, the consolidation supports future efficiency improvements and strengthen the division's long-term competitiveness. Could you please change picture there.
Okay. One of VBG Group's key strength remains our geographical diversification. North America represents approximately 50% of the sales; Europe, 36%; and the rest of the world, 14%. This balanced exposure reduces dependency on any single market and creates resilience in volatile environment. Another important stabilizing factor is our aftermarket business, which accounts for roughly 1/4 of the group revenues and contributes recurring demand throughout business cycles.
Cash flow before investments or CapEx was weaker than last year due to increasing working capital requirements. Higher sales levels drove receivables while inventory increased as part of the preparation for the Toronto facility move. During the first half year, we continue to invest in our long-term growth agenda. The Toronto facility is progressing according to plan and represent the majority of the group capital expenditure. Even after these investments and 3 acquisitions completed during last year, we maintained a strong financial position with a significant financial flexibility for future growth initiatives. ROOC declined to 26.6%, mainly due to the increased capital employed relating to the Toronto project. The facility has not yet contributed to earnings, but will support future capacity and efficiency improvements once fully operational during fourth quarter 2026.
To summarize, we delivered another quarter with a strong organic growth across all divisions, increasing order intake and continued strategic progress in both Toronto and Dobrany. While profitability was impacted by temporary factors during the quarter, we continue to invest for future from a position of financial strength. With that, I hand it back to you, Anders.
Thank you very much, Fredrik. So, looking ahead, I do anticipate continued market volatility and geopolitical tension, but we have an organization that is agile and responsive to changing conditions. Overall, while changing tariffs remain a challenge, the largest impact was, as Fredrik mentioned, the commodity price increases for Mobile Thermal Solutions, especially copper, aluminum and plastics.
We are committed to offset these cost increases with price adjustments and cost take-outs. And as Fredrik mentioned, we see progress in the end of the quarter. And coming into detail, it was the adjustment of the tariff Section 232 on the 6th of April, which meant that products with a higher volume than 15% of steel and aluminum got a tariff of 25%. It was changed then on the 1st of June down to 15%, but still had an impact. On the other hand, we are committed to capitalizing the strong order book going forward. And as mentioned, the order intake increased by 11% during the quarter. We will also finalize the building in Toronto during quarter 3. We see that we have the keys to the building in the middle of October. And as we announced in April, we will consolidate Ringfeder Power Transmission production facilities and build a new building in Dobrany, Czech Republic, not far away from the existing building that we have, Dobrany, Czech Republic. And this is part of our strategy to be more efficient to increase capacity and strengthen our long-term competitive edge.
So with our financial strength and our decentralized organization, we are prepared for what lies ahead. Through our cash-generating divisions, we are committed to complementary acquisitions as well as investing in organic growth. This will lead to continued sustainable profitability. So, by that, we end the presentation, and we are open for questions.
[Operator Instructions] The next question comes from Gustav Berneblad from Nordea.
2. Question Answer
It's Gustav here from Nordea. I thought maybe just to start on the order intake here, you commented 11% year-over-year. Can you just give us a bit more color on whether it is equally, sort of, split between the different segments or if it's more tilted towards any of them?
First of all, as you all know, the currency effect is much smaller compared to quarter 4 2025 and quarter 1. But still the 11% is not currency -- it is not taking care of the currency, so to say. But when it comes to the order intake, it's I would say, evenly distributed a little bit more on the Ringfeder Power Transmission side from a percentage point of view.
Okay. That's very clear. And then if we just jump into Mobile Thermal Solutions here and the margin. As you say, you implemented price increases, you announced it in Q4. It is gradually coming here into effect. You could see end of the quarter here. Should we expect to see you're compensating fully for the increased cost in Q4? Or is that too early, would you say?
I would say like this. First of all, it's like going to the amusement park and hit the frogs. I mean you bang one frog, but later it pops up on another place. And it's literally the same when it comes to the tariffs. We were surprised that it was changed during the quarter when we had a good trend and then the impact. But we continue, as mentioned, with price adjustments and cost takes out. And we saw a good progress in the end of the quarter. We see that it will take another quarter before we have covered the lag. So practically by -- if nothing else happens during quarter 3 and quarter 4, we see that we have good progress into quarter 4.
That's very clear. But are you implementing further price increases now in Q2 or?
Absolutely. And they will have an effect in quarter 3 when -- I mean, order book will -- when you increase prices, the order book will gradually implement these price changes.
That's perfect. And then I was just wondering if it's possible for you to say if we just -- I mean, assume a similar mix in MTS that we are seeing today, but then see that you are compensating fully for the increased cost here. Do you expect that to be enough for you to come back to double-digit margins in MTS?
We see that we will come back to double-digit margins in the end of the -- with the same product mix that we have today and the price adjustment and cost takes out that we have.
That's very clear. If we take a view on the longer-term margin here for MTS and also, I guess, including also the new Toronto facility, what type of margins can this business potentially run with, if just ballpark or if you can just reason a bit about it or anything?
I mean, our long-term view on this division that is to come back to an EBITA margin of 15%. Of course, it will not happen this quarter or next, but the long-term view is a 15% EBIT margin on this division.
Okay. Perfect. And if we just jump to Truck and Trailer Equipment here, I think very impressive margin. And I mean, just looking at the organic growth, 3% year-over-year, but still you raised the margin by 270 basis points. So can you just help us dissect a bit what is driving the margin and just how sustainable is it going forward?
If we look at Truck and Trailer Equipment, it's, for sure, the drawbar coupling range that is driving the profitability. and the growth -- and of course, we can see good signs when it comes to the order intake and generally, the demand on the OEM side in Europe when it comes to the truck business. And it's overall good cost control and good delivery performance and a stable market going forward. And as Fredrik mentioned, also, I mean, we had -- the comparable figures from last year was kind of tough because we had 2 spot orders to China and U.S., which amounted to SEK 25 million.
Okay. So it sounds like it's good cost control, but also a good mixed effect here if we look just year-over-year.
Correct. Correct.
Great. And just one last question, sorry. On the defense sales here, you say it's growing 60% year-over-year. I mean, is this related to more one-off orders? Or is this basically reflecting the underlying market for your specific niche?
It's definitely an underlying good market, and it's not related to any project orders or one-off things. It's an underlying growth, and we can see that the defense sector is plus double digits now in revenue for the division Truck and Trailer Equipment.
That's very interesting. Is it possible to say more specifically what double-digit could be, as that's quite a big variation there?
It's a little bit more than double digits.
More than double digits.
Yes, it's I mean somewhere between 11%, 12% to be more exact.
There are no more questions at this time. So I hand the conference back to the speakers for any closing comments.
So by that, we thank you very much for the attention, and we wish everyone on the Northern Hemisphere a great summer. Enjoy the summertime, and we will come back in October with our quarter 3 report. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
VBG Group — Q1 2026 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Welcome to VBG Group Q1 Report 2026 presentation. [Operator Instructions]
Now I will hand the conference over to the speakers, CEO, Anders Erken; and CFO, Fredrik Jigneus. Please go ahead.
