Lindex Group: Corporate restructuring completed

Translation: Original published in Finnish on 8/15/2025 at 9:22 am EEST.

Lindex announced today that the corporate restructuring program that began in April 2020 has ended. The company announced in June that it had settled the last disputed debt, and thus the completion of the restructuring had only been awaiting a technical formality, which has now been obtained. We believe that the completion of the restructuring enables the disclosure of the outcome of the strategic assessment of the department store operations, which the company has promised to do later this year. The completion of the restructuring also enables dividend payment and financing restructuring. The company did not comment on these matters in its release today.

The end of the restructuring should enable the announcement of the sale of department stores in the near future

The company announced back in late 2023 that it would launch a strategic assessment of its department store business, the Stockmann division. In practice, we believe the review means that the process of selling department stores is in progress. The schedule was extended around Christmas 2024 from the end of last year to the end of H1'25. In June, the company commented for the first time that the prolongation of the restructuring process has also affected the strategic assessment and simultaneously announced that the results of the assessment will be communicated towards the end of this year. Now that the restructuring has finally ended, the company can, in our view, also announce the sale of department stores. Of course, it is not certain whether a buyer has already been found for the Stockmann department stores or whether negotiations are still required to complete the deal. In our view, the divestment of the department store business would likely have a positive impact on the stock.

Dividend distribution and financing restructuring are also enabled

The completion of the restructuring process also enables dividend distribution, and we have assumed the company will distribute a small dividend next spring (i.e., for the year 2025). Likewise, financial restructuring is now easier, which the company will need to undertake at the latest in early 2026, as its bond issued during the restructuring period matures in summer 2026. The company is, however, net debt-free and it already has an unused financing limit of 40 MEUR, so there are no significant financing needs at the moment. The company can also improve its financial position through the sale and leaseback of Lindex's new distribution center, which we believe could also happen next year once the distribution center's ramp-up is complete.