CEO's greetings

Partnera Group's EBIT turned clearly positive
 

Partnera Group’s EBIT improved significantly year on year, amounting to EUR 2.8 (-7.4) million. EBIT was influenced by the positive profit development of Partnera’s holdings and the exclusion of the loss-making KPA Unicon from the Group. During spring 2023, it became evident that there was no realistic chance to continue the operations of our energy solutions subsidiary KPA Unicon, so the company was declared bankrupt. The bankruptcy did not have a negative impact on the financial result for the review period, nor, according to the current estimate, on the financial result for 2023.

For Foamit Group, demand remained good during the first half of the year, and total net sales grew by 2.4% in January–June 2023. Foamit Group’s EBIT was EUR 1.4 (0.2) million, showing a significant year-on-year increase. Demand in the Norwegian and Swedish markets was good, especially due to infrastructure construction projects. In Finland, the slowdown in building construction impaired the development of the company’s order book. General cost increases could be partially passed on to prices, in addition to which Foamit Group implemented numerous efficiency measures to improve profitability. The company’s financial result was burdened by the weakening of the Norwegian and Swedish krona in relation to the euro, which was recorded as imputed exchange rate differences.

The operating environment in 2023 is expected to remain challenging in spite of the rise in the costs levelling off. We expect Foamit Group’s market position to remain good, although the slowdown in building construction continues to cast a shadow over the construction industry. The market outlook is more positively influenced by infrastructure construction, which is not as sensitive to economic cycles as building construction.

The total funds used on KPA Unicon amounted to approximately EUR 25 million. The amount does not include any funds that may be paid to Partnera from the warranty and indemnity insurance, the sellers or the bankruptcy estate. Following KPA Unicon’s bankruptcy, Partnera’s balance sheet decreased significantly in the review period, showing a year-on-year decrease of EUR 83.3 million. Profit and balance sheet impacts increased Partnera’s equity ratio to 53.6% (37.7%).

Our associated company Nordic Option Oy is a venture capital fund investing primarily in growth-stage companies in Northern Finland. Our holding in Nordic Option is approximately 34%. Nordic Option Oy’s investments and loans totalled approximately EUR 17 million at the end of June 2023, with 14 target companies. Divestments of holdings have not taken place during the last two and a half financial years, and in Partnera’s profit outlook for 2023, Nordic Option has been taken into account as having a neutral impact on financial performance.

Dividend income from the Finda Oy holding during the review period was EUR 2.3 (1.0) million, representing a significant year-on-year increase. Over the past five financial years, dividend income to Partnera has totalled EUR 8 million. Partnera owns approximately 3.7% of Finda’s shares directly and approximately 1.8% indirectly through Telebusiness InWest Oy, totalling 5.5%. In Finda Group’s 2022 financial statements, the balance sheet total was EUR 1,087 million and equity was EUR 930 million.

The financial result of our associated company Telebusiness InWest Oy mainly consists of the dividend distributed by Finda Oy. Partnera received significantly more dividend income from Finda Oy than in the comparison period, which had a positive impact on the company’s financial result and thus also on the share of the profit of associated companies. Partnera owns approximately 36% of the shares of Telebusiness InWest Oy.

In June, we published a company release about our work to reorient our strategy and operations. The core idea is to clarify the Group’s mission and to assess both current and future holdings on this basis.

Peter Vapaamies
CEO