Panostaja Oyj´s Interim Report: November 1, 2016-

Panostaja Oyj              Interim Report               March 2, 2017, 10:00 a.m.

November 1, 2016-January 31, 2017 (3 months) 

• KotiSun continued its strong growth in the review period, with net sales increasing by 53% from the reference period in the previous year. As a new area of business, the company began offering room-specific intelligent heating adjustment systems.
• Grano’s net sales for the review period increased more than 10% from the reference period in the previous year. EBIT dropped to MEUR 0.6 from last year’s MEUR 1.3.
• Net sales increased in six of the eight investment targets. Net sales for the Group as a whole increased by 11.5% and stood at MEUR 45.4 (MEUR 40.7).
• EBIT improved in three of the eight investment targets, but the EBIT of the entire Group declined from MEUR 1.3 to MEUR 0.2.
• Earnings per share (undiluted) were -1.90 cents (0.4 cents). The profit/loss for the review period includes the additional purchase price for the divestment of Flexim Security.

CEO Juha Sarsama:

“KotiSun was once again responsible for the strongest performance in the review period, with an increase in net sales exceeding 50%. Conversely, Takoma and Heatmasters faced the biggest challenges in terms of their bottom line, as their market situation remained poor. The profit/loss for the review period was further encumbered by Megaklinikka’s weak profit development, which was due to the slower-than-expected growth in the customer numbers of the Stockholm clinic. Grano’s net sales met our expectations, but the volume in the review period largely concentrated in the lower profitability product groups. All in all, the profitability development of the investment targets was slightly weaker than expected in the review period.

The development measures in the investment targets continued. KotiSun expanded its operations and began offering intelligent room-specific heat control systems to residents of detached houses. This is a significant project in KotiSun’s strategic transition toward securing more continuous customer relationships. Grano continued to implement its corporate acquisition strategy by purchasing the Vaasa-based Oy Fram Ab. Megaklinikka signed two new agreements for the licensing of its ERP system for oral health care.

The corporate acquisitions market remained active in the period under review, and the availability of new opportunities has been high. The markets still provide opportunities for both new acquisitions and select divestments, and we will continue to actively explore new corporate acquisition opportunities.”

Outlook for the 2017 Financial Period

The corporate acquisitions market has been active in the period under review, and the availability of new opportunities has remained high. The need for SMEs to utilize ownership arrangements and growth opportunities persists and, with the companies’ own active operations supplementing external procurement opportunities, there are still a sufficient number of corporate acquisition opportunities in the markets. Panostaja aims to implement its strategy by means of controlled acquisitions in current investment targets, and new potential targets are also being actively studied. Divestment possibilities will also be assessed actively, and slightly more widely than before, as part of the ownership strategies of the investment targets.

Economic prospects in the fields of the existing investment targets remain divided and partially marred by uncommonly high uncertainty. The demand for the various investment targets is estimated to develop as follows in the short term:

• The demand of KotiSun, Selog and Helakeskus will remain good
• The demand of Grano and KL-Varaosat will remain satisfactory
• The demand of Takoma, Megaklinikka and Heatmasters will remain poor

Press Conference

Panostaja Oyj will arrange a press conference for analysts, investors and representatives of the press at Hotel Scandic Simonkenttä, in Helsinki, address Simonkatu 9 on Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 11:30 a.m.

The Interim Report will be available at the address www.panostaja.fi.

Panostaja Oyj

Board of Directors

For further information, contact CEO Juha Sarsama: tel. +358 (0)40 774 2099