contentSlug

type

ContentSlug_ContentQuery

slug

ContentPageContentQuery

content

trendingContent

query ContentSlug_ContentQuery(
  $contentSlug: String!
  $type: [ContentType!]
) {
  ...ContentPageContentQuery_13QmVO
}

fragment CompanyDetails_Content on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  companies {
    name
    description
    pageUrl
    id
  }
}

fragment ContentBasicInfo on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  id
  type
  title
  lang
  companies {
    viewerIsFollowing
    id
    name
    pageUrl
  }
  tags {
    viewerIsFollowing
    id
    name
    pageUrl
  }
  ...PublishingDetails
  ...Reactions
}

fragment ContentMetadata on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  type
  title
  lang
  pageUrl
  alternatePageUrls: translations {
    __typename
    pageUrl
    lang
  }
  imgUrl
  description
  ... on Video {
    liveTime
    videoUrl
  }
  ... on Webcast {
    liveTime
    videoUrl
  }
}

fragment ContentPageContentQuery_13QmVO on Query {
  content(slug: $contentSlug, type: $type) {
    __typename
    id
    type
    title
    isPremium
    lang
    htmlBody
    summary
    companies {
      forum {
        latestPosts {
          ...ForumPosts
        }
      }
      name
      id
      viewerIsFollowing
      pageUrl
      defaultInstrument {
        isin
        id
        marketOpen
        marketClose
        marketplace {
          region
        }
        returns {
          total
        }
      }
    }
    tags {
      viewerIsFollowing
      id
      name
      pageUrl
    }
    createdAt
    ... on Video {
      liveTime
    }
    ... on Webcast {
      liveTime
    }
    slug
    ... on CompanyReport {
      reportUrl
    }
    ... on ThirdPartyCompanyReport {
      reportUrl
    }
    ... on StockExchangeRelease {
      reportUrl
    }
    ...ContentBasicInfo
    ...ContentMetadata
    ...PriceAndRecommendation_Content
    ...CompanyDetails_Content
    ...ReportLink_Content
    ...KeyFigures_Content
  }
  ...TrendingContent_1jQ2Cn
}

fragment ForumPosts on ForumPost {
  text
  likesCount
  url
  author
  postedAt
  authorImgUrl
}

fragment KeyFigures_Content on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  companies {
    defaultInstrument {
      estimateData {
        modelType
        reportingCurrency
      }
      snapshot {
        transaction {
          date
          actualized {
            year
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            revenue
            revenueGrowth
            ebitAdjusted
            ebitReported
            ebitda
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            dividend
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            sharePrice
            nav
            navPerShare
            opexOfNav
            quarterlySharePrice
          }
          estimates {
            year
            quarter
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            ebitAdjusted
            ebitReported
            ebitda
            enterpriseValue
            epsAdjusted
            dividend
            dividendYield
            sharePrice
            nav
            navPerShare
            opexOfNav
            quarterlySharePrice
          }
        }
      }
      id
    }
    id
  }
}

fragment PriceAndRecommendation_Content on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdAt
  companies {
    name
    pageUrl
    defaultInstrument {
      priceData {
        tradeCurrency
      }
      snapshot {
        priceData {
          date
          lastPrice
          tradeCurrency
        }
        transaction {
          date
          recommendation
          targetPrice
        }
        prevTransaction {
          recommendation
        }
      }
      id
    }
    id
  }
}

fragment PublishingDetails on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdAt
  publishers {
    name
    imgUrl
  }
  authors {
    __typename
    id
    name
    slug
    imgUrl
    jobTitle
  }
  ... on Video {
    liveTime
  }
  ... on Webcast {
    liveTime
  }
}

fragment Reactions on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  id
  reactionGroups {
    reactionType
    reactionsCount
    viewerReacted
  }
}

fragment ReportLink_Content on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  type
  isPremium
  ... on CompanyReport {
    reportUrl
  }
  ... on ThirdPartyCompanyReport {
    reportUrl
  }
  ... on StockExchangeRelease {
    reportUrl
  }
}

fragment TrendingContent_1jQ2Cn on Query {
  trendingContent(type: ARTICLE) {
    __typename
    id
    title
    lang
    pageUrl
    createdAt
    type
    imgUrl
    companies {
      squareLogoUrl
      name
      id
    }
    authors {
      __typename
      imgUrl
      id
    }
    publishers {
      imgUrl
    }
  }
}


