Investor B Aktie

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome here to us at Investor. Both of you all here in the room and also our friends on the web. It's great to see all of you here. My name is Magnus Dalhammar, and I'm Head of Investor Relations here at Investor, and I have the pleasure of guiding you through this afternoon. We start with some safety rules, safety always first, right? [Operator Instructions]

We have an interesting agenda ahead of us, hopefully, and just let me go through it just briefly. So we will start with some investor strategy. Moving on to a financial update. Then we will go through our different business areas, starting with listed companies, investments in EQT and then Patricia Industries. Then we will have a Q&A session where all of you will be able to ask questions, of course, and also everyone joining us on the web. And if you like, please feel free to start logging your web questions already now.

The second part of this afternoon, we will spend focusing on a number of the Patricia Industries subsidiaries. We have all our 4 U.S. subsidiaries here with us today. We'll start out with Sarnova, Permobil and Laborie and then end with Nova Biomedical before moving closer to home again with Mölnlycke and then we will wrap this session up. And afterwards, we will have an informal reception at the other room, just close to this one. But I think that's all I'm going to say right now. We're all waiting for Christian to start talking about our strategy. So I'll leave the word to you, Christian.

Thanks, Magnus. Hi, everyone. Warm warm welcome. Great to see so many of you here and of course, on the web as well. I, for one, look forward to this afternoon, and I really ask you and urge you to ask questions, take the opportunity to interact. So we get it as fun and rewarding as possible. So to kick us off, I thought I would say a few words about who we are, our strategy and our priorities going forward. A quick recap of who we are. Our purpose is to create value for people and society by building strong and sustainable businesses. That's our North Star and that guides us in everything we do. We're long-term engaged owners of high-quality companies.

Now none of our companies are competing with each other. And so we can and we should always focus on what's best for each individual company. While we should always be long term in our vision and our strategy, we must also be relentlessly impatient for results here and now because at the end of the day, the long term will consist of several short runs. And finally, our model is based on working with great trusted people here at investor, in the Boards and in the companies. We have 3 business areas, each with its own leadership and its own distinct priorities, as you will hear more about during this afternoon.

The companies here at the lower end of the slide is really the engine and the heart of what we are. We have a portfolio of companies with strong market positions in attractive markets with lots of opportunities for profitable growth. These companies constant strive to make things a little bit better for their customers is ultimately what drives value creation also for us at investor. As our companies go as goes investor, as we often say. Our strategy is pretty straightforward. We have our ultimate target, which is, of course, to create total shareholder return for you, our shareholders.

To achieve this, we strive to do 3 things: grow net asset value, pay a steady rising dividend and operate efficiently and sustainably. Now Jenny will elaborate more on these objectives as such in a short while. So I'll now focus on our 3 Ps: performance, portfolio and people. These 3 Ps are meant to capture what we believe we need to get right in order to continue delivering on our strategy even in the future. Let me start then with performance. Simply put, this is about performing here and now with profitable growth while making sure we reinvest appropriately so as to make sure that we future-proof our businesses.

Profitable growth remains the #1 value driver over time. Organically, of course, but we also see good potential from continued add-on acquisitions as a way to accelerate growth by adding new customers, new technologies, new products and bringing along new people and teams as well. Focus on operating efficiency is always crucial, of course, to stay competitive and no less so in the current macro environment we're in. As long-term owners then, we must also invest appropriately as mentioned, to ensure that we remain competitive over time. This is what we refer to as future-proofing. And I'll come back to that a little bit later in my presentation.

Now with the portfolio of 24 companies and many more businesses under these companies, there will be companies or part of companies that are not performing to their full potential. As engaged owners, it's our responsibility together with the Board and the management teams, of course, to decisively address these situations. We basically need to do 3 things. We need to agree what the problem is. We need to agree on a plan to fix it. And we have to ask ourselves honestly and transparently. Actually, we have the right people around the table to fix this. Once we do that, we must go at it. Switching to portfolio then.

Portfolio in essence, is about ensuring that we're exposed to attractive industries in parts of the value chain, where it's possible to make good money and grow profitably and that we are in that niche or in that industry with companies that have a long-term right to win. A lot of this work is, of course, done in each of the portfolio companies as they move into new opportunities, but also out of things that are less fit to their strategy. In addition, we, at investor shall, of course, do the same thing. And here, our cash flow and our strong balance sheet gives us the opportunity to invest even more than we have done historically. This, of course, is a great opportunity and a lot of work and discipline required.

Pruning of the portfolio is an important element over time. While exit is never part of our strategy, we have a responsibility, of course, to act if or when a company or a part of a company would be better off in some other context. Again, a lot of this work happens in each of the respective companies with, for example, ABB and Wartsila as 2 recent and good examples of how they focus the portfolio. Let me in this context -- Well, finally, financial flexibility. This is key for us to be able to sort of fully live our vision of being an engaged and supportive owner of our companies. And in that context, I'd like to just double click on our capital allocation priorities.

Our top priority has always been and must always be to invest and build the companies we have in the portfolio. This includes, for example, supporting add-on acquisitions, strengthening balance sheet, buying more shares in listed companies or whatnot. I want to emphasize and stress this point because we always need to put our existing companies first. If we don't, there is no smart or good investment that can save us and compensate for not doing the best of what we have.

Second, we're committed to paying a steadily rising dividend, as you know. And thirdly, and still a high priority, we have an ambition to add new companies and new platform companies over time. We have a solid framework and process for looking at new platform companies, and we remain appropriately picky. Importantly, if you think about the 3 business areas, we remain open for investments across all 3 of them, just as we have done historically. That means we don't earmark capital for one or the other business area, but really want all the opportunities to surface and then try to pick the best ones.

Now on to the third P, people. At the end of the day, none of what we aspire to do will be possible without great people to actually make it happen at the Investor, in the boards and in the companies. We strongly believe in the power of empowered teams and individuals with a clear responsibility and a clear mandate. Simply put, it's about having the right people in the right place. We will look for competence and experience, of course, as we do this, but also we must never compromise on values and integrity.

And finally, we shall embrace new technologies to work more efficiently, to create better outcomes, of course. And I see this in 2 ways. It's key for us as individuals and as a team but it's also a way to see and learn firsthand what can actually be done with new technology. Just briefly on the 3 Ps. I mentioned the importance of future proofing of the companies a couple of times already. This ultimately means investing so as to ensure that if we stand here in 5, 10 or 20 years' time, the outlook and the prospects for continued profitable growth are at least as bright as they are today.

Otherwise, we've done our job poorly. This obviously means different things to different companies, but there are for sure a number of themes that we see running across the portfolio. And I'd like to touch upon some of those today, namely innovation, AI, sustainability, China competition and again, people. What characterizes winning companies is often a healthy obsession. We're constantly trying to make things a little bit better for customers through innovation. Most of our companies have a leading market position today, and they have their thanks in part to superior products and solutions. And with a market-leading position also comes to responsibility, we think, to leading future innovation.

We expect and we support our companies to invest in R&D throughout the cycle also in tough times. A lot of innovation can and should come, of course, from within, including from this R&D work. But no matter how good we are at it and how much we invest. Of course, a lot of relevant innovation will come from outside this group. Therefore, we must remain open for bringing on external innovation as well, be that through partnerships, JV, acquisitions or whatnot.

Now AI is arguably the biggest technology shift we've seen since electrification. We see opportunities across the portfolio and across the whole value chain of almost each company. In R&D, in production, in go-to-market and ultimately, of course, in leveraging AI to enhance the products and the solutions of our companies. As engaged owners, ensuring there is enough attention and enough ambition in this area may actually be 1 of the most critical things we need to get right in the coming years.

Our role is to make sure the boards and the management teams have the right attention, the right ambition again and structure plan and importantly, the right people in place to actually make it happen. Technology is not so much the bottleneck. In addition, with 24 noncompeting companies, we want to make sure that there is enough learning and cross-pollination happening between the companies. To that end, we regularly gather the companies to, let's say, push and to share. We had a CIO and CDO gathering earlier this week as an example. We see some good progress. We see several companies moving from kind of let all flowers bloom experimentation phase into betting and scaling a select number of initiatives and use cases where they see more potential. And so this is good, and our message continues to be more and faster.

Used well, AI is for sure, productivity and a growth lever, but there is a caveat to this as well. If not levered appropriately, it will quickly turn into a threat instead. So we need to get this right. Sustainability is an integrated part of our long-term strategy and value creation. It's not a separate agenda item. This is clearly an area that's been a bit, let's say, debated more recently. For us, it's pretty simple. It's the right thing to do, and it's good business already today. So there's really not a big trade-off to be made.

You take Ericsson and Atlas Copco as an example, every new generation of radio base stations or compressors will have better energy efficiency as 1 feature. Now that creates value and savings for the customer, and so there is something to be shared there. However, I should also say in this context that not all progress of this sorter is mentioned, will always be reflected in the measured Scope 3 as defined. Therefore, we need to track not just absolute levels but also track and incentivize energy intensity, energy efficiency and other relative measures as well in the companies. As we all know, the world is highly competitive. This is a global phenomenon, of course. But 1 thing that stands out is that China has becoming increasingly competitive in recent years. In a growing number of industries in niches, we see Chinese company leading not only on cost efficiency, but also on innovations. Impressive speed of innovation and actually, I must say, high quality in the products as well compared only to a couple of years ago.

Increasingly, therefore, China is where we, our companies find their most -- their toughest competitors and their most demanding customers. Many of the companies have a deep, long-standing presence in China, and we believe that being on the ground with everything from R&D to sales to production will only become more important in the future. I now come back to people and the importance of having the right person in the right place. And to make this a bit more tangible, I'd like to invite Jessica Haggstrom and Lovisa Cavalli to join me on stage. Jessica heads up human resources here at Investor and plays a key part in maintaining and building our network of people. And Lovisa is representative of the sixth generation of Wallenberg.

And I'd like to say in this context that Investor is blessed with having more than 760,000 shareholders and an anchor shareholder committed credible and actually represented in flesh and blood as well. So of course, for us, successful generation of transition is important. So yes, Jessica Haggstrom, the floor is yours.

So performance, portfolio and people are the cornerstones of investor strategy that Christian have talked about. So what is this people dimension all about? Well, to us, it's about engaging people fit for purpose. And what does that mean? Well, it means to us ensuring the right leadership, it means sustaining high business integrity, and it means embracing new technology that's vital. And our engaged ownership model is based on this principle of ensuring that we have the right people.

And with that, we mean the right competencies, skill sets, perspectives mindset, both here at investor on the boards and in the companies. people is, of course, also a vital part of value creation. So hence, it's a key element of the value creation plans that we have in place for each of the portfolio companies. And there, we drive proactive initiatives, like, of course, board composition, ensuring the right mix of people on the board's perspectives, experiences and future-oriented skills. It means the right leadership and the capabilities required to deliver results here and now, but of course, also build for the future. And it means building strong succession pipelines for critical roles.

So how do we then work to try to turn this ambition and aspiration into action? Well, let's start with our belief that we think our success in the past and going forward, heavily depends on the people that we can attract and work with over time. So that's why we spend a lot of focus, time and structure into this work. So for instance, of course, we deepen the relationships we have with people that we work with. And at the same time, build and extend our networks and get to know new people with maybe new skills, new perspectives and new ideas. And 1 thing that we are very proud of that we think is unique to us is the breadth of people across our 24 portfolio companies in the boards and of course, in the companies. And we try to leverage that in different ways as these companies do not compete with each other.

So 1 way that we try to leverage this is that we have built over the years, we have built networks where people meet across the companies. Christian touched upon that as well. So for instance, we have a network for the CHROs, Jenny leads a network for the CFOs. There's a CTO network, et cetera, et cetera. So with that, we can create a platform and an arena, a forum for them to get together, learn from each other, get the inspiration, share both mistakes, but also very good practices, and we find this very useful. And then, of course, as an owner, a key focus for us is Board composition. So ensuring we have the right chairs, the right Board members who proactively set and drive the Board agenda and ensure the right strategy for the company and the right CEO for the company.

And you know the way we exercise our engaged ownership is through Board representation and of course, also through representation on the nomination committees. -- where we typically have the Chair role. So we strive to be very prepared and proactive in that nomination committee work. So there's a continuous process going on where we evaluate, assess and put a lot of thought into what we believe is critical for each Board in terms of competencies, experiences and skills now here and now, but also like in the future. So we bring that with us into the work of the nomination committee to try to build the best boards together with the other shareholder representatives. So of course, each company have their own needs.

But if we take a step back and look at it a little bit holistically, what is it that we are looking for? What kind of people are we looking for to govern and lead the portfolio companies in this highly competitive and complex world. We all know that we live in a world of extreme competition, and we are in the middle of a huge technology shift. So we look for leaders who understand this new world, who are visionary and passionate about driving change and build for the future. And I think it sort of boils down to 3 core dimensions.

One thing, of course, is we look for visionary leaders. We look for leaders with strategic and commercial mindset to sort of see where can value be captured in the future. And leaders need to be proactive and act on shifts in technology, shifts in customer behaviors, in geopolitics, sustainability challenges and so on. Secondly, we look for courageous leaders, leaders with ability to perform and transform at the same time. So this means a strong focus on execution and results here and now but of course, also always a view on the horizon and the courage to challenge existing ways of working, existing business models, existing organizational setups and with an intense focus on innovation and building capabilities for the future. And then thirdly, of course, we look for people leaders, isn't leaders fundamentally about people. So of course, high integrity leaders with strong business ethics and values.

And actually leaders who are genuinely curious and interested in other people who can attract people and develop talent and build those effective teams that can perform and transform at the same time. And these days, I think it goes for all of us that we have to be curious. We have to be open-minded, and we have to be very willing to learn, and this becomes increasingly vital in this heavily changing world.

So with that, I'd like to turn to you, Lovisa. You and I worked a lot together on these matters, and you represent the sixth generation. Can you share with us a little bit more on how you work with the sixth generation, how you're sort of being prepared to gradually take on more responsibility.

Well, thank you, Jessica. The succession work is more to be viewed as a long journey that we are on together with the fifth generation. Jacob, Marcus and Peter Jr. are still very much leading, but we, in the sixth generation are gradually becoming more involved and learning and taking on more responsibility. You can think of it as a bridge between generations. We meet in the middle where we share different experiences from our generations. How have we prepared for this? Well, most importantly, we are pursuing our careers and developing in our own professional roles. That is key in this work.

We are expected to find our own path, build relevant experience and develop the skills needed to be -- to contribute over time. In parallel, we have spent much time understanding all the aspects of the ecosystem. how the foundations and how investor and the companies fit together and what long-term engaged ownership actually means in practice. And we are gradually taking on more responsibilities. I work as HR business partner here at Wallenberg Investments, and I also work very close with Jessica on how to build and develop our network.

I'm also engaged as a Board member at Novara, where Wallenberg Investments has ownership. My Cousin Fred serves on the Board of Investor. My brother, Jacob Jr, serves on the Board of EQT. My Cousin Stephanie on the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Board, Siri Sachs on the Wallenberg Investments Board and Martina Wallenberg on the SEB board. We have all been suggested by the respective Nomination Committee and elected by the AGM. The key here is that we need to have the relevant experience and background in combination with our family belonging to be accepted onto the boards.

With that said, this is something that we take great pride in and feel a strong sense of responsibility for. We are learning a lot at the moment, and our hope is that this kind of ownership will continue for generations to come. If we can contribute to that journey and play a part in carrying that work forward, it would be a privilege.

Thanks a lot. Jessica , Lovisa, and hopefully, this gave a little bit more of a tangible view to how we work with people and the process around the sixth generation as well. Thanks a lot. So to conclude then, we're quite confident in our platform. We have a clear strategy, a portfolio of high-quality companies, a well-vetted model for engaged ownership. Strong cash flow and a strong balance sheet and not the least, great people here at Investor, on the boards and in the companies.

So we think the starting point is good. But make no mistake, there is no room for complacency here. Just look around us, the world remains extremely competitive and quite complex. So we just have to go at it day by day. With that, I conclude my part of the presentation, and we move on. Thank you.

So thank you, Christian. Thank you, Jessica and Lovisa. Now it's time for a financial update. I would like to ask our CFO, Jenny Haquinius to join me here on stage, please.

Thank you, Magnus, and good afternoon. So as clearly outlined by Christian, we have a strong platform. We have a clear purpose and a focused strategy, and our ultimate target is to generate an attractive return to our shareholders. And we do this by focusing on 3 return objectives. So growing net asset value, paying a steadily rising dividend and operating efficiently and sustainably. So now I will double-click on performance across all of these 3 return objectives.

But first, starting with total shareholder return. And here we can see that we've had strong performance over all time periods. So 20 years, 10 years, 5 years and over the last year. It's good that we've outperformed the market, but more importantly, we have overachieved our own internal return requirement of 8% to 9%. And 1 of the key drivers for this is growth in net asset value. And if we look over the last 5 years, net asset value has grown 16% per year on average. And our total net asset value is, of course, the sum of the net asset value for our 3 business areas. So I would also like to take this opportunity and remind everyone on the valuation method for the estimated market values in Patricia Industries.

So we use a relative valuation method and more specifically, a multiple-based valuation method. So for each of the companies within Patricia Industries, we define a peer group. And that peer group consists of similar companies that are publicly traded. And we have quite broad peer groups in our valuation, and that's because we want to avoid dependency on single company events. And then we look at these peer groups and specifically on the median EBITDA multiple, and that's what we apply in the valuation. And for these multiples, we do not use the quarter-end spot price. We look at the average share price throughout the quarter, and that's because we want to avoid dependency on a single trading day.

And in terms of the earnings, we look at the last 12 months EBITDA. So our valuation method is not forward-looking. And then finally, also on earnings. We are restrictive when it comes to adjustments. So we only adjust earnings for 2 nonrecurring items. One example of that is transaction cost related to M&A. We do not adjust for costs that we deem as part of ongoing operations. And a few examples of that could be costs related to a CEO transition or costs related to restructuring or perhaps cost related to consolidation of manufacturing footprint. And these multiples we receive from an external third party and our estimated market values are reviewed by our auditors.

And then a final point on this, we keep the methodology intact over time, and we've done so for many years. What we do, however, review is the composition of the peer groups, and that's to make sure that the peer groups are continuously relevant. So we have made changes to the peer groups, and we likely will make changes to the peer groups. And I can mention a couple of examples. It could be that 1 of the peer companies in our peer group has become less relevant because of a major transformation. It could be divesting a business area or maybe making a larger acquisition. And we could also make changes on the back of transformation in our own subsidiaries. So if we have a company that has transformed perhaps through bolt-on acquisitions, that could also spur a review of the peer group to make sure that it's continuously relevant.

Okay. Moving along to the other return objectives. So in addition to growing net asset value, we also have a commitment to paying a steadily rising dividend. And if we look over the last 10 years, we have grown our dividend paid with 8% on average per year. We do see 1 exception here. It was the pandemic, and we actually reduced the dividend paid. But I think this really proves a strong point because in the pandemic, we received less dividend from listed companies and specifically SEB due to regulatory restrictions. But here, we can truly illustrate the flexibility that we have in terms of managing our liquidity. So we reduced the dividend for a year and then we resumed the trajectory.

And then on to the final return objective, so operating efficiently and sustainably. And cost control is extremely important, and it's a very integrated part of the culture at investor. So we are always focused on making sure that we spend cost where we see that, that can create value. So for us, SEK 1 in added management cost is SEK 1 less for investments, dividend or servicing our debt. It's also important as owners to operate lean and efficient because that is what we expect of our company. So we need to walk the talk. And if we look at a longer time series of management cost, we can see that it's been relatively stable over the last few years. But if we look since 2016, we've seen an increase of 5% to 6% on average per year. That's, of course, in part driven by inflation but also deliberate strategic initiatives.

And 1 clear example here is building Patricia Industries. So creating this new business area with a dedicated investment team in the Nordics and also in the U.S. And other explanations for the cost increases is increasing reporting requirements and increasing regulatory requirements, of course, also digital and AI transformation, but cost consciousness is such an integrated part of our culture. And if we look over the last 12 months, our management cost is 0.06% of net asset value.

Equally important is operating sustainably. So sustainability is an integrated part of our strategy at investor, and it's an integrated part of the strategies of our companies. And at Investor, we have 3 focus areas: so business ethics and governance, climate and circularity and diversity and inclusion. And we actually, throughout this year, sharpened and strengthened our targets, specifically in climate and circularity, and that's to make sure that we keep the speed and the pace of the focus at investor in our companies. And we've seen good progress across all of the areas.

The companies are, of course, on different parts of this journey. But what's true for all of them is that sustainability is key for long-term competitiveness and a true source for new and attractive business opportunities. And now moving on to financial flexibility.

Financial flexibility is extremely important for us as owners because we need to have financial flexibility to be the best owners of our companies. We need to be able to build support and invest in our companies in good times but also in tougher times. Our leverage policy is a target range of 0% to 10%. We can see that we are currently in the lower end of that range, and that's despite significant investments. And -- we do not see any particular point within this range as more efficient, although, of course, if you were in an environment with strong equity market, you might be slightly more comfortable in the lower end.

What's always true is that we need to have flexibility to continuously be able to capture attractive opportunities, again, in good times and in tougher times. We have strong ratings by S&P and Moody's, and we are proud that as part of the annual rating process with Moody's earlier this year, we were upgraded from AA3 to AA2 and this is really a testament to the strength and the quality of the portfolio companies. Our performance track record, our solid financial flexibility and our strong platforms in terms of cash flow generation with our 3 business areas.

And looking at the leverage in our subsidiaries in Patricia Industries. So the companies in Patricia Industries, they finance themselves on their own merits. So financing is ring-fenced. And this is fully aligned with our decentralized governance model. And we have a long-term target of net debt-to-EBITDA of 3x. This will, of course, fluctuate over time and across companies, often on the back of recent M&A activity. But what's true for the majority of the companies in the Patricia portfolio is that they have very strong deleveraging capacity. And then back to Investor. You can see that our funding profile truly reflects our long-term investment horizon, and we work very actively with debt management. So we try to finance ourselves before we really, really have to because that makes us have the ability to time the market in a better way. And we have, as you can see, no major maturities until 2030 and the average maturity of our debt portfolio is north of 8 years.

And what also underpins our financial flexibility is our strong platforms in terms of cash flow generation. So we have 3 business areas, all contributing to cash flow. And this is cash flow that after management cost and interest can be used to invest, pay us dividend or service our debt. And I want to put some numbers on this because this is, of course, extremely important to us as long-term owners given that we do not have an exit horizon. And if we look at the sources to the left, you can see that all of the 3 business areas has contributed significantly. So this is 2015 to 2025, so in total, SEK 216 billion. And here, I also want to highlight that investments in EQT, which is orange, is net cash flow. So that means that for the funds, it's net of proceeds and drawdowns. And for EQT AB, it's net of dividend received and acquisition of EQT AB shares.

So on a net basis, over this period, we see a very strong contribution from Q2. I think also worth highlighting is that Patricia, although a smaller part of total assets is a very significant contributor to cash flow. And then if we look at the right-hand side, you see the uses and the investments. So we have used the proceeds and invested across all of the 3 business areas, and in total, SEK 90 billion in listed companies and Patricia industries combined. And in addition to that, paid a dividend of SEK 116 billion. So again, we have a very strong platform. We have a strong platform in terms of cash flow generation, and a growing cash flow at that.

So this is what really underpins our ability to continue to accelerate investments aimed at future-proofing our businesses and expanding the Investor AB platform. So we are, as Christian said, coming from a very strong starting point to continue to deliver on our ultimate target to deliver an attractive return to our shareholders, but it will require significant work and focused work from us at investor and our companies in the very fast changing and competitive world. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Jenny, for that financial update. Now we will dig a little bit deeper into our different business areas, and we'll start with Daniel Nodhall, Head of Listed Companies.

Thank you, Magnus. Good afternoon, everyone. So I'll kick off the business area section with an overview of how we work with the strategic pillars, the 3 Ps in listed companies. Starting with the portfolio. As most of you know, listed companies consists of our minority shareholdings in 13 large global companies with strong market positions. Breaking it down a bit. The 5 largest companies, ABB, Atlas Copco, SEB, Saab and AstraZeneca represent around 75% of the portfolio. Sector-wise, Industrial manufacturing is around 55% with around 15% each in financial services and health care. And following a SAAB strong performance over the last couple of years, defense now represents around 10% of the portfolio.

Over the last 10 years, we invested around SEK 25 billion in the portfolio. This is primarily to strengthen ownership in the companies but also to support companies with capital to fund growth opportunities or to strengthen balance sheets. In total, we invested around SEK 6 billion in rights issues to fund growth and strengthen balance sheets in Electrolux, Saab and Sobi. A large share of total investment have been in Ericsson, around SEK 10 billion, and that has increased to strengthen our ownership from around 5% to 10% of the capital.

We also invested around SEK 6 billion in ABB which, together with all the share buybacks by ABB has increased our ownership from around 10% to closer to 15%. And as you can see, we've been able to time the market fairly well with an IRR of about 20% of these investments. So going forward, our capital allocation priorities remain the same. Our focus is on building the existing portfolio. We will continue to support the companies when it comes to funding growth opportunities or to strengthen balance sheets. We will continue to strengthen ownership in our existing portfolio companies at financial attractive valuations.

But we are also open for business. We are evaluating and looking for the new interesting opportunities, looking for Nordic companies with strong market positions, strong track record in attractive industries where we have an opportunity to become the largest minority shareholder over time. So turning to performance. It is a strong portfolio and that has generated an attractive return over time.

Looking at the last 10 years, average annual shareholder return has been around 17% of the portfolio. So of course, an important contributor to growing net asset value over time. And this is roughly 6 percentage points above the sixth return index. This has been driven by strong performance in most companies. Out of 11 companies in the portfolio 10 years ago, 8 have delivered a strong double-digit return outperforming the Six Return Index, of which 5 have delivered an annual return above 15%.

Performance has been weakened in Electrolux and Husqvarna. We're not satisfied with that. Here, we have a high focus on turning around the performance. And coming back to Christian's earlier comments in terms of how we address underperformance. Here, we have clearly identified the key reasons. We have a clear plan in place agreed with the Board, Senior management, and we do believe that we have the right people in place to execute on these plans. But there will be no quick fixes.

Looking at the strong portfolio return, this has primarily been driven by a very strong operational performance in the companies, a strong profit growth and a strong cash flow generation. During this period, sales growth for the portfolio companies have been around 5% to 6% annually, with a significant margin expansion and a very strong cash flow generation. And when it comes to operational performance, we believe it is critical to have an outside-in perspective on the performance. The compress need, of course, to stay close to customers, but they also need to track how they perform in the eye of the customers.

Also important to benchmark the performance versus relevant peers to understand if the company is winning in the market or not. This is key to early identify potential underperformance and to ensure that they can take actions quickly. If you do this successfully, we believe that this, over time, should continue to generate a very attractive profit growth and cash flow generation in the companies.

Turning to people. I think people is the most important part of our model for engaged ownership. We've been talking about having great people at Investor in the boards and in the companies. As a minority shareholder in the publicly listed companies, we depend and work through the boards. We need to have a strong ownership position, both in terms of capital and votes, and we prefer to be the largest shareholder. In a Nordic governance context, this gives us the Chairperson role in the Nomination Committees, which means that we work together with other shareholders forming and attracting the right people to the boards.

For each and every company, we need to make sure we have the right chairperson in place that we have a good team around him with the right competencies, the right backgrounds, the right experiences. Really adapted to what we believe are the most strategic questions for the company going forward. And for these global companies, we need to be able to attract and retain people from across the globe. We compete in an international talent market. We believe it is critical to make sure that all companies have a competitive Board remuneration to be able to engage the right people in every company. We also need to have great people at Investor.

We are fairly small investment team in listed companies at investor with around 15 investment professionals. We really have deep knowledge of the industries of competitors of the companies we invested in. High focus on making sure that all companies perform here and now, but maybe even more important is to make sure that we fully understand the key trends that could shape these industries and create interesting business opportunities for our companies going forward. This is key to define our ownership agenda for every company, where we identify company-specific activities, which we believe will drive the most value going forward. But also including 6 future-proofing areas, which we believe are relevant for most companies. And I think Christian has already covered a lot of these.

But we believe that investments into innovation, into AI, sustainability integrated into the business, strong processes when it comes to talent management and succession planning. An active portfolio management, reallocating resources, capital and people into the most promising areas and a high attention to geopolitics are 6 areas that are critical for long-term value creation. Maybe not for all but for most of the companies.

On AI, there is a high focus in the companies with many exciting initiatives However, as we all know, the technology is developing rapidly at the moment. So it is a moving target and all companies need to stay agile. We are encouraged to see that many companies are having clearly identified high-value business cases, both in operations and customer offerings. And as you know, geopolitics is another hot topic. It has become a very important topic for the boards and companies over the last couple of years, be it due to tariffs, wars, et cetera. In many industries, we are seeing a tougher competition from Chinese company. It is key to understand the drivers behind this and to have a clear strategy to address it.

Then I think many of the strengths we are seeing in the Chinese ecosystem today, be it scale, low cost or even more important, leading innovation and speed can actually be turned to strength and opportunities for many of our companies. So with a high focus -- continued high focus on these areas, we believe the companies are well positioned to continue to deliver a long-term attractive return. Thank you.

Thank you, Daniel. Now it's the time for the next business area. This time, it's investments in EQT. So may I ask Edward to join me on the stage.

Thank you, Magnus. Good afternoon, everyone. Glad to be here. Very excited. So we will discuss the smallest business area that we have, investments in EQT. We will discuss where we are today, what we have achieved over the last couple of years as well as where we're going. This is the investment area, the business area. We have SEK 95 billion in assets. It's separated into 2 rather distinct buckets. The first 1 being fund investments. So this is basically where we invest in EQT funds. Due to our long-standing relationship with EQT and the fact that we actually was part of the cofounders back in '94. We have the right to invest in all EQT funds at favorable economical terms.

This also provides an access to private markets that we otherwise lacking our portfolio with regards to infrastructure, some early-stage technologies as well as buyout equities. In this fund investment bucket, you will also find the co-investment that we did in Fortnox the other year. I will come back to that within a minute. The second part is the holding in EQT AB. So this is very similar to what we do in the listed companies business area. So we are the largest owner, we are a minority owner of EQT AB that is listed here in Stockholm. And we drive very similar ownership agenda trying to be a long-term engaged owner in the business.

Performance has been strong in both the fund investment part as well as the listed shares of EQT. This has also translated into a solid cash flow generation. Over the period, the net fund cash flow as well as dividend from EQT AB, average at SEK 2.6 billion a year. As you can see, the fund net cash flow, it's a bit volatile. It differs due to the fact that we received receipts when exits are done in the funds. But it should be noted that we also have a growing share of much more stable dividend from EQT AB.

So when we have received the second installment later now in December, we expect to have received SEK 950 million roughly from -- in dividend this year. So we will dig a bit deeper into the fund investment part of the business. As I said, performance has been strong. So we have a net IRR of 19%. So that's net of the fees we're paying from the time period, so in 2019 until Q3 2026. This is, of course, driven by solid underlying fund performance. That's the key driver. But of course, it's also boosted by our favorable economics. So we have a right to invest 3% of EQT funds on a carry free basis.

So apart from favorable economics, the fund investments also bring a diversified portfolio of private assets. So our investments is primarily fined within equity buyout as well as infrastructure. But it is also 10%, 15% of mid-market and early-stage exposure assets. As expected, geographically tilted towards Europe. But there is a fair share of North American exposure as well and roughly 10% towards APAC. And that is a figure that we expect to increase as soon as EQT start to deploy their most recent buyout equity fund towards Asia that we have committed capital to.

In terms of industry, you see is broad-based. It's a lot of technology that's from the buyout funds, digital, there's infrastructure exposure, health care services, and you see a number of different industries. But all in all, it provides access to a diversified portfolio of assets across stage, across geographies, across sectors. The solid fund performance has also translated to a good cash flow from the fund investments. So over the period, we have a net positive cash flow of more than SEK 2 billion a year.

It should be noted that every year, we are investing in EQT funds. So SEK 4 billion, SEK 5 billion we typically invest in new EQT funds, but we do also received quite a lot of proceeds from earlier investments. So even during the last couple of years, that many of you know, they have been rather slow on the exit market. We actually have a positive net cash flow nevertheless. And it really shows the strength of the model that we have built that we are able to invest constantly but still have a net positive cash flow. As you may see in 2025, we made our first co-investment when we invested in Fortnox. So let me spend just a minute on that.

So we invested SEK 4.5 billion in EQT's takeout of Fortnox. For those of you who doesn't know Fortnox is a Swedish accounting software player is leading towards small- and medium-sized enterprises. It is early on the investment, 1.5 year approximately, but we can conclude that we at least are off to a good start. Growth has been accelerated with continued customer intake as also growth across the full breadth of the platform. More importantly, we see that Fortnox has accelerated investments in technology and AI to really remain in the forefront.

Taking a step back then, investor and our view on co-investments. For us, it's an extension of our traditional fund investments. Similarly, EQT is running the value creation. EQT is running governance. And the base case is that we enter and we exit together with EQT. But it is a good and attractive way for us to get exposure towards industries and companies that we find particularly attractive.

Moving on to EQT AB. The company was listed back in 2019. And since then, we have had very strong performance. So we have an annual TSR of 25%. During the last 1.5 years, we have invested roughly SEK 6 billion, strengthening our ownership at valuations that we deem attractive. Then come to capital allocation. We will continue to invest in EQT funds similarly to what we have done very successfully over the last couple of years. We will also continue to explore co-investments opportunities as they arise. These will continue to be a selective approach, and you should not expect us to do a large number of small co-investments.

Then similarly to listed companies, we believe it's important that we maintain the strong ownership in EQT to have a platform for our engaged ownership. With that, I will conclude, and I hope that I have shed some lights of the business area of EQT and that the financial performance that we have been able to deliver over the last couple of years.

So thank you very much, Edward. Now to our final business area, Patricia Industries. May I ask co-heads, Thomas Kidane and Yuriy Prilutskiy to enter the stage, please.

Great to be with you today. Thank you so much for joining. Over the last 11 years, Patricia Industries has grown to become a substantial part of investor. Yuri and I will share highlights from the journey to date, examples of value creation activities and why we believe we have a strong foundation for future growth. Investor established Patricia in 2015 with the ambition to create a fully controlled cash flow, to build a meaningful proprietary part of the investor portfolio to expand investment opportunities and to sharpen the ownership model for wholly owned companies. We set a strategy that takes a starting point in the purpose that is shared with the investor of building strong and sustainable businesses. Our vision is to be a great home for great companies. And by now, I hope you recognize the PPP strategic priorities that are underpinned by specific operating priorities that we will share examples of here as we go. And our values guide our ways of working.

To execute on the strategy, we have developed an ownership model that today is a clear playbook based on decentralized responsibilities and accountability for our Board and management teams, a very close cooperation with Patricia Investor and our network. And the long-term approach, coupled with short-term in patients.

Thanks, Thomas, and thank you all for being here today. So we'll start with portfolio, which to us means owning the right companies at the right time, allocating capital across those companies in a thoughtful way and being active engaged owners to optimize our portfolio along the way as necessary. Our investment priorities across our portfolio are 2, investing in existing companies and adding new platform companies. Investing in our existing companies through add-ons has always been our top investment priority and it remains such.

We have deployed about 70% of our capital into add-on acquisitions over the past 11 years. And we complement that with new platform acquisitions where we have deployed about 30% of our capital over the past 11 years. As you can see, we've been quite busy with the company's executing add-on investments over the past 11 years. We believe that supporting our companies in this way is 1 of the best investments we can make. When we do this, we put capital into companies we know and to the hands of management teams we trust. And in doing so, we create strategic value and future proof of our companies by adding innovation, geographic expansion, scale and entering new adjacencies.

We have completed about 120 add-ons since inception, and these have ranged from large transformative acquisitions like Nova Biomedical last year, to very small investments in early-stage disruptive technologies like Optilume which grow to become meaningful contributors to our companies over time. We've executed a wide range of transaction structures, take privates, carve-outs, minority to control and majority to control over the years. And we believe that our ability to be creative to support our companies and to contribute significant capital to the growth journeys are key competitive differentiators. We expect to continue executing substantial add-on M&A in the coming years. And as our companies grow, so will the opportunities in front of them. We complement this with new platform investments where we're continuously looking, and you can see an example of what we look for in our companies here.

So in short, we look to make investments in sectors we know marketing businesses based in North America and the Nordics with strong financial profiles and the ability to grow for the long term with exceptional durability. So putting it all together, over the past 11 years, we've grown the number of companies from 6 to 10, we've made 6 new platform acquisitions along the way and in the process, we've made several divestments, which we believe is a good reflection of our active portfolio management approach, knowing when we're not the best owner for our company over the long term. We also recently announced our intent to split Molnlycke into 2 distinct businesses to provide focus on each, which we'll hear more about later. And that's another example of our active portfolio management approach.

Putting some numbers around it, we have grown from 6 to 10, soon to be 11 companies. We've grown from 14 to 32 business units over the past 11 years. In 2015, our largest company contributed 72% of our wholly owned subsidiary net asset value, and it was the only company in the portfolio that delivered EBITDA in excess of SEK 1 billion or SEK 2 billion. Today, that company represents 37% of our net asset value within Patricia, and we have 7 companies that deliver over SEK 1 billion of EBITDA and 4 that deliver over SEK 2 billion. And from a geographic perspective, we have moved from a business where all of our subsidiaries were based in the Nordics to a 50-50 split between the Nordics and North America.

So as you can see, substantial diversification while growing net asset value and delivering strong returns over time.

So over to performance, and we think about performance in 2 horizons. Delivering profitable growth in the short term so we can secure performance for the long term by investing in future-proofing areas of many of you have heard of earlier today. The current market backdrop is volatile, as we've heard previously here with multiple strong trends running at once. Our companies are doing a great job in navigating these and what they experience is that speed and agility are critical levers to succeed in this environment. They have accelerated the work with efficiency efforts to free up capacity to invest in growth opportunities.

