Hello, and welcome to Inderes TV. NYAB published its Q1 earnings result earlier today. And as always, I have Juhana Larsson with me here today, CEO of NYAB. Juhana, welcome.

Thank you.

All right, let's start with the Q1 earnings report. Uh you were facing a quite tough comparison period, but given that backdrop how would you summarise the first quarter?

Yeah, but important steps. I mean the first quarter is not about earnings or revenue, although we improved our margins. But uh positive uh is that uh our order backlog grows uh and uh we we are very selective and we earn the trust of the clients that we focus on and prefer to work with. So All in all, I I'm uh quite happy with the first quarter. Hmm. And then if we look at the first quarter as a whole, it's been quite turbulent given the geopolitical uncertainty that we saw at the end of the quarter. Given that, have you seen any impact on tender activity or project phasing around your customer base? And not really. I would say that first of all like changes in oil price and such most of that is absorbed by our subcontractors and in quite many cases hedged to the end client. But there are of course uncertainties, and if this drags out and if it worsens, it will of course have impact on us as on everybody. And if we then assume that this uncertainty continues, although it seems like we are going in the right direction right now, but if the uncertainty persists, where do you see the largest risk for NYAB? Is it delayed revenue from slower project starts or is it margin pressure from cost inflation and why so? Yeah, well I would say that, you know, in the first quarter quarter we have a margin improvement even. So my view is that it's so hard because it's so hypothetical. Uh right now the best guess is that that we we are moving in the right direction. Uh but if it were since um A lot of things will be affected, that's for sure, and it will certainly be delays in projects and decisions, but then again, since we have a consultancy business quite focused on the Norwegian oil industry, it could long-term even be positive.

Hmm. And you mentioned the order backlog in the beginning, which increased 27 percent year on year. How much of it is long, multi-year work versus shorter contracts? And if I put it differently, how much of 2026 is already secured and how much depends on wins this year?

Uh yeah, you mean for year 2026.

Yes. Now we can start by that.

Yeah, yeah, well I would say that more than half of the current backlog is for 2026.

Mm.

And uh i Given the vast amount, I mean we have phase two projects to a value of seven hundred million Euros when we leave the first quarter. Uh and then we have one uh some projects uh with phase two after the end of the quarter. And uh It's like we are looking at an immense growth if you view it as a whole. I mean our backlog leaving Q1 is 100 million Euros bigger than the comparison period. And we have all of these phase two contracts. And of course a phase two contract is only potential. It's not in our backlog of course because it's not signed. But in NYAB's history we have never not reached the execution phase when

Okay.

we have the phase one, it has never happened as in thirteen years. Uh but uh uh and for natural reasons, when the client chooses their partner for a phase one or w when we choose each other, we already have a confidence for each other. Mm-hmm. And then we start designing, planning, projecting uh the upcoming project. and

Mm.

usually we build trust and move into an execution phase.

Mm.

And and there you have the the revenue we Mm. need.

And now that you're already talking about the phase two awards, uh at Q4 you have flagged for potential signing time line um towards the end of Q2 for the Uppsala tramway and Svenska Kraftnät. Um can you provide An update where we stand on these processes.

Yeah, for Uppsala I would say that it's during the summer that's most likely at this moment. If it's at the end of Q2 or if it's in Q3 uh uh it's uh more or less a coin flip as I I can view it now, but um yeah uh looks good uh so far and and and it's positive when it comes to Svenska Kraftnät. We have an appeal, not against us but environmental. So most likely phase two, best guess now is that that will materialize in Q3.

Okay. Hmm. Mm-hmm. And both are multi-year projects well beyond your historical scale. How are you sort of organising the project management and risk oversight for them, and are there any specific execution areas where you are focused on when it comes to these projects?

Uh well it it's just Uppsala I would say that is like uh a new level for us uh when it comes to size. I mean we have had had like Uxelesund, Hedern, Lunda, Tovatten, Falk that's like a billion and Aurora line that exceeds one billion sec in in contract value.

Hmm.