So very welcome to the presentation of VBG Group Quarter 1 2026. I will make a short summary of quarter 1, the highlights, and Fredrik will give you all the details, and then we will make a short summary in the end on the direction that we are going in.
So if we conclude the quarter 1 highlights, we can say that it was a stable quarter from our side. Revenue increased by 2% and compared to the first quarter 2025 and adjusted for currency and acquired volume, sales increased by 5.3%. I think it's important also that we understand the 3 divisions and our geographic spread and it's confirming and comfortable that all 3 divisions grow organically and also that we grow organically on the 3 main geographic areas, Europe, North America and rest of the world. We will dive in a little bit on the next slide to see our market segmentation split, but it's interesting to note that the the drivers here, that is price adjustments. And one of the most important segments within Mobile Thermal Solutions, the side-by-side segment grew by 24%.
And of course, both defense segment for truck and trailer equipment and Ringfeder Power Transmission had a good quarter when it comes to that. So for truck and trailer equipment, the growth was 24% in quarter 1. And as [ Martin Loans ] that confirmed last week on Friday, we see the same picture when it comes to the truck suppliers in Europe, we see increased volumes here.
When it comes to the result, we managed to maintain our gross margins and the group delivered a solid EBITA margin of 12.7%. And I think Fredrik will come into details, but it's worth mentioning that the currency, SEK 122 million negative effect on the operating result. Order intake was flat compared to quarter 1 [ 2021. ] But currency adjusted, it was plus 8%, and the book-to-bill ratio increased to 111%. And last but not least, our operational cash flow reached SEK 92 million. You can flip to the next one.
And I think this is a nice picture to understand. We are not just a drawbar coupling company from [indiscernible]. We have 3 divisions as we see, and we are working in many industrial verticals. Of course, the [indiscernible] and Truck business is important for truck and trailer equipment -- but as mentioned, the Defense segment is now in double digits. And as you can see on the Mobile Thermal Solutions, it's a 1/3 split of these sites, and we had a positive trend within the side-by-side business. On the contrary, we had a slowdown on the bus side in Mobile Thermal Solutions.
And as mentioned many times, linked to the power transmission works and is present in a lot of industrial segments or verticals and this time, the machine building segment air and space was growing together with energy and process technology. So you can continue with the details, Fredrik.
Thank you, Anders. Okay. The first quarter sales increased by 1.9% and adjusted for currency and acquired sales, the growth rate was 5.3% and FX headwind is about 9% for the group as a whole. EBITA amount to SEK 175 million in the quarter, and our EBITA margin declined from 13.1% in the first quarter of '25 to 12.7% in the first quarter of '26. The strengthened during the quarter compared to the comparison quarter, and we have an impact on the group in all divisions. The FX effect on EBITA was negative SEK 22 million in the quarter. But most likely, we have now seen the peak of the FX effects. During the first quarter, we took a restructuring cost within MPS of SEK 2.1 million. And the operating margin was also affected by increased prices for raw materials, such as copper and aluminum. And we have a lag compared to our price increases.
Operating cash flow was strong and stable and amounted to SEK 92 million before CapEx in the first quarter compared to SEK 28 million in the comparison quarter of '25. Earnings per share amounted to SEK 4.53 compared to SEK 4.58 last year. We will go through the first quarter with some touchdowns on each division. Truck and trailer equipment to start with. Sales for the quarter increased by 3.3% compared to the quarter last year, which amounts to SEK 448 million compared to SEK 433 million. Adjusted for FX and acquired volumes, organic growth amounted to 1.4%. Demand for coupling products has continued to be high with a continued good market in Australia.
Defense segment has grown by 24% in the quarter and like Anders said before, the market for trailer components in Europe developed slightly positively from a low level in the first quarter. EBITA for Truck & Trailer Equipment increased in the first quarter compared to the previous year to SEK 95 million with an EBITA margin of 21.5%. Truck and Trailer Equipment delivers growing revenues with a stable high margin -- EBITA margin.
Going over to Mobile Thermal Solutions. Sales for the quarter decreased by 4.6% compared to the previous year and amounts to SEK 671 million. Adjusted for FX and then acquired volumes, organic growth increased by 5.7%. EBITA for Mobile Thermal Solutions amounted to SEK 58 million with an EBITA margin of 8.7%. The quarter was affected by FX headwind and strengthened against U.S. dollars in CAD, which has an impact on EBITA of almost SEK 14 million, but also increased cost for raw materials primarily copper and aluminum as well as a less favorable product mix.
During the quarter, restructuring costs of SEK 2.1 million were taken to adopt the organization which we expect to strengthen profitability going forward. This has contributed to a lower operating profit, EBITA and the lower operating margin EBITA compared to 2025. Going over to Ringfeder Power Transmission. Sales for the quarter increased by 20.1% compared to the previous year and amounts to SEK 258 million. Newly acquired Malmedie contributes according to plan. Adjusted for FX, organic growth amounted to 12.1%. Sales in the comparison quarter was very low last year.
EBITA for Ringfeder Power Transmission increased to SEK 29 million, and the EBITA margin amounted to 11.2%. During the period, cost of SEK 4.4 million was incorrectly recognized in the wrong period. It was relating to 2025 and was recognized in the Indian subsidiary.
Given recent acquisitions in Europe, the proportion of European sales has increased over the last quarters and now amounts to 39%. And please note, we have an average aftermarket business of 23% in the group. Rolling 12 months is almost in line with the full year 2025, not adjusted for currency. FX plays still a large role, both in sales and EBITA. EBITA was negatively affected by approximately SEK 22 million in FX effect between the quarters.
For the first quarter, the cash flow before CapEx came in higher than comparable year quarter after 2025, we have a net debt position if we adjust for pension liabilities and leasing commitment of SEK 580 million. During 2025, we had lower cash flow from operations due to lower underlying results and higher working capital tied up in accounts receivables, we made 3 acquisitions and started to build our new production facility in Toronto, which explains the change in cash position.
VBG Group has still a strong financial position that can be used to develop the group going forward. ROC amounts to 28.8%. The decrease during 2025 is related to the acquisition of the land and building in Toronto, which increases the balance sheet but has not given a positive EBITA effect or contribution before consolidating the 3 facilities that we have today. But this KPI is also affected by somewhat lower EBITA.
Thank you. And over to you again, Anders.
Thank you. If we look at our sustainability agenda, we partnered for the first time an audited sustainability report in the beginning of April, and we are very much focusing on 3 areas. It's the reduction of CO2 emissions. It's a reduction in waste and reduction of accidents in our factories. So future focus and I might kick in open doors, but looking ahead, I do anticipate continued market volatility and geopolitical tension. But we have an organization that is agile and responsive to changing conditions. Overall, while tariffs remain a challenge, their net impact on our operations is marginal. We have done a tremendous job in offsetting these changes.
The largest impact was the commodity price increases for Mobile Thermal Solutions that Fredrik already mentioned and especially copper and aluminum. And we are committed to offset these cost increases with price adjustments during the first half of 2026. And we have so far reached roughly 75% of the target, and it will be delivered on the rest in quarter 2. We are also positive and we are committed to capitalizing on the strong order book going forward. As mentioned, order intake adjusted for currency during the quarter was plus 8%. And we can also mention that sales and order intake gradually improved during the quarter. And we really can't see any indications of lost business or lost orders or canceled orders because of this geopolitical tension.