And times like these also present opportunities to strengthen market positions, which many of our companies have done. And we believe that also against this backdrop, it is critical to continue to invest in areas for future growth. One of those is innovation, which has gotten our companies to the positions they have today and which will be critical to invest into for future success. And we can see here over time that the companies have increased investments into R&D substantially and within that, also allocated more capital to transformational projects. Another area that will be critical for competitiveness that Christian covered is AI. And it's an area that's moving very fast and is very high on the agenda for us at Patricia, Investor and our companies to really work hard and invest to take the opportunities that this technology will offer.

And we're happy to see an increasing number of value-added cases across companies. and both across top line growth initiatives as well as efficiency. And the direction of travel here is to scale these use cases and also to an increasing extent, embedded technology in product and service. With the combination of delivering in the short term and investing for the long term, we have been able to scale the portfolio considerably across dimensions. The companies have built organizations, scaled up sales productively, accelerated investments into future proofing areas, growing and increasing profitability while in parallel onboarding. A significant amount of add-ons to complement organic initiatives. And this has yielded a return over time of 13%, well above our return requirement with the vast majority of companies performing above the hurdle.

And today, we have a scaled earnings base and cash flow generating capability that can help support an increased amount of organic initiatives, add-ons and also dividends.

So as Christian and Jessica mentioned, none of this would be possible without great people around the table on our company management teams, our boards, our internal team here at Patricia and Investor and, of course, a strong network and talent base. It's no accident that the top 4 elements of our playbook all have to do with people. We are working continuously to ensure strong teams and boards at the companies to ensure alignment between our chairs, our CEOs and us as the owner, to be engaged owners and work closely with our company's teams through our business teams here at Patricia and the central functions at Investor and, of course, to leverage our broad, strong network and ecosystem.

To that point, investing in our company's talent and network to share best practices and learn together is a key priority for us, and you can see several examples of that here. On the left, we have an overview of the Patricia Industries executive development program, which takes some of the top talent from our companies and prepares them for bigger roles within the ecosystem. And on the right, we have photos from many of the forums that Jessica referred to earlier, where we get together our CEOs, chairs, CFOs, general counsels and the like to learn together and build strong relationships.

We're very lucky to have a strong Board with a diverse wealth of experience to provide governance and guide us along the way and hold us accountable for executing on the strategy. And we're very thankful to have a strong team on both sides of the pond to make it happen together. So to wrap up, we believe that if we keep focusing on the 3 Ps, execute on our operating priorities and stay true to our values, we have the opportunity to continue delivering strong long-term value growth as we have over the past 11 years. And we stand here today with a strong position, well positioned platform well positioned to do so. We've got great companies generating strong performance and significant cash flow and most importantly, with a great network of people around the table, leading them, some of whom you'll hear from later today. So thank you.

Thank you so much, Yuriy and Thomas. You will be right back on stage in a minute because now it's Q&A time. So we'll just reshuffle the stage a little bit. And I could ask all the investor representatives who have already presented to join me again on stage, please. [Operator Instructions]

So we'll just fire away then. Who has the first question? I think Jacob had the first 1.

Jacob Hesslevik from SEB. Two questions from my side. The first 1 is on people and management costs. It seems to be flat year-over-year despite inflation. So how do you retain and motivate the people as you have taken a fair amount of attracting the right people to your ecosystem, but the right people tend to be highly sought after. So how do you make sure FT turnover stays slow? And then second question is on Patricia. Will you increase the transparency and give us a list of peers for each Patricia holding going forward? Or what competitive advantage do you risk losing out by being more transparent?

Jacob, would you like to start?

I mean I can start with the question on remuneration. And we have a pretty clear policy, and that's to be at market, not leading in the market. And I'm happy to say that there seems to be enough really good people that appreciate, of course, the monetary compensation, but also the broader context being part of a group with portfolio companies that do good things. And then in a context and ecosystem where there is sort of an overarching purpose where a lot of our dividends actually go to grant research and education for the betterment of Sweden. So we do think that is a real and a competitive edge. But of course, we need to keep a close eye at what market compensation is.

And I might just add to that, and I completely agree. And I think in terms of the remuneration, you also have to consider kind of the longer-term remuneration that you also received. You also have the ability to be an investor yourself as part of kind of the longer-term remuneration is what is not reflected in the management cost that you see here.

And we have shifted quite a lot of short-term incentives to long-term incentives because we think that creates the best alignment with our shareholders, basically.

The other part of the question?

The other part was the peer group?

Sorry, what was the question?

Can you please repeat that? .

Yes. I was just wondering if you would increase the transparency and give us a lift list of peers that you have in Patricia? Or what competitive advantage do you see that you might lose by being more transparent and providing it for us?

Well, I can start maybe. I don't think we see that we lose any competitive advantage. I mean the reason for providing the estimated market values was to increase transparency. But then I think we also try and encourage everyone to also do their own view in terms of the valuation because we are using a quite standardized approach. And I think, as I also mentioned, it's actually not forward-looking. It's backward-looking. So it's more of an indication.

So I think it's more from our perspective, we don't see that we gain that much in terms of just showing the peer groups.

The next question from Johan over here, please. .

Johan Sjoberg, Nordea. Three questions. Actually 1 to each business area head, starting off with you Daniel. You talked about new investments, also you are exploring the possibilities to find new investment in the listed holdings in the Nordics. How is that all sort of how intense is that process? Has it -- is it different today compared with previously or previous years? I think the last new investment you made was in Wartsila that was quite a few years ago. Maybe you could sort of -- and without sort of -- is it the same verticals that we should suspect, i.e., health care and also capital or industrial?

I think the intensity varies over time, also a little bit depending on what's moving out in the market. I think there is a number of high-quality companies in the Nordics that already have a strong minority shareholder. So for us, it's important to over time, at least, be able to become that. What we look for is primarily in sectors we know well. So of course, industrial manufacturing, financial services, health care as we talked about. And we want companies with a strong track record, attractive market position in an attractive industry. So few opportunities, but there are a number of companies out there that we track and follow.

And in terms of size, is that -- could you give some indication of what sort of size of the holdings you're looking for? Because looking at the core investments, it's -- It varies a lot you can say.

Yes. But I think if we were to do a new investment, we would prefer it to be on the larger side. So making sure that it really makes an impact on the portfolio as a whole. And with the SEK 950 billion invested today, that requires quite a sizable company.

Okay. Great. Looking at EQT also, you mentioned 3% is the hurdle or you can invest up to 3% without any carry. Are you still the largest owned or large investor into each new fund? I remember you were at least. I don't know if you are still, but is that still the case.

I would say it probably differ between funds, but it's not necessarily that we are the largest in each fund.

But are you investing in it to each fund because that was also something you did in the past at least.

So since the IPO, we have the right to invest. So before that, we actually -- we needed to invest in all funds. But now we have it right, but we invest in most funds, I would say. There are certainly some tons we haven't invested in. But most of them.

Final question for Yuriy. I know that you -- in the U.S., especially, you have been looking for a company with industrial technology. I think that has been on your radar screen for quite some time. Could you say something about how that process has been going? Is that still sort of your target #1 or whatever you want to call it for you to invest into going forward?

Thank you for the question. So I would say in the U.S., we're actively looking across all of our sectors. Industrial Technology, certainly, but also software, health care and services. And we're quite balanced in our sourcing approach there. we have, to your point, over time, spend quite a bit of effort digging into industrial tech, and we feel quite well positioned there, not least because of the strong network we have based here in the Nordics with all the listed companies in particular. We have a very, very high bar, as Christian said earlier, lots of things have to be right. And most importantly, the quality of the business and its durability has to be bulletproof in a very, very dynamic world. So I would say that has been the standard that we set, and we're still looking for that asset.

Just a final question, if I may. I mean you have a Capital Markets Day investor around about every 4 years, World Cup tends to be correlated with. But in 4 years' time, looking at the Patricia Holdings and especially the number of platform companies, do you dare to give some sort of indication where you see it today in 4 years rather.

Maybe I can start. I think it goes back a little bit to our overarching capital allocation priorities, where our #1 priority must always be to build and develop the companies that we have, right? And that's why that's so clearly our #1. And then number 3 on our capital allocation priorities, still important, still actually worked on, as you elaborated on, is to find new platform companies. And if or when we do, we'll be very happy to bring that award, but we need to be adequately peaky.

We have Derek first.

Derek Laliberte here from ABG. I have 2 questions, 1 for Christian and 1 for Patricia Industries. For Christian, I note that the industry is currently trading at close to NAV, which is quite unusual from a historical perspective and also a testament to your strong performance. I was wondering how we do think that the value of the investor ownership model today compares to about 10 years ago, particularly given the sort of increasing importance and track record of Patricia.

Thank you for the question. I must say that there are probably other folks maybe in this audience are in a better position to sort of explain and elaborate on exactly how the share price of investor is set. I do think that what we've shown here is a relentless focus on building and supporting the companies and that has been I mean the earnings growth and the cash flow from the companies has been in all business areas by far the most important driver of TSR for us as well. And so that's where we focus our work going forward.

That's clear. And for Patricia, obviously, last year in Q3, a very impressive performance of, I think it was 7% organic growth and 26% adjusted EBITDA growth, really strong. I mean, looking beyond the sort of individual quarters here, how do you assess the sort of sustainable organic growth potential for the portfolio today has that improved structurally over the past few years, would you say?

Yes. Maybe if I talk I would say that, obviously, it's a continuous work to really try to structurally increase that growth level, and that's both working with existing exposure we have and then also with the add-ons that we continuously do. I think we'll refrain from sort of giving specific outlook. But of course, that is at the core of what we do every day and try to strive for.

Oskar, please?

Osker Lindstrom from Danske Bank. First of all, thank you for very good presentations today. I thought it was a very impressive equity story. I have 1 question really. And that you highlighted sort of 2 changes going on, which weren't as apparent 4 years ago when you had a CMD. And that was first of all, the competition from China has increased compared to them, although it was already existing at the time, certainly.

And the second 1 was the pace of technological change and in particular, in the form of AI adoption. Now my question is, are these 2 things which are going to lead you to change your portfolio or how you allocate investments? Do you foresee that, that you will make an analysis of your portfolio, and I'm talking both listed and unlisted companies and perhaps also in EQT whereby you say, well, we thought this was a great business. But because of either or both of these factors, that's no longer the case, and we need to review this ownership or maybe we need to enter a new segment. So should we expect these 2 factors to generate a lot of structural change within Investor?

So maybe I can start and please jump in with examples as appropriate. I think that -- you're right in pointing out these 2 trends as something that we've sort of emphasizing increasingly for obvious reasons. And the #1 priority is to make sure that our companies really end up on the winning end of these trends. You take AI as an example, we really do think that our companies are in a good position, in a good starting position to become net beneficiaries of as I said, across the value chain from efficiency but also over time, increasingly by embedding AI in the product offering.

Now also, as I mentioned, if we don't do that well, of course, there is an increased risk of disruption. But really, the vast majority of the focus is on making sure that we future-proof what we have. And then I think on geographic exposure and China competition, I mean, same thing there. And I would say a little bit to the slide that we do get more exposure directly into APAC, not so much China in and by itself. That's obviously 1 piece. But I think that Again, the most important part is that we address this in the companies. And this is not true for all companies, but generally, it will mean being on the ground to an increasing extent.

Yes. Maybe I can just add to that. It's a good question, certainly 2 lenses through which we look and analyze our companies. And to Christian's point there, I think, primarily, we look at it on a company-by-company basis. What does this mean for the company, increased opportunities, maybe increase competition and how do we address that? So that is rather than focus rather than having a direct investment organization in China, for example.

Yes. If I speak for the North American portfolio, I mean, the risks exist. There are also opportunities. I think they've been down for a few years, even if they are intensifying. And there's not a single company where we think it's no longer a good fit because of those 2 factors. And I think the proof of that is our continued investment into the companies over the past several years, maybe even accelerated investment. But of course, that's 2 more additions to the long list of things we need to get right with every company long term.

Thank you. Next question was Linus.

Yes. Thank you very much. Linus Sigurdson here with Carnegie. I have 2 questions. Firstly, I mean, given -- when I look at the increasing cash flows and I guess also the debt capacity in the Patricia portfolio. I mean, is there a reason to believe that those companies will to an increasing extent, fund their own M&A? And could that open up for -- on an investor level for you to allocate more capital towards, I guess, both the listed companies, but also something like co-investments with EQT

I can take the first crack. I think if you look back you compared to where we are today with how it looked 10 or even 5 years ago, the most significant change in terms of cash flow contribution has been the growth in Patricia. And that is already today funding. I mean a lot of the cash generation and a lot of the debt capacity is being redeployed by way of, for example, add-on acquisitions. And when it comes to the future, I mean, the -- as I said, we will continue to look at opportunities in all 3 business areas, and we do see that we will have most likely the capacity to do more in the coming, call it, 5 to 10 years than in the last, call it, 5 to 10 years.

Yes. And I can just add to that. Maybe we do see it as 1 system, and that's already the case today. So really, if you do a reinvestment in Patricia, which is a fully owned subsidiary, it's actually a decision of not making a distribution. So in itself, when we look at investment capacity, we include all of the 3 business areas and also kind of leverage capacity in Patricia.

Right. Yes. And then secondly, I mean, this, I guess, is a follow-up to Johan's question about the platform investments in Patricia. I mean I haven't heard you talk that much before about software and business services. And I mean, given how the portfolio looks today, could you just elaborate a bit how you think about different sectors for 1 thing, but also geography? I mean 50-50 split, but not in, I guess, a number of companies, for example.

Yes. If I start with the services and software question, we have a services and software company in the portfolio. It's Sarnova. You'll hear from Brian shortly, and they'll talk about that business. So those are spaces we're in today. we like them quite a bit. Of course, as with all sectors, we're going to be selective and look across all 4 geographies. And then in terms of geographic or sector focus, I would say we're quite agnostic. We look for the best opportunities as they come up, wherever they're based and whatever the business model is, and we're always looking for the next 1 quite actively.

I think we had another 1 from Jacob, right?

It's not every day that we get to meet someone from the sixth generation. So 1 question for you, Lovisa. You are now moving from being 3 front figures to being considerably be more. I think you're almost up to 14 people if I've calculated it correctly. While being more usually means you have more knowledge and more experience, which you can share, it could also lead to paralyze by action if you don't agree on something. So how do we make sure that you are able to come to a conclusion and take action and not get into the Swedish mindset of having 100 group discussions before everyone is on board.

Thank you for the question. Well, as you said, there are 3 at the moment. And hopefully, there will be more engaged and there is a process on how people are getting on board. And I mean it takes time and we have to learn together and how to work together. Leadership and teamwork is key in this. So I think that we have to work more on that, and then time will tell.

Question over here.

Sorry. Gregory Landa from Unifor Asset Management in the Netherlands. I have a question about capital allocation, and we fell your investor as a company that, in our opinion, has like permanent capital, which can invest or choose not to invest whenever they want to see fit. And fund and private equity funds, for example, can be or could be limited to an investment period. How do you decide whether or not to invest in a private equity fund or in 1 of your companies? And do you see any difference in terms of horizon given the dynamic environment and a technological challenging environment that we are now navigating given that you can decide however you see fit.

I can take a first crack. So -- it's a good question. And I think that I would really start with financial flexibility as sort of a core pillar for our strategy of being an engaged and support owner supporting owner over time. That means that we need to make sure we have the flexibility to support our companies also when times are tougher. That puts some kind of framing on it. Then at least in our experience, investment work really in our view is about building and developing the companies we have. And that is not really a work.

Unfortunately, that can be sort of turned on and turned off like a tap, but it's a continuous effort. And therefore, we have taken the decision not to have sort of a clear macro-driven view on investment pace as such. So it's not that we say, okay, now, valuations are high. We take a pause. Your point on EQT is well noted. I would say this, where EQT differs from the other areas is, of course, that, a, it's not permanent capital. So whatever we invest, we expect to get back in a number of years out. And also, of course, to the extent we feel we need to we have the optionality, but not any requirement to invest in the EQT funds.

So that is a little bit of flexibility in there compared to the other areas.

Maybe just adding 1 thing from the listed side. And to your comment, I think the strength of the model in the public market is the fact that the stock market is volatile over time. Sometimes for good reasons, quite often for not. And we have a clear view on what we believe is a fair value of our company, which means that we have the luxury not to invest at high valuations and can wait out when the market looks attractive. Of course, that's based on Christian comment when it comes to having the financial flexibility to act in those times.

We have a question over there.

Hello. Happy to be here. My name is Jan Frank Rosati, and I manage my own family's asset as a private investor. And I mean, as a long-term investor, I always think about barriers to entry and competitive moats. And I think it will be very interesting to hear our opinion, both from the list side, private business side and also from the private equity. On where you switch -- where you see competitive advantage and barriers to entry switching towards, for instance, in the industrial technology business or in the health care technology business.

What are you investing in at the subsidiary level to strengthen your moat where you see competition coming from? You mentioned China. So it would be very interesting to your view on this.

If I start with 1 theme that cuts across, I think, all of our companies, it's customer intimacy. So AI can accelerate software development times. China can come up with better, lower cost, higher quality products. But our companies, thankfully, across the board are in leading positions right now with very strong customer relationships that impact how much they sell, but also impact their R&D pipeline. And I think the more we invest in that and the more we maintain and expand that, the better position will be. So I would say across every company that's been a really big focus.

Yes. And with so many trends of which you mentioned here, again, back to what we covered in the presentations being really quick to act and having high speed has become sort of a super critical lever, be it in adjusting the cost base or investing in innovation. And innovation will say sort of, again, that's what has taken many of our companies to the positions they are today. So really pushing that, increasing that and trying to think even more transformation in that arena is also another topic that sort of cuts across many of the companies.

Thank you. I think we have a question from Andrew.

Andrew Lowe from Citi. I wanted to probe a little bit more about your co-investments. So Fortnox being the first co-investment that you've done what really excites you about that asset that led you to go down that route? And what are the other opportunities that you seriously considered along the co-investments? And can you talk a little bit about maybe what led you not to sort of decide to do that and the thresholds that you have and how you're thinking about the co-investments? And then separately, would it be possible to just quantify the indirect exposure that you have in EdgeConneX through your investment in EQT and how you're feeling about that asset?

Right. So on the co-invest side, as I think we also said when we made the co-investments, it's -- we really saw an interesting attractive company. It's also within an industry that we don't have that much experience of at the moment, but we really were eager to learn more. So this was also a way of gaining exposure to a very attractive company, but also bringing exposure to that type of investments, that type of thesis and value creation methodology. So I would say that's 2 of the components that brought us down that road. I mean in terms of the business, it's a very successful company in the Swedish market and ecosystem around small and medium-sized enterprises.

And we believe they have a very solid position and really assisting small and medium-sized enterprises to grow really the backbone of the Swedish economy, one could say. And in terms of opportunities, we have not choose to invest in, that's a bit difficult to, of course, talk about. But I would say, in terms of co-investments, we are looking at either industries and companies that we see that we can bring in some value to the table. So we have a network, we have experience and we can learn within those sectors. Or there is actually an industry company sector that we would like to learn more about. So I would say that's how we try to look at the co-investment opportunities that EQT brings to us.

In terms of the EdgeConneX exposure, I don't want to quantify it exactly. But of course, we are aware that it's a large exposure that EQT has in their infrastructure fund. As I showed on the slide, infrastructure is just a part of the exposure that we have. But within those funds, EdgeConneX is absolutely relatively large, but it's also due to the fact that it's growing in value all the time. So even though they are actually divesting regularly from their funds, it's also growing in value.

I think we need to have a few questions from the web first.

We have received a couple of questions, some complementary ones from the ones already asked. Maybe starting with Husqvana. Could you develop your long-term view of the company?

I think Husqvana is in a tough situation at the moment. On the positive side, it has strong brands, strong market position. It is suffering low consumer demand in general, increasing Chinese competition, especially within consumer battery products and robotic lawnmowers. We do have a clear plan in place. The company is working on strategic portfolio management, addressing underperforming business units, Wheel products, Power Garden in Gardena. High focus on addressing the operational efficiency with the cost savings program launched last year, also aiming to reduce the capital tied up in the business. So I think there's a number of strengths in the company, but they also need to strengthen innovation and speed to market when it comes to robotics to keep up and keep the market-leading position in that area.

Great. Another question maybe to you, Daniel, because we have spoken about active portfolio management, there was a question here from Tom Williams, who asked what the logic was for divesting Accelleron and for exiting that position, it seems to have outperformed ABB. What were the lessons learned?

I think the question the logic behind spinning out Accelleron is probably a question for ABB. It's a Board decision in ABB. I think from ABB's perspective, it was a noncore business. So basically fairly limited synergies with the rest of the portfolio. From our perspective, becoming the largest shareholder in a medium cap Swiss company is not in line with the strategy. So from our perspective, it was more based on that.

Great. And lastly, a question from Antonio de Azevedo. Are there any plans to list investor ability in other markets like NASDAQ U.S.A.

Not that I know of. We're very happy to be listed on the NASDAQ Exchange here in Stockholm. .

Perfect.

Thank you, [indiscernible]. We have a final question from Philippe and then we need to go to our break.

Yes, Magnus. Philippe Peeters, Degroof Petercam in Brussels. Two questions if I actually may. The first 1 on the listed companies. You spoke about add-on investments in the listed portfolio companies. You spoke about your willingness to look at other opportunities. But you all spoke about pruning. And if I look at the 2 companies that are not meeting your current performance targets, 1 of which is Electrolux. We know that the white goods space is a very competitive 1 dominated by South Korean companies increasingly Chinese companies.

So my question to you is how core is Electrolux to your portfolio? At what point in time do you say, well, maybe we need to look for another owner. And then my second question, China, you spoke about the need for innovation. I think that's clearly understood. But what do you deal with a -- how do you deal with a competitor that's not always playing by the rules. I'm talking about unfair state subsidies, not respecting IP. What role should the European government play into this? Because if we look at what's happening to the European car industry, it's really a shame.

So maybe I start with Electrolux. I think to your description, it is a tough industry. I think we are seeing increasing competition from Chinese especially. Having said that, right now, our focus is on turning around the performance. There's been a lot of activities in the company during the year, strengthening the balance sheet through the rights issue, announcing joint ventures with Midea in North America to strengthen competitiveness. simplifying the organization, optimizing the manufacturing footprint to really reduce cost and improve operational efficiency. So we do believe in the plan. It will not be easy, but focus right here and now is to turn around the performance.

And so on the Chinese competition and what you're alluding to as sort of the unfair elements of that. I mean, obviously, from time to time in a certain situation, Europe, for example, but also the U.S., of course, needs to take action to level the playing field. But I almost wish I could say that the majority of their competitive edge comes from that kind of unfair competition. But in what we see at least in the open sectors, if I call it that, of China, so excluding the super strategic sectors, they're simply very good at what they do.

And so yes, there may be elements of unfair competition. They may have come to their position of strength through different ways. But if we look at where we are today, and I think that's the reality of it. Then they are really, really good. And we have stated and I think Daniel is mentioning of the JV with Midea is 1 example of how we try to sort of learn and adopt to the Chinese speed and competitiveness.

All right. Thank you for all the great questions and for the great answers. Now it's actually time for a break. We'll have a 15-minute break. So you get to stretch your legs a bit, refill your coffee, have a conversation. So please feel free to do almost whatever you want to do, and we'll reconvene in 15 minutes. Thank you.

[Break]

So I hope you had a good break. Good. There will be another 1 in a while. But in between there, we'll have some company presentations. And I have the pleasure of introducing Sarnova, which was a company in the U.S., which we acquired back in 2018 and a really great pleasure to introduce the CEO, Brian LaDuke, to talk about this exciting company. Brian.

Thank you, Magnus. Well, look, it's absolutely great to be here with you guys today. And you heard Magnus say we were acquired by Patricia Industries back in April of 2018 and it has been just an incredible journey under their ownership and 1 that I've really enjoyed it a personal level as well. And the 1 thing that you'll really see today in my presentation is just how much transformation we've gone through as a business. I'm going to tell our transformation story today really in 4 parts.

I'll first walk you through who we are, then I'm going to talk to you a little bit more about what we're building as a business, how we're shipping the company. Then I'll give you a little bit of detail on why we believe we have the right to win in the markets that we serve. And then I'll conclude with some thoughts on where we're taking this business as we go forward. So with that, let's jump in with who we are. All right.

Well, Sarnova does come from a distribution background and platform, and it gives us a very broad portfolio we have nearly 100,000 SKUs across our 4 divisions. And so rather than trying to go in depth in our portfolio, I'm going to try to paint a picture of our business and really give you the shape of the business on the slide here. So first of all, we're comprised of 4 distinct divisions. They each have their own brand and their own dedicated sales force. And we're going to work left to right on this slide, starting with our cardiac response division and Cardio Partners.

When you think about cardio partners think AEDs, CPR training, first aid, this is the equipment, the training, the ongoing management that keeps the community of bystanders ready to act in an emergency. The next division that you see here is our emergency preparedness division and Bound Tree. So for this division, what I want you guys to think through in your mind is everything that goes in the back of an ambulance, equipment, the supplies, even the pharmaceuticals, some related services. This is everything that a paramedic needs to save a life in emergency.

Our next business is our EMS revenue cycle management business and our Digitech business that sits within it. EMS is really good at saving lives, but they do need support in collecting the revenue that funds them. And Digitech is the technology and the services behind that. Digitech bills more than 8 million transports a year. Then we come to our Acute business and our Tri-anim business. For this one, I want you to think of a critical care portfolio, respiratory anesthesia products. We serve 5,400 Acute customers a year in this business. Acute is certainly our largest market, and Tri-anim calls on every call point.

So everything from the C-suite, think health systems, GPOs, IDNs to value analysis committees down to the clinician at the bed side. When you combine all 4 of these divisions together, our combined sales were $1.3 billion and a 17.5% EBITDA margin. Another thing, as you see these 4 divisions, there are some common themes. One is that they each have dedicated focus and dedicated resources on to the niche markets that they serve. Niche market is something I'm going to be talking a lot about today.

What that does is it gives us deep customer reach into these markets, expertise, and it also allows us to tailor our service to the unique requirements of each of these niche markets. And that's why when you look at all 4 of these divisions, we have really high customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. Our Net Promoter Score on an average for all divisions is a 55, which is quite high.

Okay. I love this slide, especially if you're getting to learn Sarnova because you can really see the customers that we serve. And the first thing you'll notice is it's not 1 customer. It's actually a continuum of customers. So it starts in the community. This is your everyday bystander that feels confident, ready to act, can grab an AED and help save life. From there, it moves to your professional first responder, I think firefighter, paramedic and then it moves into the hospital setting, I think doctor and clinician. Across all these markets, we serve more than a $10 billion market, and there's a couple of key points here. This is going from pre-hospital through acute, that is that the demand itself is clinical rather than discretionary.

So you have that resilience built into the business. Another piece is these are niche markets, they're highly fragmented. This gives us customer reach, expertise as we do this. And these markets are really hard to serve when you think about it. because it's so fragmented, they buy very little from any 1 manufacturer on their products. The portfolio is quite broad. But they don't use all that much of any 1 product. And so from a manufacturing standpoint, it's really difficult for them to scale and justify a scaled sales force to call on these niche markets.

And that's really what's kind of unique about Sarnova is we have the portfolio breadth in being a specialty distributor to be able to afford the scale. We also have dedicated sales forces in each of these channels that bring the clinical acumen to meet with the customers and help them with their business. All right. Let's talk a little bit about what we're building and how we're transforming this business. I want to start with our vision because I really think it helps frame the rest of the discussion that I'm going to have with you today.

With Patricia industry support, we're really becoming more than a specialty distributor. And soon, we're no longer going to be best described as one. And the reason for that is more of what we sell is becoming our own products, our own portfolio rather than just simply distributing another manufacturer's products. Now I do want to make a point here as we go through the rest of these slides is that distribution does remain core to who we are. It is our foundation of the business. It gives us the breadth to call in these niche markets, which then allows us to have the scale that allows us to have a lot of high customer frequency interaction and really become experts in the market, and that is the ingredient to help fuel our own portfolio and what comes next in these markets.

So you really have to do both in our strategy is be a great distributor but also build more of our own portfolio as we push forward. And you bring those together and we can make a greater impact on our customers. This slide, I think, does a really good job showing you the progress that we've made under Patricia Industries ownership. When you look at it, we've grown since 2018 from 2 divisions to 4. We've more than doubled our revenue from $597 million to $1.3 billion, and you can see our EBITDA margin has grown from 12% in to 17.5%. Now certainly, that's good financial performance. But what's behind that is actually increased durability.

More divisions means less exposure to any single market. More of our own company portfolio means that we control more of our own destiny and certainly more margin is helping fuel and accelerate this transformation that's taking part in our business. This didn't happen in 1 step. It's actually been happening in a really phased approach, and this is really a benefit of having Patricia industries as our ownership in their long-term philosophy. We can really take a strategic approach in transforming this business into a health care growth platform. You could see in this phased approach.

Initially, it was infrastructure focused. And now it's more portfolio focused as we move into these later phases. You could see Phase I started when we were acquired by Patricia, and it was all about installing our long-term infrastructure. With Patricia Industries backing, we were able to invest more than $72 million into our infrastructure. This includes things like rebuilding our distribution network into 6 modern DCs where we were able to double our square footage and give ourselves room to grow for the next 10 years.

But probably even more important than that is we've actually been integrating and upgrading our systems themselves. Really proud to say we have gone from 6 ERP systems to one. And that is really, really hard work. If anybody who's done an ERP system that is really, really hard work. It is organizational capacity consuming, but for us, it is a critical enabler for our future, and it's about solidifying this foundation so that we can be that growth platform going forward. For us now, we have 1 view of our data. It's centralized. It's standardized. And I'll talk about it in a minute, but I really believe that it sets us up to be AI ready as we go forward. And we certainly are accelerating our AI efforts now.

In 2023, we started to really pivot to evolving our portfolio more towards Sarnova brands. Sarnova brands are those products that we control. It has our brand on it. It is our specification. And more and more, we're actually owning the intellectual property that sits within it. Today, nearly 1/3 of our revenue is Sarnova brands. And you may be aware, but in August, we acquired a company called Mercury Medical, and that added capability around engineering, light manufacturing, quality and regulatory, which is going to continue to allow us to further start to shift our mix to more of our own brands.

Again, I want to make the point in this phase, though, we have to do 2 things. While it's not just about growing our brands, we still need to also be a great distributor and our strategic vendor partners that give us that breadth that give us that scale to continue to grow them above market and help them also take market share in this approach. So really excited about this space. As we start to own more of our portfolio, it's going to allow us to move to a future phase where our portfolio itself can be a platform for additional growth. As a distributor, you are really bound to where manufacturers allow you to sell your products. But as you own more of your portfolio, we're now able to have that control to go deeper into the customers we serve and move into some complementary markets in adjacent markets as well with the portfolio being under our control. So it's an exciting phase for us that we're looking forward to.

But to be clear, right now, we're focused on our portfolio. Okay. So why do we win? I talked a lot so far about scale in niche markets. And what this slide really highlights is why that is really hard to replicate in these types of markets. We've been building scale since we actually were formed in 2008 in 3 critical areas. First one, is in our reach itself. We have over 250 commercial people that are focused on the markets that they serve. Again, these are niche markets they're dedicated to those specific markets. So our EMS reps, they call an EMS customers or acute reps, they call it Acute customers. And so it's this really clear focus.

What that allows us to do is really understand our portfolio and also develop the clinical acumen to support our customers in their work. The other area that we've been building scale and is our portfolio breadth. These are unique markets, and they do have their own criteria from a product standpoint. And since 2008, we've really been developing the strategic partners with our vendor base and also building some of our own portfolio. So their portfolio is broad enough to be relevant at every call point, but also clinical enough to support our customers.

The third area is around service. And this is not a one-size-fits-all type of service model. Each of our customers have unique requirements, things like selling in very small quantities in eaches or having custom kitting that's tailored to the protocols that they have in their business. These are the types of things that we have developed and honed in over the years to support our customer at really high levels. And that is why we can manage all of this complexity. It's why we can serve 18,000 EMS customers and agencies. It's why we could serve 5,400 hospital customers. It's why we can deploy 85,000 AEDs a year and certainly build 8 million transport. It's our ability to manage this level of complexity. And you might ask yourself, who else can really do that -- and if you look off to the right of this slide, it's looking at the other channel participants that are in our market.

And manufacturers themselves, they certainly have the portfolio, but they don't have the breadth to really afford the reach to get into these niche markets. There's also -- there are national distributors or broadline distributors that are also in these spaces, but they really lack the focus on these niche markets and taking on the complexities that go along with them. And so they're more generalists in there where we really are specialized in these specific markets. And then there are some regional players as well. And quite often, the regional players will have the focus, but they lack the scale and the sophistication.

And so when you sum it all up, Sarnova really has done a good job positioning itself to be able to do it all and differentiate itself that way. Better yet, when you are this close to your customer and you really understand your customer, you could see where the portfolio gaps are, where there's opportunity to improve your business and support your customers better, and we've certainly been leveraging that attribute in our transformation. That takes us to Sarnova brands.

Again, this is the portfolio items where it has our brand or our spec and in more and more cases, where we're starting to actually own the IP of the product itself. Sarnova brands really has 3 different categories of products. The first 1 is private label. This is where it's our brand, our specification, another company owns the IP and usually manages the manufacturing. Certainly, that has been a very fast-growing product and area for our business.

The next section is where we own the product outright. It's our brand, our specification, and we own the IP itself. If you look off to the left here, those are 3 product examples that would show where we actually owned the IP as well. And each of these came to us in a different way, and it really starts to speak to how we can scale more Sarnova brands. The first is our CuraView product. This was a product that was sitting in our private label bucket and we understood the customer we understood how strategic this product was, and we're able to acquire the product and move it to the owned category.

The next 1 is our PrO2 oxygen procedural mask. This is where we saw a void in the market, a gap. And with 18 months of clinical input, we're able to develop a product and launch a product successfully into our market that meets a need and it moves into an own product and it now means that it's in our channel for the future. And then the third is our Flow-Safe II product, which was through our Mercury acquisition, again, another anchor product that we wanted to be sure would stay in our channel in the long term.

So 3 different ways that we were able to grow our Sarnova brands in that way. And then finally, our software and services. This is just a general principle, wrap services and technology around your customers solving some of their biggest problems that they have. Examples here are Ambulance Commander, which is the software and the technology behind Digitech which helps our customers do their billing. Also, you'll see Scout up there. This came through an acquisition as well, but it remotely monitors AEDs -- a fleet of AEDs so that they're always rescue ready. These are some of the big challenges that they face and our customers certainly reward us with their loyalty.

Okay. AI and automation. From our perspective right now, there has never been a better time to transform a business. With efficiencies that can be gained with the customer experience that we can improve, technology is really for us. You certainly can look at it as a risk, and I think that's appropriate at times. But for us, we look at it as an opportunity right now to see our transformation agenda through. When you think about the journey that we've been on, I talked to you about our early phase work where we were putting in the infrastructure.

The foundation is in place. We have 1 ERP, 1 standardized set of data. We have put in AI policy and governance. We have a dedicated AI team -- and this is what we're thinking about all day how do you drive more efficiencies in your business? How do you provide a better customer experience, how do you make your teams more efficient and engaged and we're able to do that with this foundation. We now see AI agents working across our business, customer service, sales, treasury, they're using e-mail automation, and they're using voice AI and it's something that continues to go more thoroughly through our entire business.

We see that our teams are having to answer fewer calls. They're answering them faster, and we see customer satisfaction actually going up while using this technology. So pretty exciting. We do see a bigger wave coming in front of us where we can even go further after some of the biggest areas where we think there are real efficiencies in our business. We certainly also want to target areas where we can further improve our customer experience. And ultimately, we do see a journey here where AI starts to become some of our portfolio as well.

2026 has been a very busy year. We have deployed 18 AI initiatives in our business. And we have a pipeline of more than 30 more. And that means in just 2026, we've been averaging every 3 weeks deploying an AI initiative. And that really speaks to the infrastructure work and on the hard foundation work that we put into our business. We certainly think this is an advantage for us. And 1 of the reasons we feel confident as we look at the future. Okay. You can't really go too far without talking about culture. It's certainly 1 of the reasons we believe we have a right to win is the strength of our culture at Sarnova, the way we intentionally invest in it. When you think about all the change that we are asking our teams to take on right now, 2 divisions to 4, 6 ERPs to 1, adding quality, regulatory, engineering light manufacturing to the way we work asking our teams actually to use AI in the way we work.

It is a lot of change for them to take on. We're doing this while saying we want our service levels with our customers to be great customer satisfaction to continue to go up. It's a lot of change. And honestly, this is where sometimes transformations go wrong if you don't have the culture right. 83% of our employees say Sarnova is a great place to work. And that's versus a typical U.S. company, which would be 57%. We've been recognized 6 years in a row as a great place to work company. And so we're really proud of that. This slide just shows 1 of the examples of how intentional we are investing in our culture, and it's our employee resource groups. We have 8 employee resource groups across Sarnova -- and that's -- it has over 365 members that are within it. These are employees and our team. Each of those employee resource groups has a senior leadership team member, people that are from my team that sponsor 1 of these groups as well.

And so it's a great opportunity to enrich our culture, hear from our teams and shape our business going forward. And so this is something we'll continue to do, intentional about investing in our teams and intentional investing in our culture because our transformation agenda is quite bold and this is a key part of it.

So where do we go from here? As we look at the near-term planning horizon from '26 to 2030, we have really, what I think is a very simple plan. It's easily understood. These 3 strategic pillars cascade all the way through the organization, every division and our shared services as well. And it's really built on increasing Sarnova brands. bringing our strategic partners along with us and also driving efficiencies that can fuel the transformation even further in our business. From a scaling Sarnova brands perspective, we have a clear path here where we are executing a product road maps that are within each of the businesses. as well as continuing to build the capability to drive more of Sarnova brands.

On strengthening our strategic partners, there's a series of initiatives having a really strong demand generation engine, having programs that reward our partnerships, and there's a series of initiatives that cascade through the business there as well. And then certainly from funding our innovation, we just talked about AI automation and driving efficiencies -- there's never been a better time to really fund the transformation, and we feel that this is a key strategic pillar for what we want to do on our business.

