BICO (BICO) Q4 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q4 2024 sales were flat year-over-year at SEK 571 million, with organic growth of -0.3%, marking a year of transition and operational improvement.

• Adjusted EBITDA margin in Q4 reached 25%, a 12 percentage point improvement year-over-year.

• Ended 2024 with a strong cash position of SEK 946 million and significant debt reduction via convertible bond buybacks.

• Divestment of Nanoscribe in November 2024, treated as discontinued operations, improved cash flow.

• Strategic focus shifted to lab automation, integrated workflows, and operational excellence.

Financial highlights

• Q4 sales: SEK 571 million, flat year-over-year; full-year sales: SEK 1,946 million, down 3.2% year-over-year.

• Q4 adjusted EBITDA: SEK 142 million (25% margin); reported EBITDA: SEK 122 million.

• Full-year adjusted EBITDA: SEK 197 million (10.1% margin), up from SEK 171 million (8.5%) in 2023.

• Q4 gross margin: 58%, up quarter-over-quarter; full-year gross margin: 52%, up 2.4 percentage points year-over-year.

• Operating cash flow for 2024: SEK 158 million; Q4 operating cash flow: SEK 182 million.

Outlook and guidance

• Focus for 2025 is on executing the BICO 2.0 strategy, emphasizing commercial initiatives and operational excellence.

• Market recovery is gradual, with consumables leading the rebound; cautious CapEx spending and geopolitical uncertainties persist.

• No additional internal restructurings planned for 2025; focus shifting to R&D and growth.

• Confident in ability to refinance convertible bond due in March 2026.

• No dividend proposed for 2024; priority on sustainable profitable growth.