We will also continue to finalize our building in Toronto, and we expect to hand that in end of quarter 3, beginning of quarter 4 and fully operational in the first half year of 2027. We also announced this morning that we will consolidate Ringfeder Power Transmission's production facilities in German -- with a Czech facility and build a brand-new building in [indiscernible] Czech Republic. This is part of our strategy to be more efficient to increase capacity and strengthen our long-term competitive edge.
And as Fredrik said, with our financial strength and our decentralized organization, we are prepared what lies ahead. Through our cash-generating divisions, we are committed to complement the acquisitions as well as investing in organic growth. This will lead to continued sustainable profitability.
So by that, we are finished with our presentation, and we are open for questions at this point.
[Operator Instructions]
The next question comes from Gustav Berneblad from Nordea.
2. Question Answer
It's Gustav from Nordea. Maybe -- so I thought maybe if we could start off the MTS margin, which is down 200 basis points year-over-year. Of course, I mean, natural explanations here with raw material, et cetera. But is it possible to quantify how much of these 200 basis points is related to the raw material impact versus the negative mix effect.
I would say that the majority of this is related to the material cost increase. But we have a negative effect also on the product mix. And this is on the bus side, where we see that the ratio of electric school buses is declining, which has an impact both on revenue and the results. But the majority comes from the cost increase on the material side.
That's very clear. And if you -- if we see sort of the full price increases that you have implemented being finalized here in end of Q2, I mean -- is it fair to assume that the MTS margin will sort of gradually raise up to 11%, 12% here in H2? Or anything that speaks against this?
I mean we are committed to have agreements to mitigate these cost increases during quarter 2. But of course, -- you have to look at the order book also what is orders that are committed to a certain price. But definitely during quarter 3, it will be fully implemented. But we should already see signs in quarter 2 about this.
Okay. That's very clear. And if we take the bus side of the business, you comment on it being slightly soft, partially due to EVs. But is it soft across both school buses and transit buses?
No. As commented before, maybe I should make a longer story about this. We saw since, I would say, 2024 that we were losing volume due to Nova pulling out of the U.S. So the transit bus volumes has deteriorated the whole time. Now we can see even in Swedish money we set that we are stabilizing the transit segment now. And even in local money that we are gaining back. Last year, we put a lot of effort in product development in order to come up come out to the market with competitive products, and we see -- we start to see results on the transit side.
On the school bus side, we can see that there is a clear product mix change. And that means that the number of electrified school bus solutions are decreasing the volumes in itself are the same, but we can see a clear change in the ratio of electrified drivelines on school buses. If this is just a quarter at certain accounts, I can't tell you, but we monitor the situation. And it has a clear impact on quarter 1 revenue and the result from MTS.
Let me also comment and we shouldn't discuss the currency too much. But -- the school bus business is a 100% business in the U.S. And of course, that the headwind is much, much greater than 9% in in the bus business for us. Currency has a larger impact.
That's very clear. And then if we jump over to truck and trailer equipment I mean you commented on the semi-trailer market bottoming out here for a couple of quarters. It looks like the couple of business is holding up well. Defense is growing strongly. And I guess you have some general annual price increases. So just wondering if there is anything holding back the organic growth in truck and trailer equipment here in Q1 that could potentially accelerate going forward?
No. I think we see a good positive trend within truck and trailer equipment. And as you saw on the chart, the major impact for us is the truck business. We can see since the end of quarter 4 2025, that volumes are steadily growing within the 7 big truck OEMs in Europe, which is positive. And by history, we see that the volumes at the OEMs really pulled the market conditions for our largest customer base when it comes to to first installation. And that is the body builders who build the gradual truck, the distribution truck or the timber truck or whatever. So it usually starts like a quarter or 2 quarters after the truck OEMs going forward. So no, we see a good trend going forward.
That's very clear. And sorry, just 1 last question here on your announcement this morning of the new facility for Ringfeder Power Transmission. Is there anything you can say regarding either payback calculations or cost savings that you are expecting here?
No, not at the moment, Gustav. But I mean, this is a long-term investment for us. We see the consolidation within the German production unit where we have been working in roughly 1 shift, and now we consolidated to get a more efficient output and we get the state-of-the-art building to build efficiency and productivity for the future. And this is long-term commitment that we want to stay really competitive in these small niches that we are acting.
The next question comes from Johnny Jin from SEB.
Yes. Anders, Fredrik. I also have a couple of questions. I think I will start with organic growth. I mean all divisions show organic growth in the quarter, which is good. But -- can you give an estimation of the split between price and volume contribution in the quarter? I mean, what is a fair assumption of price impact in the quarter?
Thanks for the question, Jonny. Yes, we can see that the price adjustments, they stand for about 25% of the increase and the rest is organic
Okay. Yes, that's clear. And entering Q2, could we expect similar price magnitude? Or will it be even higher in Q2 or...
It will be basically the same impact.
Okay. Then coming to MTS. I mean, I guess the price impact here mainly relates to the MTS side. But I mean, despite higher price contribution in this quarter compared to Q4, it seems like organic growth is somewhat slower compared to Q4 MTS. So what is sort of driving that? And how is your visibility entering Q2 within MTS, would you say?
I would say, and it's connected to Gustav's question as well. Number one, when it comes to product mix, we can see that in the quarter 1, 2026, there is a clear product mix change compared to the previous quarter's 2025. We have a much lower volume of HVAC systems to electrified drivelines within school buses. That is the main product mix change. And as mentioned earlier, we had a multiple of 3 up to 4x for each system delivered when it comes to electrified drivelines. And on top of that, without knowing exactly the details, but we can see that the currency impact, especially in North America with the U.S. dollar in relation to SEC. It was the peak during quarter 1 2026. So that are the 2 main drivers for not increasing the organic growth to the same level as quarter 4, which was roughly 9%, and now we are talking about 5%.
Yes. That's why I understand that. But I think -- I mean, the prior -- the mix impact, I think you had similar reasoning in your Q4. So should we -- I mean, is the mix effect even more elevated now? Or I also want to tie this to your comment about higher price increases. I mean have you seen any response among customers that they have been more hesitant, which affect volumes? Or how should we read that?
No. We can't see it. It comes back to the order intake figures as well. We can't see any cancellations. Of course, there is discussions when you compensate prices in the market. But I mean it's necessary for us to compensate, and I think it's a general trend to see what has happened to copper and aluminum in the last 9 months.
Okay. Yes. Just 1 final from my side. I mean coming back to orders. If you exclude the acquisitions, what was sort of the book-to-bill in the quarter? And also, could you give the split among the divisions? I mean the order organic book-to-bill in trucks at MTS,
Jonny, the book-to-bill ratio was 111% in the quarter for the group. I can't go in detail about it. And what was your second question around?
Organic growth -- order intake.
Order intake. We split the organic and acquired volumes. So the order intake related organically, that was 3.3% and the rest was acquired volume.
Okay. That's clear. And is it fair to assume that orders is above sales in both Truck & Trailer and MTS.
You can answer.
Yes. It's about sales.