Okay. As I look further out, certainly not going to give a number here, but I will show you from a history perspective, how we're performing. And when you look off to the left, that goes all the way back to 2008 when we were founded. And you could see very strong consistent performance. And when I look at these three strategies and the competitor that we are in the marketplace in these niche markets, I feel confident that what we're building will lead to deeper customer relationships as we optimize our portfolio, continue to improve on our customer experience.

I do see us leveraging technology throughout our company, more agentic workforce where we can work faster, smarter, keep our teams engaged and reward our customers with a great experience. And beyond that, as we build this portfolio, I'm really excited to use it as a platform to continue to fuel growth long into the future.

So with that, I'll conclude. Hopefully, you guys can see we are really committed to being more than a specialty distributor right now. And that certainly excites our team. I hope it does for you guys as well.

Thank you very much, Brian. I think you raised the knowledge level up quite a bit in this room through your presentations. Very appreciated. Let's see if we have any questions for Brian. One over there. Jacob, right?

I saw earlier that it seems that you have the military as one of your customers. Is it only the U.S. military? Or is it any of the other NATO countries where you see the budgets now increasing and spending power following? Or where do you see the most potential for growth going forward in which sectors?

Yes. It really is just the U.S. military on that side. There's an interesting connection between battlefield medicine and EMS. A lot of the technology and innovation that ends up in EMS services actually comes out of battlefield medicine. And so it's strategic for us to be part of that because it does give us that insight. And so yes, our focus is really the U.S. military.

We have a question from Derek.

Derek Laliberte from ABG. I was wondering if you could just shed some light on which of your end markets offer the strongest structural growth opportunities currently. And also how you sort of assess Sarnova's ability to continue taking share and whether there's any meaningful change in competition or customer purchasing behavior currently?

It's like asking me to pick between my children right now. Actually, I'm really excited about all the markets that we're in, to be honest. I think they all -- I mean, we've been working really hard to build a strong structural business. I think this focus on our own portfolio is really offering a lot of growth opportunities across the entire spectrum of each of our businesses. And so from that perspective, I feel good. I think the trends that you see, I feel that they will continue. So I'm not going to select one or the other at the moment, but I do feel really confident. Sorry, your second part of your question, I'm trying to remember.

It was how you assess your ability to continue taking market share and also whether there's been any change in competition or customer purchasing behavior?

Yes. Well, I still think things are always evolving. I mean, certainly, technology is continuing to evolve. I think when we look at our markets, we're playing in a good-sized market. It's more than $10 billion. I think there's plenty of room to continue to grow. We need to go do the right things and execute our plan, but still believe that there's plenty of growth here to go after.

Oskar.

Oskar Lindstrom from Danske Bank. Read quite often about how sort of changes in U.S. federal funding or Medicaid rules impacts MedTech. Is there sort of a risk or potential for such changes to impact emergency, your clients and impact your business as well? I'm just trying to get a feel for sort of where the risks are in this business.

Yes. It's a great question. Certainly, we see policy and funding as something to always be aware of. If you -- specifically, like I think you're speaking to EMS, funding in that marketplace is always underfunded. I mean we are happy with the markets that we're in. They continue to be very durable. We've seen recessions. We've seen COVID. We see our markets continuing to grow and our business to be able to grow through them. But funding is something that we always do watch closely.

But what's nice about this type of demand to an extent is that it's not discretionary. It's actually clinical. You don't get to decide if you want to go into an ambulance or not most times. You find yourself in one. And so from that perspective, these are really critical products that are needed, and we have a good position within it.

Johan.

Johan Sjöberg, Nordea. Could you talk a little bit upon the underlying market growth for Sarnova if you take all your -- I'm here.

I'm trying to find -- the light. Okay. Sorry, could you say that again?

Yes. If you could talk a bit about the underlying market growth for -- if you take all your four businesses together, sort of give sort of an estimate how much that is growing per year? And then my second question was in terms of M&A add-on acquisitions, where do you see opportunities there? Or are price tags sort of a little bit too high for you?

Yes. Good question. From a market perspective, we have seen pretty consistent growth. It tends to be in the mid-single digits when you look at it in aggregate for our business. From a pipeline perspective, we certainly have a very active pipeline. We work very close with Patricia Industries. It's hard to really guess on what's going to happen next there. It's not fully in our control. But I feel good with what the pipeline looks like today.

And when you look at your pipeline, is that mainly within your four current businesses? Or do you expect to add a fifth one or?

Yes. Today, we're really focused on the opportunity that sits in the four current business divisions. You never know what the future can hold. We certainly have ideas on what could be possible, but our current focus is within the four divisions that we have.

And the final question on your sort of split between the different -- you talked about private label also in sort of the classic distribution. Where do you see sort of M&A going forward? Is that sort of adding new brands, i.e., pushing margins upwards for you? Is that how we should view it?

I would agree. I think a lot of our M&A is focused at adding the right portfolio to our mix. And I think there'll be some within the product category families themselves and adding key products that we feel can be anchors that we can build around an even more expansive portfolio.

Thank you. Brian, do we have anything from the web? No, not at this point. And we say thank you to you.

Thank you.

Next up, we actually have the first, if I remember correctly, company that we acquired after Patricia Industries was formed. I'm talking about BraunAbility, which we bought back in 2015. So please welcome CEO, Scott Nelson, up on stage. Thank you.

Thanks, Magnus. Well, good afternoon. I'll say the same that the previous presenters have said, this is a privilege to be in front of you and talk a little bit about obviously, one of my favorite subjects. So hopefully, by the end, we'll give you a much deeper view of who BraunAbility is, our right to win, how big is the market and what we're doing to innovate to stay ahead.

So with that, where did we start? This now is a 54-year-old company. So in the upper right is our founder, who's no longer with us, Ralph Braun, who started an industry in this little town of Winamac, Indiana, just because he said everybody has the opportunity to get out in society, whether it's to work, whether it's to go to the grocery store, et cetera. Ralph Braun started this industry in Indiana and his passion, his drive, his values stick with us today. It's when we talk about culture, culture is everything. So Ralph was the founder.

Our vision is really to make life a moving experience for everybody. Regardless if you're in a wheelchair or you're mobile, we want to make sure that everybody is afforded the same opportunity. And that's -- when we talk about customer intimacy, we're always thinking about the customer in the chair.

So our brand is incredibly important. We spent 54 years building this brand. Our brand represents safety. It represents reliability, durability, peace of mind. Imagine putting your loved one in a vehicle that person should be as safe as any other member in that particular vehicle. So brand reputation, we guard and we protect, and this is one of the areas that's really, really important. And it doesn't stop with the product. It also has to extend. I'll talk about how we go to market. It extends all the way to how we support our product in the field. About a year ago, we were recognized as a top 100 company by Forbes for accessibility. So it's really a testament to 54 years of commitment to being the safest, most reliable product in the market.

Built to trust is really kind of our mantra. So when we think about -- and there's great stories, but time is limited, so I won't go through those today. How are we comprised? We have four different business units. If you start on the far left, that was the business that was started 54 years ago. And so you talk about Patricia Industries, which I will in a moment, the importance of being an end-to-end solution.

So on the left, of course, what are our products? We have, obviously, our wheelchair accessible ramps. We also have lifts that, that particular division designs, manufactures, and distributes through our channel. We go to market through commercial and consumer applications. So just think about personal use for your family or loved one. And then commercially, rideshare, think white bus, yellow bus, paratransit, transit, rideshare, which has become even more important for us. So BAA is where we started. United Access is our retail operation. So we have 43 stores across North America. There's 300 different retail locations, 43 of which we own directly. And the importance of that for us is moving closer to the customer, understanding directly, not through an intermediary, how is our product being received, how is our product being supported. And we enjoy extremely high Net Promoter Scores with our own directly owned channel called -- branded United Access.

Q'STRAINT Americas, I'll talk a little bit about this in a moment, but this was an incredibly important acquisition under the Patricia banner because this really extended the solution. So when you think about the core product being a vehicle, securing a passenger safely, easily with dignity is really the mission of Q'Straint. So Q'Straint has a number of products, good, better, best, but basically all the way from mechanical or manual all the way to fairly automated. This represents an opportunity for us in the future to be able to do -- if you can imagine, while you wait for a wheelchair passenger to board a bus in the rain or what have you, and the dignity of that customer to be able to do that fast, quickly, it's incredibly important to us.

And that has been a terrific acquisition for our business. And then in Europe, QBAE is really a combination of acquisitions, Q'Straint and then our existing BraunAbility business where we have a series of components. So think seating. So you may not be dedicated to a wheelchair, but you may have difficulty accessing a vehicle. So we have seating products. We have different restraints as well. We have flooring systems. We have hoists, a number of products. And then there, with the QBAE, we actually sell to converters. Where in North America, we're actually converting an OEM chassis, which is a very challenging endeavor. But having said that, they go through converters. So it's an important business to us, but a business we want to continue to grow.

Okay. So here's the markets very quickly. It's a $3 billion total addressable market in North America and Europe. In the rest of the world, it's only $1 billion. So you can tell just socially, wheelchair accessibility is not afforded the same accessibility around the world. About $2 billion of that is North America, just to kind of segment that for you. We think the position that we've earned over those 54 years positions us really well to pull some of our other solutions through. And we continue to find whether it's EV or electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, we want to be part of that solution as well. So we think our technology and our positioning gives us the right to participate in that.

On the bottom, why are we excited about this particular market? First of all, unfortunately -- well, fortunately, we're all aging. Accessibility is actually growing. And if you look at kind of wheelchair accessible vehicles around the world, it's about -- the underlying market growth is about 5% to 7%, and it's driven a lot by aging. Obviously, a byproduct of war is accessibility, and that also has been a driver at different periods of time throughout the world. Fleet replacement, again, having such a significant installed base. Many of our commercial customers are replacing and particularly in higher use, and we want to be positioned well. A good example of this is New York City taxi, where we roughly have half of the taxi business. So if you access -- if you ever go to New York City, you'll see our vehicle running around the city, vehicles.

Fleet preferences, obviously, some of the interesting dynamics going on here, as you just heard from Brian about emergency vehicles, actually, the nonemergency medical transportation market is growing very fast, and we're doing things in that segment, too, to make sure that those customers are able to get to appointments and they're able to be transported safely. And then finally, we've been very intentional about entering the full-size van market, too, which is interesting for us. On the right, we're -- a picture of some of our brand influencers.

So channel to market, I'll just touch this lightly. Again, I said we had 43 company-owned stores. We have 300 in total in North America. Europe, we're selling to converters with our components. And then we also go very much direct through upfitters that are taking our product, for example, lifts or securement and they're actually installing it in their own vehicles.

Here's where we are around the globe. So on the far left, you can see our U.S. footprint. So United Access is our retail stores. If I had dots, you would see that across North America. And then you see BraunAbility Americas has three different manufacturing sites. Q'Straint is in Florida. And then we've got a global headquarters that was put in place, obviously, as a mechanism to help drive innovation. So the last 5 to 7 years has been around EV and AV migration, and we wanted to make sure we are ready from a technology perspective and making sure that we're investing our R&D dollars across the businesses rather than just solely within our businesses.

And then in Europe, we've got our legacy business in the U.K., which is taking our Q'Straint restraints and pulling those into Europe. And then we've got a business in Stenkullen in Sweden that is our components business.

Okay. Innovation. I don't want to limit this to just product. I have shown product pictures here. But I would say what we're really trying to do is look at the best solution for what our customers are looking for. So you remember when I talked about dignity, being able to do this faster with more dignity, it's incredibly important that we make sure that our customer feels safe, first of all, can access a vehicle quickly and then exit quickly. And then while they're in that particular securement, feel very safe.

We are working with a half dozen different OEMs directly, which takes a certain expertise. You can imagine a GM or a Kia it's their brand as well, and our product is in their brand. So it's very important that we maintain as good, if not better, quality standards and reliability standards. So we pick our partners very carefully, and they choose us very carefully as well. But we also have our mindset on the EV/AV transition, too. So we will be ready as we are ready when that does happen in much greater magnitude.

And then some products along the bottom as well. Chrysler NEMT, when you see the stretcher, we've actually launched a product now for nonemergency medical transportation that you can take a customer to their appointments or be in a certain situation where you're in a stretcher that, that will be also safe.

The two final points on this slide that I'd make is, number one, the investment in engineers. We have 145 engineers. That is bigger than the entire industry, if you were to summarize all the rest of our competitors. So there's no doubt we're committed to R&D. And then I would also talk about it from a non-product. AI, we're using AI right now to shorten our development cycles, product development cycles, so we can go to market 30% faster than what we did in the past.

So there's a number of use cases. We talked about -- Patricia had a slide earlier about supporting our troubleshooters in the field, our service technicians. So we're also using an AI platform to be able to quickly diagnose when a product is down and address the customer's #1 concern, which is downtime.

Okay. A series of M&A from left to right, of course, as Magnus mentioned, we were the first acquisition in 2015. This is a series of acquisitions across to the right. I would say we've been a little empty in the last couple of years, but we've done a really good job from an operational performance perspective to be ready when we do make the right acquisition. So we are also being very selective, and we will be selective. But it's still a very interesting business over the 10 years, given the magnitude of the acquisitions, certainly not Sarnova speed, but it's transformed our business as well.

Very quickly, I'll touch this as well. So Q'Straint was an important acquisition to kind of complete the solution. Again, we don't want to just be the ramp or the lift to the vehicle that a customer enters and exits. We wanted to make the experience when they're in the vehicle better than anybody else. So Q'Straint, you'll notice has its own separate brand. Q'Straint also sells to many of our competitors and also participates independently in the market as well, although Braun is a significant customer of Q'Straint's product. But when you think about the end-to-end solution and how do we automate the experience for a customer, Q'Straint is a critical partner in us doing that.

So last 10 years, if you go to the far right, 11% growth on top line, and we've grown 17% on EBITDA, compounded annual growth rate over that period of time. It's been a terrific run. Patricia Industries has challenged us in the right ways. I would agree and concur and underscore the difference for us is our culture. I'll give you one data point. We just concluded our employee engagement, team member engagement survey. And for production, we had over 95% participation from our production members, which is unheard of. Go to any manufacturing business and get more than 95%, which is really a testament to the engagement and the culture that we're trying to drive as well.

So with that, I believe -- sorry, Magnus. A couple of quick points. So where are we going to be in 10 years? I want to press on a couple of key points. Number one, we've got very interesting, as you can see, organic and inorganic growth. We've got an underlying market growth of 5% to 7%. We believe there's better ways to find solutions even within our product category, but we also want to make sure that our customer, not just in the vehicle, has the opportunity to experience the world the way each one of us do. We think our operating or our production facilities and our footprint around the world give us scale advantage and give us the opportunity to really grow, whether it's through lean, automation and all the investment. We're also using AI in our automation as well to drive efficiencies and better quality.

Innovation, I've mentioned that already in terms of product and the customer experience, but we're also using AI in virtually every functional area of our business. And then finally, culture, culture, culture, culture. I think this is why the acquisition was so good 10 years ago because I think -- or 11 years ago now because the commitment to people has permeated and it's been such a good fit.

And so with that, I thank you for your time.

Thank you so much, Scott. Very interesting. Thank you. Let's see if we have any questions for Scott. We have Derek right away there.

It's Derek from ABG. I mean you have returned to pretty strong organic growth here in the last year after a more challenging period for a few quarters. What's driving this recovery, particularly in the privately purchased vehicles area? And how sustainable do you think the current momentum is?

Yes. So a couple of things happened. Number one, new product development, new product launches this year were incredibly important. It's a significant number. It's the most that we've launched, and we're committed to doing that in the future. So there's a lot of work around R&D and seeing that all the way through. So we had some very critical launches this year in product development. One was in NEMT, another was in the SUV platform, the Chevy Traverse and then our full-size van business, really changing the business model from a make-to-order -- excuse me, a make-to-stock to a make-to-order because it requires customization. So we had to kind of pivot that business, but that's driving a lot of it is the innovation and new product launches this year.

Right. And just one also on the demand side of things here. What would you say the demand is mainly driven by, is it demographics and kind of structural accessibility needs? Or is it more purchasing power and sort of product replacement cycles?

Yes. I think, number one, it's underlying market demand because it's 5% to 7%, just underlying demand. I think, but finding kind of niche solutions in different segments has afforded us the ability to grow a little bit more than 5% to 7%. One of the challenges that we'll continue to face is also on the affordability, just like anything in the automotive. So we're doing more even on used new, taking used product, converting it, selling it through our channel. So a lot of work around affordability. We're using finance now, retail financing more as an enabler to support affordability in the market. And that's certainly paid dividends as well.

Oskar and then Jacob, Johan, Andrew?

Oskar Lindstrom from Danske Bank. Two sets of questions from me. First off, are you looking at or have you made any expansions into sort of adapting your products for public transport or airlines? Or is that a very sort of too different market?

Very slowly. And a lot of it just has to do with the standards in both of those. It's just been very difficult. But yes, we continue to look at it. The efforts are going, but they're slow, very slow. I think it's -- Delta is the first U.S. airline company that's actually starting to deploy something, but in a very small set. So we're very interested in it, but it's been very slow because of the regulations and the standards.

Right. And my second question is fairly similar to the one I asked Sarnova around financing, but I'd like to expand it a little bit, both in terms of to what extent policy around public financing or federal grants or any of that impacts you or will impact you? And also whether sort of higher interest rates is something that sort of really constrains your customers' ability to buy your product.

Yes. No, great question. I think that's one of the unique advantages that we have. We have both a consumer business for personal and then the commercial business is being able to take advantage of some trends that are occurring right now. So on the personal use or consumer side, that's why retail financing is so important to be able to support that activity. On the commercial side is where we're seeing more of the policy, and we're trying to help shape that policy as well. But it's challenging and it takes a while.

We are active right now in doing this in Washington, D.C. So I talked briefly about New York City and taxi market. We're trying to do some things with customer advocacy around how do we make sure that our customers aren't left behind as it relates to ridesharing. So it's bigger than Uber and Lyft. It's also automated vehicles or autonomous vehicles as well. So we want to make sure our customers aren't left behind.

Johan.

Is there a reason behind the lower M&A pace? Or is it sort of you just have not been able to find the suitable target?

B, yes. I think the ambition is certainly still there. We're very selective, and we want to be selective. So it's not that we haven't been active. We've not been active in terms of securing. But again, we're going to do this very selectively.

And second question, when you look at sort of the subsidies from government, is it more on a state level? Or is it more on a governmental sort of how does that end?

Yes. Good question. I didn't mention this before, so our veterans in the U.S., 20% of our business is VA funded. The rest is really not subsidized. So it's 20% VA funded. About 3 years ago, they changed some of the requirements and the trade frequency, which did affect our business in the short term. But just because you weren't allowed to trade your vehicle as often. But I would say we continue to work with the VA to raise awareness so that, that very important segment is not left behind.

Just a final question. Is your market growth impacted whatsoever, whether it's a Republican or a Democrat?

Hot off the press, isn't it? Yes. I don't think so. I think the -- I mean, potentially, of course, but I don't want to speculate.

Jacob, final question.

Investor's owned BraunAbility and Permobil for over a decade now. Do you actually see any synergies with Permobil, either in customer access or technology innovation? So could you please explain a bit on that?

Great question. So one of the things that we started to do with Permobil was start to actually take their drawings and just camera systems and sensing systems, et cetera, when you think about the experience of entering and exiting a vehicle, how can we do that faster? How can we do that more seamlessly and et cetera, to improve dignity and so forth. So yes, we are working with them around that because they have a fairly extensive range of product that will help us.

Andrew, final question.

It's Andrew Lowe from Citi. I just wanted to touch on the distribution channels. You were saying that you're doing more direct distribution. So if you could just maybe expand on what are the margin implications when we think about forecasting your EBITDA margins from that?

And then the sort of second point was you mentioned that you were doing the vehicle conversions yourself in the U.S. but not in Europe. So is that simply a scale issue where you've got to go through third parties? And is that something that you might want to do over time as you scale in Europe?

Sure. I'll take the first question first. So the retail, we actually divested of five stores 2 years ago because similar with any -- like a product portfolio, you want to make sure that you're optimizing performance. So we're pretty comfortable at 43 stores out of 300. I wouldn't say it's a major growth story for us. It's a customer intimacy story for us. So we're committed to that. We want to continue to improve the customer experience. So that's the way I would respond to that.

In terms of Europe, it's really about where we came from. So when Ralph started this conversion business, through a series of acquisitions that preceded 2015, he purchased a number of these conversion companies. So we built a manufacturing capability, which is very different than in Europe having a components business and doing it yourself. It's a completely different scale. I would say there's no plans to do that at the moment. But should that change in the future, maybe, but I don't want to speculate on that either. That wouldn't be our preference.

All right. Thank you for all the questions. Thank you very much, Scott. With that, I have the pleasure of introducing Chris Smith, CEO of Laborie. Please go ahead.

Appreciate it. Thanks. I was wondering which American was going to get the political question. So Scott, I'm glad that you got it. But it's really great to be with you today. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share a little bit about Laborie. I think it's been in the portfolio since 2016. So you may be familiar with it, but kind of we'll walk you through the journey today, and then we'll take some questions at the end.

Look, when you think about our business, you've heard a lot about culture. Our culture really starts with the mission. Just to give you an example, today, we'll have 24,000 patient encounters across the world with our products. And we're really fortunate that the people that we're able to attract to the company really come there, not just to have a job, it's really to help change patients' lives. I show this slide or we show this slide before every employee teammate conversation, but in front of every customer and as well, I thought as investors, just really what drives us as a company.

When you think about the business from a number perspective, it is very much a diverse business. I'll walk you through it today. We really live in three separate business units, but we today have about 10,000 customers around the world. We do business in over 100 countries and 17 of those are direct. You may have heard in recent quarterly, we grew the business in the last quarter, about 13%. But you can see just over the last trailing 12 months where the business has been from a revenue perspective at $585 million and also for the profit. And today, we're in about nine manufacturing distribution centers really through a series of acquisitions. And so one of our good opportunities to try to drive continued leverage on the business is to look at consolidating some of those facilities.

I'm really blessed to work with a great leadership team. Bill Benger is in the back, our CFO. They wouldn't let me travel without him to talk about numbers. But really, it's fortunate to have a great leadership team that makes an impact every single day in leading our teammates as we move forward.

So this is kind of the journey. And you've heard from the other businesses kind of the journey that we've been on. But if you really go back to 2016, I really compliment Patricia Industries for having the insight to acquire first a business in the urology market. I'll talk a little bit about the three business units we're in, in a little bit, but urology was a great place to start because it's the aging population and a growing market. And really about this, you heard earlier about finding niche markets where we can be a market leader, and we really were able to do that with that first acquisition in 2016. As that business continued to grow, we did some bolt-on acquisitions.

And then the next big change for the organization was in 2020 when the decision was made to again go into a large market, but in the niche and really OB with the acquisition of Clinical Innovations, which was really a market leader in labor and delivery. From there, you can see in '21, we made really our entree into GI, which was our third business unit with the acquisition of GI Supply. And then as coming out of that into really '21 into '22, it really was the next acquisition, I think, where you've seen some of our recent growth around Optilume in our acquisition first of the Stricture product and then buying the entire business in '22. And then most recently, which is the one you probably read about is the JADA acquisition, which was an additional acquisition to help strengthen our position in the labor and delivery and again, a very niche area postpartum hemorrhage, which was incredibly underserved. So it was a great ability for us to continue on this journey as we grow the business.

If you think about our business in the markets that we compete in, we compete in large and growing markets. This gives you a highlight of the markets where we compete, what the growth rates are. To give you an example, though, we live in certain niches. And so we're not in the entire markets of each one of these. We look at where there are opportunities in some of these segments and then be able to have our ability to look at how can we either acquire or innovate our way into the market.

As I mentioned, we're in three business units. This kind of gives you an idea of where we are. So we have a urology business and as well as what we call an Interventional Urology business, which is Optilume that sits in the urology side of the business. We have maternal and child health. We used to be called OB, but we changed that with the acquisition of JADA to maternal and child health. And then we have a GI business as well.

I'm going to walk you through each one of these in a little bit more detail, give you kind of some of the market dynamics as well as what are some of the products. So again, urology, a very, very large market. And one of the things that we look for as we continue to grow our business is where are certain market dynamics driving growth. If you look at this, for example, 36% and rising lower urinary tract symptoms. If you think about BPH, one of the big challenges today with BPH and the aging population in men is about 2.5 million men get a procedure each year, but that's only 2% of the ultimate population. And down at the bottom, just the cost of things like overactive bladder and societal care. So in all those worlds, we compete with products. Initially, it was in the diagnostics world. But as we've now continued to grow the business, it's more and more in therapeutics, like things around Optilume, which is the balloons on the right.

You think about kind of our labor and delivery, our maternal child health business, this is a really exciting opportunity for growth. JADA has been a definite driver of our growth this year. And when you think about postpartum hemorrhage, just to give you an example, it's 14 million women a year and every 12 minutes, a woman dies from postpartum hemorrhage. It's an incredibly underserved market. And so for us being able to come in with our footprint and the size of our field organization, we have the ability to expand that not just in the United States, where they were primarily, but across the world, but a huge opportunity.

The other thing that when you think about maternal and child health is that while births may be going down in certain countries, high-risk pregnancies are actually on the increase. Older women are having babies, so the high-risk pregnancy. So when you think about things like C-section rates and how those have continued to increase over the years, we have an opportunity with our portfolio to sell products into that market.

And then finally, when I talk about these at least one risk factors, how we kind of think about the maternal child health where our products are available, 38% of all women that have babies had at least one risk factor. So it set us up really well as we continue to grow.

The last one is really around GI and again, very niche in the GI. We're not really in the scoping of colonoscopies, but we're in certain products that provide benefits in colonoscopy. So if you look at our EverLift or Spot Ex, it's about the ability to go into the screening of colonoscopies with one to four people that are today getting colonoscopy and being able to help the clinician be able to treat patients along that pathway. If you think about GERD or things like motility, those are very niche markets, but where we have the ability to come and help kind of our physicians along the way. So again, great market dynamics in this GI space as well.

And when you think about the three kind of business units we're in, it really is about how do we drive sustainable growth. And it really comes down to three strategic priorities that we have to get right. The first one is we have to drive innovation. Innovation is a turbocharger for growth. We'll launch about 15 products over the next 4 years. So it's important that we keep that engine going because we're in such broad markets, the ability to bring on a new product or a line extension becomes really important. I think it's also really important that we continue to focus on high-value therapeutics and not just diagnostics. We want to be in both, but the ability to do therapeutics as well usually brings higher reimbursement rates, which ultimately helps things around things like gross margin.

And then M&A, which I'll talk about at the end, continues to be an accelerator on top of the organic growth as we look to new markets.

The second real strategic priority for us is commercial excellence or commercial optimization. I think in our business, if you're going to manufacture a product, you have to have the ability to commercially get the product to market. And for us, it's really about capitalizing on those market opportunities. If you look back over the 2026, we expanded our field organization in urology to really to continue to drive penetration with Optilume product but we also expanded the field organization with Jada with the acquisition of Jada and the MCH business.

Once you get kind of through the United States, it's really about how do we look at these key countries where we can expand. So as we look at, for example, in Europe, where really Jada has very little penetration or BPH hasn't yet been approved, we want to expand into especially EMEA next year with our field organization. So continuing to do that is important.

And then it's about using digitization to modernize our sales force. What we want to have is our sales force be able to wake up every day and look at their iPhone or and have the ability to understand where are the best opportunities for them to go on that day. What happened yesterday from a customer perspective where hot leads, what kind of usage is going on and being able to digitize and make them more efficient. If you think about a sales force, it's one of the biggest challenges you have is about driving efficiency with the sales force.

And finally, it's how do we fund it. And it's really around operational efficiencies, which the company has done a great job driving leverage on to the business. We're continuing to optimize our manufacturing and distribution. I talked about that earlier, moving from 9 facilities. I think it's also about scaling automation and bringing in things kind of across the platform that allows us to drive higher gross margins.

Here's a couple of the products that we're working on, just to give you a quick snapshot. So you can see you see across different areas. I talked a little bit about Jada. Again, one of the problems with Jada is emerging markets that has very little presence. So the ability to make a low-cost product to be able to go into some of these markets. It also will have us the ability to improve clinical outcomes.

PrimeSight is a really great product for us because why scopes are -- that market continues to grow. Historically, it's been very capital but there's been the entree of disposable scopes. And so what PrimeSight allows us to do is have the piece of capital of a disposable sheath. So it drives down the cost of health care but also makes it a reusable product by using a sheath.

Optilume has been a great product for us. I think today, we're in the process of 2 clinical trials around expanded indications, which will be really important for us especially as we think about standard of care and how we treat patients.

And then finally, it's really that very first acquisition going back to Laborie, the urodynamic system. And how do we use AI to help decision support by being able to capture data and look at data lakes and be able to help physicians once you identify a diagnostic problem, helping them make decisions along the way.

Look, M&A continues to be an important part. One of the things I love about the Patricia partnership is that they work with our GBUs as we look at kind of the market dynamics and where we think we can play, it really becomes about build or buy and how do we find a way to do that. So it's not one or the other. It's the ability to have the opportunity to do both. And because of our large footprint and our ability to have multiple manufacturing sites around the world, we found very easy to be able to acquire these businesses and integrate them quickly into our business units. So we'll continue to do M&A.

Finally, it's really about our global footprint. And back to this, how do we go to market. This gives you a snapshot of where we're direct and where we're through distributors. And it really isn't one size fits all. And so I think when you think about trying to go into a new market, things like registration and regulation with the regulators becomes important, is the product paid for? Is it reimbursed?

To give you a great example. We'll hopefully get the BPH for Optilume approved from a CE Mark in the first quarter of next year. But then it's not just about getting it approved, it's about getting it paid for in those countries. So things like market access and reimbursement become important as we think about expanding our footprint.

This will give you a snapshot of how it's been financially since the first acquisition in 2016. The revenue has grown about 5x and the profits have grown about 6.5x. So the company has really done a nice job not only continuing to grow that business but finding ways to get leverage as we've continued to grow it and drop more down to the bottom line.

And finally, it's about the building blocks of how do you keep sustainable growth going. It's not one single thing. It's multiple building blocks along the way. And this gives you a snapshot on how we kind of think about the business day-to-day, about how do we capitalize on market growth, which is kind of that underlying thing that helps fuel it but then it's about how do you move share and market share, it's about the whole thing around customer expansion and how do we sell more out of the bag. We talk a lot about that with our sales organization. And when we think about go-to-market strategies, we focus very much on the call point. Is it in the same call point where we can capitalize on that relationship.

It's new markets and segments. As I mentioned, EMEA is a big focus for us as we go into 2027. We need to grow our international business at a faster rate than we do in the United States to continue this rapid growth. It's around new innovations and solutions. And finally, as I mentioned, it's kind of around M&A opportunities.

So when you think about our business, just a quick summary. We really are in very -- 3 very large, very different but very large and growing markets. We have strong margins and cash flow, which allows us to do things as we want to move forward from a business. It really is about getting commercial optimization through our field and commercial organization, but also driving that innovation engine. And finally, it really does start with people and culture. You've heard that theme, and I think we all really feel that within the Patricia families is how do we continue to make sure we're hiring the best talent, but also creating an environment where people can thrive. So we're really a fortunate business and glad that we had the opportunity to share it today and continue to be part of the family.

So on that, let me turn it back over to you for questions.

Thank you so much, Chris, for spreading the light on Laborie. And I'm sure we have questions. Here's one from Linus to start with.

Linus here with DNB Carnegie. I had a 2-part question on Optilume. I mean the urethral strictures product has been such a success. I mean, what would you say have been the success factors behind that? And then I guess the natural second question would be, I mean, on the BPH product, are there any, say, principal differences in terms of how clinicians interact with it and how -- I mean, the market is bigger. But aside from that, what are the key differences?

So maybe talk about them in a couple of different ways because it really is about the whole Optilume journey, which is will be in 4 certain different segments with that product. The first 2 are the 2 that you brought up as far as stricture and BPH.

Look, in stricture, really was about changing the standard of care. So I think the important thing around that product was you really had the ability to prevent potentially an open procedure and move to minimally invasive with incredibly fantastic outcomes and a lot of durability. I would say that was a key component and very good clinical data. And then the company, I think, did a really nice job of quickly moving to get reimbursement, especially in the United States. And that's where you've seen a lot of that growth.

To give you a great example, we don't today sell stricture at all in Japan, huge opportunity. We're growing stricture in EMEA but we really don't do much in Australia or other developed countries. So there still is a lot of runway. But I would come back to it's really what's creating that standard of care.

When you think about BPH, a highly, highly competitive market, 8 companies, 6 with direct sales forces, everywhere from minimally invasive where you leave something behind to innovations for resection or what's called a TURP. The great thing about our product, it kind of sits in the middle. It's a minimally invasive in the sense that it's outpatient surgery but you get the outcomes of something like a resection. So I think a big opportunity but some of it is finding our niche in our right to win. And one of the best things about our product is sexual function which especially resections don't have. But that generally leads to a younger fan than Medicare.

So while we have Medicare reimbursement, we now have to get all the third-party payer reimbursement. So again, we see really nice runway with that product. We continue to grow it but it's not going to be something like stricture where there was nothing on the market and you brought this innovation. I'm really excited also about getting CE Mark this year for BPH. So I hope that kind of...

Yes. No, that's very helpful. And then just on M&A, I mean, where do you see the largest opportunities in the...

Yes. I'll give you -- so I'm relatively new. So I've been with the company about a year. I was on the Board before I took the role. But our 3 main trade shows all happened within a month period in the spring. And so it was my first time to go to these trade shows. And fortunately, Patricia team goes as well. But I'll give you an idea. I bet we had 20 to 25 meetings at each of the 3 trade shows. It's amazing the innovation chasing these markets because the markets are so large.

And so for us, it's about finding that right opportunity where all the things line up with our ability to have the right to win. And some of that has to do with call point. But there's also adjacencies. And when you think about Optilume, that wasn't the world we lived in urology. We were very much over in the clinic doing diagnostics but it was the same customer. It was the same call point from a surgeon perspective. So it allowed us to do an adjacency to fit right in.

So look, there's lots of opportunities. But as you've heard Yuriy say multiple times, and we hear multiple times, it's about the discipline. I think that's what makes this whole organization of Investor AB so great is the discipline of making sure that you buy the business right. So lots of opportunities out there. We'll see where we go.

Johan please go ahead.

Congratulations on Optilume, I must say. It's quite impressive to see the growth from your side. Could you talk a little bit about sort of looking at your underlying markets? You mentioned sort of the underlying growth. But then I look at your own organic growth, it's been double digits now for 2 years. How much is Optilume contributing to this sort of growth?

Optilume has definitely been a growth driver for the last several years. That being said, look, our mantra inside the business is that we look at all the subset growth factors within one of these large markets, and we'll use urology. Urology as a whole is growing 3%. We need to be growing significantly faster than market but each one of the subsets are growing at different levels. So it's hard to say, yes, we're in urology 3%. Some of the subsets grow faster.

When you think about Optilume, remember, as I mentioned earlier, we were creating a market. Like we're the standard of care now. And so that was a big transition. But our kind of internal thing is to grow faster than markets.

Okay. Then if I may ask a little bit about the future here on Optilume. You're talking about expanding the Optilume into new markets. Could you say something about where you are on that journey? How far have you come in sort of untapping this potential?

Yes. Look, I think that the team has done a really nice job, especially in the United States, driving kind of that standard of care. When you think about that market, it's about how early in a patient's disease state do we have that product pulled. So a lot of times, patients will go in from a -- go in and see a physician and they may be getting treated 2, 3, 4 times before they would do any type of invasive procedure. We historically came in later initially with Optilume, and now it's about how do you push earlier into that process. So look, we still see really nice growth in the United States but a lot of our growth has the ability to move into other countries where the product hasn't been introduced or is relatively new.

Sounds great.

But as far as giving projections, we don't do that but we still feel good about the growth of the business.

Seems to be it for now. So thank you very much. With that, it's actually time. I think we need a little break now, right? 10 minutes, and then we'll be back. Good.

[Break]

All right. Break over. And while you get seated and before the next company presentation, we will actually show a short movie describing the Wallenberg ecosystem.

[Presentation]

Now I have the pleasure of introducing today's last U.S. presenter, Mr. Byron Selman, CEO of Nova Biomedical. So welcome up on stage, Byron.

Great. Thank you. Thank you. Magnus. Thank you. All right. We're in the home stretch here. So good afternoon, everyone. Well, it's really great to be here and a real pleasure to present to you on Nova Biomedical. And I should say many of you probably remember us as Advanced Instruments. So in 2025, we acquired Nova Biomedical, and we rebranded our company to Nova Biomedical. Advanced Instruments is still a really strong brand and we still maintained it. In fact, our osmometer business is part of Nova.

When you look at who we are today. We're two really good companies that came together to make a great company. I mean we're over $700 million in revenue. We've got a much broader portfolio of products. We have significant more opportunities than we had as two companies standing alone. So we're really excited about where we are and where we can take this company.

So there's been a lot of positive changes over the last roughly 14 to 16 months, I forget exactly. But the thing that hasn't changed is the core DNA of our company. We are still a company that delivers decision-critical data for the health care industry and we do that through innovative technologies. And we've done that throughout our history in the marketplace and we'll talk about that.

Our vision is to improve the health of every patient through innovation and excellence and we do that while adhering to our core values. Customer centricity, ingenuity, ownership and accountability, collaboration and integrity are all critical to us and we really hold those values dear as we deliver to our customers.

We play in a broad spectrum across the health care industry. When you think about vaccine and biologic development, manufacturing, look at hospital testing, both in the lab and the bedside. And in fact, we're going to talk a little bit about it. Increasingly, the world is moving towards bedside testing, point-of-care testing and we are incredibly well positioned to help drive that trend forward.

It's all about driving better patient decisions and ultimately leading to better patient care. And we sell instruments, we sell disposables, we sell software, we sell service but we're really a data company because that's what we do. We provide data to the end users, data to the clinicians. And maybe it's obvious to say better data yields better outcomes. But it is something that we absolutely focus on as we develop our products and expand our platforms as we move forward.

So our vision, our values, who we are, our DNA has led to this culture of continuous innovation. And it isn't something that just happened overnight. I mean you're going to see in a few slides, this has been part of both companies, Nova and Advanced Instruments for many, many years. And what that's enabled us to do is establish over 500,000 placements globally. The top 10 biopharma companies, the top 10 health care institutions around the world are all our customers. And we're incredibly well positioned to capitalize on sustained growth.