relais-acquires-spare-parts-and-equipment-distributor-adita

__typename

title

isPremium

lang

htmlBody

summary

companies

createdAt

publishers

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Co. Head of Research

Petri Gostowski

Relais Group is an importer and wholesaler for the automotive industry. The group focuses mainly on the development of automotive electronic equipment for trucks. Examples of products that the company supplies include lighting products, applications for warning lights, camera systems, and other spare parts for heavy vehicles. The largest operations are found in the Nordic and Baltic markets, with customers in the aftermarket industry.

My current thesis is that investors are currently placing a bit too much weight on the figures of a single quarter. As has been noted, weather and extreme cold have a significant impact on Relais. Q4 was warm; the severe frosts essentially began at the turn of the year and lasted for a long time. I assume these will be clearly reflected in the Q1 figures, at which point the sentiment may shift again, leading to too much weight potentially being given to the strong Q1 results. These weather variations have no significance for the long-term story, but investors seem to sometimes overemphasize short-term fluctuations, which is reflected in the share price movements. Time will tell how right I am with this view.

Good pushback! Responding quickly during my lunch break. I agree regarding the return on capital metrics; they are drifting in the wrong direction! These are the kinds of blemishes of an early-stage serial acquirer that a long-term investor has to look past  In my opinion, the weak returns on capital are largely explained by the brisk pace of acquisitions so far. In these cases, capital employed shows up immediately on the balance sheet, but the impact on the earnings/cash flow side is reflected with a lag! For example, in 2025, a massive €116 million in revenue was acquired. For comparison, the 2024 revenue was approx. €322 million.  Indebtedness is admittedly somewhat high, but in the inherently very defensive commercial vehicle aftermarket, one can sustain more leverage than in a typical business. Relais didn’t blow up during the 22-23 interest rate shock like many others did  There aren’t many sensible arguments against the criticism of dividends and the hybrid [bond]  The hybrid itself was quite a sensible option for financing that large Norwegian acquisition (Team Verksted), if the alternative would have been a share issue or calling off the deal. Generally speaking, however, it has been very questionable to distribute massive dividends over the years—from memory, cumulatively nearly €40 million between 2020–2025!  Even if they say they only distribute a small dividend, only 30% of EPS or something like that, the impact accumulates over the years. Underneath all this “clutter,” however, I believe there is a very good serial acquirer engine that buys decent defensive businesses at 6-8x EBITA, which translates into a quite nice double-digit return. I hope the new strategy, to be published before summer, will have a particular focus on return on capital and efficiency. Relais now has quite good platforms across the Nordics to develop and can make slightly smaller acquisitions here and there as suitable opportunities arise. Let’s say that on a 2-3+ year horizon, the return on capital and efficiency metrics should be in much better shape. Perhaps at the same time, indebtedness could be made a bit more moderate and the dividend could be cut. The investment case is interesting because the company might attract broader interest once the aforementioned metrics are comparable to peers and growth can continue to be generated by reinvesting cash flows  EDIT: I want to emphasize that returns on capital were already trending clearly upwards in 2024, for example, but the massive acquisitions in 2025 caused a setback. A massive amount of capital was tied up, but the earnings/cash flow will follow with a lag.

I have also been keeping an eye on Relais for a few years, but every time I look closer, I decide to leave the ownership to others for now. Relais’s return on invested capital doesn’t seem to be edging upwards. For a fast-growing serial acquirer, it might be lower at first, sure, but I would expect it to improve by this stage. Instead, in 2025, it dropped back to 10.5%. In addition, the company’s capital efficiency declined as working capital swelled much faster than revenue. This is supposedly partly explained by acquisitions, but still. Return on net working capital, a profitability metric favored by the Swedes, was below 45% in 2025, which is considered the benchmark for quality in Sweden.  I think I also challenged the previous CEO regarding profitability in the ROAST.                   Inderes              ROAST Relais 16.5.2025 - Inderes    Aika: 16.05.2025 klo 14.00 Kieli: fi Relaisin toimitusjohtaja Arni Ekholm saapuu Pulkkisen vieraaksi ROASTiin.                             The company also has a significant amount of debt. I’m wary of hybrids, as well as dividends. And especially when the company is simultaneously utilizing an expensive hybrid loan AND paying dividends.  The new CEO writes in the annual report that  “With a broader field of operation and increased scale, we see clear opportunities to further improve our efficiency and profitability across the portfolio… In 2026, we will also focus strongly on operational excellence throughout the group, which will increase efficiency and profitability as well as accelerate organic growth.”  which suggests that they are trying to adjust profitability to a more respectable level, which from my perspective is exactly the right move. Growing revenue can be nice, but it’s no joy for shareholders if it isn’t very profitable.