And and Svartpilen let's say uh that is the Svenska Kraftnät project you're referring to is uh in that region

Hmm.

in size. So

Hmm. And then if we go back to margins in the Q1. So back in the Q4 2025 you said that the expanded work force was m m m more or less fully utilised again. Uh did you see that that hold into Q1 now, uh and how do you see the operating margin developing in twenty twenty six compared to the six point uh two adjusted EBIT margin that you delivered in twenty twenty five?

Yeah, well we are hoping for and aiming for an improvement

Hmm.

uh of the margin.

Hmm.

Uh but then again I mean it's uh it's timing effect and and and things like that.

Hmm.

And uh crucial and key to that is of course that We put so much focus on these phase one

Hmm.

uh projects so that there won't be like uh too many delays uh that they will materialise uh and and such, but uh the outlook for a margin improvement is good.

Hmm. And it's also clear that your shift in the backlog towards bigger projects, does that change the margin profile if you compare to the smaller projects that you have? No, it doesn't per se. Hmm. So you can still achieve the same margins.

Yes.

Yeah, okay. And then after the quarter I think the mid-April early works agreement with SSAB stands out, and the release mentioned parallel talks on later phases of the pump station. Can you say more about what could come next? And also how you view the broader opportunity for NYAB as this obvious 4.5 billion investment investment in Luleå unfolds.

Yeah, well, first of all we have a long history with SSAB, starting almost when NYAB was founded and started. So we know them very well. We do work with them on the Finnish side. We are happy to gain their trust on this pump station and now we are planning and designing the project together. And of course there are other projects aligned and in conjunction with this big investment they do for future green steel production.

Mm-hmm, okay. And also during Q1 you signed a project management contract with Compute Nordic Finland which has a potential construction value of around one hundred million euros. Ro.

Yep.

Could you say anything where that project is standing as of now and also what needs to happen for NYAB to win the construction phase? And this is a data center contract.

Yeah. Yeah well, first of all it it's uh great for us. It's our first real uh data centre project. Uh we hope there will be more to come. It's a growing market. Uh and uh we have the all the capability abilities uh for uh both uh planning and uh designing and uh constructing those.

Hmm.

And uh the project uh itself uh in Meikle is moving forward. We are working together with the client and uh it it we are in the first phase and If we look at NYAB's history, we will reach the execution phase. But

Mm.

uh that's yet to be seen of course.

Mm. I think the press release said that you anticipated that the construction phase would begin in Q1. Is there a small delay? in that uh project. Uh I I don't really have the details on on that project. Okay, okay, but if we take a step back, are data centers a segment where you want to pursue at scale or is this contract with Compute Nordic more of a one-off kind of thing?

Uh no, but but uh uh we are aiming to um as the foundation of NYAB, or as we have uh stated s since the very start that uh w whereas society needs to invest to develop we we want to offer offer our services. Uh and data centres are needed, uh it's a new world. A-I_ requires a lot of capacity. Uh so we We will surely continue uh aiming at data centres, and there are uh that that market is uh really hot at the moment all over the Nordics.

Mm-hmm. And then looking at the rest of the year, which sectors do you see as the main growth drivers for NYAB? And are you noticing any shifts in the competitive landscape for large energy and rail projects in Sweden, as you see it?

Uh yeah, uh The the drivers is of course uh infrastructure and energy as such uh and we already have uh the backlog uh and and we have the contracts. It we have a higher backlog than we ever had, it's at four hundred and seventy two m million Euros. So uh the growth will ble be uh mainly in our uh prioritised niche markets like waterworks, rail, uh high voltage

Mm-hmm.

uh and uh industrial.

Mm. And have you noticed any changes in the competitors?

Nah, no, not really. But what we see is of course that the markets we address are hot. So we can be quite selective and grow. It's more of a timing issue that says how good or bad one quarter could be. NYAB's growth journey is quite clear.

Mm-hmm. Um so Yeah. Alright. Juhana, thank you so much for joining InderesTV, and thank you for watching.

Thank you.