We certainly have attractive markets. We'll dive into each of those a little bit with clinical and bio. We have a very strong innovation pipeline, which really kind of forms the backbone of who we are. We've launched 10 new products in the last 3 years and we see that continuing as we go well into the future. We maintain a strong market leadership. The Nova name, the Advanced Instruments name is just really well established and well known within our industry. And we do that not only through innovation but also the service we provide and how we provide to the industry.

We are a global company. 60% of our revenue is based in North America, 40% is OUS. Both regions are still very strong growth areas for us and we look at them certainly equally. We have a very strong durable recurring revenue model that will continue. And we have a strong and proven management team. And when you think about the acquisitions that we've made, not only have we brought strong technology, but we've brought strong talent into our company and that's continued to expand as we move forward.

I said the innovation didn't just happen overnight. In fact, it was over a century combined of years of innovation in the marketplace. And when you look at Nova Biomedical, formed in the 1970s, launched one of the first whole blood biosensor technologies and certainly the gold standard technology, which remains today. In the '70s, they went into the critical care business with the blood gas analyzers. And in 2014 is when they launched their glucometer, which is a patient bedside measurement tool, point-of-care testing. As I mentioned, this is something that it's a trend that is a really important trend in health care and we're just incredibly well positioned to capitalize on.

Advanced Instruments started in the 1950s, launched one of the first it's called freezing point depression technology. It was gold standard then. It's the gold standard today. We've done a lot of enhancements to it but the core technology remains the same. And the big pivot in our history was really the Patricia acquisition. That's when our company really started significant growth. And it was not only organic, it was through the right inorganic acquisitions, Solentim, right, on the bio side, Artel for the bio and clinical side. And then ultimately, maybe the second biggest pivot point was the acquisition of Nova back in 2025. And again, a rebranding of our company.

And then our newest addition, which I'm happy to speak about is NanoCellect, which is an incredible technology that marries very, very well with our Solentim technology. So all these pulled together create a very strong platform for growth, new technologies, new expertise in our company and the ability now to just to serve our customers in a very, very different way.

So let me dive into the markets a little bit. So I said we deal in 2 very attractive markets, right? You bring these 2 markets together, it's over $22 billion in total opportunity. Bio at $12 billion with 6% CAGR, clinical at $10 billion with a 4% CAGR. And what you see in both of these businesses is that we have the products and we deliver the value proposition that fit right into the market trends that are currently underway. You take bio as an example.

What you're seeing more and more is like incredibly complex therapies that are coming out. And the magic to biologics and vaccines is finding that right cell that is going to be able to treat that patient and cure whatever disease they have. And our systems help them do that, and we're one of the leaders in doing that.

Shorter development time, speed is absolutely critical. And what you see with our systems is very rapid response, very rapid result generation and very accurate results, which is absolutely critical in Bio. And then the regulatory workflows. I think the regulatory agencies are trying to keep up with Bio. I mean the world is moving so fast. So it's really important for us to continue to align with the new regulations and to bring our customers those systems that they've achieved their objectives.

On the clinical side, I've been in the clinical markets over 30 years. It's staffing costs, capacity has always been front and center. And we at Nova continue to find systems that are going to enable to help the health care institutions to work with those resources, whether it's automated, semi-automated systems, et cetera.

The trend of closer to the patient is absolutely critical. And maybe to put that into context, I'm sure everyone here has had a blood test. You take a sample of blood, send it out, maybe you get your results in a day, maybe 2 days. You're in a hospital, maybe you'll get them in a few hours. But to get the result right at the point of test within a minute, 2 minutes is just so critical. And our system, our glucometers, the StatStrip is an incredible platform that's going to enable us to continue to grow that. And we see a really strong future in our pipeline as we continue to expand moving to the bedside.

So I want to just spend a moment now in each of these businesses and I want to start with biopharma. And I'd say it's really hard not to get overly excited about biopharma. And I say that not only as a CEO of Nova, but just as a person in society. I mean when you see what -- it's incredible what is happening. You look at 2026 alone, right? You've got Moderna working with Merck have announced the first vaccine that could potentially put melanoma in remission using our mRNA technology, which is something that really developed during the COVID times.

You've got biologics that are treating the causative agent of Alzheimer's, right? Before it was treating symptoms, now it's going after plaque buildup in treating the cause of Alzheimer's. And then ultimately, single treatment, stem cell treatments to treat diseases like lupus, where studies have shown now that we put patients in remission. So it's just a really exciting world what's going on.

But it's a challenge. And some of these technologies require partnerships with companies like ours that have the systems that will enable them to, first off, pick the right cell, which is absolutely critical and our systems do that. Working in larger batches, it's great you can do it on the bench top, but how do you bring it into full-scale manufacturing? And how do you maintain the quality of your drug. And that's where we play, and we're ubiquitous throughout that environment.

So when you look at some of our products, whether it's cell selection with the Solentim and NanoCellect technologies, whether it's developing the manufacturing line or ramping up production with BioProfile, Artel or OsmoTECH systems and then ultimately assuring the consistent quality of the product is critical. And we play in all of those sectors and have some of the best technology in the world that helps the developers.

So bio, really exciting area for us. Clinical, incredibly important area for us. It's a big market for us. It's where we started, both bio and -- I'm sorry, Nova and Advanced Instruments. And it's an area that has still significant opportunities for us. I said testing at the bedside is key. So rapid patient diagnostics. Differentiation matters. Hospitals are cost constrained. They need to have those systems that have the level of sensitivity and precision that can really deliver and they'll pay. And we've seen that with certainly our products.

And connected workflows being essential. I said we're kind of a data company. And it's -- now what you see out in the marketplace is all these systems just spitting out data, we need to harness that data, bring it together, get it connected and then ultimately using AI, drive algorithms to be able to inform on what to do with that data. And that's very much in the field we're in.

So when you look at our clinical business, testing at the bedside, I mentioned the StatStrip glucometer. And by the way, we measure ketone and hematocrit and hemoglobin and a variety of other things. And it's a platform that we see will continue to expand.

Testing at the hospital labs, I mentioned, certainly a key area for us, OsmoPRO MAX, never going to go away in the hospital lab, but we're very present there. Testing outside the hospital. When you think about some of the underdeveloped worlds, underdeveloped countries, there are not all of these countries can have the level of institution, health care institutions across the country. They're very remote clinics, for example. And so bringing some of our systems that are very easy to use and get rapid results are key, and it's just a whole new growth area of potential for us in the future. And then ultimately, with our NovaNet systems to connect and inform treatment for the patient are key and critical.

So we play in strong markets. We've got a great legacy of innovation, which has helped to drive that but it's looking forward into the future. And we have made significant investments over the last few years in ramping up our innovation. And I'd like to say we're innovating innovation because that's what we have to do. We have to be on the cutting edge. We have to -- planned obsolescence is a really critical term for us and we throw it around a lot. And I tell my R&D team all the time, all right, everyone, you just launched this product, that's your competition. Beat that. Because when you do that as a company, that's when you stay ahead of your competition. And we continue to drive planned obsolescence and continue to go forward.

And it's driven not only by advanced technologies that we've brought in through acquisitions but it's also more and more enabling artificial intelligence. And it's not only in our product, it's how we develop our products. And certainly software but it's the testing of the products and just more rapidly accelerating our time line to get products out. But when you look at some of our core technology, right, we're experts in chemistry, microfluidics, optics, imaging, analytics, increasingly AI and more.

When you look at our innovation road map, it's not only leveraging what we've done but it's also harnessing these new technologies in ways that we weren't able to before across platforms, right? And moving more into modularization kind of world. As you look at these technologies, driving efficiency in operations and manufacturing and higher levels of quality are critical. And those 2 can combine as we modularize our technology and bring it forward.

And ultimately, it's all about creating the next disruptive technology. So we invest quite a bit in our existing pipeline but we also invest in what we call blue sky innovations as we look forward into the future and we just see that expanding.

I want to spend a moment just to talk a little bit more about AI because certainly, the obvious is use AI in our products and technology, which we do. And by the way, when I talk about cell selection like Solentim and NanoCellect, heavily, heavily leaning on artificial intelligence and algorithms to be able to select those right cells. But AI goes well beyond that. And we've established now at Nova, it's a central Nova platform. And think about like the cortex of your brain. It's where all of the data kind of emerge together with built-in algorithms that enables then a transferring of that data to all the functions within an organization.

I mean in my experience, the biggest failures in companies is just a lack of communication. It's the easiest thing to communicate and it's the hardest thing to get done. And when we have systems like this that will enable data communication seamlessly across functions, we can be very, very successful. And that's already beginning to happen and we're already seeing that.

So improving how our products perform using artificial intelligence, our customer experience, everybody wants that Amazon experience and bringing them that kind of direct service is key and critical and can be done here. And also helping our employees be more effective in what they do and looking at those day-to-day kind of mundane tasks and starting to automate them. So we are very much embracing AI, not only on the technology side, but also just within our own organization as we move forward.

So what does this all mean? It means a track record of sustainable growth. It means significant growth acceleration that we've already seen a lot of it through organic but certainly more recently, heavily inorganic with the Nova acquisition. And they aren't mutually opposing, right? These are two efforts that absolutely feed on each other. And with the AI -- I got to be careful, AI, meaning Advanced Instruments and the Nova team coming together and really accelerating, driving the momentum of our company, it's hard for us not to think we're just beginning in this journey and we're really excited about where we're going.

So last slide before I open up to questions. It's a passion of mine, Nova. I can tell you it's a passion of my team. And we feel we are just so well positioned right now, not only after the merger but as we develop our culture and drive our innovation pipeline and capitalize on AI, et cetera. We have two very large attractive markets we're going after. We have a very durable business model that we're going to continue to drive forward. And we've invested significantly in our innovation pipeline and are really excited about where that brings us well into the future. So hopefully, you learned a little something about Nova today, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Byron. Questions from Oskar Lindstrom.

Oskar Lindstrom from Danske Bank. Two sets of questions for me. The first one is a little bit on the financials. So you can -- maybe you can't comment on them. But I think the baseline EBITDA margin, you showed it there as well was 30%. And since then, you've improved to sort of almost 35% EBITDA margin. At the same time, we've had comments in the quarterly reports about integration potential still ongoing. Is the improvement in margins driven by synergies and the integration of these two businesses? And how much more potential is there?

Yes. So there are three drivers. Certainly, the synergies without a doubt. And yes, there are more. Second is just our innovation and new products and our ability to command higher pricing. And the third is just general efficiency with our organizations as we bring AI and other elements into it. So we see that we do expect it to continue. I can't give you a prediction of where we go but certainly, there are greater efficiencies. And by the way, the commercial synergy and efficiency, which are going to drive more top line in a sense but we haven't tapped down on our synergies, certainly.

Let's hope not, great performance. My second question is a little bit on sort of understanding your competitors? I mean, who are they companies that are similar to you or very different to you? I'm not an expert in this market. So I think that would be helpful in just understanding what the general sort of landscape that you operate in looks like?

Yes. I mean there's -- I don't want to go too much into our competition, but there's key players like Roche and others and names that you would know. But I would say that we have a number of different competitors across depending on what market that we serve. But I'll say this, I don't think we have one business that doesn't have state-of-the-art technology that can compete with any competitor as we go head-to-head.

And as I said, planned obsolescence is critical for us. So for us, our competition is ourselves right now and we just need to continue to drive that innovation forward. So there's always going to be competitors out there. It's a wide variety of different competitors but we stay focused on just let's keep driving our technology forward.

Johan from Nordea. Could you talk a little bit about your story going forward here? Obviously, a huge acquisition sort of integration, and I guess you're very occupied with that. How is the sort of your outlook for -- is it mainly organic growth we should consider going forward? Or is M&A? Or when could you be ready for further M&A?

Well, we actually just acquired a company a few months ago, NanoCellect...

I apologize...

We're ready now. Yes. No, we're always ready. Let me say it differently. First off, I wouldn't pick one, just to be totally blunt. I don't think that way. I think of -- and the way my group thinks is what do we need to do to get to the next level? And then we can make a determination, all right, do we go out and get it? Do we do it in-house, et cetera. Now there's always opportunities that emerge and we work all the time with Patricia and there's a long list like the other companies that we go after.

So from my perspective but I can give you a couple of just things I think about in my mind. I keep saying we're a data company. It kills me that we give away all this data, right? That's what we do, right? And I think we can harness that a little bit, right? I think we can use that data and inform our customers what to do with that data. And it's almost data overload right now. So I think there's some really key areas. Bedside testing platform, completely untapped. The complexity of what's going on in biopharma right now, we have to be there to support them. And it's really -- it feels great when you see those up there and what the developments and you know that our products are being used. Moderna is a huge customer of ours. They're right down the road from us in Boston. So it's -- yes, I hope that answered your question.

Absolutely. I mean just also just coming a bit on sort of -- if you look at Nova, it could be viewed as sort of a platform also. I mean, you have platform companies within Patricia, but actually Nova is also a platform company, you can say you can add new business areas. And we talked about Laborie here, you're adding new businesses and the same thing when it comes to Sarnova. How do you see that? Or is it -- could you add further platforms in this? Or is it mainly within your current sort of 2...

No, never say never. I mean we could absolutely expand into some new and exciting areas. I would say, though, that there's -- we are massively untapped still in the areas that we're in. When you think about sensing, right, you think of the biologics space, right? So sensing in bioreactors, sensing in different parts, sensing within manufacturing that has an automatic feedback loop in terms of changes that should be made. No one's doing these things, not to the extent that they should. And so these are opportunities for us within the analytic world, right? So there's still a lot there.

Outside of the analytic world, we're certainly -- it's something to consider but our focus more recently has certainly been that area.

And just a final question, if I may. I mean this was -- Nova -- when Nova was acquired was Investor's largest acquisition ever. I mean, could you say something about sort of how the Nova part is doing today compared with your expectations when you bought it?

We're doing well. I'll say that. And I think what has been really exciting for me is how the Nova organization merged well with our culture because that's always a challenge when you bring companies together. And we as I tell my team, we could be $700 million or $7 billion. We're going to be an entrepreneurial company that is going to be fast and we're going to be innovative and that's how we're going to think. And not every company has liked that. And when you bring a big company like Nova but what we found is there were so many folks embedded in the organization that were just wanting to break out and join that.

So from a financial sense, we're doing well. From an internal sense in terms of the teams coming together, that's actually exceeded my expectations.

Thank you. I don't see any more questions right now. Here we have one, Derek. Sorry.

Byron, I'm Derek from ABG. I mean you showed the different expected market growth rates for biopharma and clinical before. But for you, could you elaborate a bit on where you see the biggest opportunity between these two segments, which you expect to be the main growth driver and also whether there's any profitability differences between the two?

Yes. Again, like picking your favorite child, I guess. But certainly, it's hard not to get really excited about bio, certainly. You see what's happening and you realize kind of the untapped opportunity there. So certainly, I think from a percentage growth perspective, we probably expect to see bio. You can see that in the market growth rate but there is so much opportunity in clinical for us right now.

And -- but there is so much opportunity in clinical for us right now. And it's not just in the products that we have today and the markets that we have today, it's expanding now to other parts of Asia, other parts of markets. A lot of areas where, by the way, we're distribution. So one of the key initiatives we've had since I joined Advanced Instruments, but now we've even accelerated after joining Nova is to go direct in many of these markets. So products like our clinical products or even our bio products can really expand. So I would look at them both. I get excited about both of them. But certainly, from a percentage, I would say bio is the biggest.

Thank you, Byron.

Thank you, Magnus. Thank you. Thank you, everyone.

And that actually brings us to our last presenter today, and it's my great pleasure to ask Interim CEO of Mölnlycke, Guillaume Joucla, come up here. Welcome.

Thank you, Magnus. Thank you.

And it's a great honor to be here on stage representing Mölnlycke today with all of you there. The last before that we invite Christian for the wrap-up and then the mingle. So I hope that you still have the energy needed to go through, but I'm sure you have the curiosity at least to learn from Mölnlycke. So that's -- it's without doubt. You heard about 3P today. And maybe I try at least to cover a bit of the performance that comes also from the portfolio, but there is a reason for that portfolio to be. And given what we announced yesterday, so it may give me the opportunity also to introduce a few of the great people that are to shape the future of Mölnlycke. So then by that, we cover the 3 Ps.

But before I start, why I'm proud to be there with you today. First is about the great heritage that Mölnlycke represents. And it's -- we have been advancing health care and improving the day of the caregivers and the patient life since 177 years. That is something. And we have learned a lot across this journey and what do we represent nowadays? We help more than 40 million wound care patients yearly. We also support health care professionals in the surgical settings with more than 40 million of them yearly as well through 8 million surgeries that we support with our ProcedurePak solutions.

That single number, maybe you don't understand how much it is, but it's about 60 medical device that we place on the market per second. So that's our print. And this print, we do with great people, 8,500 of them, covering more than 100 countries where we do operate. So you know our numbers, and it is also something that we are pretty proud of the track record. But the reason that makes those numbers is what matters the most because those are not coming by random reasons. So a bit more than EUR 2.1 billion revenue that turns to be north of 30% EBITDA margin.

We are basically having strong track record of financials, and that also helps to address the future growth ambition that we do have. Nonetheless, we also act with duty on the sustainability agenda, not only because it is a box to tick, yes. It's because it's a value sale for us. It's something that we see critical for us to be relevant in the future. If you address real pains and customer challenges of the long term, then you are relevant in your market. And by being relevant, then by solving those pains, then you have a reliable business, sustainable business over time.

So for the one that basically read our annual report, that slide must be something that you know already, and this is a summary of our overall strategy. And that strategy remains highly relevant for us. That applies to the 4 business areas that we are operating, and I will come back on each of them in a minute. But before I do so, we are having 3 strong pillars. We operate a wide market landscape, you understood that. And we need to defend this one and grow those ones because there is still a lot of untapped opportunities into those where we currently operate. And that's one of the critical pillar.

Another one is the world is evolving. And you need also to adapt to that new environment. What I mean by this is like our business is also enjoying a strong underlying demand. But that demand is also going through settings that are not always the one we currently operate. Addressing those settings that are of the one that are growing faster in the future are critical to be successful. If you want to beat competition, you need to be in those segments that goes faster than others. So that's why that second pillar in our strategy.

And the third, and you heard a lot about the drivers, but you need to drive performance, do that greatly. You can't very much think that you will be relevant if yourself are not able to excel. And it's because we have the great people and the great systems that we manage also to be relevant for our customers and offer the best solutions for them. We found all those, and we basically build on those pillars out of 3 leverages. Our customer centricity is, for us, the first of everything. Understand your customer, understand your market, makes you relevant. I mean, if you don't target a pain that you are to solve, then you don't have a business. If you understand those pains, then you have a chance to address them. And by addressing them, you have a business.

So that customer centricity is something that help us, and I will double-click on to this one in a minute. to understand what are those big pains that we need to address today and to be successful and relevant tomorrow. We discuss about the sustainability, and it's not only about the carbon footprint. It's about specifically in the field we do operate with single devices, single-use devices that it is more than a responsibility. It's a duty. But again, you don't measure sustainability only with that single devices, but how much that device brings to the overall society and the value we create with all those.

And digitalization is not something that is there for being there. We are not driving, for instance, AI for the purpose of AI. We see AI to be a transformative driver for the way we operate, the way we serve our customers, the way we provide solutions to them. And that is also a critical agenda for us to be successful in the long run. Four business areas with a wide spread in terms of geographies, in terms of portfolio with various shares of sales and levels of profitability. But that is also anchoring the resilience of Mölnlycke globally. So we operate a vast market. We operate and we are relevant in all those geographies. So we have this direct connection to various settings. We have this deep understanding of what makes each specific market channels, settings different from each other.

And that also help us to make better choice of the way we want to strategically position ourselves. But those numbers and business areas are addressing, as I said, customer challenges. And I think that element is the core of what makes us today. We recently did a deep ethnographic study. And the purpose of it was to very much understand our customers, patients, health care settings challenges. What matters for them? We have our portfolio. We solve many problems. But what is it of the big thing that matters for them. And from those, we learned that we need to provide the world solutions that helps wound to heal faster.

But not only that, but also to help the world to diagnose patients properly because if you are wrongly diagnosed, you have a little chance to heal. And we also learned that we need to ease that overall access. We also understood that health care practitioners are looking for -- are in desperate need for efficacy in the operating room settings. They look for products and solutions that are of performance. If you take on the surgical glove business that we do have, they look for tactile performance, but they also look for safety net, secure that they protect themselves, the patient, be aware of those exposures. And we also learned that prevention is potentially the best way to heal a wound. The wound that is the best to heal from is the one you don't have.

And that goes not only for the wound healing, but that also goes for the acquired conditions in the surgical settings and the overall infection prevention. So whatever solution we provide, all those drivers are the one that are driving the underlying demand. And all those matters, all those dynamics turns into those financials. And that's because you address those pains that we managed to grow steadily, that we manage also to increase and maintain our high level of profitability. And please consider that the last bars in those graphs are the last 12 months rolling performance closing at the end of quarter 3. So we deliver strong financials. And if there is some few that I want to highlight there is also that we are at Mölnlycke, together with our owners, committed to the BBB- ratings that we have from Standard & Poor's.

And that is also possible given the track record and everything that we basically deliver out of generating profits, but also turning that profit into free cash. Our market benefits a strong underlying demand. You heard that from many today. We are having an aging population that helps to get more and more people exposed to wounds or to need for surgeries. And that helps us to get this kind of extra demand. By the mid-century, the population of the people being more than 80 will triple.

So that gives you an idea of, okay, we look at the specific market today, but that one is basically exposed to a strong underlying demand, and that's not only of the aging population. If you look at the population of the diabetics that are also driving a lot of prevalence out of hard-to-heal wounds basically, they are of the size of 600 million worldwide. So this is somewhat the pool of demand that we are dealing with. On the other side, the health care systems are on pressure. They are in definite need for efficacy. And that's about improving their workflows. We have as part of the portfolio in our OR solution portfolio, what we call a ProcedurePak. ProcedurePak is where you place all those devices that are relevant to drive one single surgery.

I have never ever seen, and I'm in this business since 25 years, a customer that goes for a ProcedurePak that pedals back and go to a single device to prepare their OR. So this is an obvious way to improve to secure that we drive surgeries with better control in terms of infection that we basically make good use of the asset at the hospital, make good use of the workforce, lower the stress for them to prepare the things and secure that you drive safe surgery. I have my personal experience about those things and happy at least to share with some of you at the mingle a bit later. But that's also something that makes you feeling good about things will go right.

So those are for us as many opportunities to provide further efficacy out of the workflow, safety net for the health care practitioners and also good conditions for patients to be well treated. That does not come because of a nice pitch. It comes with evidences. And the market is in deep need of clinical evidences. And those also we carry. So that's also what makes us relevant. We can prove what we say. We can prove the value we bring to the market. And that's an easier sell. Once you have proven yourself that way, then the sales can go a more easy way.

And again, I mentioned about the health care environment and the way it's shifting. And if you look at the U.S. specific market nowadays, 60% of the energy and spend, whatever resource you think about goes outside the acute segment, meaning like the post-acute segment is very much the segment that is growing fast. If you want to grow fast, you need to be in this one. It doesn't mean that you give away the rest. We are relevant in all those sectors. But again, depending on the channel you go, what makes you relevant in that channel is not always the same thing.

So you also need to complement your offer, your portfolio to be relevant in each of those segments that you want to be relevant in. And it is also one that we want very much to be relevant in. So you understand that we are having different business areas with diverse market and customers. And many of you heard about us discussing about what is it that is critical for us to be successful in the future. And where is it that we see commonalities and different agendas. We see different levers for success for our wound care portfolio as well as for our antiseptic portfolio versus what we see for us to be successful in the glove business and the OR solution business. And given that we need to innovate, we need to expand in the wound care settings and the antiseptic one.

And when I say expand, expand geographically, expand the portfolio, expand the channel through which we sell. When it comes to gloves, when it comes to ORS, we also need to bring innovation to be relevant in the long term. We need to bring technology into the product and devices that we are offering. And those technologies are also existing there. And securing that we bring those technology into our offer throughout the channels of having access to market is a way for us to success. We have recently launched also in the glove business, the radiation gloves that is new to the world in terms of solutions. You can just think about why not before. But now it's live.

And we launched this in the U.S. We expand basically the launch of those ones. We bring those great solutions either from internal, but also from others because we have this ProcedurePak channel that is an outstanding vehicle to get access to an operating room solution. And what I mean by that is like many great medical device providers in the world don't even have access to the operating room because you need to provide that single device with so many others. And we are that dash in between them and the patient and the health care practitioners.

So by representing that opportunity, it also drives our behavior on the way we want to partner, on the way we want to expand. But it's different drivers depending on what business you're on. And that's also why we explained that we want to give a concrete autonomy and the freedom for those diverging businesses to allocate their resource and efforts to make their own decision to basically be successful given those different settings. And so that's why we are looking at finding the best way to double down on leveraging those specificities in the wound care and aseptic settings, but also securing that we give a fair chance to the glove business, to the OR solution business to grow from what we are great at into those.

To give you -- you saw that from the beginning, but that Wound Care business is, of course, the one that is dominant in terms of sales and profit. But that also shows that it doesn't mean that the rest is not good. It's just a great offer, but you need to give a fair chance to those ones to shine given what we can offer with all those. And I can't accept that we leave this on the side because there is so much value to create out of it for the customers, for the patients and for the society overall.

And I promise you I tried to go through the 3 Ps. But given what we announced yesterday, I found like it was a great opportunity for you to place faces on the people that we have appointed yesterday to lead of those specific business lines. So I will please welcome on stage, Anders Andersson. And Fredrik Wallefors to introduce themselves in a second. But Anders Andersson will be then the CEO of Mölnlycke Health Care as of January 1. So congratulations, sir. So next year, it's Anders that you will see there instead of me. And Fredrik Wallefors that has been appointed as President of the Surgical Solutions ORS as well as the Glove Business forward. So please, Anders.

Thank you, Guillaume. And I'm extremely proud to get in this opportunity and also very pleased by the trust our owners has placed in me. And Mölnlycke is a fantastic company, and it has a fantastic culture, fantastic people. And I've had the opportunity to work with Mölnlycke for 26 years. And during all these years, I've been -- I think I've been working on all areas in the supply chain. And the last 2.5 years, I've been heading up the business area of Wound Care. And before that, I did 6 years running the ORS business, the surgical business. So I'm really looking forward to the future, Guillaume, and what we can do together with all the people within Mölnlycke.

Thank you, Anders, and great to meet you all. I'm Fredrik Wallefors, and I've been heading up the OR solutions business for the last number of years. I've also been with Mölnlycke for a long time, different part of the business and R&D, commercial, et cetera. And I think what Guillaume explained really on the ORS gloves business is really the phenomenal channel to the customer where we make those customized trays.

So you really integrate to the operating room workflow. And we have so much more to do in that space to use that unique channel. And that's why I think it's a great opportunity to get full focus on that business. And combining it with gloves, there are so many joint call points. So it will really strengthen us in terms of synergies and how we work together in that way. So I'm truly looking forward to this, great opportunity, great access to customer with our channel. So yes, thank you.

Thank you, gentlemen. So I keep going with a double-click on the Wound Care and Antiseptic business. And if I have to summarize this in 2 words, the agenda will be about innovation and expansion. And innovation is important to protect our profitability to be relevant for our customers and also to drive further growth globally.

Expansion, I will just stay limited out of this one. It's not only the geographical expansion. It's also about the portfolio deepness, what is it that makes sense to add next to the dressings or advanced dressings that we do have, for instance. We are the advanced dressing market leader. We would like to remove the dressing element to that statement. So that's what we aim to become the leader of the advanced wound care. So that goes with more devices, more channels, more solutions, innovative ones. And that's also something that we will do ourselves. We will do with the help of others. We will build from existing innovation hubs that are very active, and we see those things.

And you heard a bit earlier today, China about the competitive environment. I see China being a great opportunity for sourcing ideas and innovation that we need to bring to our offers. So that will go with the mix of what we do, of what we buy, how do we complement the offer that we do have. On the OR solution and glove side, and we mentioned about the great market access that we represent. But by being that market access, it also allows us to bring innovation to the patient, to the health care systems. But we also carry a lot of those ourselves.

And we have provided those innovation recently with the launch of the radiation gloves and more to come out of the indicators, out of segments in surgeries where we see traction moving and also innovation coming through. We discussed about efficiency. And one element of this is, of course, about understanding the way you are, the one you are, having access to reliable data and by that, being able to make good use of them. You hear a lot of people speaking about AI, and we at Mölnlycke are running a bit more than 200 AI self-built agent. Those are pretty much centered on to Mölnlycke efficacy at this stage.

And they address narrow parts of processes. Why that? Because in order to deploy AI strategy, first, you need to secure that you have the right infrastructure to make it and that we landed. So we have implemented a unified data platform that secure the completeness, security of the data that we are operating. So we generate that data to make good use of it. Why it is important for us? Because we are convinced that by that, we can do better informed decision. If you do better informed decision first, you take those decisions faster. And by that, you create more value forward.

On top of this, that will also enable to rethink the way we work, address those overall business processes, but you can't very much improve to the margin of processes that does exist with this. It's a 2 narrow thinking. You need to rethink the way you operate, and that's very much the journey we are engaging. On top of this, which is pretty much centric on ourselves, we look at the way we can interact with outside, interact with customers. And we recently launched a pilot out of 3 markets that is connected to our [ G6 ] customer experience, the processing of orders. We launched it and given this data consistency that we do have, out of this pilot, we reach a 97% match of those processing with those AI agents.

And I'm pretty proud of it because it means that we are not driving this just for the purpose of making use of AI, which is a fashion kind of element. We do this because there is a business purpose. And if I go beyond those interaction with others, that's also something that we need to think about or the way it can help us to provide more solution or different solutions and innovative solutions for the customers. So we work on those segments globally. And so far, I've converted some few things that are also of the appropriate foundations to be relevant and make good use of the data we have. To summarize, we sit with a fantastic attractive market. We are a market leader in the advanced wound care dressings.

We are highly relevant in the glove solutions that we are providing to the world. And we represent a fantastic market access for many medical device providers also. We have a solid financial foundation. Our sales are growing. We are having a solid and improving EBITDA margin, and we maintain our ability to generate cash. We are having intention to get more focus on the lines of businesses that we currently operate. And that's for the better of taking the right decision, having the right resource allocation on successful businesses that are basically sitting with different remedies.

So those 2 distinct growth journey will be innovation and expansion led for the Wound Care and Antiseptic segment and will be focus on operational excellence, efficiency that we provide to the world in terms of improving the workflow into your settings and securing that those offers, we also have lower acquired condition for the patients. As I said, potentially the best is not to be exposed to a wound or not be exposed to any infection while you're basically going through a surgery. Mölnlycke has a proud heritage of all those things, and I'm very much excited to basically drive those journey forward. So with this, I thank you for your patience and Magnus, inviting you for the Q&A.

Thank you, Guillaume. We can take that for you. Any questions? A couple of quick ones from Linus.

I want to start with ORS. I mean that's -- it's gone from loss-making to making a decent profit. But then, I mean, now, I guess, sales have been struggling a little bit. But in terms of profitability, I mean, are you happy where profitability sits now in ORS? Or how should we think about that?

I think we have more to click on to this. Am I happy about where we are? I think we can be proud of the journey that we've gone through. You mentioned about one thing. It's also about conscious choices. We are not to take on sales that we don't see being the right ones.

And then just if you could give an update on your strategy in China. You talked about it a little bit. Do you see it more as a -- I mean, higher growth market or is a source for innovation? I mean, given what you're doing now with the JV and you've invested in capacity?

The simple answer will be both. And you're pretty much aware of the JV that we have formed with Zhende Medical over there. And Zhende brings what into this. They bring a very well complementary assortment to what we currently offer. On top of that, they provide us market access. We move from 80 pharmacies to 200,000 over the night. So that's kind of partnership that makes sense to both develop your relevance in terms of offering as well as market access.

Second, we -- because you mentioned about is it something that you see of being a hub for innovation? Deeply, yes. Because we see the speed at which that market is evolving, bringing innovation to the world. And I'm very humble in looking at China and all the competence -- technical competence they have built during the past few years to become leaders in many segments. And that helps because then you have access to that pool of understanding that we can leverage from.

Derek from ABG. I was wondering if you could elaborate a bit on the competitive environment differences between Europe and the U.S. and whether the market growth rates differ meaningfully.

And then if I understand, I take Europe, not potentially EMEA because I see also in that region different dynamics. And it's true that we have different movements depending on what we operate. But again, if you look at the U.S. market for us to start with, it's a market that is pretty much wound care and glove-related market. The surgical settings in OR solution does not operate that market. And there is big players over there, and we still believe that we need to be close to our customers to be relevant for them.

So by that, it does also drive some few of those dynamics. But if I double-click on the Wound Care segment to start, we see that we have the same pain in the underlying health care systems. So it's not that the U.S. or Europe makes exception. The answers given to them differs from time to time. And what we also see as part of the European segment is of the reimbursement agenda that many are driving, many countries are driving. And the way we basically address those specific is by bringing new solutions. So that's also why it's critical to be relevant in those innovative segments to bring with evidence, solutions that creates value for our final end customer.

I see the U.S. market to be very dynamic nowadays, but not only the U.S. market. And there is a neighbor to the U.S. that is for us also a market that is evolving quite fast. So should I only focus to this one? Of course, it's a big one. But China is a big one. India is a big one. Canada, close to the U.S. is also potentially emerging but relevant. So there is many of those. In Europe, there is also a matter of where do you place the funds and where do you place the money and how does it go? I still believe that we operate a segment that remains of needed, and that somewhat protect us to some extent.

Great. And just quickly on Wound Care already operating at -- you showed on the slide, the 41% EBITDA margin. How do you see the potential for further margin expansion and also following the upcoming separation, if that could further boost margins?

Then there is kind of 2 questions into yours. If -- first, we have this intention to give autonomy to those business. So it's important to understand like what we want is to secure everyone decides of what -- where they want to place resources and have the power to do so. That's very much what is of the critical element to reach and what's the better way to make it. And if and when we basically separate, then we'll see all those matters happening.

But it's important to give that autonomy of lead and allocation of resources. That's what we drive to start with. What does it mean? It drives dis-synergies, right? So that's, of course, it's a kind of mechanical element. There is some rules that will duplicate. But there is so many efficiency also to carry that if I have to look at this, can I find a balance? I think so, yes, in between those. Because by having the right focus, there is a lot of element that you will say no to that today, you don't say no to. So that's also what I expect to unlock as the potential. So what you get out of it is like you gain speed because if you carry an agenda that is not of 10 elements, but the top 3, you execute each of them faster.

And that's the way you find somewhat like you bring those elements to life, whatever it is, faster. And by that, you can double down on those elements. So that's very much what I see of being the core driver. 41% in -- yes, in Wound Care, if you take this with Antiseptic, it's a 39% kind of. So it's a lot -- the only way to protect is to be relevant tomorrow to bring new innovation onto the market. There might be some technologies that may not be on the same level of margin, but still, there is a lot of untapped channel and patients that are not served today that will support this.

Oskar.

Oskar Lindstrom with Danske Bank. You described China and your JV there with as an opportunity to enter that large market or gain better access to that large market and also as an innovation hub. Are you at all seeing any competition in your European or North American markets from Chinese products, I think specifically in the Wound Care segment? Or is that a very low probability you feel due to requirements of clinical trials and all these things that create an effective moat? Yes.

So should I consider or not consider China as a competitor in those settings, wouldn't I do, I would be stupid. Yes, it's something we see. The question is how do we address this? And how do we basically bring evidence to the market about the superiority of our offer. And that's more the way we address those challenges, those realities. So will I see those coming? Yes. Do we see those coming U.S., Europe? Yes. We see them. And that's not for me a problem as long as you basically keep innovating faster and bring those technology that makes the difference for the patient and the health care settings.

But just to be clear, so you're already seeing those products entering the European and U.S. markets in Advanced Wound Care?

We see some of them that are kind of, yes, pale copies, I would say, of. But at least I don't see them being performing in terms of value add for our customers and patients.

Jacob, I think that will be the final question.

In addition to the expansion in Brunswick and China, you have also confirmed about EUR 40 million of investment in Finland and U.K. Is this buildout mainly about the demand or reducing tariff and supply chain risk?

Thanks for the question. Mölnlycke is operating on all geographies from the operation settings. We have been present in Brunswick in U.S. for long. I mean it's not because of a tariff that we drive an industrial strategy. That's not at all the driver. We believe that to be relevant for customers to have also a resilient supply chain, you need to be close to your -- from your demand. And that's also why we not only have factories in Europe, in U.S. or in Asia, but we also have in the Middle East, a setup that we have created. And those are very much supporting that we can react, adapt better to circumstances.

And then it's not about a matter of trade barriers kind of, but more about, okay, supply chain disruption. To be relevant in the health care segment, you must secure that you care of your customers in terms of they have the product they need to perform the surgeries, to perform the wound care that they have to. And that is also something that I think Mölnlycke is great at. We have proven that resilience. We have also proven our ability to adapt to new circumstances. The COVID period has shown this also. So it's -- and it's long lasting. It's not something that is new for us. So we, yes, continue to invest in our own settings because we see them to be like of the right to be competitive tomorrow.

Thank you for the questions. With that, it's time for wrap up. Christian, please.

Thank you. I'm acutely aware that I'm between you and drinks, so I'll be quick. Hopefully, we've been able to shed some light on what our priorities are and how we go about executing on it from us, but also from 5 of our great portfolio companies. As said, we think the starting point is strong with lots of opportunities for profitable growth out there organically and also by way of M&A. There is no time to rest for sure. I mean it's a competitive world out there, and there's also lots of new technologies coming online. Again, primarily opportunities.

But if we don't jump on it, they will turn into threat. Yet with the focus and hard work here and in all of the portfolio companies, we will be able to continue building and developing these businesses, always with a focus on customers and innovation. And if we do this well, we should be able to continue growing our net asset value over time. So with that, I'd really like to thank -- well, thank Magnus and the organizers, really thank all the speakers. And of course, last but not least, thank you, the audience, for listening and for asking really relevant questions. So thank you very much, and enjoy the rest of your evening.