There are no more questions at this time. So I hand the conference back to the speakers for any written questions and closing comments.
So thank you very much for all of you participating. We appreciate that you are listening to us and hopefully have a better picture of VBG Group going forward. Thank you very much for your participation.
VBG Group — Q4 2025 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Welcome to the VBG Group Q4 Report 2025 presentation. [Operator Instructions]
Now I will hand the conference over to the speakers, CEO, Anders Erken; and CFO, Fredrik Jigneus. Please go ahead.
Hi, and very welcome to the presentation of the Q4 2025 report from the VBG Group. It's me and Fredrik here, and I will give you an overview, and Fredrik will give you more details during the presentation.
First of all, we will take a quick snapshot and summarize 2025. As you all know, it was sort of a turbulent year and from a geopolitical point of view, from a trade war point of view. And we can say that we have spent a lot of resources and the organization has done a fantastic job when it comes to mitigating the tariffs that was imposed by the U.S. administration.
Overall, we can see -- we can split the year in 2 halves. First of all, the first half we considered to be slower demand and from quarter 3 and also, as you will see in quarter 4, the demand picked up, and we can see it on the revenue side and also on the order intake side.
We ended up by close to SEK 5.4 billion in revenues, which is a revenue decline of 3.3% (sic) [ 3.4% ]. But also, we had a tough currency headwind, about 6%. We are also proud that we achieved 3 really nice acquisition during the first part of the year, and they are also contributing to the overall targets of VBG Group.
We can go to the next. So quarter 4, to summarize the highlights during the quarter. And we can say overall that it's the fifth consecutive quarter that we see revenue growth quarter-to-quarter. We have revenues increased by 2.8% compared to the fourth quarter 2024. And adjusted for currency and acquired volumes, sales increased by almost 5%, 4.6% to be exact.
And as I mentioned, the currency headwind escalated in the end of the year and reached about 10%. But if you just adjust for currency, the group increased revenues by 13%, where the 3 acquisitions from last year contributed with 65% of the growth. And it's also worth mentioning that our geographic footprint continues to develop, and we saw revenue growth in all 3 geographic markets, which we call North America, Europe and Rest of the World.
From the revenue side, it's interesting to see where we had a slowdown in the first half of the year on one of the most important segments, the side-by-side segment for MTS and revenue continued to grow also in quarter 4 and reached an increase of 32%. And also positive things for us that is that the Defense segment within Truck & Trailer Equipment increased with 46% compared to quarter 4 last year or 2024.
And of course, price adjustments or price compensations has added to the growth during the quarter. Another important thing for us that we see a good momentum is the growing order intake. And we can see that order intake in the quarter increased by 7%. And if you just make it currency adjusted, it's 16%, which is a good momentum stepping into the quarter 1, 2026.
We managed to maintain a gross margin of 13.1%, and here is a lot of swings and carousels, as we say in Swedish, but Fredrik will give you all the details. And I can just mention that we are disappointed by the development in the quarter for the division MTS. And the reasoning behind the weak performance from a profitability point of view, that is really 3 things.
That is the raw material. If you look at -- and raw material commodities, I would say copper and aluminum is a major part of the material costs in MTS. And raw material prices for copper has increased by 30% from the beginning of August until the year-end. And it's the same thing with aluminum that has increased by 17% from August to the end of the year. And we are committed to increase prices in the market until this will be finalized in the end of quarter 2.
And of course, as mentioned, the currency had a major effect on the result as well. And last but not least, the customer mix. And when we talk about the customer mix, it's the Specialty segment within Mobile Thermal Solutions that dropped in sales compared to quarter 4 2024. And specialty, that could be mining trucks, that could be also fire trucks and these kind of specialty vehicles that is an important segment for us.
Last but not least, we had a very strong operating cash flow of SEK 270 million in the quarter, and it's the second best quarter from a cash flow point of view for an individual quarter.
By that, I leave the word to Fredrik, please.
Thank you, Anders. In the fourth quarter, sales increased by 2.8% and adjusted for currency and acquired sales, the growth rate was 4.6%. And like Anders mentioned, FX headwind is about 10% for the group. EBITA amounted to SEK 172 million in the quarter, and our EBITA margin declined from 14.3% in the third quarter of '24 to 13.1% in the quarter of '25. The SEK continued to strengthen during the quarter and have an impact on the group in all 3 divisions.
During the fall, we unfortunately discovered errors in the inventory valuation in the Polish company within MTS. The errors mostly affects the historical years '22 to '24, but SEK 13 million affects the fourth quarter of '25. The SEK 13 million refers to the period before September 2025, but was entered into the fourth quarter as part of the correction.
The correction of the error is shown in Note 2 in the quarterly report and all numbers for the comparison year 2024 has been corrected throughout the report. We have taken actions and strengthened the internal control in order to avoid similar errors to go undetected going forward.
During the fourth quarter, we have received another retroactive pandemic support in the U.S. of a total SEK 11 million, which has affected EBITA positively. At the same time, we had some restructuring costs within MTS of SEK 2.8 million. The operating margin was affected by increased prices for raw materials such as copper and aluminum. EBITA was positively affected by a onetime income of SEK 19.6 million relating to the reversal of an additional purchase price or earn-out that will not be paid to the former owners of the company that was acquired.
EBITA was negatively affected by almost SEK 8 million in revaluation of working capital items in the balance sheet as a result of the strengthening of the SEK. In comparison quarter, the corresponding positive impact was almost SEK 8 million. EBITA in the comparison quarter was affected by a capital gain of almost SEK 10 million relating to the sale of a warehouse and distribution property in Denmark. Operating cash flow, as Anders said, was strong and amounted to SEK 270 million in the fourth quarter compared to SEK 294 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.
We will go through the fourth quarter with some touchdown on each division. Truck & Trailer Equipment to start with. Sales in the quarter increased by 10.6% compared to the previous year, amounting to almost SEK 406 million. Adjusted for FX and acquired volumes, organic growth amounted to 5.2%.
The demand for the coupling products was -- continues, still high, and the defense sector has grown by almost 57% in the quarter. The market for trailer components in Europe moves sideways on a low level during the fourth quarter of 2025.
EBITA for Truck & Trailer Equipment has decreased in the fourth quarter compared to the previous year to SEK 80 million, with an EBITA margin of 19.7% compared to 22.5%. But like I said before, EBITA in the comparison quarter was affected by the capital gain of SEK 10 million relating to the sale of the warehouse and distribution property in Denmark.
Mobile Thermal Solutions sales for the quarter increased by 0.6% compared to the previous year, amounting to almost SEK 641 million. Adjusted for FX and acquired volume, the organic growth increased by 9.5%. EBITA for Mobile Thermal Solutions amounted to SEK 41 million, and the EBITA margin decreased from 8.1% to 6.3%. The result in the quarter was negatively affected by the SEK 13 million relating to the cost in the Polish operation that should have been recorded in the previous quarters of 2025.
The quarter was then affected by increased cost for raw materials, primarily copper and aluminum as well for a less favorable customer mix. During the quarter, restructuring cost of almost SEK 3 million was taken, which expect to strengthen profitability going forward. This has contributed to a lower operating profit and a lower operating margin compared to 2024.
