Page 6 - Mellby Gård Yearbook 2018–2019

A MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
ANOTHER STRONG YEAR DESPITE SEVERAL CHALLENGING EXTERNAL FACTORS
Overall, I am satisfied with our most recent financial year. Most of our companies developed strongly and in line with expectations. In terms of earnings, however, we did not quite reach the same level as in the preceding year when earnings were also affected positively by capital gains. This year adjusted operating profit (EBITDA) was SEK 1,005 million (1,141).
During the second half of our financial year, that is, the first half of 2019, we have seen several positive signals. These include Smarteyes having delivered beyond our expectations, Feralco successfully implementing price increases and entering into new contracts, as well as Roxtec showing good growth after struggling for a few years to maintain its level of sales.
The reorganization within the Swedish Public Employment Service, which has had a negative impact on AcadeMedia, could be positive for StudentConsulting. The reorganization entails the Swedish Public Employment Service being more of a supervisory authority and outsourcing assignments to private players, a development from which StudentConsulting is well-positioned to benefit.
Over the year, a number of external factors have posed challenges for some of our holdings. Higher costs for raw materials have affected some companies, mainly Duni and Feralco. More long-term adjustments are taking place in the Swedish agricultural market and in retail.
In the agricultural market, the change is dramatic, and Söderberg & Haak has changed its strategy. During the year, the company allocated considerable resources to its realignment and has already divested or closed some facilities.
The trend in retail is challenging and interesting, although this is not solely a matter of online or offline. It is a complex issue, encompassing everything from the weather to how consumers distribute their funds between experiences and consumption. In our view, there may be a pent-up need and, with wise investments in brands, combined with reinforced initiatives in omni-channel strategies, it will be possible to emerge from this strengthened when the tide turns.
Aros Kapital is an exciting company that has had a good year and
is growing with good profitability. Aros is a credit market company focusing on lending and factoring. The larger banks are showing limited interest in small and medium-sized loans and we are gradually gaining market share in this segment. We are now considering broadening these operations with additional product areas and new geographical markets.
The long-term view is fundamental for us at Mellby Gård. The external community should be able to trust that we do not seek to exit our companies but aim to always continue developing them. The markets are constantly shifting, however, and the industrial logic with them. Naturally, we must be prepared for this, which is why we implemented the transaction in parking solutions in the preceding year, merging two companies to form Flowbird.
Towards the end of the financial year, we implemented a similar transaction when Chevalier merged with Open Air Group, also operating in hunting wear and owned by investment company Nalka within the IKEA Group. This transaction makes Mellby Gård the second-largest shareholder in the new Open Air Group. Here, the synergies primarily involve further broadened marketing and distribution, as well as an increased focus on e-commerce.
We have also invested in building the interesting Perituskliniken alongside Mats Paulsson and Göran Grosskopf from Peab and Antonia Ax:son Johnson and Göran Ennerfelt from the Axel Johnson sphere. We each hold three equal parts and have begun building up the operations at Medicon Village in Lund.
Perituskliniken will primarily deliver high-quality surgery and treatment of prostate cancer and, in the longer term, also establish the conditions needed to treat other forms of cancer. Our foremost
6 | MELLBY GÅRD – YEARBOOK 2018 / 2019