So thank you for that, Christian, and that brings this program to a halt. I was going to say, now we can move over to the room next to us where we have an informal reception. So hopefully, you'll be able to stay around for a bit, and you can ask more questions, talk to somebody you haven't already talked to and so on. So warmly welcome over to the next room. And thank you for being here today, all of you here and all of you on the web, of course, as well. So thanks.

Good morning, and welcome to Investor's results call for the third quarter of 2026.

I'm joined here in the studio by our CFO, Jenny Haquinius; and our CEO, Christian Cederholm. And after their presentations, we will be opening up for questions, both on the call via our operator as well as online.

And with that, over to you, Christian.

Thank you, Jacob, and hi, everyone. In Q3, adjusted net asset value grew by 4% and total shareholder return for the Investor B share was 1%. All business areas contributed to growth with particularly strong performance in Patricia Industries. At the end of the third quarter, adjusted net asset value stood at SEK 1,258 billion. Let me briefly go through the 3 business areas: Listed Companies, Patricia Industries and investments in EQT, starting with Listed Companies. Listed Companies generated a total return of 1% in Q3 with Saab and SEB contributing strongly.

As previously mentioned, ABB announced its USD 5.5 billion acquisition of Rotork, strengthening its position within industrial automation by adding a portfolio of electric actuators for controlling valves. This is a significant acquisition for ABB and a good example of how add-ons can be used to complement organic growth in strategic areas. Together with AT&T, in July, Ericsson demonstrated drone detection based on existing 5G infrastructure using advanced network sensing and AI. This highlights how Ericsson's leading radio technology can extend into applications also beyond connectivity.

Sobi's, Guido Oelkers and SEB's, Johan Torgeby have announced their departures. And we would like to take this opportunity to thank them both for their significant contributions. We're pleased that Jonas Ahlström has stepped in as interim CEO at SEB. And in Sobi, the Board leads the search for a new CEO. The Nomination Committee is currently preparing for the 2027 AGM season. Competition for top competence is intense and global and we will, hence, continue to push to close the gap between Swedish and international board remuneration levels for Listed Companies.

Now over to Patricia Industries, where total return was 15% driven by strong operating performance, further supported by multiple expansion and positive currency impact. For the major subsidiaries, organic sales growth was 7% and adjusted EBITDA grew by 26%. This was boosted by M&A, some FX tailwind as well as a few percentage points from tariff refunds.

But first and foremost, the underlying performance was strong, with solid underlying leverage in most places. A few highlights then. Mölnlycke announced its intended separation, creating 2 even more focused companies all with the intention to create even better basis for each business to reach closer to their full potential. I will come back to this shortly.

Nova Biomedical performed strongly with healthy growth in both bio and clinical and with efficiency improvement as the integration work continues. Vectura announced a major development project for a new R&D facility with Saab in Jönköping and Patricia Industries invested SEK 500 million to help finance this. Right after the end of the quarter, Vectura divested 2 elderly care facilities, all in line with its strategy of focusing on developing, owning and managing innovation clusters.

Sarnova acquired Mercury Medical, a manufacturer of respiratory and anesthesia products adding a proprietary product portfolio to Sarnova's acute care and emergency preparedness businesses. This is another step, adding on products to the Sarnova portfolio as a complement to the distribution business. And finally, in July, Permobil distributed SEK 550 million to Patricia Industries.

So on Mölnlycke, they announced its intention to separate into 2 stand-alone companies, Mölnlycke, where the Wound Care and the antiseptics business will reside, and Mölnlycke Surgical, where the ORS and the gloves business will reside. This creates stronger conditions for both companies and all 4 business units to reach their full potential and drive long-term value creation through sharper strategic focus, clearer accountability and even greater speed of execution.

Currently, focus is, of course, on executing the split successfully while keeping momentum in the underlying business. We will revert to this as it develops. For the major subsidiaries and our 40% in Tre Skandinavien, revenues amounted to almost SEK 73 billion in the last 12 months and EBITDA was SEK 19 billion.

And finally then, investments in EQT, our third business area. Total return was 7%, driven by both EQT AB and our fund investments. In the quarter, we invested SEK 0.7 billion in the funds net of exit proceeds. Activity remained high, EQT closed the acquisition of Coller Capital, complementing its portfolio with a strong platform in the secondaries market.

Also after the quarter, EQT announced the acquisition of Stockbridge scaling its real estate platform, adding a sector specialist team with a local presence in the U.S. And as reflected in our recent acquisitions of shares in EQT AB, we remain confident in their continued ability to generate attractive returns for its investors and its shareholders. As I've said many times, we're confident in our platform. In particular, I'd like to highlight our portfolio of high-quality companies. In today's complex operating environment, they're doing a good job focusing on improving efficiency and strengthening resilience while investing for the future.

Our companies have a strong starting point with excellent customer offerings and leading market positions. As engaged owners, we remain focused on building and supporting these companies, and we're confident that this will create shareholder value over time.

With that, I leave the floor to you, Jenny.

Thank you, Christian, and good morning. So let's move over to the financials for the quarter. So in Q3 2026, adjusted net asset value was SEK 1,258 billion, and this implies an increase of 4% compared to Q2. For the quarter, the value uptick was driven by all business areas, but particularly strong performance in Patricia Industries, which was up 15%, followed by investments in EQT, which was up 7%.

Now double-clicking on each of the business areas, starting with Listed Companies. Within Listed Companies, share price performance was mixed, particularly strong in terms of total return for Saab, SEB and NASDAQ with exposure to defense and financial markets, but a tougher quarter in terms of total return for industrials and consumer. Total return for Listed Companies portfolio was 1%, which is 1 percentage point behind SIXRX. As for absolute contribution, we see a similar pattern, although ABB is the biggest drag, given weight and size in our portfolio. And then moving on to Patricia Industries. Solid performance across the Patricia Industries companies in Q3. The major subsidiaries grew 7% organically and adjusted EBITA increased by 26%. The primarily due to strong operating performance, but also in part helped by M&A, positive FX and tariff refunds.

And then double-clicking on performance across the companies in Patricia Industries, and I will comment on a few of them. Solid organic growth across all companies in North America at attractive margins. For Laborie, organic growth of 13% was driven by all business areas. And also this quarter, to a large extent by the Optilume urethral stricture product.

Profitability for Laborie increased despite continued investments in commercial. Nova Biomedical grew 14% organically and profitability increased on the back of efficiency improvements from the ongoing integration. Integration work continues but performance thus far underpins the potential of this platform.

Looking at the Nordics, Piab grew 5% organically, and this was driven by lifting automation and vacuum automation. Profitability increased in part due to tariff refunds and FX, but also on the back of operating leverage. Permobil saw yet another quarter with muted growth. But despite this and commercial investments, it's good to see solid profitability and focus for the company is on ongoing product launches to fuel growth.

Moving on to Mölnlycke. Mölnlycke had a quarter with 5% organic growth, with growth driven by all 4 business areas. Focusing on Wound Care specifically, we saw 6% organic growth, driven by all regions, particularly strong quarter in Canada and good momentum in China and pockets of Europe. Wound Care U.S. showed organic growth, largely in line with the market, but we are seeing continued tough competition, and that's specifically within prevention.

Profitability was largely in line with last year, also when adjusting for tariff reclaims and FX, and this is despite higher raw material and logistics costs. We saw a 15% increase in estimated market values for Patricia Industries comparing to Q2. So from SEK 222 billion to SEK 256 billion, and this increase was explained by expanding multiples earnings growth, solid cash flow generation and positive FX. And as a reminder, our multiple-based valuation method uses a 3-month value weighted price and not the quarter-end spot price. And the positive impact from FX comes from a weaker Swedish krona in Q3 compared to Q2.

If we look at value development across companies, all companies contributed positively, and the main positive contribution came from Mölnlycke and Nova Biomedical. Also worth highlighting is the distribution of SEK 550 million from Permobil to Patricia Industries and the equity contribution to Vectura of SEK 500 million to fund the development of Saab's new R&D site in Jönköping.

And then moving on to investments in EQT. Total value change was positive, so 7% in the quarter, and that's driven by both EQT AB and fund investments. And as a reminder, we report the EQT fund investments with 1 quarter lag. So the 9% is based on EQT's Q2 report. And then on the right-hand side, you see the net cash flow from EQT to Investor, which was negative in Q3, and that's because drawdowns were larger than proceeds.

And here, we illustrate net cash flow from investments in EQT to Investors over time. It's quite lumpy on a quarterly basis. But over the past 10 years, we've received a net cash inflow of SEK 1.5 billion on average per year. And our balance sheet remains strong. Our leverage as of Q3 is 1.8%, and that remains in the lower end of our policy range, and we closed the quarter with SEK 29 billion in cash at hand. Also worth mentioning is that we, as part of the annual rating assessment were upgraded by Moody's from Aa3 to Aa2, and that reflects our strong track record, attractive portfolio of companies clear strategy and financial strength.

And then on to my final slide, looking at the longer-term perspective, the performance of the Investor AB B share truly demonstrates the strength and the resilience of our portfolio and our strategy.

And with that, I will leave the word back to Jacob.

Thank you, Jenny. Thank you, Christian. We are now ready to take your questions, and we will start with the questions through our operator, Sandra, please.

[Operator Instructions] We will now take our first question from the line of Derek Laliberte from ABG Sundal Collier.

And my first question relating to Mölnlycke. We did see the Wound Care growth here accelerating to 6% in the quarter from a relatively weaker first half. So I know you mentioned all regions contributing, et cetera, but what would you say has driven this improvement? Is it mainly better market conditions? Or are you seeing sort of stronger underlying execution and market share gains? And how do you view sort of the sustainability of this growth going forward?

I can start. Thank you for the question. Yes, we are looking at a solid quarter for Mölnlycke and Wound Care specifically in terms of organic growth. But I would be careful to draw any too clear conclusions based on one single quarter. We alluded to before that if we look at the underlying kind of market growth for the more mature wound care market, which is the larger share of the Wound Care sales from Mölnlycke that is low to mid-single digits. So in the context of that, it's a good quarter. But I do want to highlight that we continue to see some tough and challenging markets.

We have France, which continue to have a lot of pressure on health care budgets. And in the U.S. specifically, we also see tough competition, and that's within prevention. But nevertheless, Mölnlycke, it did grow in the U.S. in line with the market. And I think that comes down to really strong execution. Mölnlycke has a premium product offering and has done really, really well in terms of execution of go-to-market. But also, as mentioned, it is a broad-based growth. So it is driven by all regions essentially we see particularly strong growth in Canada for this quarter, continued momentum in China.

Okay. Great. I appreciate the flavor there. And also on Mölnlycke, you obviously announced the planned separation of surgical. And we also know and you disclosed the sort of significant profitability difference between the 2 parts here. So beyond this greater focus and et cetera, where do you see the largest opportunities going forward for value creation in the [indiscernible]? And should we expect the separation to improve profitability in either of the businesses? Or is it more about accelerating growth?

Thank you. I'll start then. The intention to separate this basically should be seen as another step of creating even more focus and accountability in each of the businesses so as to ensure that we have the best possible basis for each business to reach their full potential. As you say, the businesses are different in terms of financial profile, et cetera.

And that's, I guess, one of the reasons why we think separating them makes sense. And then in terms of the potential, I mean, there's different things to work on in all of the business. I think one common theme worth highlighting is that we want to increase the level of innovation over time in Mölnlycke really across the businesses.

Perfect. And on Nova, obviously, here continues to deliver really impressive growth and profitability. How much would you say this current margin improvement is driven by the integration synergies versus, I guess, underlying operating leverage and how much further potential do you see from the integration?

Well, that's a good question. And I think we are in quite early days still in terms of integration, there's a lot more work to be done. And as we've alluded to before, there might be some added volatility, but we are seeing efficiency coming from the integration. But at the same time, the company is also investing in G&A, and we'll also continue to invest in G&A, in innovation and also commercial going forward to really make sure that we build a strong platform. So I think we'll have to kind of wait and see throughout the integration. At the same time, the quarter really kind of underpins the strength of this platform going forward.

Thank you. And finally, on Laborie, I think we touched upon this previously, but delivering another strong quarter with 13% organic growth. How much would you say that this strong momentum is coming from the established businesses versus the newer Optilume products, for example, and how do you see the growth outlook going forward for these products?

Well, in the quarter, we're seeing a growth contribution from all business areas, which is great. But also for this quarter, the main contribution is urology and that's specifically the Optilume urethral stricture. And I think when we have these product launches and the new products growth will likely not be linear. But I think we are really optimistic about the momentum going forward, both for Optilume urethral stricture, but I think it's also good to see in this quarter where we see good growth in the child and maternal health on the back of the Jada acquisition. So the company will continue to be focused on innovation to further fuel growth.

Okay. On the -- could you remind us what the status is of the BPH launch for Optilume.

Yes, of course. Well, the BPH product is in a much earlier stage of the launch cycle. I think if you remember, the company received the first reimbursement code in the U.S. earlier this year, and the work right now for Laborie is to make sure that you build clinical evidence and you do that in close collaboration with physicians. And that, of course, takes a bit of time because you need to ensure high quality and reliability of that data. But that's in line with kind of the plan for the launch, but it's much earlier if you compare it to Optilume urethral stricture.

We will now take the next question from the line of Linus Sigurdson from DNB Carnegie.

So starting with the question on Mölnlycke. I wanted to double click on China. You mentioned strength in that market. Is there anything you would highlight in China? And how far along is this Zhende JV that you announced earlier this year?

I can start. I think Mölnlycke has had a focus on China for quite some time, but quite recently built an own manufacturing site. And as you mentioned from last quarter, also announced a JV with Zhende, but that's very early days. So the growth in China that we're seeing right now, it's not on the back of the joint venture. So there are more opportunities within that lies ahead. but we do see continued organic growth, we're also coming from a relatively low base.

And it could be worth just to add there on China, unlike most of the rest of Mölnlycke in China, we basically have 2 businesses. One is the traditional hospital health care business, and there is also a rather healthy business-to-consumer line in China as well.

Okay. Appreciate it. And then a second one on Mölnlycke. On ORS, I mean, growth there has clearly lagged the overall group for quite some time now heading into this proposed split. Can you just remind us how much of that, say, underperformance is driven by a slower market compared to, say, Wound Care, for example?

I can start. Well, within ORS, we have typically, the growth is driven by the number of procedures, so like operating procedures, and there is structural underlying growth. At the same time, what Mölnlycke really offers for the customers with the ORS of the surgical trays is to address the efficiency in the OR. So I think based on the health care pressure that we're seeing globally, there's a very clear case for Mölnlycke to actually grow beyond that if we're looking ahead. But there is tough competition I think the moat for kind of Mölnlycke offering is that it's a high level of customization for the surgeon, which also means that you unlock even further efficiencies in the OR.

I think worth remembering for ORS, it's primarily a European business.

Right. Okay. But would it be fair to say that the sort of penetration level that they've been able to reach has been perhaps below where you had expected?

I would not say that. I think there is, to Jenny's point, I think there is more penetration to be had. And then where would we like to be now? Well, always further ahead, of course, but there is a strong case for continued penetration.

Okay. And then finally, on Laborie, could you quantify what the positive margin impact was from this tariff refund?

Well, I would say for Laborie, it was roughly -- I would say generally for all the companies, it's roughly 1 percentage point on the margin that comes from tariff refunds.

Or those where we highlighted tariff refunds.

We will now take the next question from the line of Björn Olsson from SEB.

Just to follow up what you said earlier, Christian, you said that one of the motivations for the split of Mölnlycke was to increase focus and accountability. Could you give any flavor of which parts of Mölnlycke do you see have been lacking this in the past?

Well I wouldn't say it's been lacking, but I would say that our experience from separating businesses is that -- I mean, it's hard to capture in PowerPoint or Excel but the level of focus and accountability that you achieve by providing even more separate P&Ls and separate boards, et cetera, is not insignificant.

Okay. Fair enough. So if we then look at that situation. I mean having two boards, two overhead functions to back office staff, I mean, that drives costs as well on a very often quite significant manner.

Do you see that cost headwind to be mitigated by different baskets of peer multiples near term in the two separate companies or do you see this as a potential strategic optionality as well to divest surgical maybe?

I'll maybe if I start, I mean, on your first question around extra cost, you're spot on. I mean, separation typically means that you will have to you will have to duplicate certain costs and functions and whatnot. And again, that's fairly easy to capture ahead of it. And the value and the potential is harder to quantify. But over and over again, we have seen how greater accountability and focus drives value.

Then on your second question in terms of multiples, I'm not sure I fully understood it, but let me try to answer and then you guide me if I was on it or not. The motivation for separating is not to sell one or both of the companies, nor is it to sort of enhance valuation by way of applying a different peer set. We'll obviously come back to and see what the peer group looks like, but that's not the motivation here.

Okay. Fair enough. So then on a performance basis, when would you expect that this will turn into a positive? I mean, after you'll naturally have a short period of higher costs and reorganizations always consume energy from organizations. But when do you expect this to be a net positive to -- from a sum of the parts perspective, is it end of '27 or '28 or when -- what's the sort of indicative time line?

I wish I could give you a clear answer. But I think you're on it in terms of the dynamics here. So focus right now is, of course, to execute on the split while -- and this is important, keeping momentum in the underlying businesses and then we'll see what happens.

I guess, like you say, easier said than done but good luck with it anyway.

Thank you.

We will now take the next question from the line of Oskar Lindstrom from Danske Bank.

Yes. You sold -- was it 2 million SEB shares and agreed to sell, I think, about 2 million more. Is it sort of a standing policy that you will sell SEB shares to sort of offset SEB's buybacks? And would you plan to do a sort of a similar policy, if that is a policy for your other listed holdings?

Thank you for the question. No, it's not a policy. It's driven by regulatory considerations, specifically around SEB. And even in SEB, it's not a policy, but I mean, clearly, you've seen a pattern. And what we've said before is that we're comfortable staying at roughly the ownership levels that we are.

We will now take the next question from the line of Johan Sjöberg from Nordea.

Could you talk a little bit more about the tariff impact? You mentioned 1 percentage point in -- on margins. We had -- if you look at -- can you please sort of just give an up -- what did you say about the tariff impact in Q2 on for that? And also, do you expect further tariff impact in Q4 and possibly into Q1 as well? Or how -- could you give some sort of guidance on that, please?

Let me start with the forward-looking part. To the best of our knowledge, we've seen the majority of tariff refunds. But again, this is an area that is moving quite rapidly as we all know. So let's see. But to our best of knowledge, we've seen the most of it.

And if you compare the tariff impact in Q3 versus Q2, was that sort of similar? Or I'm just trying to elaborate a little bit about how to estimate next year's margins?

It was slightly less in Q2. I -- as per my recollection.

So peaking Q3? Okay. Good. All right. And then also, I know you're not super keen on talking about sort of the -- your Mölnlycke and Laborie and also Nova Biomedical's future growth here. But maybe you can give some sort of guidance on the underlying markets. So -- because this is a bit tricky for us to have a clear view. So if you could provide some insight how do you view their underlying markets, not the individual companies, but more of their actual markets growing, that would be fantastic.

Yes. Well, I think Mölnlycke we typically talk about quite a lot where we have the kind of underlying market growth in the more mature markets of the low to mid-single digits. If we talk specifically about Wound Care. But then, of course, we're seeing higher market growth in more kind of growth markets. And if we take Nova as an example, had both the clinical and the biopharma, I think we look at the company in this quarter, we do have a somewhat easier comp.

So because we have the cyber incident from last year. So here, we might be more relevant to look at kind of what the historical average has been for the two companies, which has been around 8%, and they've also been able to take some share if that provides some guidance.

And then on Laborie, it's more difficult because here, you have a lot of new products that are entering the market. So I think here, it will be more volatile. I think it's hard to provide. And I think also referring to at the Capital Markets Day, which is upcoming. I think it's also a really great opportunity to have that dialogue with the CEOs. And we have all of the North American companies presenting and also Mölnlycke.

I think that is a fantastic thing actually because I think this is something which I think is something which is on everyone's mind here and sort of what is the underlying market drive sort of what some sort of figure that is fantastic if they could provide that, especially for the larger ones. And it's very -- also very nice to see that the size of the other companies in Patricia is not just -- they are growing. So of course, Mölnlycke is, by far, the biggest one, but it's catching up with that. So that's very good.

Last and final thing, just on the tariff. Obviously, you have raised your own prices to offset the tariffs. Was there some sort of surcharge here? Or is that could sort of come back if now when tariffs are disappearing? Or is that just pure actually list price increases?

It's a great question. And it's really -- it's a mix, but we don't foresee any major sort of reversals as of now.

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from the line of Hannah Leivdal from Citi.

Just one question from me on the back of the increased stake in EQT today. So just kind of a bigger picture question, looking forward, where do you see the largest incremental contributors to your NAV growth over the next 3 to 5 years?

What areas are you most excited about? Is it the listed holdings, the Patricia Industries or the continued growth in the EQT platform. Obviously, you have a very strong balance sheet position, right now. So there's a lot of a lot of room and runway. So how do you think about that? And where would you prioritize?

I mean, thanks for the question. We love all our children equally. So in terms of capital allocation priorities, what we've said clearly is that number one is to continue to build and support the existing companies. Number two is to pay a steadily rising dividend, and then number three, but still important is to find new platform companies over time.

Now if you look at this in a slightly longer perspective, you will see that there's been quite significant investment in all 3 business areas. Now of course, quarter-to-quarter and even maybe year-to-year, it will vary. And we have deliberately not set a target where we sort of allocate X to one business area or the other, but rather we want to have all the good opportunities surface and then we pick from there.

There are no further questions on the phone at this time. I would like to hand back over for webcast questions now.

Thank you, Sandra. And let's take the question from the web. We start with one from [ Michael Gilkens ].

ABB is an important position, which benefits from the optimism around the build-out of AI, would Investor AB be willing to actively manage the position and trim when it becomes too large or expensive similar to how investor buys during market drawdowns?

Okay. Thank you for the question. The short answer is no. Selling sort on the margin is not really a tool in our toolbox as we see it. We think that this is not really helpful for our strategy of being a long-term and engaged owner. Now on ABB, they've clearly done well. I would say it represents maybe 20% or so of our net asset value today. I would emphasize though that ABB is, of course, not one business but underlying ABB is a number of different businesses.

Thank you. Then we had a question from [ Ken Slaski ] at Deutsche Bank that I think has been covered because around the Wound Care market conditions.

Next one, [ Alexandre ] there is the Mölnlycke split a second response to increasing Chinese competition.

Yes, I can start. Yes. I think Christian explained it very well, kind of the purpose of the separation. To increase focus and to create even better prerequisites for full potential of both the businesses going forward. And in part, we see an opportunity to accelerate innovation even further. And that is, of course, to make sure that both businesses remain competitive over time. So I wouldn't say that it's linked to Chinese competition specifically, but I think overall, a competitive global market.

Thank you. And we have another one from [ Michael Gilkens ]. Europe seems to be falling behind on economic -- important economic growth themes like AI build-out relative to China and the U.S. The Draghi report is still not finding momentum within the continent. Does this impact your ambitions with regard to portfolio composition, particularly within Patricia Industries.

I can start. Thank you for the question. And I would largely agree with your description of where we are. I would also highlight, though, that Europe remains a very important market for many of our companies. And if I see the glass as half full, the Draghi report, as you say, and the Letta Report points out a clear direction. In our view, we feel that there is great momentum and alignment around what needs to be done then, of course, doing it is it will require a lot of work and compromises and whatnot. But as if for as we get there, there is also a lot of potential in Europe. And if I have to pick one sort of factor, it is if we can create more potential and realize the full potential of a single market, be it around services, goods, capital, labor, et cetera. That's a great potential. And we need to be wary that it's a highly competitive world. And at the moment, to your point, Europe is not in the lead.

And we have a couple of questions from [ Holger ] [indiscernible]. I think the first one regarding the Mölnlycke split has been covered already.

So I'll jump to the second one. There is now a wide dispersion in operating performance within Patricia with Nova and Laborie performing very strongly, while other businesses are more challenged. How do you think about allocating incremental capital between the strongest compounders and the businesses that require more operational improvement?

Thank you. I can start. I think generally, our way of approaching growth in general and in particular, maybe M&A is we always look for stability, profitability and then growth. And to the extent we have businesses or parts of businesses that are not performing the way we want, then the focus is typically on making sure we get to the right level before we sort of pushed the accelerator further.

Then maybe just adding to that. If we look at the quarter, I agree, Nova has a good quarter, Laborie the same. But if I would say BraunAbility is also performing well this quarter and also Sarnova. So looking at the full North American portfolio. And in terms of the Nordic portfolio, we have a good quarter from Mölnlycke and also, Piab.

And so if we single out Permobil and maybe for this quarter, there are a few reasons for why growth is muted. We do still decent profitability. But for Permobil, there are a lot of focus on ongoing product launches to also fuel growth. I think for the context for this, I think we are seeing a broader kind of performance than maybe what the question is alluding to here, but I agree with your point.

And the final question doesn't have a name attached to it, but I'll make an exception since it's a short one. Will you consider making more buyback returning to shareholders?

I can start. Yes, I think Christian has partly already answered that. Our capital allocation priorities are very clear and the are very firm. First and foremost, we are to invest and support and grow our companies that we have in our portfolio today and then paying a steadily rising dividend and also looking to add new platforms to the portfolio. So that's our kind of main focus. And we do have a strong balance sheet, and I think we're very glad that we do. It's a quite volatile environment, and we want to always have the opportunity to act when we find really attractive investment opportunities.

Good. Then I can't see any further questions, and that means it's time to conclude. So many thanks, Jenny, many thanks, Christian, and all of you who have participated. Our next report is the full year and Q4 report on January 22 next year. However, as we mentioned, do not miss our Capital Markets update on November 4, where we will deep dive into a number of the companies in the Patricia Industries portfolio. All the North American companies are here with their CEO as well as Mölnlycke.

So hope to see you here. And until then, thank you, and goodbye.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning, and welcome to Investor's results call for the second quarter and first half of 2026. I'm joined in our Stockholm Studio by CFO, Jenny Ashman Haquinius; and CEO, Christian Cederholm. Following the presentations, we will be opening up for questions, both via our operator as well as online. And with that, over to you Christian.

Thank you, Jacob, and hi, everyone. In Q2, net asset value growth was 9%, total shareholder return for Investor's B share was 15%. The growth was all driven by Listed Companies, while both Patricia Industries and Investments in EQT contributed negatively. Importantly, while multiples were down, underlying performance in the Patricia companies was solid. At the end of the second quarter, adjusted net asset value stood at SEK 1,215 billion.

Let me briefly go through the 3 business areas: Listed Companies, Patricia Industries and Investments in EQT. Starting with Listed Companies. Listed Companies generated a total return of 14% in Q2. Performance was primarily driven by a few of our industrial companies, led by ABB, which benefits from electrification and demand related to the build-out of data centers. During the quarter, we participated with our pro-rata share of SEK 1.7 billion in Electrolux's rights issue as they strengthened their balance sheet. The joint ventures with Midea is another important strategic step aimed at improving profitability in North America.

As you know, Wärtsilä recently completed a number of divestments of nonstrategic assets, basically pruning its portfolio. In Q2, Wärtsilä announced a joint venture for its global energy storage business, teaming up with a seasoned partner who knows the business and has a proven track record of performing also on the challenging market conditions. We believe this can unlock further potential from the storage business itself, while also allowing Wärtsilä to focus even more on its remaining core marine and energy businesses, where they continue to expand capacity to meet strong demand.

Börje Ekholm announced his departure from Ericsson. And Narvinger, his successor, takes over company in strong shape. Ericsson today is a company with technology and market leadership and with a number of opportunities for accelerated growth. Per has been a key contributor to the journey thus far, knows the customers, the technologies and the company well.

Now over to Patricia Industries. Total return here was minus 3% with lower multiples outweighted earnings growth and cash flow in the quarter. For the major subsidiaries, organic sales growth was 7% and adjusted EBITDA grew by 16% with solid cash flow conversion. For the first time in quite a while, FX was not a big drag on reported earnings.

A few highlights then. Nova Biomedical performed strongly, with healthy growth and efficiency improvements from the ongoing integration work. However, a lot of work remains. Mölnlycke formed the JV with Zhende Medical to broaden access to high-quality wound care solutions in China and to help Mölnlycke adapt to China's speed, for example, product development. And in the quarter, Mölnlycke and Three Scandinavia both distributed cash to Patricia Industries.

Now for the major subsidiaries and our 40% in Three Scandinavia, revenues amounted to almost SEK 71 billion in the last 12 months. And EBITDA for the corresponding period was just north of SEK 18 billion. Now remember, this is all in Swedish krona, of course, sensitive to FX.

And finally then, investments in EQT, our third business area. Here, total return was a negative 2%, dragged down by the decline in EQT AB's share price. Dividends from EQT AB and a net positive fund flow more than offset the SEK 349 million investment we made in EQT AB shares. Activity remained high. And for example, EQT was selected to lead the scale-up Europe fund, a EUR 5 billion initiative designed to support the growth of Europe's most promising technology companies and to strengthen the continent's innovation ecosystem. Also, EQT successfully raised USD 15.6 billion for its new Asia flagship fund, making it the largest Asia Pacific dedicated private equity fund ever raised. These are both great testaments to the strength of EQT.

Now as we all know, the world remains complex and increasingly competitive. Right now, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East causes additional volatility and uncertainty, with clear risks to cost inflation for many input goods, for freight, et cetera, and potential disturbances in supply chains. In this operating environment, companies need to focus on improving efficiency and strengthening resilience.

In general, our companies continue to do a good job to adapt, protecting the businesses and the profits here and now. They're staying close to customers and are able to make quick decisions and adapt as the world around them changes. Our companies do have a strong starting point with excellent customer offerings and leading market positions. And over time, prosperity hinges on innovation. Offering truly differentiated and sustainable solutions to customers is the only way to ensure long-term profitable growth. This is why we will always encourage our companies to make well-considered investments in innovation.

AI and sustainability are, of course, 2 key dimensions of innovation, with opportunities really across the whole value chain. In R&D, in products and aftermarket, of course, but also in manufacturing, go-to-market, administration, et cetera. Within AI, our companies are making progress when it comes to finding and implementing and scaling relevant, high-value use cases for AI. That said, we've only scratched the surface so far, and we need to continue accelerating our efforts here.

Sustainability also offers attractive opportunities. Creating added value for customers while also contributing to the green transition remains a very powerful proposition.

As I've said many times, we're confident in our platform. Investor has a clear purpose and a focused strategy, a portfolio of high-quality companies, engaged ownership model that's been proven over time, financial flexibility with low leverage and strong underlying cash flow and importantly, great people here at Investor in our companies and in our network. We remain focused on building and supporting great companies and are confident that this will create shareholder value over time.

And with that, I leave the floor to you, Jenny.

Thank you, Christian, and good morning. So let's move over to the financials for the quarter. So in Q2 2026, adjusted net asset value was SEK 1,215 billion, and this implies an increase of 9% compared to Q1. And for the quarter, the value uptick was driven by Listed Companies, increasing with 14%, while Patricia Industries and Investments in EQT declined.

And now double-clicking on each of the business areas, and I will start with Listed Companies. And within Listed Companies, share price performance was mixed, particularly strong quarter for the ABB share, which, of course, benefits from electrification and strong data center-related demand. Saab had a tougher quarter looking at total return and total return for the Listed Companies portfolio was 14%, which is 5 percentage points ahead of SIXRX. And this strong relative outperformance is largely driven by ABB. And as for absolute contribution, ABB, again, in particular, stands out, given strong share price performance as well as width and size in our portfolio.

And then moving on to Patricia Industries. Although the adjusted net asset value for Patricia Industries contracted in Q2, we did see solid performance by the portfolio companies. The major subsidiaries grew 7% organically and adjusted EBITDA increased by 16%. And for the first time in quite a while, as Christian mentioned, FX was not a big drag on reported earnings.

And now double-clicking on performance across the companies in Patricia Industries, and I will comment on a few of them. So for Laborie, growth was driven by all business areas and also this quarter, to a large extent by the Optilume urethral strictures. And if we adjust for USD 17 million in expense related to the JADA acquisition, profitability for Laborie was up, and this is despite continued commercial investments.

Nova Biomedical grew 10% organically, and profitability increased on the back of efficiency improvements from the integration, and integration is off to a good start. It is still early days, but performance thus far underpins the potential of this platform.

BraunAbility and Sarnova also delivered double-digit organic growth in the quarter. For BraunAbility, operating leverage was offset by unfavorable product mix, and for Sarnova, by continued strengthening of the organization.

We saw single-digit organic growth for Permobil and Piab. For Piab, the margin was pressured by SEK 46 million in restructuring costs and increasing sales cost. For Permobil, the margin was impacted by costs related to the production facility relocation mentioned in Q1 as well as investments in the commercial organization.

And then moving on to Mölnlycke. Mölnlycke had a quarter with 2% organic growth, with growth driven by all of the 4 business areas. And if we focus on Wound Care specifically, we saw 2% organic growth and we recognize that we have yet another quarter with more modest growth. And first of all, we are comparing to a strong quarter last year. And for Wound Care U.S., specifically was essentially flat this quarter, reduced somewhat softer market conditions, including continued destocking in some channels, and we're also seeing increased competition in some product categories. The more established and mature wound care markets, such as the U.S., are growing low to mid-single digit, but Mölnlycke's ambition to outgrow the market over time remains. And this is on the back of an innovative premium product offering, focused commercial execution and continued geographic expansion.

And in the quarter, great to see strong momentum in APAC, specifically China, which is a very attractive growth market. And here, Mölnlycke strengthened its position through the partnership with Zhende. And also positive to say that EMEA grew in the quarter. Mölnlycke protects share in France, which has been a challenging market, and this is on the back of the company working agile to continuously adapt product assortment to meet changing reimbursement landscape.

Despite modest growth in the quarter, it's very positive to see improving profitability as the company is doing a really good work with efficiency improvements and cost control. For this quarter, we had a couple of nonrecurring items that were net positive in total, including a tariff refund. And if we adjust for this, the underlying margin is almost 30%.

So for Patricia Industries, we saw a 3% contraction in estimated market values compared to Q1. So from SEK 230 billion to SEK 222 billion. And this drop was explained by contracting multiples, which more than offset earnings growth and cash flow generation. And as a reminder, our multiple-based valuation method uses a 3-month value-weighted average price and not the quarter-end spot price.

And then if we look at value development across the companies, it's a mixed bag, main positive contribution from Nova Biomedical and BraunAbility, while Mölnlycke is the biggest drag in the quarter, and this is explained by the multiple contraction. Also worth highlighting is the distribution, roughly SEK 2 billion from Mölnlycke, and also SEK 300 million from Three Scandinavia, and then also an equity contribution to Vectura of SEK 300 million to fund the recent GoCo acquisition.

Moving on to Investments in EQT. Total value change was a negative 2% in the quarter, and that's explained by EQT AB, which was down 4%. Fund investments were essentially flat. And as a reminder, we report EQT fund investments with one quarter lag. So the 0% is based on EQT's Q1 report. And here on the right-hand side, you see the net cash flow from EQT to Investor, which was SEK 500 million roughly in Q2.

And here, we also illustrate net cash flow from investments in EQT to Investor over time. And while it's quite lumpy on a quarterly basis, over the past 10 years, we've received a net cash inflow of SEK 1.6 billion on average per year. And our balance sheet remains strong. Our leverage as of Q2 is 1.9%. And it remains in the lower end of our policy range, and we closed the quarter with SEK 29 billion in cash at hand.

And then on to my final slide. If we look at the longer-term perspective, the performance of the Investor ABB share truly demonstrates the strength and the resilience of our portfolio and our strategy.

And with that, I will leave the word back to Jacob.

Thank you very much, Jenny. Thank you, Christian. Now it's time to take your questions, and we'll start with questions through our operator. So Sharon, please.

[Operator Instructions] And the first question comes from the line of [ Bjorn Olsen ] from SEB.

Just a question on Patricia. Your listed portfolio has outperformed the Patricia for quite a few quarters now. And the Medtech focus, I mean, you're facing pressure both from multiples, but also you're mentioning that Mölnlycke is facing softer market conditions. And earlier this week, Coloplast flagged down sales outlook. I was just wondering, at what point would you reconsider the strategic Medtech concentration in Patricia?

Okay. Thank you. I can start on that one. So if you look at Medtech, we remain convinced about the long-term outlook for profitable growth in Medtech. You have an interesting combination of an almost endless demand, if you think about it with the demographics of aging people, the ability to treat more diseases, et cetera, et cetera. And then you have technological development that enables both better outcomes, but also importantly, better efficiency and cost efficiency in doing so. And then you couple that with funding systems that are, of course, always sort of strained, that is a very fertile ground for growing and developing business.

So we remain all committed to Medtech. And of course, we recognize that trading in many of the peer companies have been less positive in recent quarters. But there also, I would just look at what the earnings growth in Patricia is and in the Medtech company specifically, for a better indication of long-term performance.

Okay. So if anything, the current multiple environment actually make this part of your portfolio more interesting rather than that it sounds like?

I mean, in a way, you could say that I think when it comes to -- if you're referring to sort of the opportunity to go in and buy on the cheap, unfortunately, it's quite hard to do that for a couple of reasons. One is timing, of course, but also typically, the companies that we are looking to buy, the sellers aren't that keen to sell in a tougher environment. So normally, we're not here to make a bargain. But of course, as you say, there will continue to be good opportunities in this market environment and also if or when multiples recover.

[Operator Instructions] We will now take the next question, and the question comes from the line of Johan Sjöberg from Nordea.

I would like to start off with Mölnlycke talking a little bit upon the outlook -- growth outlook in the Wound Care business. You talked about the positive trends in Asia, but flattish in North America and also in Europe. And I would like to sort of -- if you could start off talking a little bit about the U.S. market here. What is sort of hammering the growth in this business? We are used to sort of mid- to high single-digit growth rates in Wound Care now where I know it's -- will be 2 quarters, but we are sort of at 2% growth in this business during these quarters. Could you -- could you say something about what you are doing in order to drive growth? Or is it -- yes, talk a little bit about that, please?