Ringfeder Power Transmission sales for the quarter decreased by 2.8% compared to the previous year. Newly acquired Malmedie contributes according to plan. And adjusted for FX, organic growth amounted to minus 7.6%. And then we should remember that the quarter of 2024 was one of the best quarters in Ringfeder Power Transmission's history regarding to sales and profitability.
EBITA for Ringfeder Power Transmission increased to SEK 58 million with an EBITA margin of 21.8%. EBITA was positively affected by -- in the quarter by onetime income, SEK 19.6 million relating to the reversal of the earn-out that will not be paid out.
Ringfeder Power Transmission, excluding Malmedie, is primarily affected by product mix variation between quarters. North America sales amounts to 49%. Sales outside Europe and North America is increasing by 21%. Of course, the acquisition of Italytec in Brazil is a large portion of this growth. We have an aftermarket business in average in the group of 23%.
For 2025, the cash flow came in somewhat lower than comparable year. The cash flow before change in working capital tied up is the main reason for that, but we have also seen high working capital tied up in accounts receivable in the end of the year due to the revenue growth that we have seen in the last 6 months.
After 2025, we have a net debt position if we adjust for pension liabilities and leasing commitments of SEK 573 million. During 2025, we have had lower cash flow from operations due to lower underlying result and somewhat higher working capital tied up in accounts receivables. We have also made 3 acquisitions and started to build our new production facility in Toronto, which explains the change in cash position.
VBG Group has still a strong financial position that can be used to develop the group going forward. ROOC amounts to 29.7%. The decrease during 2025 are relating to the acquisition of land and building in Toronto, which increases the balance sheet, but does not give a positive EBITDA contribution before consolidating the 3 facilities that we have in Toronto.
The acquisition of Italytec, Ledson and Malmedie together with lower EBITDA compared to 2024. This KPI is not a pro forma, which means that Italytec, Ledson and Malmedie does not contribute with full 12 months in this KPI.
Thank you, Fredrik. And we can say that like many other companies listed on the stock exchange, we have the sustainability agenda high up. We will publish our first yearly report within the sustainability area in April this year. And we can also mention that the Board of Directors took a decision to have a Scope 3 target to reduce CO2 emissions by 62% based on -- with 2024 as a base until 2040.
Last but not least, if we talk about future focus and looking ahead, it's clear that we anticipate a continued market volatility. And of course, all the geopolitical tension that we have in the world and that this will continue. We don't see an end to it. But we have a strong, stable organization that is agile and responsive to changing conditions.
And as we mentioned in the Q3 call, of course, these tariffs, it's a challenge, but it's -- the net impact on our operations is marginal. And what we have seen now in quarter 4 that the largest impact was the commodity price increases for MTS. And as we have mentioned many times, it's copper and aluminum.
But we are committed to offset these cost increases with price adjustments during the first half of 2026. It's really still ongoing, but we will see the effects in the latter part of Q2 2026. Importantly, we see we have, as Fredrik mentioned, we have a strong financial position, and we will continue to increase our revenues in the companies. We see good potential in the M&A area.
And of course, we will also capitalize on the organic growth and the momentum we see in the market now, both on the truck side in Europe, but also on machine building, the mining sector and also on the off-road side, especially in the U.S. And as we mentioned with the order intake, we are committed to capitalizing on the strong order book going forward. And we see a strong momentum with 7% adjusted for currency and 16% underlying if you adjust for currency.
And of course, we see opportunities and the need to increase profitability in certain areas, and we will continue to do price adjustments in the market, but also work on the efficiency side. We see positive signs now that we have a better capacity utilization, and we will make efficiency gains during the coming quarters as well.
Last but not least, we have a good plan now to complete the new building in Toronto, where we consolidate 3 units into 1. We will have the keys to the building in quarter 3, and we will see the first good gains from this during the second half of 2027. So we have a lot of good activities going on with a good momentum in the organization.
By that, we are open for question and answers.
[Operator Instructions] The next question comes from Gustav Berneblad from Nordea.
2. Question Answer
Yes. It's Gustav here from Nordea. Just to start off here on your comments on the order intake growth of 16%, then you say it's adjusted for FX. Is it also adjusted for M&A, meaning that we are looking at a 16% organic order intake growth in the quarter? Or what's your take there?
Yes. We want to be very, very clear. The 16% includes the order intake from the acquisitions as well.
That's very clear. Perfect. And...
Yes, but -- but currency adjusted.
That's very clear. And out of the sort of the 330 basis point year-over-year decline in MTS on the margin there, how much was related to the increased raw material costs seen in the quarter? And with the price increases you are implementing now in MTS, will that offset this headwind fully, would you say or...
You're totally correct. The -- I can't say exactly the figure what the commodity prices over the quarter should be, but we have a clear plan to mitigate these cost increases during the first half of 2026. And it's already started. But before we have gone through all the customer base in North America, I believe we are -- we will be finalized during quarter 2.
That's perfect. And then I thought maybe you could help me here because you comment on a weaker customer mix in MTS, right? But you also comment on stronger demand within side-by-side, which should, I guess, contribute to a more positive mix effect also. So I was just wondering if you can elaborate a little bit of the total mix effect here coming in on the margin in MTS?
Yes. For us, we have 3 customer segments within the off-road side. It's the side-by-side segment, it's agriculture and construction and then specialty vehicles. And from a gross margin point of view, the specialty vehicles, low volume, high customization has a higher margin. And during the quarter 4, we have a lower sales that doesn't offset the volume increase that we have in the side-by-side segment.
That's very clear. And the last question, sorry, for me here. When you look at the full year 2025 margin in MTS reaching 10%, we saw here for 2025, do you see this as a difficult margin to reach for full year 2026 when you add in here?
Of course, it's hard to look in the crystal ball, but we are confident that the price [ increases ] will mitigate. We see a strong trend in the order book, but I think you know it better than us, Gustav. I think we will see the peak of the currency headwind in quarter 1. So how these parameters will impact, of course, it's in our genes to increased profitability in this area. We do a lot of activities, but we have to understand that the peak, at least in quarter 1 will be on the currency side.
The next question comes from Jonny Jin from SEB.
I hope you can hear me. I have a couple of questions as well. I think I will start with order intake. And we touched upon that a little bit and orders looks good. But could you please comment how was the order growth in each segment, respectively?
Yes. We can say like this, the highest order intake from a percentage point of view was for RPT. Secondly, it comes to MTS. And third is Truck & Trailer Equipment. And just to make it clear, if you adjust for currency, the order intake increase in quarter 4 is 16%, including the 3 acquisitions in the whole thing.
Okay. Yes, that's clear. And in Ringfeder Power Transmission, I know that you said that we need to look at this on a rolling 12-month basis, but there's stronger orders than in this quarter. When is that set to be delivered in sales?
Generally, for all divisions, we have a visibility of 3 to 4 months. When it comes to Ringfeder Power Transmission, in particular, it is in the same range, 3 to 4 months visibility in this area.
Okay. Yes, that's clear. And on MTS here in your order intake, I know you talked about the price of commodity prices and such, but mix, if you look at the mix in the order intake for MTS, how is that mix looking?
