CEO's greetings

Excellent results, strong balance sheet and sharpening of strategy return Partnera as a stable dividend payer
 

2024 was an excellent year for Partnera in terms of financials, and the execution of our strategy made strong progress during the year. The sale of our Finda holdings had a positive impact on both profit and balance sheet and, together with the sharpening of our strategy, will enable Partnera to return to being a stable dividend payer. Foamit Group performed well despite the weak overall market conditions and investments in the Norwegian and Finnish plants progressed as planned. 

Partnera's turnover for January-December was EUR 41.4 (50.4) million and profit for the period was EUR 4.7 (-0.6) million. The parent company's profit before accounting transfers and taxes improved significantly from the comparative period to EUR 10.4 (-14.8) million.

The turnover of Foamit Group, the main business of Partnera Group, amounted to EUR 41.4 (43.7) million in January-December. The turnover was positively influenced by a moderate infrastructure construction market and large foam deliveries for the Vihti construction project and other infrastructure construction projects, especially in Sweden. The foam glass business developed well in Finland and especially in Sweden. Demand for packaging glass continued to grow in the Nordic countries and the rest of Europe.

Foamit Group's EBITDA for January-December 2024 was EUR 6.0 (7.6) million. Although EBITDA declined compared to the previous year, EBITDA, which reflects the operating result, was almost at the same level as in the comparison period excluding non-recurring items. Sales prices developed positively in all operating countries.

Foamit Group's order book remained strong and amounted to EUR 18.6 (18.9) million at the end of the period, including supply contracts for major Nordic motorway and highway projects in Sweden, Norway and Finland.

In March 2024, Foamit Group and its owners decided to invest approximately EUR 10 million in the Onsøy production facility in Norway. The investment program will double the foam glass production capacity of the plant and make production almost emission-free. At the end of 2024, it was also decided to invest EUR 2.2 million in Foamit Group's Forssa plant to increase the production capacity of small foam glass fractions. The positive impact on earnings is expected to be significant.

During the year, we clarified Foamit Group's balance sheet structure and secured financing for the implementation of the growth strategy. As a result of the financing arrangement, our shareholding in Foamit increased to 66% from 63%. In the share issue under the financing arrangement, the shareholder loans recognised as debt were converted into Foamit Group's free equity and the cash subscription price for the new shares was also recognised in Foamit Group's free equity reserve. This cleared the Foamit Group's balance sheet and significantly improved its equity ratio.

Partnera aims to develop Foamit Group by investing heavily in foam glass production in Finland, Sweden and Norway and to grow internationally. The investments to be launched in 2024 will support the growth objective. Growth will also be sought through acquisitions to support Foamit's business. 

The sale of our holdings in Finda and Telebusiness InWest was completed in May for EUR 29.1 million. The sale was part of our objective to divest our non-strategic holdings. The impact of the sale on profit before tax and accounting transfers was around EUR 12.1 million for the Partnera parent company and around EUR 7.5 million for the Partnera Group. In particular, the sale of shareholdings had a significant impact on the Group's liquid assets, which amounted to EUR 28.9 (6.7) million at the end of the financial year. In addition, the Group's parent company repaid a financial loan of EUR 6.0 million at the beginning of the year, which further strengthened the balance sheet.

Partnera's 2024 revenue decreased compared to 2023 mainly due to the exit of KPA Unicon from the group, whose business was included in the comparative figures for four months in 2023. KPA Unicon exited the group through bankruptcy in May 2023. We continue to monitor Partnera's rights in relation to the acquisition and bankruptcy of KPA Unicon.

Our portfolio company Nordic Option's result improved from the comparison period and was positive. Successes included divestments in Owatec and 9Solution. New investments included Profilence and CSE Entertainment. As previously announced, Partnera is exploring options to exit the remaining non-strategic holdings in Nordic Option Oy.

In 2025, we will focus on measures to progress towards the Foamit Group's 2028 strategic goals of EUR 100 million turnover and an EBITDA margin of more than 20%. Improving productivity, building additional capacity, expanding the product and raw material portfolio and increasing operations and supply through acquisitions in new markets are possible ways to accelerate growth and achieve our revenue and profit targets. Our mission is to increase shareholder value and build a sustainable future.

Oulu, 13 February 2025

Jussi Lappalainen
Interim CEO