Yes. I can start. Well, thank you for the question, Johan. Well, as you very rightly point out, we have a second quarter where we do see some more modest growth from Mölnlycke. And if we zoom in on Wound Care, so the biggest business area and also U.S. or the biggest market, it's actually flat if we compare to the same quarter last year. And there are a few factors at play here.

I mean, first, we do see some softness in the market. If we look at the market data, it's quite early signals, and it's too early to draw any clear conclusions. If it's clear signals for softness or if it's actually noise, but we do see some destocking similar to Q1. But here, the company is really close to the market and looking at the data and really trying to understand what is what. So some softness.

But in addition to that, we also see specifically within prevention, fierce competition. And I think Advanced Wound Care, for a definition, is a competitive space. But in the quarter per se, we see some added intensity in competition and that's prevention and also specifically on price. And here, it's back to Mölnlycke really pushing the health economic case of Mölnlycke's products. So continue to invest in the sales force but also education for customers within both the clinicians and procurement.

And then in addition to that, I think it's also worth mentioning that we are coming from a very strong quarter last year as well. So that's some kind of nuance around it. But then I think we have the ambition to grow above and beyond that. If you look at the more mature markets, I think a good reference point to keep in mind is that the underlying market growth is low to mid-single digits. But on the back on a really qualitative premium product offering and strong commercial execution, the ambition is to grow above what we see in the quarter.

And then in addition to that, of course, the geographic expansion. And as you also mentioned, we have APAC for the quarter and specifically China. Very positive to see growth there. And also the strengthening of the position with the joint venture with Zhende. And I think another point, which I think is worth highlighting for the quarter is that even though we see this modest growth in Q2, we have a really good development in terms of profitability, and that's on the back of really good work from the company. As we mentioned last year, focus on finding efficiencies. So Mölnlycke still contributes with roughly 60% of the profit increase for the quarter.

Yes, I understand that. And the previous quarters, you have been impacted by the tariffs and the inability to -- well, you've been lagging in terms of price increases and also, I mean, could you talk a little bit about how that price or the price component now given the tariffs also, that's one thing?

And the second thing, I also want to -- you talked about the competition also in the U.S. market. I know it's always a tough competition and you have great respect for your competitors. And -- but do you see that the competitive landscape changing somewhat recently, i.e., has it intensified? Because, I mean, given the sort of mind-blowing margins you have in the Wound Care business, I would assume that would attract a lot of competition, you can say.

Again, I can -- do you want to say? Okay. Now in terms of the competition, I would say it's intensifying. We are seeing the same kind of competitors as we typically say. And we've seen similar situations before because in the health care sector and specifically Wound Care, the hospitals are always under pressure in terms of quite strained budgets, so you could actually compete on price. And that's why it's so important to offer true value to the customer. So over time, you will actually more push the health economics rather than the unit price. So this is the name of the game in Wound Care, so to say. So I wouldn't say that there are any new types of competitors. It's more in the quarter, we see specifically within prevention, competitors pushing price a bit more.

Yes. Okay. And then the question regarding pricing.

I can take a first shot about that, Johan. So as you referred to, I mean, tariffs has been one inflationary factor. But one should remember that we've had a lot of different things in recent years, driving the cost. I mean, we have rate cost. Now we're looking at oil and oil derivatives, et cetera. So really in our discussions with the companies, typically, we try to talk about the value that we bring rather than pointing to a specific and especially not tying any price increases to specific factors. Of course, there has been intense price discussions in a number of companies, Mölnlycke included. And of course, it's always, let's say, tough discussions. But by and large, there is an appreciation for the value that our products bring. And if you look at, for example, gloves, there's certainly been some real price increases.

Okay. If I may change a company and go to Laborie, looking at especially the growth rates here and also actually the margins. I have been looking at the 13% organic growth here in the quarter. Is this an effect of the launch of the recent -- or your -- the products that you've been talking about before, I don't dare to pronounce them in English because -- but is this sort of -- do we see the impact from that now? And should we assume that sort of the impact from these launches will continue now during the second half of this year?

And then also, if you could talk also about the margins in Laborie also, I mean it's -- if I adjust for the $17 million, the margin looks extraordinary. And is this just a consequence of the 13% growth in the organic growth? Or is there some other things?

Yes. Well, in the quarter, it's really good to see a strong growth for Laborie, and it's driven by all of the 3 business areas, but it is similar to previous quarters, to a large extent, still driven by the Optilume urethral structures product, which is one of the quite recently launched products. And we also typically talk about BPH, but that is much earlier in the launch cycle, and it's not the driver of growth in this quarter. But it is the Optilume urethral structures product. And then also when you have product launches, growth will not be linear and we are going to get into tougher comps as well. But it's certainly new products that are driving the majority of the growth for the quarter.

And then in terms of profitability, as you say, if we do the adjustments, it's a strong operating leverage as well as positive mix that is driving a good uptick in profitability.

Okay. So Optilume is clearly margin enhancing for Laborie, is that how we should see it going forward?

It's good margins in Optilume.

There are currently no further phone questions. I will hand the call back to Jacob for webcast questions.

Thank you very much, Sharon. Web questions. We do have a couple of questions from [ Michael Gilkins ]. I'll divide them into 2 parts. Christian, for you, in your letter to shareholders, you emphasized the importance of being present in China, and you highlight your recent trip to the U.S. How do you manage the growing geopolitical tensions and the push for strategic autonomy between the U.S. and China, given Investor AB's ambition to have its portfolio companies active in both nations?

Yes. Thank you for that question, and it's a good question. Basically, we will have to, as we've done previously, find ways to work with basically all markets globally. There has certainly been increased tension in a number of sectors and fields. And I think at the end of the day, it goes back to another thing that we write in -- about in our report and stress in our report, and that's innovation and differentiated products. I mean we do see that be it in China or in the U.S., when and if our companies have truly leading products and offerings, there is opportunities to do business. And then, of course, that's not to underestimate the level and the efforts to navigate the geopolitical landscape. But at the end of the day, with differentiated innovative products, we have a good chance of playing really globally.

And the second question from [ Michael Gilkins ]. With several of your holdings having significant software exposure, including NASDAQ and Sarnova, alongside your co-investment in Fortnox through EQT, are you experiencing any operational impacts from AI disruption? Additionally, do you see any spending hesitation or reluctance from major clients due to AI transition plans? And how is Fortnox performing in this environment?

Sorry, was the question related to Fortnox and what we see there? I didn't quite get.

Yes, mainly. I'll clarify again. With several of the holdings having significant software exposure, including NASDAQ and Sarnova, alongside your co-investment in Fortnox through EQT, are you experiencing any operational impact from AI disruption? You start there.

So really, I would start to look at it in terms of what kind of opportunities and leverage do we see from AI, including in these companies. And if you take the software, the slightly more software-heavy businesses, there, we do see clear upside and a clear realized potential from AI, not the least within coding, of course, but it also goes much broader than that. And if you take a Fortnox, for example, it's on the customer care side and the call center side and whatnot. So there's lots of opportunities.

When it comes to disruption, so far, I would say that the companies that we have, have been able to leverage the strong position they have in terms of customer relationships and customer trust, rather deep integrations with the customers, good understanding of the verticals that they're in. And finally, a significant flow of data from the existing platforms. But we remain super humble about the risks and just keep on pushing to make sure that we end up on the winning side of this.

Yes. I think you covered it briefly. But the second part, do you see any spending hesitation or reluctance from major clients due to AI transition plans? And how is Fortnox performing in this environment?

Well, it -- sort of to tie it a little bit to the first part, I would say that our ambition and what we need to do is to make sure that we bring enough value and I guess, enough AI capabilities to make sure that we fit into this bucket of AI spend and AI investments that the companies are doing because, to your point, that is a real shift we see. And I believe that some other players in other parts of the value chain are indeed seeing some pressure from the shifting budgets and the increased AI spend. But so far so good.

Thank you very much. I can't see any further questions. That means that it's time to conclude this session. So many thanks, Jenny. Many thanks, Christian. Our next scheduled call is the Q3 report, and that is on October 16. And until then, thank you, and goodbye.

Thank you.

Honored shareholders, welcome. Welcome to the Investor Annual General Meeting 2026, and I declare the meeting open. The first item on the agenda is election of the Chair of the meeting. And I would like to tell you at the same time that the Secretary for this AGM, Ms. Petra Hedengran, is sitting next to me. She is the General Counsel of the company, and she'll take the minutes here today. And here we also have the CEO, President of the company, Christian Cederholm. The Nominations Committee has proposed lawyer Eva Hägg to Chair the meeting, and she is here next to me as well. Can the meeting approve that proposal. Thank you.

Thank you, and I thank for that confidence shown in me. Before we continue with the other agenda items, I have a few practical matters. The Board of directors has decided to make this AGM more available by [indiscernible] shareholders and others the opportunity to follow the AGM via a webcast on the company's website and also allowing other shareholders to participate here as guests, and only the podium and the rostrum will be filmed.

When arriving here today, we're giving a voting device and voting devices are to be used where we need a qualified majority to make resolutions. And that being said, I would like to hand over again to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jacob Wallenberg.

Honorable shareholders, again, welcome to this Investor AGM 2026 at the China Theater. And this year as well, I would like to say thank you, thank you for the very nice investor dialogue that we've just had. And I have to say, it's more than a tradition. It's a way to, in a more informal manner, talk with shareholders and have those conversations. And I and Christian, we cherish that opportunity.

15 years. Well, that is the number of consecutive years during which Investor has succeeded in outperforming the market and provide a higher return. And I and Investor, we're immensely proud over this fact. And I do believe that I share that pride with all of you here today.

And now please do not misunderstand me. These 15 years, well, it's so much more than Investor. It's first and foremost, proof that everyday in our companies, we have very hard work that is being done to be at the forefront all the time. And this is being done by many amazing people. In times like these, where we have a new world order that is so complex, the future proofing, and those thoughts, well, it's of particular importance when the world is changing this rapidly. Well, in addition to navigating this and delivering here and now, it's also particularly important to try to understand those trends, new areas, sectors, markets.

And what will be the size for all these amazing companies 2 years from now, 5 years from now, 10 years from now. How can we work smarter than competitors? Can we use artificial intelligence? And we talked about this earlier here today that artificial intelligence is here to stay. And things happen rapidly. Our companies, we have to keep up regardless of whether we want it or not or it will be very, very difficult out there. And then we also have to remember that we have to make sure that we have the most sustainable and the most efficient companies in the world, because resources will not last forever. And how can we and our companies learn from what is happening right now in China. We see how the, for example, shortened development times, produce in more efficient manners more so than anyone else. And at the same time, they're becoming more and more competitive and they're even becoming leaders in one sector after another.

And I've already mentioned this here today, that if I've understood things correctly, it takes them about 1.5, 2 years to produce a new car, a new model. And in Germany, it takes 4, 5 years. And then the question for us is how to become more competitive. And I do believe that we have to. We have to have the best leaders, the best coworkers and we have to be there when things happen. We have to learn from those here at the forefront. And that is our obligation, and that's also part of our business model. We have to do what we can to optimize our preconditions, the preconditions of our companies.

In our annual report, I wrote that a significant part of what we see in trade policy and rules that are to create stability. What we have had historically in the world trade organization, for example, globalization and those ideas, all those things that we have gotten used to, they are now gone, and we see a new protection as society and polarization in the world today is the fact. And then it's even more important that we act with decisiveness and we have to follow and try to, wherever we can influence, in Sweden, in the Nordics and in Europe.

In Sweden, well, our companies, of course, they also have to be given the best possible political preconditions, so that they become as competitive as they possibly can be. And the vision of a more developed Nordic collaboration with the platform that would give us a strong voice in Europe. That is something that we have to cherish. The 5 Nordic countries together, our combined economies, that's the 12th largest economy in the world. And that is a platform we should avail ourselves. We need a united Nordics. We need companies to have access to the European single market. And in Europe we also have to have that capability to build partnerships with the world outside of Europe like Mercosur. And we also have India to give a couple of examples of newer agreements. But at the same time, we have to invest more in infrastructure, physical infrastructure tracks, roads well-known questions in our country, but also digital infrastructure energy. We need nuclear power, wind energy. We need to invest more in R&D technology.

And we have to continue to agree on more appropriate regulations as well because, unfortunately, in Sweden and in Europe, we're not doing what we should. We cannot stand still. Christian recently said this, when we introduced our interim report, he said, if we lose, we lose. If we snooze, if we fall asleep at will, well, that will not be a good thing. And our companies, our colleagues, with all of us, we have to be very alert in these challenging times. The challenges are many, but there are also amazing opportunities.

And last but not least, I would like to turn to you and say thank you. Thank you, dear co-shareholders, so more than 700 here today. Now this is a very select gathering that we have here. We have heard this already today. We have more than 730,000 shareholders today in Investor, and a big thank you to all of you for your support and your confidence. And again, welcome to this year's Annual General Meeting.

Thank you very much. Now, it's time to resolve on Item 2, which is the drawing up on the approval of the voting list. Participation and attendance today can be done in different ways. In addition to shareholders present here today. There are some shareholders who have submitted postal votes, and we have a list of participants and a compilation of the postal votes submitted up here on the podium. And we see that the postal votes constitute approximately 80% of the shares and 87% of the votes in the list of participants.

For shareholders who submitted a postal vote and who have also notified for attendance here today and who are in attendance, the postal vote remains valid unless the shareholder chooses to notify us that they would like to revoke the postal vote. The voting list which is proposed to be adopted is 1 which has been established by Euroclear Sweden AB requested by the company. It's based on the shareholders register. The number of shareholders registered and the number of postal votes received. This list has been distributed here and every shareholder who have notified the company and who are right here today have been ticked off, and all shareholders who submitted postal votes have also been ticked off against this list, and shareholders who have been registered to attend the meeting but who did not arrive and register and who did not submit postal votes have been deleted from the list.

And it's therefore proposed that the list with the mentioned adjustments be adopted as the list of the voting list for the meeting. And we have a total of 57% of all the shares and 78% of the number of votes in the company that are represented here at today's meeting, and I ask if the meeting is prepared to approve this as the voting list. Thank you. That's carried.

Item 3, the approval of the agenda is next. The agenda was included in the convening notice has been distributed here. Can we adopt the agenda? Thank you. That's approved.

Item 4, election of persons to attest to the accuracy of the minutes. The Secretary has spoken to Fredrik [indiscernible] and Javiera Ragnartz of SEB Asset Management for this task. They've declared to be prepared to accept this assignment. Can I ask you to stand up for a moment, please. so that we can verify that you are here. Over there and over there. Thank you very much. Can the meeting elect the nominees for this assignment? Thank you.

And that takes us to Item 5, where we have determination of whether the meeting has been duly convened. And I find that notice has been given in accordance with the Companies Act and the Articles of Association. Can the meeting determine that it has been duly convened? That is carried. Thank you.

And then we have Item 6, where we have presentation of the parent companies and the consolidated annual report, financial statements and the auditor's report and the sustainability report. And these documents have been sent out to shareholders who have requested to receive them, and they've been available at the company's premises and website and been available here today. So the documents have been duly presented. We're now going to hear from the auditor to start with, and then we'll also hear from the CEO President, and then after that we'll also open up for shareholders to ask questions or present comments. But right now, I would like to hand over to the chartered accountant, Jonas Ståhlberg from Deloitte.

Thank you. Well, that is my name, Jonas Ståhlberg, I represent Deloitte, and I'm the lead auditor for this audit of Investor. We have presented an unqualified auditor report. For 2025, we find it the annual report, Pages 183 to 185. And I'm going to get back to the conclusions in that auditor's report. But before doing so, a few comments, if you allow me. I would like to remind you the fact that the audit of Investors carried out by a central team in Stockholm with local teams for the subsidiaries, and we give instructions to those auditors of the subsidiaries as to when and how to carry out that audit, and we have ongoing contacts with those teams, and they report to us on an ongoing basis.

This year, we have also had a deeper reconciliation with the team working with Nova and Biomedical due to the acquisition that was carried out by Advanced Instruments in 2025. The beginning of the financial year, we introduced our audit plan for the Audit and Risk Committee. And we have also on an ongoing basis, reported our audit and the results of it to them. We have done this on 6 occasions orally and in writing.

And together with the closing of the books, we also met with the entire Board of Directors where we gave an account of the outcome of our audit. And we also had a discussion with the Board of Directors without executive management being present in accordance with the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance.

The audit of investor, well, there are many areas that are audited, but there are 3 that are so-called key audit matters. They are described in the annual report, and they are the same as previous years. We have internal governance over financial reporting, where the most important thing is the subsidiaries that we have in the group.

Then we have valuation of listed and unlisted investments where we have significant values in the balance sheet and that we also have valuation of goodwill, but we also have a significant amount in the balance sheet growing because of acquisitions. When it comes to the first area, we have looked at how management governs and instructs subsidiaries so that they follow the principles that have been decided on by investor for their reporting. And here, we have also ensured that there are appropriate routines for quality insurance. And our conclusion is that Investor has well-functioning routines within this area.

The second area is processes for valuation of other investments listed and unlisted. And here as well, our opinion is that Investor has good appropriate routines that are applied consistently over time. And that is particularly important for unlisted assets. Then we have the third area, which is investor and how it assesses goodwill and balance sheet. And here, we have looked at methods and the valuations, assumptions that have been used by management. to do impairment testing as they're called. And we have found that the values are defensible.

There is one exception, and that is Atlas Antibodies and that goodwill value, where this year, there was an impairment of around SEK 1.4 billion. We have looked at that impairment, and we agree in that size of that impairment being correct. And this is also relevant and the relevant information is there in the annual report. We have also, in addition, presented 2 separate opinions and both of them are unqualified.

The first one is our limited insurance report on the sustainability statement, something that is statutory. And you find that on Pages 186, 187 in the annual report, where we feel that it is in compliance with the annual accounts Act and standards. We've also looked at the compliance with guidelines for remuneration to senior executive and that information has been sent out and that we haven't had any findings here either. So we feel that the financial reporting of investor gives a fair accurate view and has been established in accordance with applicable rules.

And as you can see from the auditor's report, we recommend that the AGM adopt the income statement and the balance sheet for the company and the group and that profit be appropriated as proposed and that the Board of Directors and the CEO President be granted a discharge. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Item 7, and I'm going to give the floor to Christian Cederholm, CEO, for his address.

Thank you, Chair. esteemed shareholders, guests. Once again, we note that the past year was an eventful one to say the least. Investor has been building leading companies for over 100 years through downturns and upturns in the business cycles through technological shifts and different situations in the world around us. And just as Jacob mentioned, there is certainly no lack of challenges, geopolitical tensions, including 2 and more ongoing wars being wage protectionist tendencies, sharpened competitive included ever more powerful Chinese competitors and the technological shift with AI, which is perhaps the greatest shift witnessed since the electrification. The list goes on and on.

In a world such as this, we and our businesses need to be able to deal with 2 things at the same time. We need to be flexible, and we need to adapt to deal with the world around us the way it looks here and now. And at the same time, we need to keep focus on the cap that we've set for us. Many of our companies, for example, need to deal with an increase in oil prices and the disruptions of supply chains as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, while at the same time, maintaining their focus on R&D.

If we and our companies can succeed with sufficient speed moving forward, we can continue to build values for people and for the community by building strong and sustainable companies. 733,000 shareholders have chosen to show us confidence. We are grateful and proud of this. And as Jacob pointed out, we sense the responsibility. We're also proud to be an important part of a relevant ecosystem, which is unique. Since 1917, the Wallenberg foundations have been the largest owner of investor with the aim of promoting Sweden's development in R&D.

All in all, the foundations have granted over SEK 50 billion allocated to long-term investments between research and industry. Investor's role in the ecosystem is basically to build strong and sustainable, resilient companies that will build value and generate an increase in dividend over time to the foundations and to the other more than 733,000 shareholders. This is the core of Investor. World-class companies with strong market positions in attractive growth areas, companies that build values for their customers, for investor and for investor shareholders in the end.

We often say that the way our companies perform, Investor also performs. As a result of the excellent work in our companies in 2025, '25 was a strong year also for Investor. It was indeed a year with high levels of activity. Let me give you some examples. The listed companies generated a profit growth of approximately 9%. Several major investments were announced, for example, AstraZeneca's extensive investments in both R&D and production in both the U.S. and China. Many companies completed add-on acquisitions in addition to organic growth. Wille and ABB are examples of companies who have also continued to fine-tune their activities by divesting business which were considered noncore.

Our companies in Patricia Industries generated an organic sales growth of 4%. The profit decreased to some extent due to the headwinds from the weaker dollar. But in addition, there were a number of add-on acquisitions as a complement to organic growth here as well. Advanced Instruments acquired Nova Biomedical, for $2.2 billion, making it Investor's largest acquisition ever. We are convinced of the strength of this combined deal and the integration has started and got off to an excellent start. We have also a high level of activity with investments in equity, the joint investment of Fortnox and acquisition of shares in Equity AB EQT. All in all, Investor made significant investments in all 3 business areas. All in all, SEK 29 billion in 2025, all of those investments in companies where we see good preconditions for long-term value creation.

Our net asset value was up by 14% and amounted to SEK 1,087 billion at the end of the year. The total return for the Investor share amounted to 15% -- and that's what I wanted to tell you about 2025. Investor has a clear, transparent strategy moving forward. The strategy has been made clearer and has been simplified, but the cap, the direction is the same. The overall objective is, of course, to generate an attractive total return to you as shareholders. And we do this by growing net asset value over time, pay continuously increasing dividend and by focusing on efficiency and sustainability.

And to achieve all this, we focus on our strategic pillars, our framework for future-proofing, if you will, performance, portfolio and people, our 3 key factors. Growing the net asset value is our single most important value driver over time. Over the past 5 years, net asset value is up by 14% per year on average. Profit growth and an increased cash flow in the companies are the final drivers behind net asset value and total return. When the companies develop well, it's a very gratifying task to be a shareholder and the CEO of Investor. And we will pay a continuously increasing dividend over the past 10 years. We've seen an increase in dividends by 8% on average per year, provided that today's AGM will resolve, of course, to adopt the Board's proposal to pay a dividend of SEK 5.60 per share.

Efficiency and sustainability are integrated parts of our value creation. We have an efficient organization with low management costs, not least in relation to our total assets. This is important because it safeguards our capacity for investment and dividend payment. We are proud but never satisfied. And in that spirit, we continue to constantly challenge our working methods, including to explore and implement AI to build efficiency and take even better decisions over time.

To us, sustainability is a basic prerequisite for long-term competitiveness as we discussed earlier today. The transition towards CO2 reduction and reduction of greenhouse gases is a way of building strong business while also benefiting the climate. And in 2025, we took several steps, very important ones forward and the work continues. We have 3 focus areas: climate and circularity, diversity and inclusion and business ethics and governance. In climate and circularity, the company has reduced its direct emissions, Scope 1 and 2, that is by 74% compared to 2016. Almost all the companies in our portfolio work in a systematic way with inclusion and all companies have supplier codes of conduct. Our 3 different objectives support our overall objective of generation of attractive total return.

And if we look at the situation so far, we follow the development on a continuous basis. It's the longer time elements which are more relevant to look at. The brighter parts of the columns here represent the annual average return for the Class B shares. It is higher, as you can see, than the dotted line and the other columns, we see that we've overperformed the return requirements and the market. And let's remind us here as well that the important thing is to have good return over time, not to overperform the market, outperform it every single year.

I would then like to talk a little bit more about our strategic pillars, the focus areas that are to help us to drive value creation and future-proof ourselves and there are companies, performance, portfolio and people, our 3Ps. Performance. It is about delivering results and profitable growth here and now and at the same time, invest in the future. As long-term owners, we have to be able to deal with both these things at the same time. our company's capability to generate profitable growth is the single most important driver for net asset value over time. And it is about customer value and to what extent our companies can create that customer value so that we get profits, profits that can then be invested so that we can future-proof activities.

And future-proofing is about innovation. And very often, our companies are market leaders, thanks to the product, products and services they develop. And we have to continue and the goal has to be to improve lives and business for our customers. It does happen that companies do not develop in line with their potential. And when that happens, we as owners, we have to ensure, one, that we are in agreement with the executive team and the Board as to what the problem is, two, we have to have a plan to rectify this. And three, we have to make sure that we have the right people around the table in management on the Board so that we can execute. Sometimes this is quickly corrected and other times, unfortunately, it takes a bit longer.

Our portfolio, well, it is about investor and all our companies having an ambition to have long-term growth. And the cash flow that we have gives us an opportunity and a responsibility to invest more over time, more than we have been able to historically so that we can continuously develop our portfolio. And of course, we do this in addition to all the excellent work that is being done in all the specific companies. Well, to work with a portfolio, that also means that sometimes we leave certain businesses where we feel that a company can find a better home with another owner. We cherish our financial flexibility, which means that we can act quickly when necessary.

And then the third P, people. We ensure that we have the right leadership by appointing a Board of Directors that appoint CEO President. We have to have the right agenda and the right values to drive long-term value creation. And it's about understanding what to do and also to ensure that these individuals have the sufficient pace that is necessary. And we maintain high business integrity. We respect our values, and we do the right thing even if it's difficult, even costs us in a shorter perspective.

But in a perpetual perspective, there is never the right time to compromise on values. To embrace new technology, that is about creating the right preconditions for our companies and our employees so that we have the right skills and competencies, investments and structures to drive innovation and test new things. So here, we have our 3 Ps: performance, portfolio and people. And this is what drive us forward. And our focus is always on going forward. And there are 3 areas that are of particular importance and that are of interest because this will have an impact on us and our companies for long term.

Innovation. Innovation is absolutely decisive for competitiveness over time. And for us, that begins with an obsession to develop better solutions for customers, users or patients. That is the foundation. That is what gives that reason for being for a company. And here, we have the right preconditions, but we also have sharp competition. We have already mentioned China. They used to compete with low costs and okay quality. But today, many Chinese companies in a very strikingly short period of time have forged ahead, advanced their positions. So in many sectors today, we see that those Chinese actors, they are there, they are quick.

They use innovation and they apply new technology. And this means that our companies that we have strong positions today, but we have to continue to work harder more rapidly to stay ahead. Digitalization and AI. Well, here, we have many opportunities in all our companies throughout the value chain from R&D to production to aftermarket. And we see many promising examples as to how AI can shorten development cycles, create more efficient businesses and improve products and offerings. Ericsson, for example, is using AI to optimize investments and operations of mobile networks. Sobi is using AI models to find new applications for their medicines. And there are many, many good examples. But at the same time, this is only the beginning of this journey.

Technology. Well, usually, that is not the bottleneck. It's rather our own capacity, innovation and willingness to change. That is what sets the limits. And one thing I know for sure, if we do not do this, then we will be outrun. Our role as engaged owners is to encourage and push for new investments in technologies, efficiencies and make sure that we have sharper and sharper offerings from our companies.

Sustainability, that is also key for competitiveness over time. And our companies are doing excellent work when it comes to reducing emissions in Scope 1 and 2 through electrification, making things more efficient and using renewables. But the main emissions we have in the value chain in Scope 3, and that is where we have the biggest business opportunities as well, we feel. 90% of our portfolio companies' total emissions come from the use of the products with customers. So when Ericsson, ABB, Atlas Copco, when they develop new, more energy-efficient solutions, that creates a direct added value for the customer because it brings energy costs down and at the same time, we reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. And that is just one example as to how the climate transition has a business value.

I would also like to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion. Lately, this has become somewhat polarized. But we think that it's quite simple. We believe in meritocracy, and we believe that groups where we have different backgrounds and perspectives that they make better decisions over time. And to attract the most skilled coworkers, we have to recruit from that entire talent pool, and we have to make sure that everyone is given the same opportunity to develop. And that is why we stick to our ambition when it comes to diversity and inclusion.

Finally, the world around us will continue to offer challenges. But we have seen from history that at the same time, this creates opportunities for strong companies to forge ahead to move forward. And we -- our task is to navigate and also to catch those opportunities. We have a strong starting point, a clear purpose, a clear strategy. We have an attractive portfolio with strong companies, and we have a tried and tested ownership model. We have financial flexibility. And not least, we also have amazing coworkers at Investor and also in the companies.

And here, I would like to take the opportunity to extend a big thank you to all these people in the companies and Investor. Your strong drive and your excellent work makes all the difference. We continue to have high ambitions as engaged owners, strong companies, and we continue to keep our focus on the 3 Ps: performance, portfolio and people. And we have all the necessary preconditions to continue to create value for you, the shareholders. Thank you. Thank you for your confidence.

Thank you very much. And now the floor is open for questions and comments from shareholders. And we have our officials with the roving microphone. So any shareholder who would like to take the floor, raise your hand, and we will bring a microphone to you. And we're very grateful if you can start by introducing yourselves before you ask your question. Microphone #1 over there. Thank you.

Thank you. My name is Alexander Fernandez, and I represent the Folksam Group. We always ask a question related to sustainability at the AGM. And this year, we're focusing on climate and the environment once again. And I have a question for the CEO. You're describing in your annual report that resource utilization and the circular economy have a significant impact and is of strategic importance, both in the subsidiaries and the portfolio companies. And at the same time, the work is at quite an early stage in many cases and that the level of ambition varies. How do you perceive investor's role as an active owner in strengthening and further developing circular solutions, both in the portfolio companies and the subsidiaries?

Thank you very much for that question. As I emphasized earlier, sustainability is a crucial component. And at the end of the day, it's about being competitive over time. We've talked a lot about the climate, both in terms of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases measuring Scopes 1, 2 and 3. And as of this year, you will have noticed we also have explicit targets for circularity as well. And the good thing about all this is that here and in the larger -- in the scope of the larger challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we have a moral responsibility to do better. for the next generations to take better care of this globe also benefits future generations and our businesses.

Circularity has been added at a later stage, but it links very well in with what we've already talked about. Let me give you a few examples. If we look at the emissions by one company moving up from the suppliers up through the value chain with circularity at an early design stage, you can make sure you use less materials, recycled materials. The life cycle of a product can be extended and need more material over time, therefore.

And if you look at the other end, the lifetime and the lifespan of a product at the customers, you could have a good service offerings, making sure that machines can run for a long time with no disruptions. And once again, this is clearly linked to value for the customer. So just as the other areas, it's very much linked to our business. Thank you very much.

Microphone #8.

Bjorn Lund is my name. And there's one area where I feel that you haven't talked about it today. And well, if you're involved at all, but what I'm thinking about is something that is becoming quite important. I'm thinking about the geopolitical situation on one hand, but then also how to be able to manage environmental changes in an efficient manner. And as a matter of fact, what I'm thinking about, that is space and how to develop that technology to be there. And Well, that takes us back to China. And they have invested a lot. And they've also taken market shares in Latin America and other places as well. And I feel that Sweden is not on board. I don't know if you're involved somehow, but I would like to know how, if so.

Well, thank you. Thank you for that question. And this is immensely exciting and a lot of things are happening in China, in the U.S., but as a matter of fact, also in Europe and in the Nordics, and we have a couple of companies that deal more with space than others and Ericsson, for example. Ericsson, for example, they have tens of thousands of low orbit satellites. which means that they basically have a global coverage for a satellite phone today. And then you could link that to the network that we have on earth. Well, that is something exciting and will be there. Thank you. Then microphone #5.

Nilson Peterson is my name. Hello. I'm retired now, but I'm proud to say that I worked for 35 years for ABB. It's an extraordinary company. I have a practical question about AI competence and skills supply. How do you find that competence? Is -- do you have it at the Board of Directors level? I know I understand it's bottom-up, but it's something that many people don't know very much about after all. Thank you.

Thank you for that question. You're very spot on in those remarks, and this is certainly one of the major challenges that many of us here today do not have our own experience to be able to drive the required technology shift. If we look at the talent pool and supply of skills, we have a benefit in Investor and in the companies that we have strong value brands able to attract individuals also in the new really hot -- red hot areas. So talent supply is a constant battle. We're waiting a war to get the people we need. We will get there, but it's only early stage of this journey. Would you like to say anything?

Yes. For the Board, the way we try to relate to this matter is this. We make sure that we have people with some sort of background in AI and experience of it. We have a number of people, 1/3 of the Board bring different types of experience to the work of the Board. So that's one point of reference when we discuss AI-related issues. But of course, we also, in different ways, need to delve deeper and a number of the members of the Board take part in different training events and schemes, not least together with senior management of investor, et cetera. But it's very important what you're underlying in your comment. It's still very early days. Very few people have the necessary competence. We all need to learn a lot more about this.

Station #1.

Well, thank you. I represent Shareholders' Association and the sister funds. And I'm thinking about gender distribution and the plan that you have ahead for even those numbers out. I do think that skills and competencies are more important, perhaps myself.

Well, thank you. Well, yes, we do have a target objectives for our own Board of Directors and also for the Boards of our companies. And we say that somewhere around 40% to 60% of whatever gender. And we are well on our way on that journey. The portfolio companies on average are at around 40%. And we're headed there in the executive teams as well in the companies. And well, like you're saying, it's mainly about skills and competencies, of course. But if we look at what the distribution was 10 or 20 years ago, I don't think that, that truly reflected the skills and competencies. We did not have enough women then in -- particularly in some of the sectors. Are you happy with that report?

I don't see any further requests. And if so, I find that we have dealt with Item 7 on today's agenda.

Now moving on, that brings us to Item 8, the adoption of the income statement and balance sheet for the parent company. And for the group, you've heard that the auditor is in favor, and I ask if the meeting can adopt these income statement and balance sheets. Thank you. That's adopted.

Moving on to Item 9, which is the presentation of the Board of Directors' remuneration report. The report is part of the material distributed here today. It's been available on the company's website and has been sent out to shareholders who requested to receive it. Are there any questions and comments on the remuneration report? I don't see anyone requesting the floor, and I ask if the meeting can approve this report. Thank you.

And that takes us to Item 10, where we have discharge from liability for the Board of Directors and the President for the management of the company in 2025. The auditor recommends discharge, and we would like to note that the Board members and the CEO will not vote under this resolution. And I ask the meeting if the meeting can grant discharge that is carried. Was there a question or a comment?

At station #3.

Thank you. Eon is my name, and I represent 400 shares. And I apologize, my voice isn't the best today. Honored shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, this is an important day for all of us. We can depose of the Board of Directors and the management. But we should -- I think we should deny them this charge for 2025. We have remembered the Holocaust, 11 million and incidents were murdered by the. And we had deliveries from Investor and the Golar factory in Gothenburg to those forces. And Investor could have stopped at any time those deliveries to Germany, but that was not done. And the United States of America, planned sanctions with that company. And 1 of the brothers also got the German Iron Cross. And a prosecutor should look at -- and the prosecutor Jacob Wallenberg for war crimes and crimes against the humanity. And that should award him 18 to 20 years of imprisonment. And then Mr. Wallenberg will be 90 years of age, and I will be 100. And that will then be a good meeting. Thank you.

Thank you. Then we have heard Sven Olof Erikson that you're against the discharge, but the discharge has also been granted all directors and the CEO President. So we will continue.

Item 11. And here, we have dispossession of Investor earnings. And you have the opinion on Page 182 in the annual report from the Board of Directors and the Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 5.60 per share split on 2 installments and that the rest be carried forward. The first installment, the third proposal is that SEK 4 be paid with the record date of 11th of May and on the second installment, SEK 1.60 per share with the record date being 9th of November. And we have heard the auditor recommending this. Can the meeting vote as proposed? That is carried.

We have a number of items on the agenda where we have proposals from the Nominations Committee. And before we proceed with the resolutions, I'm going to give the floor to the Chair of the Nomination Committee Leif Johansson to present the proposals from the Nomination Committee. You have the floor.

Thank you. Just deal with my pollen allergy for a moment before I tell you everything. Esteemed shareholders and participants at today's AGM, the Nomination Committee for this year's AGM was made up of Jacob Wallenberg, Chair of Investor, Chair of Investor; Katarina Romberg of AMF; Magnus Carlson, the SEB Foundation; Peter Haslevo-lekta; and myself, Leif Johansson, appointed by the Wallenberg Foundations. The proposals from the Nomination Committee, the reasoned opinion and our presentation can be found in the material distributed here today. And therefore, I will only very briefly present our proposals to you now. Starting with the composition of the Board. It is the impression and opinion of the Nomination Committee that the work of the Board of Directors of Investor is functioning well. We have availed ourselves amongst other things, of an evaluation of the work of the Board as part of our assessment.

The Nomination Committee has also noted that there is high levels of attendance at the Board meetings. And in order to assess the requirements placed on the Board of Directors as a result of the company's challenges and future focus, the Nomination Committee has discussed the matter of the size and composition of the Board of Directors. An important point of departure was the principle that the composition of the Board shall reflect and give room for the different skills and experiences that are needed in order to support and develop the active owner philosophy of Investor as well as the long-term active involvement as an owner. We've also been informed that Board members, Tom Johnston and Isabelle Kocher have declined reelection.

The Nomination Committee proposes reelection of all other members of the Board, and you can see the proposal up here on the screen. The committee's proposal means that the number of Board members is reduced to 11, in line with the committee's ambition to achieve a certain reduction of the size of the Board of Directors. And we've assessed that the composition is fit for purpose and is characterized by breadth of competence, skills and experience in areas which are of strategic importance to investor. And we furthermore propose that Jacob Wallenberg be reelected as Chair of the Board.

And that brings me then to the Board fees. Nomination Committee has tabled a proposal that you can see up here on the screen. The starting point being that the fee level should be competitive in order to allow us to attract and retain individuals with the best possible skills and experience also from an international perspective. In our assessment, amongst other things, we've looked at analysis covering Board remuneration in different European countries, and we see that there's a significant difference between the Board fees in Swedish listed company and corresponding levels internationally.

Against this backdrop, the Nomination Committee is proposing an average increase of the fees by approximately 7% -- and in line with last year, we recommend to the Board to adopt a policy, which means that the shareholding of a director on the Board after 5 years should correspond to at least the fee of 1.5 years of directorship pretax. And in order to facilitate such a holding, we propose that we retain the possibility for individual directors to receive up to 50% of the Board fee in the form of synthetic shares.

The auditors then, Nomination Committee proposes in accordance with the Audit and Risk Committee's recommendation to elect Deloitte for 1 further year. It's a reelection. And when it comes to fees for the auditors, we propose that fees for the audit be paid according to approved invoice. And by way of conclusion, I would like to thank the other members of the Nominations Committee for excellent cooperation. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Are there any questions for the Nominations Committee at this stage?