The mix system at the moment is that we have higher order intake in -- on the off-road side and particularly in the side-by-side segment.
Okay. So the mix in Q4 is rather representable for Q1 as well. Maybe it's a fair assumption then.
Absolutely. I fully agree with you.
Okay. Yes, that's fair. And then just one. If you compare the order intake to sales in the quarter, I assume that it sounds that order intake is higher than sales. But what sort of book-to-bill are you entering the new year with?
Jonny, we have a higher order intake than sales in the quarter. That is by far.
Okay. Can you say something how much higher than sales?
I don't have the currency adjusted figure in my head, but somewhere between 8% and 10%.
Okay. Yes, that's clear. That's clear. And then just one final from my side. I mean, given your current visibility, as you said here, I mean -- and now also now we are in February, so what sort of your -- what is the outlook here for 2026, would you say?
Yes. As I mentioned, with the order book and the visibility, we had a good start of the year. We see a good trend in the market, good momentum in the market, both in North America and that we see a good sign, we see the light in the end of the tunnel when it comes to Europe.
So all in all, we feel we have a good momentum. And basically, in -- with our visibility, we don't see any dark clouds in the sky. The only thing which I mentioned before that is the currency at the moment. And I think we will reach a peak when it comes to the strengthening of the krona and especially to the U.S. dollar and the euro during quarter 1.
Okay. That's clear. Sounds promising. I will just squeeze in one final, sorry. But on the MTS, I mean, you mentioned the order intake is looking good and such. But how much is -- how is the inventory levels would you say at your customers now?
I think it's a relevant question. And we saw the first half year of 2025, where there was a clear inventory reduction in -- especially in the side-by-side segment in the distribution landscape. But from quarter 3, I think the inventory levels are maybe a little bit too low, but the general trend we can see now that sales and order intake continues in this area. But that is the only answer I can give at the moment.
[Operator Instructions]
So since...
There are no more phone questions at this time. So I hand the conference back to the speakers for any written questions and closing comments.
I think this was fairly clear because we don't have any more written questions. By that, I thank you very much for your attention and wish you a good nice day. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Bye-bye.
VBG Group — Q3 2025 Earnings Call
1. Management Discussion
Welcome to the VBG Group Q3 Report 2025 presentation. [Operator Instructions] Now I will hand the conference over to the speakers, CEO, Anders Erkén; and CFO, Fredrik Jignéus. Please go ahead.
Very welcome to the quarter 3 presentation of VBG Group. I will try to give you a short summary on quarter 3, and Fredrik will later on give you all the details about the numbers, and I will come back with a few words after his presentation.
So overall, revenue continued to grow, and we have 4 consecutive quarters with growth despite currency rate headwinds. Revenue increased by 7.5% compared to the third quarter of 2024 and adjusted for currency and acquired volumes, sales increased with 6.3%.
And as many exporting companies, of course, we had a negative impact of the currency rate differences of approximately 7.2%. What's important here that is all divisions showed growth within all 3 geographic areas, like North America, Europe and rest of the world.
Interesting is that the most important segment within Mobile Thermal Solutions, what we call the side-by-side segment, increased by 30% in local currency and the school bus segment with 13%.
On top of that, the Defense segment within Truck & Trailer Equipment increased with 35% compared to third quarter of last year. We managed to maintain our gross margin and the group delivered a solid EBITA margin of 12.5%.
The operating result should have been better, and it was burdened by SEK 11 million by warranty cost of onetime character and ramp-up effects within division Mobile Thermal Solutions.
Operational cash flow reached SEK 136 million, which creates a good platform for future growth. And I think one of the most important thing in the quarter that is looking forward, our order intake increased by 10% in the quarter compared to quarter 3 2024, where all 3 divisions contributed positively.
During the quarter, a new sustainability target was decided, which means that we will reduce CO2 emissions within Scope 3 with 62% until 2040 with 2024 as a base year.
And as we have communicated already in the quarter 2 call, on the 1st of July, we acquired the German company, MALMEDIE, one of the worldwide leading manufacturers of specialized mechanical coupling technology for niche industrial segments and applications and especially in port, crane and steel mill segments. That was a short summary. And now Fredrik will give you all the details. Please, Fredrik.
Thank you, Anders. Coming back, the third quarter sales increased by 7.5%. And adjusted for currency and acquired sales, the organic growth rate was 6.3% in the quarter. FX headwind is about 7% still for the group due to the strengthening of the SEK. EBITDA amounted to SEK 171 million in the quarter and in line with last year.
The EBITDA margin declined from 13.5% in the third quarter of '24 to 12.5% in the third quarter of '25. During the third quarter, we received retroactive pandemic support in the U.S. of total SEK 2.6 million that affected EBITDA positively.
And at the same time, we made reservation for advisory costs for SEK 2.8 million relating to the MALMEDIE acquisition. The operating result or the EBITDA should have been better, as Anders said, as it was burdened by SEK 11 million by warranty costs of onetime character and ramp-up effects in division MTS.
Operating cash flow amounted to SEK 136 million in the third quarter compared to SEK 153 million in the third quarter of '24. Higher working capital tied up, especially in accounts receivables is the main reason for that, but also lower underlying result. Earnings per share amounted to SEK 3.87 compared to SEK 4.49 last year.
We'll now go through third quarter with some touchdown on each divisions. Trucking -- we start with Truck & Trailer Equipment. Sales for the quarter increased by 8.6% compared to the previous year and amounted to SEK 370 million compared to SEK 341 million.
Adjusted for FX and acquired sales volumes, organic growth amounted to 4%. Demand for coupling products has continued to be high. Defense segment has grown by 35% in the quarter, and the market for trailer components in Europe moved sideways on a low level during the third quarter.
EBITDA for Truck & Trailer Equipment increased in the third quarter compared to the previous year to SEK 66 million compared to SEK 52 million in the previous year with an EBITDA margin of 17.9%.
The result in the quarter was positively affected by SEK 2.6 million relating to retroactive COVID support in the U.S.
Mobile Thermal Solutions, sales for the third quarter increased by 1.7% compared to previous year and amounted to SEK 718 million, with Italytec contributing with a larger part of the increase. Adjusted for FX and acquired volumes, organic growth increased by 5.8% in the quarter.
EBITDA for Mobile Thermal Solutions amounted to SEK 76 million, and the EBITA margin decreased to 10.6% from 13.6% in 2024. The result in the quarter was negatively affected by SEK 11 million relating to warranty cost of a onetime character and ramp-up effects in North America.
Ringfeder Power Transmission, sales in the quarter increased by 23.7% compared to the previous year and amounted to SEK 280 million. Newly acquired MALMEDIE contributes according to plan. Adjusted for FX, organic growth was 11.4%.
EBITDA for Ringfeder Power Transmission increased to SEK 36 million, and the EBITDA margin amounted to 12.7%. Ringfeder Power Transmission, excluding MALMEDIE, is primarily affected by product mix variation between quarters.
During the third quarter, cost in connection with the acquisition of MALMEDIE affected the P&L with SEK 2.8 million. The acquisition was completed the 1st of July in 2025 and has positively effect on both sales and operating margin.