I returned as a shareholder yesterday when the share price dipped. I’ve been reading through reports and thinking that this start will certainly be a good one for the full year. As Aarni noted in 2024, a good start to the year usually carries the company through a good spring/summer as well. Essentially, due to the weather, so-called extra forced repairs are done in January-February, and then maintenance is carried out at a better time when mechanics are available again in the spring. The company now has a significant number of workshops in Norway and Sweden, where the winter was, as I understand it, the coldest since 2010. In the short term, the strengthening Norwegian and Swedish krona also provides support. Further reports: Nordea, fair value 17.3 - 21.1e https://research.nordea.com/api/reportfileapi?id=64ab6b82-6f70-426e-b9bf-aa5e20680b91 Redeye, Fair value 12 - 37e. https://www.redeye.se/api/articles/download-file/62eb798e-6a19-3d0e-8090-47f35af063e1/Relais%20(Q4%20review)%3A%20Stable%20performance%20despite%20challenges Carnegie, fair value 15.9 - 19.4e.                   access.dnbcarnegie.com              DNB Carnegie Access:

Here is the group structure from page 103 as a reminder for myself and others. Luckily, there is no entrance exam for shareholders.

There were a couple of months of real freezing temperatures during Q1, which is about 2 months more than in the comparison period. Freezing weather is famously the spare parts dealer’s best salesman.

Annual report published today. Over 200 pages of evening reading right there:            relais.fi              Relais-Group-Oyj-Vuosikertomus-2025.pdf    6.03 MB                            Relais seems to have dropped quite a bit again due to general sentiment. Personally, I can’t see how recent events would have a significantly negative impact on Relais’ business. I’m starting to see a good buying opportunity here again, as I’m expecting a very strong Q1 report.

Relais Group

Adita is a distributor of spare parts and equipment for cars and marine use in the greater Helsinki region. In 2022 its net sales were EUR 5.6 million and thus the acquisition is relatively small in the scale of Relais. The purchase price of the acquisition was not published.

Translation: Original comment published in Finnish on 3/29/2023 at 6:19 am. Adita is a distributor of spare parts and equipment for cars and marine use in the greater Helsinki region. In 2022 its net sales were EUR 5.6 million and thus the acquisition is relatively small in the scale of Relais. The purchase price of the acquisition was not published. The arrangement is based on the retirement of the main owner Adita is a long-term partner of Relais and, to our understanding has acted as a reseller of Relais’ Group companies in the Helsinki region. Thus, as the owner of Adita is approaching retirement, Relais wants to ensure that the sales channel is preserved in the short term with the acquisition. In the long term, it has potential for sales synergies, but we assume that the main motive for the arrangement is to ensure the continuity of operations. Since Adita has to a certain extent sold Relais’ Group companies’ products, the impact of the acquisition on Relais' net sales is smaller than the figures of independent Adita. Adita’s profitability has been low in the last four financial years (2018-2021 EBIT % -2.4 to 3.0%), so the impact at earnings level is marginal in Relais’ size class.

	2022	23e	24e
Revenue	260.7	268.3	279.1
growth-%	9.6 %	2.9 %	4.0 %
EBIT (adj.)	23.0	26.6	29.7
EBIT-% (adj.)	8.8 %	9.9 %	10.7 %
EPS (adj.)	0.80	0.94	1.03
Dividend	0.40	0.42	0.44
Dividend %	3.9 %	2.7 %	2.8 %
P/E (adj.)	12.7	16.5	15.1
EV/EBITDA	9.0	10.0	9.1

Relais acquires spare parts and equipment distributor Adita

Key Estimate Figures2023-03-02

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