No, I don't see any request.

Thank you very much for that presentation. We'll proceed with the decision, starting with 12a, the number of members. You've heard the Nomination Committee's proposal. Does the meeting resolve in accordance with this proposal? Yes, that's carried.

Moving on to 12b, number of auditors. You've heard the proposal. Is the meeting in favor? That's adopted.

And we continue with Item 13, where we have compensation for Board of Directors and auditors. We will begin with 13A Board fees. We've heard the proposal from the Nominations Committee. Can the meeting resolve accordingly?

There is a question. So if we could have a microphone station #4.

Well, it looks like there are 8 plus 2 people receiving those fees. But aren't you -- don't you have a Board of 11?

Well, the CEO does not receive this fee.

Okay. 13A to start with Board fees. We've heard a proposal from the Nominations Committee. Can the meeting resolve accordingly? That is carried.

And then we continue with the 13B compensation for the auditor. We have heard a proposal from the Nominations Committee. Does the meeting wish to resolve accordingly? That is also carried.

And then that takes us to Item 14, where we have election of members of the Board of Directors. The meeting has decided on 11 members. We've heard a proposal from the Nominations Committee and then the count of other assignments that these nominees have in other companies that is included in the documentation that has been distributed here today and has also been sent out to those wish to receive it and has been available on the company's website, we're going to resolve, and we are going to vote on one person at a time in the order they were suggested by the Nominations Committee.

And I ask the meeting if the meeting wish to elect Katarina Berg, Christian Cederholm, Magdalena Gerger, Sven Nyman, Mats Rahmström, Grace Reksten Skaugen, Hans Stråberg, Fred Wallenberg, Jacob Wallenberg, Marcus Wallenberg, Sara Öhrvall?

And I find that the meeting has decided as suggested by the Nominations Committee.

Before we proceed, I would like to hand over to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jacob Wallenberg.

And I would like to -- after the elections of today, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my thank you, and thank you to the Board of Directors to those directors who are stepping down, Isabelle Kocher and Tom Johnston.

Unfortunately, Isabelle couldn't be here today, but she's been on the Board of Directors for 5 years, and she leaves a clear impression. And we want to say thank you. To have a Board member that lives and works outside of Sweden, well, that is important. It gives important perspectives. We have talked about that earlier today. And I and the other members of the Board will miss Isabelle's contributions, well-informed contributions in our discussions. She's very knowledgeable as a business leader and has a lot of experience from energy and transition issues. And we are going to say thank you to her in person later on. But now I would like to turn to Tom. Tom?

Tom, you do understand Swedish. I will be speaking Swedish, if that is okay. And I am very happy to be able to, in person, convey this thank you from me and the Board of Directors. Thank you for all the work that you have done for the Investor Board of Directors and in the Remuneration Committee for many years. You entered -- came on to the Board in 2010. You were still the CEO and President of SKF, and you had done an amazing journey within that company. You were part of developing that company for almost 40 years and your career and your contribution to Sweden and to Swedish trade and business, well, it cannot be overestimated.

And this is not just me saying this or my cousin or my brother who are here today. You've also received distinctions from the Swedish King for your personal services to Sweden and Swedish interests. And you've also received distinctions from the British Queen for what you have done in the United Kingdom. So we see a bridge between cultures. And with all your experience and great competence, you have contributed to not only investor, but also the portfolio companies and this larger ecosystem.

You've had roles as Chair [indiscernible], Husqvarna and Combient, for example. And we know, Tom, that you have worked a lot and how involved you have been. And you always give everything you have to give. And Tom, you're a very experienced, wise knowledgeable person, and you have been a major asset for investor. When we have had meetings, well, I know that you're sharp, profound, but you're also creative, dynamic and very curious. And you have that ability, an amazing ability to see new perspectives and also to find solutions on very complex problems.

And you contribute in that you share your experiences, for example, through mentorships in our ecosystem. And your mentor have been a mentor for younger coworkers, and we're very, very grateful. And we -- I will miss your energy, curiosity and your nice laughter. And you will be dearly missed in this group of directors. And one more time, I want to say thank you for everything you've done. And as a tradition also some flowers for you. And I also want to shake your hand and say thank you.

And then we continue with Item 15, where we have election of Chair of the Board of Directors. The proposal from the Nominations Committee is that Jacob Wallenberg be reelected and I ask the meeting if the meeting wish to reelect Jacob Wallenberg. And that is carried.

And we continue with Item 16, where we have election of auditors. We've heard a proposal from the Nominations Committee, reelection of Deloitte AB. Does the meeting wish to resolve as proposed that is carried.

Item 17a and B next, the Board's proposal for long-term variable remuneration, and we 2 subitems to resolve upon. The proposals are contained in the material distributed here today, have been available on the company's website and been sent out to those who request to receive it. And before we proceed with the resolution, I'm going to give the floor to the Chair of the Board, Jacob Wallenberg.

Thank you very much. The Investor Board of Directors has presented an LTVR long-term variable remuneration plan for 2026, which in all main components is in line with the program and the plans. resolved upon by the 2025 AGM to ensure that investor is competitive and that we can offer efficient long-term so-called incentive plans that will allow us to attract and retain key competence. There are a few adjustments that are proposed this year. While they in themselves do not entail any major differences here and now, I would like to highlight them to the AGM, nevertheless.

First of all, we propose to set an increased ceiling, not distribution, but ceiling for the grant value, which can be used moving forward in the future to be able to offer a higher component of variable remuneration as a part of total compensation. In addition, a number of adjustments are made for Patricia Industries with the aim of, amongst other things, adapting the plan to current market practices in the U.S. for our U.S. people. And performance requirements in Patricia's plan have been adjusted to be more in line with the requirements within Investor.

So that was briefly a few words on the adjustments. And if there are any questions, I'm very happy to answer them, of course. And I think that there is a question over there, speaking point #2. Here we go.

Thank you. I'm an individual shareholder. For the third time this week, at the third AGM, I would like to speak against these programs. They're not good. They're making things less transparent. It's one of the least transparent points, 9 pages, 11 pages, consultants who produced all of this, nobody can comprehend it really, except possibly the consultants themselves and those who are directly concerned and covered by them. Now please bear in mind that I'm not challenging the level of compensation for these senior executives per se, but I think it should be done in a much more transparent way.

There was one meeting where the CEO received CHF 9 million, but actually CHF 20 million through the programs. And 2 days ago, we read about Kinnevik in the Swiss newspaper, Svensagblad, where the share has dropped 80%, but senior executives have been paid very large amounts of money, EUR 0.5 billion through these programs. I would appeal to the Board of Directors.

I understand that you won't be taking back this proposal this year, but review them, pay more in direct remuneration, have bonus programs for the entire group of employees if you exceed a certain result level, et cetera. And I'll remind you of the debacle of Scandia for 22 years ago where the company nearly went bust and ceased to exist, although there are some remnants left as a result of these horrific programs designed back then that nobody could understand. And I'm turning not just to the Investor Board of Directors, but to all the institutional large owners of Investor and all the other companies for that matter in the business community. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you for those reflections. I am the Chair of the Remuneration Committee of Investor. If as you say, you do not object as a point of principle to the level of remuneration, it's the how rather than the what. My view is that what we're looking to achieve is that we want to have an incentive for the employees, in particular, those in senior executive positions, but for all employees, whereby if investor develops well, they should be able to get more remuneration than if that weren't the case. If we only pay a cash compensation. I cannot create such incentives. Either you get paid or you don't.

And speaking as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Investor, to me, there is an added value to all of you that we set up these variable plans and programs that give more pay to our employees if things go well compared to when things go less well. And that brings us back to the how. You say that it's not transparent. I read between the lines, you seem to be suggesting that there could be -- that you could be skewing things or getting money which shouldn't be paid out. But we have a very close monitoring of our programs, large institutional owners are very active, and they're represented here today as well. It's not just us doing the monitoring. We have continuous conversations with those owners, what they deem reasonable, how we should do this.

It's not just us cooking up something back at the office. We are transparent, I would put it to you. We work with other people whom we are not able to influence and who present their views and opinions. And together, we devise programs, which will provide a model for variable remuneration. And the Board of Directors of Investor believe that this is what is in the best interest of all of you, shareholders, to ensure that we get the most possible out of Investor.

Having said that, if we agree on the amounts in kroner and , nevertheless, we do not agree on the how, but I believe that I have quite a lot of backing for my approach working in close cooperation with other people who I'm not able to impact per se, institutional owners, for example, and they are very knowledgeable in these matters. Thank you very much.

Any further questions under 17A or B? No.

Then it's time to proceed with the resolution under this item. And the second AP fund has asked that we include in the minutes that they are voting against 17A. But we will start with the resolution under 17A, and I ask if the meeting can resolve in accordance with the proposal for long-term variable remuneration for employees in investor, excluding Patricia Industries. That's carried. Thank you.

Moving on to the resolution under 17b. Does the meeting resolve in accordance with the proposal on a long-term variable remuneration for employees in Patricia Industries? Thank you.

And then items 18A and B, where we have proposals from the Board of Directors for purpose and transfer of own shares. The entire proposal has been included in the documentation that has been distributed here today, has been available on the company website and has been sent to those shareholders who have requested to receive it.

Are there questions or comments to 18A or B? If not, we're going to start with 18A where we need 2/3 requirement. We have a 2/3 requirement of votes cast and shares represented, which means that we're going to use the voting devices. So I would like to ask you to produce your voting devices. And if you are in favor of the Board's proposal, you press 1, which is yes. And if you're against, you press 2, no, and you can also abstain and then you press 3. Is that procedure understood? If so, we open up the vote under 17, 18.

And we're about to close the vote. It is closed, and you'll see the outcome on the screen. And I find that the meeting has resolved as proposed by the Board of Directors. And we continue with 18b. And here, we need at least 9/10 of votes cast and shares represented at the meeting, which means that we'll be using the voting devices again. And if you're in favor, 1; if you're against 2 and if you wish to abstain, 3. And the vote is open.

And in a few seconds, we will close the vote. And the vote is closed.

And we'll see the outcome on the screen, and I find that the meeting has voted in favor of the Board's proposal.

That brings us to the final item on today's agenda. And before we conclude, I'm going to give the floor to Chair of the Board of Directors.

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed shareholders, as of this meeting, 2025 is closed. But before we do so, there is one person I would like to pay tribute to. Petra Hedengran, our Chief Legal Counsel, who've been up here at the podium. And you have been sharing the podium with me, Petra, up here as the meeting Secretary for almost 20 years. But you will be stepping down from your position at Investor shortly. You will be receiving a proper thank you from the company. But here at the AGM, on behalf of Investor and all the shareholders, I would like to express our very deep debt of gratitude for all your contributions over so many years.

Many of you do not work with legal counsels. But I can tell you that it is a particular category of individuals. We are so very dependent on having individuals like Petra to help us, not just with such in-depth knowledge, but with significant integrity and the ability to relate to very, very complex issues whilst at the same time, being an adviser for us where we have ideas about doing business all the time and finding solutions, you provide us somehow with the best informed position of all in the room. It's been so valuable to us. And myself and the entire Board are so grateful to you, Petra. So thank you so very much, and you're not getting away without some flowers. Same for you here. Thank you.

Now I'm not going to close the meeting. That's not for me to do, but it is drawing to a close, nevertheless. And in my capacity as Chair of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank you. It's been a rewarding dialogue. And let me also take this opportunity to thank Christian and the ET, his team, thank you to you and the team for the extraordinary work that you have done over the past year. And it's such a valuable contribution to Investor, and we've continued to develop so well. Thank you.

I hereby declare the 2026 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Investor closed.

[Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to China Theater.

Now at 3:00, there's going to be the investor dialogue, first of all, where we'll spend some time with the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Wallenberg and Christian Cederholm, CEO, in order to ask questions about the situation in the world and other matters which may arise.

I have a few questions from stage. Jacob Lund is my name, first of all. I'm in charge of Communications at Investor. And then I'm going to open up for questions from you, shareholders. There are a number of microphone officials. So make yourself known, raise your hand and make sure they see you so they can pass you a rolling microphone. So so much for the practical matters, but let's get started with questions.

It has been a bit turbulent over the past few years when we've been here. We had the threat of tariffs last year that we discussed a great deal. Now we have yet another war that we need to consider. Unpredictabilities continue to characterize an ever more protectionist world, Jacob. You mentioned this in your Chairperson's address in the annual report. Could you tell us a little bit more about your thoughts on all this?

Yes. Well, there was someone who asked me before we got started here today before we came into the hall here, asking me if I had ever witnessed such a complicated time before. And I would say that, no, I actually haven't. And what's my reasoning behind that reply? Well, we've all grown up in the era of globalization where you're more or less my age of most of you in here. And we've learned that we should go and travel the world. We cross borders and boundaries, we get to know new cultures, the economy will develop and grow, et cetera, et cetera. Now over the past few years, this has changed to more protection isn't. You mentioned the tariffs and the global uncertainty U.S. and China with a great deal of friction.

We don't know what the President in the U.S. will be announcing by tomorrow morning that will change the game again, we have a horrific war in Ukraine being waged there and another horrific war in the Middle East. All of this changes the prerequisites and the conditions. How do we go about making long-term decisions on the Board of Directors of investor and individual companies. It's very, very complicated when you don't know what tomorrow is going to look like. And the difficulty of making decisions not just for tomorrow, but for the longer term, new factories, new research programs, et cetera. So it's an era indeed, where a pause for consideration is required even more so than we've been accustomed to.

Let's try and zoom in a little bit, Christian, on the conflict in the Middle East. And Iran, could you say a little bit more -- tell us how this will impact -- how it impacts the companies right now and what can we expect for the future?

Yes, I'd be happy to. And before I get into the Middle East specifically, let me say that just as Jacob commented, there are so many different challenges, a whole range of them, different parts of the world, different situations. And every company, of course, has different preconditions and possibilities. And before I give you a general answer, I think it's very important to remember to emphasize that centrally in our model with the decentralized governance where each company and each Board of Directors is responsible for taking action and being responsible for all opportunities and challenges that they face. But nevertheless, to try and say something more general about what we've seen in the Middle East, I would split this into 2 different time frames.

First of all, what we've witnessed so far, and we've read the Q1 reports from most of the companies, the interruptions have been quite limited, especially when it comes to the logistics and the flows. But fast forward a little bit, we see that there's no resolution yet. We might not expect a rapid resolution. There will be an impact. We have the price of oil, all the oil derivatives, plastics, et cetera, the freight costs, all of that is on -- is picking up and it is going to impact the income statements of the companies with perhaps a delay of a lag of one or several quarters. So not only will costs go up for the various input materials, but a scarcity as well. We're starting to see that a little bit already.

And what about demand? What happens with demand with the war, inflation on oil, more expensive fuel for final consumer. It's an additional burden for consumers in a fairly difficult time already. So when we extrapolate a little bit, it's going to take a lot of work, we believe, to balance all this. Now in Sweden, we have general elections this year. Jacob, what are some of the most important questions and issues at stake in terms of industrial policy and what will impact companies and the business community here at home and in the Nordics and in Europe. Where do you -- what do you emphasize when you meet politicians?

Well, I have the benefit of also being a Chair of Swedish business, and I represent the Swedish trade and industry and the questions, issues that we deal with and highlight, well, it has to do a lot with education, continued education training, the importance of R&D in companies and that universities alike. We also talk about infrastructure, tracks, roads, energy. This is something we talk about as well, nuclear wind. And I would very much like to see an agreement between political parties when it comes to how to finance nuclear power and wind alike. And the discussions that we see today, well, they do not seem to be able to agree and also how to manage all these licenses and all these processes that companies have to go through today that are very complex.

These are problems we see in Sweden, but we see exactly the same thing in the EU. And all in all, it's about how to become more competitive and how to make our companies more competitive so that we can create more jobs, better tax revenue, et cetera, because it is so important for our countries. So these are important questions. And we're not going to go into party politics here, but we've had a debate leading up to the elections, and there have been discussions about shortening working hours. And that has been given quite a bit of space. But we see a world today that is changing rapidly. I'm thinking about China, for example. And how do we think about that developments that we see in China and how will we counter that?

Well, I'm going to start with China perhaps and then continue with the shortening of working hours or mix the 2. Well, when we look at the trends in the world and what will impact our companies in the longer term, then it's -- well, competitiveness from China, that is one, AI, sustainability, there are other factors as well. But what we've seen in China is that, well, if we go back a number of years, they were competing with low production costs and the quality that was okay. But today, what we see is that we have many Chinese competitors that have become much, much more ambitious and also are much more capable today.

So the fiercest competition today in many sectors is from China, not to just low production costs, but they're leading innovation, technology, applications, et cetera. And our companies, they have a good starting point, but this is obviously something where we need to keep attention. And we cannot take a step back. We have to make sure that we can compete in China with those very fierce competitors and demanding customers. And against that backdrop, well, I'm not sure that shortening working hours that, that would be the right reply. And I would like to link on to what you're saying. I think that we should actually go back one more step. And then we can see that in 2008, the EU and the U.S., they had the same GDP. And then in 2023, the U.S. is 25 percentage points above the EU and the U.K. together.

So in those 15 years, they have grown so that they're 25% bigger than us, which means that they have shown that they have that capability to develop things rapidly. And we see the same thing in China today. In China today, they can make a car from the beginning of design until it's given to the customer, a new design. It takes them 1.5 years. And in Sweden and Germany, it would take 4, 4.5 years, so 3x as long. And the U.S., they're faster. China is faster, and these are our 2 main competitors. And we, as a nation and EU, we have to remember and understand that. And at the same time, we're saying that we should work less.

And from a trade business industry perspective, that is not the right response when we see that tough competition. And the same thing goes for qualifying days. We know that those qualifying days that you have when you're sick. Well, we know that, that is not the right response either. We have challengers, and we have to remember this as part of the equation. And just to tie on to what you said, China, you have decided to bring the Board to China. Why? Well, the Board of Directors, China and Patricia will travel together this fall, and we're going to do that because quite simply, we want to learn more. And what Christian said about the Chinese development, what we've seen in the car manufacturing business. Well, we want to see real examples. We want to meet with companies. We want to meet those people driving this from companies, politicians because we need to learn more on site because this is the reality today.

Another area where things move very rapidly is AI. Christian, what does investor do? What do the companies do not just to keep up, but to stand strong as they come out through this enormous technological shift. Well, first of all, it is a shift, indeed, the greatest one I've witnessed and perhaps the greatest one since the electrification potentially. It's major. It's going to impact all the portfolio companies, and it's going to impact and provide both opportunities and risks throughout the entire delivery chain and supply chain research, producing products, production, sales, aftermarket and of course, how AI is used to improve products and the product offering for our customers.

So there's lots to do. There are many good examples in all of the companies, I would say. But it's also very clear that we're only at the beginning of this journey. And here, you might think whatever you want about AI. I'm technologically optimistic. I believe that there will be mainly opportunities even though there is a shift and it can be difficult. But it doesn't really matter because if we don't do it, somebody else will do it. So it's our job as owners via the Board and all the work we do with our companies to ensure that we're driving and encouraging proper investments and real leaps forward so that we can come out stronger at the other end.

Well, that's interesting because there are some forces that will warn against AI and talking about it. Let's try and make this clear. If you're standing over here, you might think that AI is wonderful. And if you're standing here, you think it's the worst thing that ever happened to humanity. Where would you position yourself on that scale? I think here, you were there. I'm there. I'm over there. I'm optimistic when it comes to technology generally, as I mentioned. But I think that we will also see that there are more opportunities than risks.

Having said that, you need to relate, of course, to this from the perspective of the company, risk and governance based on AI, how do you share information? What do you permit AI to do individually and independently compared to where do you want to have the human in the loop so that humans make the decisions. Another obvious matter to deal with is the transition. So from a workforce perspective, it's going to require a lot of transitional actions. Some people will fall in between somewhere. But over time, things generally work out and you need to respect the process. But in spite of all the risks, I get back to the fact that if we don't do this, somebody else will. There's no [indiscernible]. We don't have an option to do anything else. And we are already doing it, as you heard.

Can I also add -- but just what Christian is saying here is important. In the meantime, others will do precisely this. And if they do it and you as an entrepreneur as a company in Sweden failed to tag along and you miss the train as it were, you're never going to be able to catch up. I believe that this is a matter of survival for us as well. It's not just, generally, how do we relate to it. I believe that it's a major transition and a great opportunity. And that's why we want to be an early adopter. And it's happening at a very rapid pace. If we look at what the companies are saying our company and other companies in their quarterly reports, they're going from experimenting with AI and talking about how they're using a little bit here or there. But today, it's very concrete. What are the revenue opportunities? How do you work with efficiency improvements? Just to underline the fact that this is happening here and now.

Very good. Another area with -- which requires a lot of refocusing is the green transition. We've talked about it for a long time, sustainability. It's an area which is central and crucial as far as we're concerned. We see that, that transition is being challenged from various channels. And at the same time, investor chose recently to sharpen and tighten our sustainability goals. Why was that? Well, as you mentioned, Jacob, sustainability is about long-term competitiveness for us. And if we don't do this well, we're going to end up with companies in our portfolio who are not really fit for the future. The great thing and the simple thing about all this is that sustainability already today both generates good business and is beneficial to the climate. And the simplest example is, of course -- well, I'll take one step back to say this.

If we look at our emissions, the emissions from all of our companies, 90% of the total can be found in the customers' use of, for example, Atlas Copco compressors or the engines produced by ABB because it means that it gives -- it also means that we have a great incentive. So when ABB produces an even more energy-efficient engine in the future, it's a saving for the customer here and now, and so ABB can gain market shares, raise their prices or what have you. So it's already going hand-in-hand with good business. Jacob, you recently were ranked the third most powerful person in sustainability. I know that you're very passionate about these issues.

Yes. And the reason I was awarded that distinction, people like you and Christian drive this so much in our organization in investor. And we're all working with this in many different ways. And to add to what Christian just said, at the end of the day, it's about a moral responsibility, nothing less. This is a matter which impacts all of us, and we need to and will deal with it. It builds business opportunities. You've mentioned that, but you need to also bear in mind the next generation of employees. They demand in most cases that their future employer will have an active way relating to the green transition. So there are so many different reasons why you need to keep working with these issues. And we've done this for quite some time in investor. We've been very active in relation to our companies for a long time to push these issues to canvas for it. And we see when we talk to companies, we go out and meet them, we get the report, a lot has happened and the work continues.

Well, we're soon going to open up for questions. So you can start to think about what you want to ask about. But Christian, there is a lot written about investor many analyses that are being made, most of them being positive, but there is a certain level of criticism as well, which then usually is how come that you continue with companies that do not develop at the same rate that you would have wanted. And here, usually, Husqvarna and Electrolux are mentioned. And why? Why all these patience? Well, in our strategy, we want to be long-term engaged owners. And then we also have to take responsibility and be there when the going gets tough. And Electrolux and Husqvarna, they have a mix of problems that are external competition, difficulties with distribution changes, et cetera.

And then I'm sure a few things that could have been done better internally as well. But what is important, and this could be a complete company that we have in our portfolio or part of Atlas Copco or Epiroc and their business. Well, usually, what you see is that there is a part of the business that isn't as successful as we would like it to be. And the most important thing is that we are in agreement that we can discuss it. Board of Directors, executive management, owners, we have to be in agreement. And then two, we have to have a plan on how to rectify things. And then we have to feel that we have the right people around at the table in management, Board of Directors, et cetera. And then you get started. And sometimes it's very fast, you can fix it. And other times, it takes a bit longer before you get there. We are going to talk about the strategy and the 3 business areas.

You'll be doing that later on, the 3 business areas that you have within Investor and that is unique in a way. And of course, we continue to invest. But if we start to think ahead towards 2030, which of these business areas, where will we be investing the most and why? Well, let's back up a bit. We have a very clear strategy for capital allocation. The most important thing is that we can be there, support and build the companies that we have in our portfolio. And then we want to be able to pay a steadily rising dividend. that's two. And three, we're also open to and we're actively looking for new opportunities. And then if we look at the 3 business areas, well, it is gratifying, of course, to see that in these different areas the last few years, we have invested in all 3 of them. And we will not -- or we haven't today a strategy where we say, no, this particular business area is to grow this much.

But we try to use this opportunity that we have 3 areas so that we can look at the different opportunities and what's best. And historically, we can see that a lot has been invested in Patricia Industries, and that is because we have seen opportunities in that portfolio. And if we look at things today, this pipeline is still very strong. But in 2025, we did invest in all 3 areas.

Okay. It's great to see so many shareholders here today. And we have a number of new shareholders since last year, some 70,000, I think, and we have 733,000 shareholders in investor today. And what do you think about this that we have so many new owners?

Well, great. It means a lot as a matter of fact. And it is proof, I would say, that there is a lot of interest in investor, and I and Christian and the executive team, the Board of Directors, we all think that, that's wonderful. But that also means that we have a responsibility to continue to invest and continue to do what Christian has highlighted here today. And as the Chair of the Board of Directors, well, it's a responsibility, of course. And it is important. I want to stress this. It is important that we have a dialogue around all these issues that we have touched upon today and that we do that on an ongoing basis that we talk about these issues. And we cannot get actively involved in everything that's happening around us. And as we've said already, these are very complex times, perhaps more so than ever before. But at the same time, I could say that it's exciting to be active.

Okay. Let's see if it now gets more complicated with the questions from the audience. We're going to open up. So if you have questions, then raise your hand. And I think we have someone there and someone well, at #9 as well. Please remember to let us know who you are before you ask your question, and we'll start with 9.

[indiscernible] is my name. I represent myself. One strength that I appreciate and have experienced with investors that you continue to take good care of having a possibility for an exchange of experience between portfolio companies between, for example, Chair Circle. We heard about the trip to China coming up. I'd be interested to hear a little bit more about the perspective of other topics that you've discussed over the past year and what -- how did they pay off? Let me first mention briefly some background, and you can tell us about the here and now. This started 50 years ago when the head of information from the companies were invited together and created a network. They set up a network where they met a few times a year. So you had somebody that you could talk to who wasn't a competitor. And then it's been opened up so that all CFOs have a network, all legal counsels, et cetera. There are a few networks.

So an informal network has been set up with an exchange of information, and it's meant that it's been possible to raise the bar for the knowledge that was needed, it built set up the stage for where we are now, tell us.

But it's a unique setup really. We have 24 or so portfolio companies where no one competes with any other one. And that's why we can gather tomorrow, we have a discussion of whether we can create a similar forum as Jacob outlined on digitalization and AI. Only today, we had a discussion about an exchange of experience with China in relation to China, what worked, what didn't work between the companies. It's a unique feature. And let me also add, you asked what this has meant. One of the clearest examples was the fact that when Atlas Copco was moving forward for decentralization as a role model company. I don't know any CEO who didn't call Ronnie Leten, who used to be the CEO at that time for Atlas Copco because they wanted to hear from him on his insights, good advice.

And this is something that Ronnie with great commitment was happy to be involved in. That's just one example. But it's just a very good example of how it can work really well. It's one thing to meet. You can have an agenda, you can have some external perspectives added and then you facilitate some sort of sharing. But where it becomes really interesting is when it takes on a life of its own, when Jacobs does one Head of Sustainability, for example, is there with a challenge. And just give makes a call to one of the civilian companies, then you really created something important.

Many questions. Let's deal with number one.

Thank you. I represent shareholders association and [indiscernible]. And you have been talking about sustainability. And we actually have a few questions about sustainability and how that is integrated in the work that you do and the follow-ups you have on portfolio companies. You can start perhaps.

Well, again, it is an integral part. And it is so because we have to have a sustainable company or it won't be competitive in the long run. And then you have to look at the different companies to see what it means. But as owners in concrete terms, we have expectations as to how they are to reduce Scope 1, Scope 2 emissions, also that they are to have strategic objectives, work with circularity, et cetera. And then the Board of Directors also discusses this. And we have to have a plan on what to do and also have clear follow-ups.

And then sometimes you also link this to incentives. And what do you do to impact portfolio companies so that they have clear sustainability objectives in their corporate governance?

Well, it's pretty much what I said. And Jacob has also mentioned this that end of last year, we upgraded the targets, also including climate, and we expect companies to adhere to those. And sustainability work in your portfolio companies, what type of follow-ups do you have? Well, of course, we look at it at an aggregate level with an investor. We did that at the Board meeting today. But the most important thing, the main bulk of the work that is being done in the respective company, and it has to be done that way with the model we have. The challenges and the opportunities are different for the different companies. But you have the same level of follow-ups for all companies. Do you follow up in the same manner for all companies? Yes. But of course, some of them are much more advanced and perhaps more sophisticated in the discussions that we have and other companies, it's more about getting them started.

And we will continue with #5.

[indiscernible] is my name. My question is a personal one. I'm thinking about hydrogen. Is that a good additional complement to the energy mix for Sweden generally?

Hydrogen. Well, hydrogen and hydrogen gas have been considered for a long time, a good addition. But currently, we note that there's no strong development in that area. There are a number of problems connected to this. It's very expensive to start with. It's cost inefficient. You take hydrogen, you have water, you extract hydrogen, you use it as a source of energy, but the process is very complex. It's difficult to transport. It's a high-risk activity, so much so that many have tried to find solutions, but we're not yet seeing any large-scale solutions, possibly somewhere, but it's not really expanding. So right now -- well, it could be a battery in the future. But right now, this is not something that we've identified as a viable alternative to the other options we already have. Then we have nuclear and offshore hydropower, et cetera, and wind.

Oswald is my name. I'm 17 years of age, and I represent myself. And my question, how to deal with an actor like the U.S. and also work with sovereignty within Europe, for example, with AI, when we rely on that infrastructure.

Well, a good question, a very good question. But I would say that there are 2 dimensions, one being integrity and how we make sure that it stays here, so to say. And I don't think that we should be using rules and regulations. I think that the EU, Europe is doing too much in terms of regulation because that hampers development. If we see the U.S. and China, well, they develop much faster. I would like to see that we have better incentives for a more rapid development so that we can compete on equal terms. But then there are many people who think in here as well, I'm sure also you have very strong opinions, many of you when it comes to the U.S. President.

But we have to distinguish between individual and relationships between nations because the latter is something much more long term. It's perpetual basically. And I personally, I do think that it is key that Sweden and the EU that we maintain the best possible relationship with the U.S. And we know that there have been ups and downs. But here and now, I do think that it's important for us to do that. And here, I also want to say that Sweden and the U.S. together have signed an agreement with a focus. It's a decision to focus according to what it's called [indiscernible], where it said that we should have that open exchange. And this is not about law, but that we are to have an exchange of technological developments so that we can learn from each other and that we should be able to send information in both directions.

And I do think that's immensely important. And I hope that we can deepen that so that we can have a long-term relationship with the U.S. And we should do the same thing with China. We need that relationship. And long term, we need to have that relationship with China. We have a mutual dependence between us and the U.S. us and China. And there, there can be specific questions, human rights in China, for example, where we have to stand up and fight for our values.

But at the same time, it must be possible to have a relationship with China, with the U.S. We might have our opinions on the precedent, but we still have to be able to maintain that relationship. And I apologize if this is somewhat lengthy as an answer, but I think this is very, very important. Thank you. I think we'll go to # 8 and then 4 after that.

[indiscernible] my name. I represent myself. I'm wondering what the Board of Directors do to constantly improve your work and your knowledge to secure competitiveness for future challenges.

Let me go first. The Board has an internal discussion ongoing on how we should work. But at the end of the day, it's based on the strategic work done in the businesses. So it's a bottom-up approach. The origin of this is the work of the company and its CEO, who will then raise this up to address at the level of the Board. That's where we discuss what we need to go -- where we need to go more in depth. And it has an impact on the Board. That's why we're going to China, for example, to learn more. But it's Christian and his team who drive the process and then we interact with them. And we have continually a follow-up process of the work that's being done.

If I can underline something, let me say that this specific point of making sure that you introduce external perspectives in that context, that's crucial. It could be listening to the CEOs of the companies, of course, but also try and look at what customers are saying, what does it look like in China, what happens in the U.S., et cetera. So it can be risky when things just go well fairly smoothly, you focus too much on the internal prospects. You need to remember what's happening in the world around us, technology, et cetera, et cetera. Number four.

[indiscernible] is my name, and this has to do with democracy. And it might seem a bit odd to ask this question here because we have this investor dialogue, the room is filled with people. And of course, it's great that you have this conversation with shareholders. But Sweden, we have close to 3 million shareholders, and I think we're kind of unique in that respect. And the investor alone over 700,000, I think that is a bit of a record as well. But at the same time, we see that ATMs, well, we have fewer and fewer shareholders attending. And Well, here today, obviously, well, most of us are a little bit older, one exception, one person being 17. But I'm thinking about investor in the olden days as well, you had special exhibits for young individuals. You were at exhibition center. And then in those days, there could be 3,000 shareholders attending an event. So what to do? Are you concerned about this?

The dialogue with shareholders that it's not just about speculating or hoping to get more money, how to get young individuals involved or is this kind of silly of me?

Well, I do agree as a matter of fact, I think that this is an excellent forum for us to meet with shareholders. And I do believe that -- well, sometimes there are discussions about whether we should have a good bag or more interesting sandwiches. But I do think that this opportunity to have an open dialogue, a 2-way communication, that is where we have the justification and what wants you to come here. That is our thinking, and we're happy to have you here. But it is very important. We would like to continue with this. And I want to add that what you're highlighting, it is a problem. It is. And there are many of you here today, and that is positive, of course.

And truth is what you're saying, we have less and less people coming to AGMs. And what we used to do at the stadium, well, I think that, that was extremely popular. But then we have to remember today that we also have digital means because we have more people attending digitally. Yes. But to have events like that, it is positive. And in the rest of the world, I have to say this is unique. They have annual general meetings, but then it's a formality. Usually, you only have employees there. So I do think that we can find and I hope we can find ways to improve this. But People today, they say using mutual funds, et cetera, well, that's a fact. But compared to last year, we have an increase here. So that is positive. That is a positive trend. Number 6.

[indiscernible] is my name. I was here last year as well, and I asked a question then about social democrats, but we can leave that aside and Trump. Now Trump has taken over Venezuela. They wanted to buy Greenland since you could have just ignored all of that and said, yes, why don't you pay with gold bars? So you don't have to worry more about that. But then they were going to take over Iran and then Trump wanted Cuba, he said, Elizabeth Santon went to the U.S., and she has some serious concerns about the U.S. sovereign debt. What is the U.S. going to do to deal with their situation when it comes to their indebtedness?

We have [indiscernible] in Europe as well with EUR 5,000 of an increase per second in their public debt. 117% of the GDP currently in France. And then currencies and then there's Iran. What's your question interruption? Yes, what's your perspective on the currencies and doing business, of course, you don't just want to be paid in sea shells or what have you. You'd like to be paid in something which has a permanent value. Well, but -- so let's take Iran. Should we try and answer the question. And the public deficit. Well, we are at very low levels in Sweden with the debt. giving us room to maneuver. All parties agree that we should allocate more money to defense. We will borrow money for some of that. I think that's the right decision under certain circumstances in a particular situation like this. I don't think it's good to have an indebtedness, which is too high. I'm going to leave to the Americans to decide what -- how to deal with their situation in the U.S.

I have no answer to that. But the matter of currencies generally is a very interesting one. Let's take another perspective on this. The euro, I think it would be interesting if Sweden actually in the sphere of politics and in look in depth into pros and cons with the euro because that's a discussion we should be having as far as I'm concerned. And the day when it's time to make a decision eventually on that matter, I don't think it should be by way of a referendum. It should rather be something based on factual elements and leave it to the politicians to make that decision considering all the factors because that's what they have to do. to take difficult decisions.

We're going to be democratic. I'm going to give the floor to point to [indiscernible]. Go ahead.

Well, I'm a shareholder, and I want to ask a question about the qualifying day when you [indiscernible] it. And I do see that there is good reasons perhaps that you have to take care of a child or something. And I hear many good arguments from trade unions. But we have a problem when this turns into a question for the elections. And do you think that there are any opportunities here?

Well, when it comes to that qualifying day, we have the people who decide to report that they're sick and can't work. And that doesn't have to do with having to take care of a sick child or bring the kids to preschool or something. The only thing we know is that there are numbers that are increasing and one might assume that people are not really as ill as they are. And perhaps that means that we aren't as efficient.

We work fewer hours in total compared to our competitors. And that is my perspective. And that is where we have the issue, how to maintain competitiveness. And that is a difficult issue. And I can say that, well, working from an office, there, of course, we have injustices. We have people who can work remotely from home, and we have others who have to go to their workplace. And I do believe that many things can be done efficiently from home, and you can also make your everyday life more efficient that way. But thinking about the team, the company when it comes to innovation and well, I think that it's important to meet.

And the two of you and the others here, you will meet again in 14 minutes. Thank you.

Shareholders, welcome to the Investor Annual General Meeting 2026, and I declare the meeting open. The first item on the agenda is election of the Chair of the meeting. And I would like to tell you at the same time that the Secretary for this AGM is Petra Hing, sitting next to me -- she is the General Counsel of the company, and she'll take the minutes here today. And here, we also have the CEO, President of the company, Christian Cederholm. The Nominations Committee has proposed lawyer [indiscernible] to chair the meeting, and she is here next to me as well. Can the meeting approve that proposal?

Thank you. Thank you, and I thank for that confidence shown in me. Before we continue with the other agenda items, I have a few practical matters. The Board of Directors has decided to make this AGM more available by awarding shareholders and others the opportunity to follow the AGM via a webcast on the company's website and also allowing other shareholders to participate here as guests and only the podium and the rostrum will be filmed.

When arriving here today, we're giving a voting device and voting devices are to be used where we need a qualified majority to make resolutions. And that being said, I would like to hand over again to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jacob Wallenberg.

Honored shareholders, again, welcome to this investor AGM 2026 at the China, and this year as well, I would like to say thank you. Thank you for the very nice investor dialogue that we've just had. And I have to say it's more than a tradition. It's a way to, in a more informal manner, talk with shareholders and have those conversations. And I and Christian, we cherish that opportunity.