Given the market development in North America for our products, the proportion of North American sales has decreased over the last 4 quarters but has now started to stabilize and increase and amount to 52%. Sales outside Europe and North America increased by 21% in the quarter.
The acquisition of Italytec in Brazil is the large portion of this growth. For the first 9 months of 2025, the cash flow became -- came in lower than comparable last year. The result is the main reason for that, but also higher working capital tied up, especially in accounts receivables.
After the third quarter, we have a net debt position if we adjust for pension liabilities and leasing commitments of SEK 591 million. During the first 9 months, we have acquired Italytec, Ledson and MALMEDIE, which explains most of the changing cash position.
VBG Group has still a strong financial position that can be used to develop the group going forward. ROOC amounts to 30.1%. The decrease in the last quarters are relating to the acquisition in the land in Toronto and the 3 acquisitions, together with somehow somewhat lower EBITDA compared to '24.
This KPI is not a pro forma, which means that Italytec, Ledson and MALMEDIE contributes only with 8, 6 and 3 out of 12 months in the rolling 12 months EBITDA. Thank you, and over to you, Anders.
Thank you, Fredrik. Just to finalize this, looking ahead, I do anticipate continued market volatility and geopolitical tension, but we have an organization that is agile and responsive to changing conditions.
Overall, while tariffs remain a challenge, their net impact on our operation is marginal. The organization has made a fantastic achievement compensating for cost increases due to tariffs with price adjustments, and we will continue to do so.
Unfortunately, the situation continues to be unpredictable. And as many people say, it ain't over until the fat lady sings. As a good example of the unpredictability that was on the 18th of August when another 407 HS codes were added to the steel and aluminum tariffs.
That is, for us, an administrative burden to really push that forward in the chain. And as you all know, the U.S. administration announced an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods from 1st of November. Let's see what will happen in the end of the week, but this is what we work with every day.
On the other hand, we are committed to capitalizing the strong order book going forward. As I mentioned, order intake increased by 10% during the quarter. And as mentioned in the quarter 2 call, the 3 acquisitions made in the first 6 months will contribute with another SEK 100 million of revenues in quarter 4 to margin levels above group targets.
With our financial strength and decentralized organization, we are really prepared for what lies ahead. Through our cash-generating divisions, we are committed to complementary acquisitions as well as investing in organic growth.
This will lead long term to continued sustainable profitability. Thank you very much for listening. Now we are open for Q&A.
[Operator Instructions] The next question comes from Gustav Berneblad from Nordea.
2. Question Answer
It's Gustav here from Nordea. Maybe just to start off here a bit on a high level to get a bit more sense of the organic growth. Is it possible to just split out the 6% here in terms of how much is price versus how much is volumes or some sort of ballpark figure?
Good Morning, Gustav. Yes, it's -- if you look at the 6.3%, I would say roughly 2%, 2.5% is related to price adjustments and the rest is volume going forward.
That's perfect. And if we go more into the side-by-side, if I heard you correctly, you said it's increasing 30% year-over-year. Is it possible to say how much is organically there? And can you also -- sorry, elaborate a bit more on the market, why it is turning so positively?
Yes. As you remember, Gustav, we had really a slowdown in quarter 3 2024, and it continued in quarter 4 2024. And the reason for that was the destocking operations in the distribution of, I would say, all manufacturers of side-by-side in North American market.
And I mean, we can say it's the U.S. market. It's somewhere between 90% and 95% sold in the U.S. market. This process continued in quarter 1 and the beginning of quarter 2, 2025. And we can see now ramp-up effects or an increased demand.
And it's related to, I would say, 2 things. Of course, the destocking, but also for us that the take rate of HVAC systems in the side-by-side is growing. That is the base for the strong demand in the side-by-side. And of course, if you look on a high level, interest rates have come down in the U.S. now.
And of course, there is a private sector in this as well. And still inflation, even though it has picked up in the U.S., it's still on a marginal level, I would say. That are the main reasons behind the excellent pickup.
That's very clear. Is Italytec also included in this 30%?
No. Italytec is not included in the side-by-side. It's more the Italytec is really related to the Brazilian market, and it's mainly agriculture and construction applications for Italytec.
That's perfect. And then if we turn to the bus side and comment a bit more on that market, it sounds like it's growing 13%, you said here year-over-year. Can you give a little bit more color on this market and also the development or the dynamics between transit bus versus school bus, how those are performing?
So to make it clear, it's the school bus segment that is growing 13% in the quarter compared to the quarter 3 2024. And we can see a continued demand on -- continued growing demand on the school bus side. And it's related to more HVAC and also to still electrification part where we have higher revenues per system.
And as we have mentioned, the transit bus segment for us, we have a slower pace within that based on that we are phasing out from -- with the Nova contracts in the U.S. market. They have moved into Canada. We still have them as a customer. But for us, the transit bus segment is slower compared to the other segments.
That's very clear. And sorry, just the last one here, and then I get back in line. Just regarding Truck & Trailer, I mean, we've commented -- or you commented on the trailer market bottoming out here for quite a while. Now it sounds you are incrementally more positive that it's actually seeing some growth.
If we then turn to the truck part of the business, it sounds like on Fredrik, that you are a bit positive towards that market as well. And of course, you have 3 to 4 months visibility. But can you just comment a bit on where we are in the truck market?
I think it's important to understand the truck market and especially the European market. I mean, we are not into the tractor segment, which is probably 60%, 65% of the volumes in Europe. We are more in the artic trucks. And this is driven mainly by the infrastructure projects.
We have a really good order on hand, a good -- and of course, we have extended our range in the last year. So we sell a higher proportion per system to each truck in this segment, so to say.
And as I mentioned in the summary, we can see a good trend in the defense segment, which has grown by 35% in the quarter compared to last year. And we all know that the order books are really nice going forward in this.
So infrastructure and the military segment is driving the demand in this [indiscernible ]. And of course, as we have mentioned before, the Australian market has been very, very good for us, and we see a good visibility going forward in the Australian market.
The next question comes from Jonny Jin from SEB.
I think I will start with a question on MTS. Good to see back organic growth there. But I mean, a follow-up on the bus segment. I think you mentioned in previous quarter that you had a larger customer that is winding down operation affecting volume negatively.
We touched upon this a little bit. But could you say something how much the drag was in this quarter if we try to pinpoint the underlying growth in MTS operation?
It's hard to say, Jonny. It's probably around SEK 20 million in this quarter, roughly, my guess. I'm not 100% sure, but in that range, I would say.
Okay. That's perfect. And then coming -- given the stronger demand you see now on the contact side-by-side, could we expect a stronger mix and margin as well going forward? Is that a fair assumption?
I would say that it's a similar mix. It shouldn't have an impact on the gross margins with the product mix in this case going into quarter 4. That's my view on the situation at the moment.
Okay. Okay. But I mean, looking at the margins in MTS, it has been a little bit volatile in the last couple of years. So I mean, going forward, what kind of margin can we expect in this segment?
Can we expect that once you fill the utilization and such that we can get back to the sort of 13.5% you did in 2024, coming years? Or what is a fair level, would you say?
I would say, as we have communicated before, Jonny, the -- this division is driven a lot by volumes. So I think it will slowly, slowly come back. And when the margins pick up -- when the volumes pick up, the margins will come with it as well. So it's -- the loss in margin is mainly related to the volume decrease.
Yes. Yes. Okay. So I suppose the 13.5% you did last year is a reasonable level if you can come back to volume growth ahead as well.
Absolutely. This is the interesting thing with going to work or flying around that you have so much opportunity and potential in this company. We will work every day and every week to improve our margins.
Yes, that's clear. And then speaking of volumes and growth in that segment, I mean, you also come from a very high level and then it has been a little bit destocking and now you seem to be back on growth again. So I mean, what sort of normal growth levels ahead I assume in this segment, would you say, your best guess?
I think if you look at the long-term perspective, we think we will grow by somewhere between 4% and 5% compound average growth rate over the next 4 to 5 years. And that's also driven by a higher HVAC proportion in the side-by-side segment. But somewhere between 4% and 5% compound average growth rate.
Yes. Okay. That's clear. Just one final from my side. I mean, coming back to your order outlook comments and the positive order development, which sounds to me is broad driven here, and you sound a little bit upbeat in the near term.
So given that comparables are roughly similar here as well, is it fair to assume that we can expect an acceleration in organic growth ahead? Is that fair to say, what you say?
I think we are positive about the future. And if we look with our visibility 3 to 4 months, we can see that we have -- we will have a growth in quarter 4. That's -- and as we see it in the beginning of October now. It's -- but all of us are experienced, you never know what will happen in December. It's a short month, but October, November looks good.
The next question comes from Lucas Mattsson from Inderes.
If you could provide some color on aftermarket sales performance this quarter and perhaps outline your strategy a bit for driving aftermarket growth going forward?
Can you repeat the question? We lost you in the beginning there.
Yes. Sorry. Can you hear me now good?
Absolutely.
Yes. Great. No, I was wondering if you could provide some color on aftermarket sales performance this quarter and perhaps outline your strategy for driving aftermarket growth going forward?
I mean we had a solid performance when it comes to aftermarket sales, especially in the Truck & Trailer Equipment part, also on the bus business in the U.S. on the MTS side.
And we call the aftermarket business MRO on -- in Ringfeder Power Transmission, and that was solid. We are ranging somewhere between 23% to 25% in aftermarket business.
We see opportunities in certain segments to improve that, and that is mainly availability. And of course, part of the product range to -- but availability is the driving force in the aftermarket sale for us.
Yes. That's very clear. I was also wondering, have you noticed any notable changes in customer sentiment or customer behavior since the end of this quarter, either positive or negative?
No, we haven't seen -- I mean, in the last few weeks, no, we haven't seen any big changes. It's running smooth, I would say, in the start of October.
Yes. Okay. And lastly, you mentioned an ongoing recovery in order bookings. What capacity or supply chain constraints, if any, of course, could limit your ability to sustain growth going forward?
I mean it's -- as you know, it's a supply chain here. And I think we have ramped up our internal capacity at the moment, so we can deliver. But of course, when you ramp up 20%, 25%, 30%, you have issues with some suppliers. And of course, we are working intensively with that.
But with these hockey stick improvements, which is positive, there will be 1 or 2 suppliers, which will not be able to manage, but we don't see that we lose any orders by this.
But -- and I think we will take a few weeks before we are really ramped up in the whole chain. But I don't see it as a main issue at the moment.
[Operator Instructions]
Anders, we have some written questions. We have one question here, if we can elaborate a little bit about the new factory in Canada. I can take a part of that. The new site in Toronto that will consolidate 3 existing production sites in Toronto develops according to plan.
We are now having the foundation ready. We will start raising the building within the coming next 3 months. And the plan is for the production site to be clear and done for us to move in, in the beginning of September in 2026.
And hopefully, during summer 2027, the production will be up and running in the production site. Anders, we have a question regarding the organic growth, how much of the price increases are relating to tariffs?
We spoke about that the price increases and the split are somewhat, 2% to 2.5% and the rest is volumes. It's a little bit hard for us to break down the price increases perhaps just relating to tariffs. But what we have said before, the impact is marginal for VBG Group. I think we are done there.
Then I say thank you very much for attending this presentation. Thank you very much for the questions, and we stop by that. Thank you very much for today.
Thank you.
Financial data from VBG Group
Revenue
Revenue is the sum of all sales generated by a company, e.g. for its products or services.
Revenue (TTM) metric explainedDirect Costs
Direct costs are the costs incurred directly in connection with the manufacture of the product or service.
Gross Profit
Gross Profit indicates how much of the revenue remains in the company after deducting direct production costs. If the percentage share of sales is calculated, this is referred to as the gross margin.
Gross Profit metric explainedSelling and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) include all expenses for marketing and sales as well as the general administration of the company.
Research and Development Expense
Research and development costs (R&D) provide information on how much the company invests in the research and development of its products. The costs are particularly interesting as a percentage of revenue and in comparison to direct competitors.
EBITDA
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The EBITDA margin is calculated as a percentage of sales.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation represents reductions in the value of the company's assets (e.g. due to wear and tear on machinery).
EBIT (Operating Income)
EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) is the company's profit before interest and taxes, also known as the operating income. The EBIT Margin is calculated as a percentage of sales at
.
Net Profit
Net Profit represents the profit or loss after deduction of all costs.
Net Profit metric explainedStocksGuide Premium
| Jun '26 |
+/-
%
|
||
| Revenue | 5,537 5,537 |
5%
5%
100%
|
|
| - Direct Costs | 3,839 3,839 |
7%
7%
69%
|
|
| Gross Profit | 1,698 1,698 |
1%
1%
31%
|
|
| - Selling and Administrative Expenses | 960 960 |
8%
8%
17%
|
|
| - Research and Development Expense | 153 153 |
2%
2%
3%
|
|
| EBITDA | 803 803 |
4%
4%
15%
|
|
| - Depreciation and Amortization | 189 189 |
11%
11%
3%
|
|
| EBIT (Operating Income) EBIT | 615 615 |
8%
8%
11%
|
|
| Net Profit | 410 410 |
7%
7%
7%
|
|
In millions SEK.
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VBG Group Stock News
Company Profile
VBG GROUP AB provides engineering services. It operates through the following segments: VBG Truck Equipment, Edscha Trailer Systems, Mobile Climate Control, and Ringfeder Power Transmission. The VBG Truck Equipment segment is a supplier of systems to customers in the truck industry and includes the brands VBG and Ringfeder for coupling equipment and Onspot for automatic snow chains. The Edscha Trailer Systems segment produces and sells sliding roofs for trailers. The Mobile Climate Control segment operates through its own brand, a supplier of complete climate control systems to commercial motor vehicles, primarily in North America and Europe. The Ringfeder Power Transmission segment is an leader in selected niches within mechanical power transmission, as well as energy and shock absorption. The company was founded by Herman Krefting on January 3, 1951 and is headquartered in Trollhättan, Sweden.
StocksGuide Premium
| Head office | Sweden |
| CEO | Mr. Erken |
| Employees | 2,183 |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Website | www.vbggroup.com |