15 years. Well, that is the number of consecutive years during which investor has succeeded in outperforming the market and provide a higher return. And I and investor, we're immensely proud over this fact. And I do believe that I share that pride with all of you here today. And now please do not misunderstand me. These 15 years, well, it's so much more than investor. It's, first and foremost, proof that every day in our companies, we have very hard work that is being done to be at the forefront all the time. And this is being done by many amazing people. In times like these, where we have a new world order that is so complex, the future proofing.

And those thoughts, well, it's a particular importance when the world is changing this rapidly. Well, in addition to navigating this and delivering here and now, it's also particularly important to try to understand those trends, new areas, sectors, markets and what will be decisive for all these amazing companies 2 years from now, 5 years from now, 10 years from now. How can we work smarter than competitors? Can we use artificial intelligence? And we talked about this earlier here today that artificial intelligence is here to stay and things happen rapidly.

We -- our companies, we have to keep up regardless of whether we want it or not or it will be very, very difficult out there. And then we also have to remember that we have to make sure that we have the most sustainable and the most efficient companies in the world because the resources will not last forever. And how can we and our companies learn from what is happening right now in China. We see how they, for example, shorten developing times, produce in more efficient manners more so than anyone else. And at the same time, they're becoming more and more competitive, and they're even becoming leaders in one sector after another. And I've already mentioned this here today that if I've understood things correctly, it takes them about 1.5, 2 years to produce a new car, a new model. And in Germany, it will take 4, 5 years.

And then the question for us is how to become more competitive. And I do believe that we have to. We have to have the best leaders, the best coworkers, and we have to be there where things happen. We have to learn from those who are at the forefront. And that is our obligation, and that's also part of our business model. We have to do what we can to optimize our preconditions, the preconditions of our companies.

In our annual report, I wrote that a significant part of what we see in trade policy and rules that are to create stability, what we have had historically in the world trade organization, for example, globalization and those ideas, all those things that we have gotten used to, they are now gone, and we see a new protectionist society and polarization in the world today is a fact. And then it's even more important that we act with the decisiveness. And we have to follow and try to wherever we can influence in Sweden, in the Nordics and in Europe. In Sweden, well, our companies, of course, they also have to be given the best possible political preconditions so that they become as competitive as they possibly can be. And the vision of a more developed Nordic collaboration with a platform that would give us a strong voice in Europe.

That is something that we have to cherish. The 5 Nordic countries together, our combined economies, that's the 12th largest economy in the world, and that is a platform we should avail ourselves of. We need United Nordics. We need companies to have access to the European shingled market. And in Europe, we also have to have that capability to build partnerships with the world outside of Europe like Merc, and we also have India to give a couple of examples of newer agreements. But at the same time, we have to invest more in infrastructure, physical infrastructure tracks, roads, well-known questions in our country, but also digital infrastructure, energy.

We need nuclear power, wind, energy. We need to invest more in R&D, technology. And we have to continue to agree on more appropriate regulations as well because, unfortunately, in Sweden and in Europe, we're not doing what we should. We cannot stand still. Christian recently said this when we introduced our interim report. He said, if we snooz, we lose. If we snooze, if we fall a sleep at the wheel, well, that will not be a good thing. And we, our companies, our colleagues with all of us, we have to be very alert in these challenging times. The challenges are many, but there are also amazing opportunities. And last but not least, I would like to turn to you and say thank you. Thank you, dear co-shareholders, more than 700 here today. And this is a very select gathering that we have here. We have heard this already today. We have more than 730,000 shareholders today in investor. And a big thank you to all of you for your support and your confidence. And again, welcome to this year's Annual General Meeting.

Thank you very much. Now it's time to resolve on Item 2, which is the drawing up and the approval of the voting list. Participation and attendance today can be done in different ways. In addition to shareholders present here today, there are some shareholders who have submitted postal votes, and we have a list of participants and a compilation of the postal votes submitted up here on the podium. And we see that the postal votes constitute approximately 80% of the shares and 87% of the votes in the list of participants.

For shareholders who have submitted a postal vote and who've also notified for attendance here today and who are in attendance, the postal vote remains valid unless the shareholder chooses to notify us that they would like to revoke the postal vote. The voting list, which is proposed to be adopted is one which has been established by Euroclear Sweden AB requested by the company. It's based on the shareholders' register, the number of shareholders who have registered and the number of postal votes received.

This list has been distributed here and every shareholder who've notified the company and who've arrived here today have been ticked off and all shareholders who submitted postal votes have also been ticked off against this list. And shareholders who have been registered to attend the meeting but who did not arrive and register and who did not submit postal votes have been deleted from the list. And let's therefore propose that the list with the mentioned adjustments be adopted as the list of the voting for the meeting. And we have a total of 57% of all the shares and 78% of the number of votes in the companies that are represented here at today's meeting. And I ask if the meeting is prepared to approve this as the voting list.

[Voting]

Thank you. That's carried. Item 3, the approval of the agenda is next. The agenda was included in the convening notice that's been distributed here. Can we adopt the agenda?

Thank you. That's approved. Item 4, election of persons to attest to the accuracy of the minutes. The Secretary has spoken to Fredrik [indiscernible] of SEB Asset Management for this task. They've declared to be prepared to accept this assignment. Can I ask you to stand up for a moment, please, so that we can verify that you are here over there and over there. Thank you very much.

Can the meeting elect as the nominees for this assignment?

Thank you.

And that takes us to Item 5, where we have determination of whether the meeting has been duly convened. And I find that notice has been given in accordance with the Companies Act and the Articles of Association. Can the meeting determine that it has been duly convened that is carried. Thank you. And then we have Item 6, where we have presentation of the parent companies and the consolidated annual report, financial statements and the auditor's report and the auditor's report for the sustainability report. And these documents have been sent out to shareholders who have requested to receive them and they've been available at the company's premises and website and been available here today. So the documents have been duly presented.

We're now going to hear from the auditor to start with. And then we'll also hear from the CEO, President. And then after that, we'll also open up for shareholders to ask questions or present comments. But right now, I would like to hand over to the chartered accountant, Jonas Stroberg from Deloitte.

Thank you. Well, that is my name is Jonas Stberg, representative Deloitte, and I'm the lead auditor for this audit of the investor. We have presented an unqualified auditor's report for 2025. We find it in the annual report, Pages 183 to 185. And I'm going to get back to the conclusions in that auditor's report. But before doing so, a few comments, if you allow me. I would like to remind you about the fact that the audit of investors is carried out by a central team in Stockholm with local teams for the subsidiaries.

And we give instructions to those auditors of the subsidiaries as to when and how to carry out that audit, and we have ongoing contacts with those teams, and they report to us on an ongoing basis. This year, we have also had a deeper reconciliation with the team working with Nora and Biomedical due to the acquisition that was carried out by Advanced Instruments in 2025. At the beginning of the financial year, we introduced our audit plan for the Audit and Risk Committee. And we've also on an ongoing basis, reported our audit and the results of it to them. We have done this on 6 occasions orally and in writing.

And together with the closing of the books, we also met with the entire Board of Directors where we give an account of the outcome of our audit. And we also had a discussion with the Board of Directors without executive management being present in accordance with the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance. The audit of investor, well, there are many areas that are audited, but there are 3 that are so-called key audit matters. They are described in the annual report, and they are the same as previous years.

We have internal governance over financial reporting, where the most important thing is the subsidiaries that we have in the group. Then we have valuation of listed and unlisted investments where we have significant values in the balance sheet. And then we also have valuation of goodwill, where we also had significant amounts in the balance sheet growing because of acquisitions. When it comes to the first area, we have looked at how management governs and instructs subsidiaries so that they follow the principles that have been decided on by investor for their reporting.

And here, we have also ensured that there are appropriate routines for quality insurance. And our conclusion is that investor has well-functioning routines within this area. The second area is processes for valuation of other investments listed and unlisted. And here as well, our opinion is that investor has good appropriate routines that are applied consistently over time. And that is particularly important for unlisted assets. Then we have the third area, which is investor and how it assesses goodwill and balance sheet.

And here, we have looked at methods and the valuations, assumptions that have been used by management. to do impairment testing as they are called. And we have found that the values are defensible. There is one exception, and that is Atlas antibodies and that goodwill value, where this year, there was an impairment of around SEK 1.4 billion. We have looked at that impairment, and we agreed in that size of that impairment being correct. And this is also relevant and the relevant information is there in the annual report.

We have also, in addition, presented 2 separate opinions and both of them are unqualified. The first one is our limited insurance report on the sustainability statement, something that is statutory, and you find that on Pages 186, 187 in the annual report, where we feel that it is in compliance with the annual accounts Act and standards. We've also looked at the compliance with guidelines for remuneration to senior executives and that information has been sent out and we haven't had any findings here either. So we feel that the financial reporting of investor gives a fair accurate view and has been established in accordance with applicable rules. And as you can see from the auditor's report, we recommended that the AGM adopt the income statement and the balance sheet for the company and the group and the profit be appropriated as proposed and that the Board of Directors and CEO President be granted [ to ] discharge. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Item 7, and I'm going to give the floor to Christian Federholm, CEO, for his address.

Thank you, Chair. esteemed shareholders, guests. Once again, -- we note that the past year was an eventful one to say the least. Investor has been building leading companies for over 100 years through downturns and upturns in the business cycles through technological shifts and different situations in the world around us. And just as Jacob mentioned, there is certainly no lack of challenges, geopolitical tensions, including 2 and more ongoing wars, being wage protectionist tendencies, sharpened competitive included ever more powerful Chinese competitors and the technological shift with AI, which is perhaps the greatest shift witnessed since the electrification.

The list goes on and on. In a world such as this, we and our businesses need to be able to deal with 2 things at the same time. We need to be flexible, and we need to adapt to deal with the world around us the way it looks here and now. And at the same time, we need to keep focus on the cap that we've set for us. Many of our companies, for example, need to deal with an increase in oil prices and disruptions of supply chains as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, while at the same time, maintaining their focus on R&D. If we and our companies can succeed with sufficient speed moving forward, we can continue to build the values for people and for the community by building strong and sustainable companies. 733,000 shareholders have chosen to show us confidence.

We are grateful and proud of this. And as Jacob pointed out, we sense the responsibility. We're also proud to be an important part of a relevant ecosystem, which is unique. Since 1917, the Wallenberg foundations have been the largest owner of Investor with the aim of promoting Sweden's development in R&D. All in all, the foundations have granted over SEK 50 billion allocated to long-term investments between research and industry. Investor's role in the ecosystem is basically to build strong and sustainable, resilient companies that will build value and generate an increase in dividend over time to the foundations and to the other more than 733,000 shareholders. This is the core of Investor.

World-class companies with strong market positions in attractive growth areas, companies that build values for their customers, for investor and for investor shareholders in the end. We often say that the way our companies perform, Investor also performs. As a result of the excellent work in our companies in 2025, '25 was a strong year also for Investor. It was indeed a year with high levels of activity. Let me give you some examples. The listed companies generated a profit growth of approximately 9%. Several major investments were announced. For example, AstraZeneca's extensive investments in both R&D and production in both the U.S. and China. Many companies completed add-on acquisitions in addition to organic growth. [indiscernible] and ABB are examples of companies who've also continued to fine-tune their activities by divesting business which were considered noncore.

Our companies in Patricia Industries generated an organic sales growth of 4%. The profit decreased to some extent due to the headwinds from the weaker dollar. But in addition, there were a number of add-on acquisitions as a complement to organic growth here as well. Advanced Instruments acquired Nova Biomedical for $2.2 billion, making it investor's largest acquisition ever. We are convinced of the strength of this combined deal and the integration has started and got off to an excellent start. We have also high level of activity with investments in equity, the joint investment of Fortnox and acquisition of shares in Equity AB equity.

All in all, Investor made significant investments in all 3 business areas. All in all, SEK 29 billion in 2025, all of those investments in companies where we see good preconditions for long-term value creation. Our net asset value was up by 14% and amounted to SEK 1,087 billion at the end of the year. The total return for the Investor share amounted to 15%, and that's what I wanted to tell you about 2025. Investor has a clear transparent strategy moving forward. The strategy has been made clearer and has been simplified, but the cap, the direction is the same. The overall objective is, of course, to generate an attractive total return to you as shareholders. And we do this by growing net asset value over time, pay continuously increasing dividend and by focusing on efficiency and sustainability.

And to achieve all this, we focus on our strategic pillars, our framework for future proofing, if you will, performance, portfolio and people, our 3 key factors. Growing the net asset value is our single most important value driver over time. Over the past 5 years, net asset value is up by 14% per year on average. profit growth and an increased cash flow in the companies are the final drivers behind net asset value and total return. When the companies develop well, it's a very gratifying task to be a shareholder and the CEO of investor. And we will pay continuously increasing dividend over the past 10 years. We've seen an increase in dividends by 8% on average per year, provided that today's AGM will resolve, of course, to adopt the Board's proposal to pay a dividend of SEK 5.60 per share.

Efficiency and sustainability are integrated parts of our value creation. We have an efficient organization with low management costs, not least in relation to our total assets. This is important because it safeguards our capacity for investment and dividend payment. We are proud but never satisfied. And in that spirit, we continue to constantly challenge our working methods, including to explore and implement AI to build efficiency and take even better decisions over time.

To us, sustainability is a basic prerequisite for long-term competitiveness as we discussed earlier today. The transition towards CO2 reduction and reduction of greenhouse gases is a way of building strong business while also benefiting the climate. And in 2025, we took several steps, very important ones forward and the work continues. We have 3 focus areas: climate and circularity, diversity and inclusion and business ethics and governance. In climate and circularity, the company has reduced its direct emissions, Scope 1 and 2, that is by 74% compared to 2016.

Almost all the companies in our portfolio work in a systematic way with inclusion and all companies have supplier codes of conduct. Our 3 different objectives support our overall objective of generation of attractive total return. And if we look at the situation so far, we follow the development on a continuous basis. It's the longer time elements which are more relevant to look at the brighter part -- the columns here represent the annual average return for the Class B shares. It is higher, as you can see, than the dotted line and the other columns, we see that we've overperformed the return requirements and the market.

And let's remind us here as well that the important thing is to have good return over time, not to overperform the market, outperform it every single year. I would then like to talk a little bit more about our strategic pillars, the focus areas that are to help us to drive the value creation and future-proof ourselves and there are companies, the performance portfolio and the people, our 3Ps, performance. It is about delivering results and profitable growth here and now and at the same time, invest in the future. As long-term owners, we have to be able to deal with both these things at the same time. Our company's capability to generate profitable growth is the single most important driver for net asset value over time. And it is about customer value and to what extent our companies can create that customer value so that we get profits, profits that can then be invested so that we can future-proof activities. And future-proofing is about innovation.

And very often, our companies are market leaders, thanks to the productions -- products and services they develop. And we have to continue and the goal has to be to improve lives and business for our customers. It does happen that companies do not develop in line with their potential. And when that happens, we, as owners, we have to ensure, one, that we are in agreement with the executive team and the Board as to what the problem is, two, we have to have a plan to rectify this. And three, we have to make sure that we have the right people around the table in management on the Board so that we can execute. Sometimes this is quickly corrected and other times, unfortunately, it takes a bit longer.

Our portfolio, well, it is about investor and all our companies having an ambition to have long-term growth. And the cash flow that we have gives us an opportunity and a responsibility to invest more over time. more than we have been able to historically so that we can continuously develop our portfolio. And of course, we do this in addition to all the excellent work that is being done in all the specific companies. Well, to work with the portfolio, that also means that sometimes we leave certain businesses where we feel that a company can find a better home with another owner. We cherish our financial flexibility, which means that we can act quickly when necessary. And then the third P, people.

We ensure that we have the right leadership by appointing a Board of Directors that appoint a CEO President. We have to have the right agenda and the right values to drive long-term value creation. And it's about understanding what to do and also to ensure that these individuals have the sufficient pace that is necessary. And we maintain high business integrity. We respect our values and we do the right thing even if it's difficult, even costs us in a shorter perspective.

But in a perpetual perspective, there is never the right time to compromise on values. To embrace new technology, that is about creating the right preconditions for our companies and our employees so that we have the right skills and competencies, investment and structures to drive innovation and test new things. So here, we have our 3 Ps: performance, portfolio and people. And this is what drive us forward. And our focus is always on going forward. And there are 3 areas that are of particular importance and that are of interest because this will have an impact on us and our companies for long term. Innovation. Innovation is absolutely decisive for competitiveness over time. And for us, that begins with an obsession to develop better solutions for customers, users, occasions. That is the foundation.

That is what gives us a reason for being for a company. And here, we have the right preconditions, but we also have sharp competition. We have already mentioned China. They used to compete with low costs and okay quality. But today, many Chinese companies in a very strikingly short period of time have forged ahead, advanced their positions. So in many sectors today, we see that those Chinese actors, they are there, they're quick. They use innovation and they apply new technology. And this means that our companies that we have strong positions today, but we have to continue to work harder more rapidly to stay ahead. Digitalization and AI. Well, here, we have many opportunities in all our companies throughout the value chain. from R&D to production to aftermarket.

And we see many promising examples as to how AI can shorten development cycles, create more efficient businesses and improve products and offerings. Ericsson, for example, is using AI to optimize investments and operations of mobile networks. Sobi is using AI models to find new applications for their medicines. And there are many, many good examples. But at the same time, this is only the beginning of this journey. Technology, well, usually, that is not the bottleneck. It's rather our own capacity, innovation and willingness to change. That is what sets the limits. And one thing I know for sure, if we do not do this, then we will be outrun. Our role as engaged owners is to encourage and push for new investments in technologies, efficiencies and make sure that we have sharper and sharper offerings from our companies.

Sustainability, that is also key for competitiveness over time. And our companies are doing excellent work when it comes to reducing emissions in Scope 1 and 2 through electrification, making things more efficient and using renewables. But the main emissions we have in the value chain in Scope 3, and that is where we have the biggest business opportunities as well, we feel. 90% of our portfolio companies' total emissions come from the use of the products with customers.

So when Ericsson, ABB, Atlas [indiscernible], when they develop new, more energy-efficient solutions that creates a direct added value for the customer because it brings energy costs down and at the same time, we reduced emissions of carbon dioxide. And that is just one example as to how the climate transition has a business value. I would also like to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion. Lately, this has become somewhat polarized. But we think that it's quite simple. We believe in meritocracy and we believe that groups where we have different backgrounds and perspectives that they make better decisions over time. And to attract the most skilled coworkers. We have to recruit from that entire talent pool, and we have to make sure that everyone is given the same opportunity to develop. And that is why we stick to our ambition when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Finally, the world around us will continue to offer challenges. But we have seen from history that at the same time, this create opportunities for strong companies to forge ahead to move forward.

And we -- our task is to navigate and also to capture those opportunities. We have a strong starting point, a clear purpose, a clear strategy. We have an attractive portfolio with strong companies, and we have a tried and tested ownership model. We have financial flexibility. And not least, we also have amazing coworkers at Investor and also in the companies. And here, I would like to take the opportunity to extend a big thank you to all these people in the companies and an investor. Your strong drive and your excellent work makes all the difference. We continue to have high ambitions as engaged owners, strong companies, and we continue to keep our focus on the 3 Ps: performance, portfolio and people. And we have all the necessary preconditions to continue to create value for you, the shareholders. Thank you. Thank you for your confidence. Thank you very much.

And now the floor is open for questions and comments from shareholders. And we have our officials with the roving microphone. So any shareholder who would like to take the floor, raise your hand, and we will bring a microphone to you. And we're very grateful if you can start by introducing yourself before you ask your question.

Microphone number one. Over there.

My name is Alexander Fernanda, and I represent the [ Folksam ] Group. We always ask a question related to sustainability at the AGM. And this year, we're focusing on climate and the environment once again. Then I have a question for the CEO. You're describing in your annual report that resource utilization in the circular economy have a significant impact and is of strategic importance, both in the subsidiaries and the portfolio companies. And at the same time, the work is at quite an early stage in many cases, under the level of ambition varies. How do you perceive investors' role as an active owner in strengthening and further developing circular solutions, both in the portfolio and the companies and the subsidiaries.

Thank you very much for that question. As I emphasized earlier, sustainability is a crucial component. But at the end of the day, it's about being competitive over time, we've talked a lot about the climate, both in terms of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, measuring scopes 1, 2 and 3. And as of this year, you will have noticed, we also have explicit targets for circularity as well.

And the good thing about all this is that here, and in the larger -- in the scope of the larger challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we have a moral responsibility to do better for the next generations to take better care of this globe, also benefits to future generations and our businesses circularity [indiscernible] at a later stage, but it's linked very well in with what we've already talked about.

Let me give you a few examples. If we look at the emissions by 1 company moving up from the suppliers up through the value chain with circularity at an early design stage, you can make sure you use less materials, recycled materials, the life cycle of a product can be extended, and need more material over time, therefore. And if you look at the other end, the lifetime and the life span of a product at the customers, you could have a good service offerings, making sure that machines can run for a long time with no disruptions. And once again, this is clearly linked to value for the customer. So just as the other areas, it's very much linked to our business.

Hello, [indiscernible] is my name. Now there's one [indiscernible] where I feel like you have talked about it today, and well, if you're involved at all, but what I'm thinking about is something that is becoming quite important. I'm thinking about the geopolitical situation on one hand, but then also have to be able to manage environmental changes in an efficient manner. And as a matter of fact, what I'm thinking about that is base and how to develop the best technology to be there. And well, that takes us back to China, and they have invested a lot, and they've also taken market shares, invested in America and other places as well. And I feel that Sweden is not on board. I don't know if you're involved somehow, but I would like to know how if so?

Well, thank you. Thank you for that question. And this is immensely pricing and a lot of things are happening in China, in the U.S., but it's a matter of fact also in Europe and in the Nordics, and we have a couple of companies that build more, which based than others [indiscernible] Ericsson, for example -- Ericsson, for example, they have tens of thousands of low-orbit satellites, which means that they basically have a global coverage for a satellite phone today. And then you could link that to the network that we have on Earch. Well, [indiscernible] something exciting and will be there.

[indiscernible] Peterson is my name. I'm retired now. But I'm proud to say that I worked for 35 years for ABB. It's an extraordinary company. I have a practical question about AI competence and skills supply. How do you find that competence. Do you have it at the Board of Directors level? I understand this bottom up. But it's something that many people don't know very much about [indiscernible].

Thank you for that question. You're very spot on in those remarks. And this is certainly one of the major challenges, but many of us here today do not have our own experience to be able to drive the required technology shift. If we look at the talent pool and supply of skills, we have a benefit in investor and as in the companies that we have strong value brands, able to attract individuals also in the new really -- red hot areas. So talent supply is a constant battle. We're waging a war to get the people we need. We will get there, but it's only early stage of this journey. Would you like to say anything?

Yes, for the Board, the way we try to relate to this matter is this. We make sure that -- people with some sort of background in AI and experience of it. We have a number of people, 1/3 of the Board bring different types of experience to the work of the Board. So that's one point of reference when we discuss AI-related issues. But of course, we also, in different ways, need to delve deeper and a number of the members of the Board take part in different training events and themes, not least together with senior management of investors, et cetera. But it's very important what you're underlying in your comment, it's still very early days. Very few people have the necessary competence. We all need to learn a lot more about this.

Well, thank you. I represent Shareholders Association and [indiscernible]. And I'm thinking about gender distribution and the plan that we have ahead for even the numbers out. I do think [indiscernible] competences are more important perhaps myself.

Well, thank you. Well, yes, we do have a target objectives for our own Board of Directors and also for the Boards of our companies. And we say that somewhere around 40% to 60% of whatever gender. And we are well on our way on that. This is a journey. The portfolio companies, on average, are at around 40%. And we're headed there in the executive teams as well in the companies. And, well, like you're saying, it's mainly about skills and competencies, of course. But if we look at both the distribution was 10 or 20 years ago, I don't think that, that truly reflected the skills and competencies. We did not have enough even then in particularly in some of the sectors. Are you happy with that reply.

I don't see any further requests. If so, I find that we have dealt with Item 7 on today's agenda.

Now moving on that brings us to Item 8. The adoption of the income statement and balance sheet for the parent company and for the group. We've heard that the auditor is in favor [indiscernible] these income statement and balance sheet. Thank you. That's adopted.

Moving on to Item 9, which is the presentation of the Board of Directors' Remuneration Report. The report is part of the material distributed here today. It's been available on the company's website and have been sent out to shareholders who requested to receive it. Are there any questions and comments on the remuneration report? I don't see anyone questing the floor and ask the meeting can approve this report. Thank you.

And I said that takes us to Item 10 where we have discharged from the ability for the Board of Directors and the President for the management of the company, 2025. We've [indiscernible] chart, we would like to note the [indiscernible] Board members and the CEO will not vote under this resolution, and I ask the meeting if the meeting can granted this chart so that is carried. If there is a question or comment?

[Operator Instructions] is my name and I represent 400 shares. So I apologize my voice isn't the best today. Honored shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, this is an important day for all of us. We can -- because the Board of Directors and the management, but we -- should I think we should deny this charge for 2025. We have remembered the [indiscernible] were murdered by the Nazis and we had the deliveries from investor and the [indiscernible] in Gothenburg to those forces and investor could have stopped at any time those deliveries to Germany, but that was not done and the United States of America plant sanctions towards that company. And one of the brothers also got the German iron cross. And a prosecutor should look at [indiscernible] to Jacob Balenberg for war crimes and crimes against the divinity. And that should reward him 18 to 20 years of imprisonment.

And then Mr. Budenberg will be 90 years of age and I will 100, and that will then be a good meeting. Thank you.

Thank you. Then we have heard [indiscernible] that you're against this is church, but this charge has also been granted to all directors and the CEO, President. So we will continue.

Item 11. And here, we have this possession of investor earnings. And you have the opinion on Page 182 in the annual report from the Board of Directors and the Board of Directors proposes a dividend of EUR 5.60 per share, split in 2 installments, and that's the risk be carried forward. The first installment of that proposal is that [indiscernible] paid with the record date of May 11 and on the second installment of EUR 1.60 per share with a record date of being November 9. And we have heard the auditor recommending this, can the meeting vote as proposed that is carried.

We have a number of items on the agenda where we have proposals from the Nominations Committee. And before we succeed with the resolutions. I'm going to give the floor to the Chair [indiscernible] you want some to present the proposals from the Nomination Committee.

Just deal with my pollen allergy for a moment before I tell you everything. The team shareholders and participants at today's AGM, the Nomination Committee for this year's AGM was mid of [indiscernible], Chair of Investor [ Caterina RoboAMF, Magnus Carlsson ] [indiscernible] and myself, Leif Johansson appointed by the [indiscernible] foundations. The proposals from the Nomination Committee, the reason the opinion and our presentation can be found in the materials distributed here today. And therefore, I will only very briefly present our proposals to you now.

Starting with the composition of the Board. It is the impression and opinion of the Nomination Committee that the work of the Board of Directors of investor is functioning well. We have availed ourselves amongst the times of an evaluation of the work of the Board as part of our assessment. The Nomination Committee has also noted that there is high levels of attendance at the Board meetings. And in order to assess the requirements placed on the Board of Directors as a result of the company's challenges and future focus, Nomination Committee has discussed the matter of the size and composition of the Board of Directors.

An important point of departure was the principle that the composition of the Board shall reflect and give room for the different skills and experiences that are needed in order to support and develop the active owner philosophy of investor as well as the long-term active involvement as an owner. We've also been informed that Board members, [indiscernible] have declined reelection.

The Nomination Committee proposes a reelection of all other members of the Board, and you can see the proposal up here on the screen. The committee's proposal means that the number of board members is reduced to 11 in line with the committee's ambition to achieve a certain reduction of the size of the Board of Directors, and we've assessed that the composition is fit for purpose and is characterized by a breadth of confidence skills and experience in areas which are strategic importance to investors. And we furthermore proposed that [indiscernible] reelected as Chair of the Board. And that brings you then to the Board B.

The Nomination Committee's proposal that you can see up here on the screen. The starting point being that the fee level should be competitive in order to allow us to attract and retain individuals with the best possible skills and experience also from an international perspective. In our assessment, among other things, we've looked at analysis, covering Board remuneration in different European countries, and we see that there's still a significant difference between the Board fees and Swedish-listed company and corresponding levels internationally.

Against this backdrop, the Nomination Committee is proposing an average increase of the fees by approximately 7%. And in line with last year, we recommend to the Board to adopt a policy, which means that the shareholding of Director on the Board after 5 years should correspond to at least the fee of 1.5 years of directorship pretax. And in order to facilitate such a holding, we propose that we retain the possibility for individual directors to receive up to 50% of the Board fee in the form of synthetic shares. [indiscernible] Nomination Committee proposals in accordance with the Audit and Risk Committee recommendation to elect Deloitte for 1 for the year, the reelection. And when it comes to fees for the auditors, we propose that fees for the orders be paid according to approved invoice.

And by way of conclusion, I would like to thank the other members of the Nominations Committee for excellent cooperation. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Are there any questions for the Nominations Committee at this stage. No, I don't see any request. Thank you very much for that presentation.

We proceed with the decision, starting with 12a, the number of members. You've heard the Nomination Committee's proposal. Does the meeting resolve in accordance with this proposal? Yes, that's carried it.

Moving on to 12b, number of auditors. You heard the proposal is the meeting in favor? [indiscernible].

I'm pleased to continue with Item 13 where we have compensation for Board of Directors and auditors, who will begin with 13a Board fees. We refer to the proposal from the Nomination Committee, can the meeting results accordingly. There is a question, so if we could have a microphone station.

Well, it looks like there are 8 plus 2 people receiving those fees. But aren't you [indiscernible] well, the CEO does not receive this fee?

And 13a, just start with the Board fees. We've heard the proposal from the Nomination Committee. Can the meeting resolve accordingly that is carried.

And then we continue with this 13b, compensation for the auditor. We have heard the proposal from the Nomination Committee. Does the meeting wish to result accordingly. That is also carried.

And then that takes us to Item 14 where we have election of members of the Board of Directors at the meeting has decided on 11 members. We've heard the proposal from the Nomination Committee and on the count of other [indiscernible] have in other companies that is included in the documentation that has been distributed here today and has also been sent out to those wish to receive it and has been available on the company's website. We're going to resolve and we are going to vote on 1 person at a time in the order they were suggested by the Nominations Committee. And I ask the meeting if the meeting [indiscernible].

And I find that the meeting has certified as is suggested by the Nominations Committee. Before we proceed, I would like to hand over to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, [indiscernible].

And I would like to, after the elections of today, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my thank you, and thank you to the Board of Directors to those directors who are stepping down [indiscernible] and Tom Duston. Unfortunately, Isabel couldn't be here today, but she has been on the Board of Directors for 5 years, and she leaves clear impression. And we want to say thank you to have the Board member that is worked outside of Sweden, well, that is important perspective. We've talked about that earlier today. And I and the other members of the Board will miss Isabel's contributions well informed -- contributions in our discussions is very knowledgeable as a business leader and [indiscernible] has a lot of experience from energy and transition issues and we are going to say thank you to her in person later on.

But now I would like to turn to Tom. Tom?

Tom, you do understand [indiscernible] I will be speaking in Swedish, if that is okay?

And I am very happy to be able to in person comes here and thank you from me and the Board of Directors. Thank you for all the work that you've done for the Investor Board of Directors and the Remuneration Committee for many years. You entered -- came on to the Board in 2010. You were still the President of SKF, and you had done an amazing journey within that company. You were part of developing that company for almost 40 years and your career and your contribution to Sweden, [indiscernible] trading business, but it can not to be overestimated. And this is not just me saying this or my [indiscernible] or my brother who is here today, you've also received distinctions from the Swedish King for your personal services to Sweden and Swedish interest and [indiscernible] from the British Queen for what you have done in the United Kingdom. So you see a bridge between cultures.

And with all of our experience and great competence you have contributed to not only investor, but also the portfolio companies in this larger ecosystem. You've had roles [indiscernible] for example. And we know Tom, that you have worked a lot and how involved you have been? And you always give everything you have to give. And Tom, you're very experienced, wise, knowledgeable person and you have been a major asset for investors. But we have had meetings, but I know that the sharp, profound, but you're also [indiscernible] dynamic and very curious and you have that ability, an amazing ability to see new perspectives and also to find solutions on very complex problems.

And you contribute is that you share your experiences. For example through mentorship in our ecosystem. And your mentor -- have been a mentor for [indiscernible] coworkers, and we are very, very grateful. And we will miss your energy, curiosity and your nice laughter. And you will be dearly missed in this group of directors.

And one more time, I want to say thank you for everything you've done. And as a traditional, some flowers for you. And I also want to shake your hand. Thank you.

And then we continue with Item 16, where we have election of Chair of the Board of Directors, proposal from the Nomination Committee, [indiscernible] be elected and ask the meeting if [indiscernible] And that is carried.

And we continue with Item 16, where we have election of auditors. We have heard a proposal from the Nominations Committee, reelection of Deloitte AB is just the meeting wish to resolve as proposed that is carried.

Item 17A and B next. The Board's proposal for long-term variable remuneration. Let me to sub items to resolve upon the proposals are contained in the material distributed here today, have been available on this website and then send out to those who request to receive it. And before we proceed with the resolution, I'm going to give the floor to the Chair of the Board, [indiscernible]. Thank you very much.

The Investor Board of Directors have presented an LTVR, a long-term variable remuneration plan for 2026, which is main components is in line with the program and the plans. Results upon by the 2025 AGM to ensure that investor is competitive and that we can offer efficient long-term so-called incentive plan that will allow us to attract and retain key competence. There are a few adjustments that are proposed this year.

While they in themselves do not entail any major differences here now, I would like to highlight them to the AGM nevertheless. First of all, we propose to set an increased [indiscernible] not distribution, but savings for the brand value, which can be used moving forward in the future to be able to offer higher components of variable remuneration as a part of total compensation. In addition, a number of adjustments are made for Patricia Industries with the aim of amongst other things, adapting the plan to current market practice in the U.S. for U.S. people. And performance requirements in [indiscernible] plan have been adjusted to be more in line with the requirements within investor. So that was briefly a few words on the adjustments. And if there are any questions, I'm very happy to answer that, of course. And I think that there is a question over there speaking point number two.

I'm an individual shareholder. For the third time this week at the third AGM, I would like to speak against these programs. They're not good. They're making things less transparent. It's one of the least transparent points. 9 pages, 11 pages consultants to produce all of this. Nobody can comprehend it really, except possibly the consultants themselves, and those who are directly concerned and covered by them. Now please bear in mind, I'm not challenging the level of compensation for the senior executives per se, but I think it should be done in a much more transparent way. There was 1 meeting where the CEO received EUR 9 million, but actually EUR 20 million through the programs. And 2 days ago, we [indiscernible] in the newspaper, [indiscernible] it, where the share has dropped 80%, but senior executives have been paid very large amount of money, in billions through these programs. I would appeal to the Board of Directors.

I understand that you won't be taking back this proposal this year, but review them, pay more indirect remuneration, have bonus programs for the entire group of employees, if you exceed a certain result level, et cetera. And I'll remind you of the debacle of Skandia for 22 years ago where the company nearly went bust and cease to exist, although there are some remnants left as a result of these horrific programs designed by them that nobody could understand and I'm turning not just to the Investor Board of Directors, but to all the institutional large owners of investor and all the other companies for that matter in the business community.

Thank you for those reflections. If as you say, you do not object as a point of principle to the level of remuneration is how rather than the what. My view is, but what we're looking to achieve is that we want to have an incentive for the employees, in particular, those in senior executive positions, but for all employees, whereby if investor develops well, they should be able to get more remuneration than if that's not the case. If we only pay a cash compensation, I cannot create such incentives, either you get paid or you don't. I'm speaking as the Chair of the Board of Directors of investor. To me, there is an added value to all of you that we set up these variable plans and programs that give more -- more paid to our employees if things go well compared to when things go less well.

And that brings us back to the how? You say that it's not transparent. I read between the lines, you seem to be suggesting that there could be -- that you could be skewing things or getting money which shouldn't be paid out. But we have a very close monitoring of our programs, large institutional owners are very active, and they're represented here today as well. It's not just us doing the monitoring. We have continued conversations with those owners what they deem reasonable. How we should do. This is not just us cooking up something back at the office. We are transparent, I would put it to you. We work with other people whom we are not able to influence and who present their views and opinions. And together, we devise programs, which will provide a model for variable remuneration. And the Board of Directors of investors believe that this is what is in the best interest of all of you shareholders to ensure that we get the most possible out of investor.

Having said that, if we agree on the amount in [indiscernible] nevertheless, we do not agree on the how, but I believe that I have quite a lot of backing for my approach working in close cooperation with other people who are not able to impact per se institutional owners, for example, and they are very knowledgeable in these matters. Thank you very much.

Any further questions under A or B, no? Then it's time to proceed with the resolution under this item. And the second AP fund has asked that we include in the minutes that they are voting against 17A, but we will start with the resolution under 17A, and I ask if the meeting can resolve in accordance with the proposal for a long-term variable remuneration for employees in investor excluding [indiscernible] Industries. That's carried.

Moving on to the resolution under 17B. Does the meeting resolve in accordance with the proposal on a long-term variable remuneration [indiscernible] Industries. Thank you.

And then items of 18A and B, where we have proposals from the Board of Directors for purpose of transfer [indiscernible] shares, the entire proposal has been included in the documentation that has been distributed to you today, has been available on the company website and has been sent to the shareholders who requested to receive it. Are there questions or comments to 18 A or B. If not, we're going to start with 18A where we need 2/3 requirement. We have a 2/3 requirement of both [indiscernible], which means that we use voting devices. We would not ask you to produce your voting devices. And if you are in favor of the Board's proposal, press 1, which is yes and if your agains press 2, no, and you can also abstain and then you press 3. Is that procedure understood. If so, we open up the vote under 18A.

[Voting]

And we're about to close the vote. It is closed and you'll see the outcome on the screen, as I find that the meeting has been resolved as proposed by the Board of Directors. And we continue with 18B. And here, we need at least [indiscernible] of votes cast and shares represented after the meeting, which means that we'll be using the voting devices again. And if you favor hit 1, if you're against 2, if you wish to abstain 3. And the vote is open.

[Voting]

And in a few seconds, we will close the vote. And the vote is closed. And we'll see the outcome on the screen. And I find that the meeting has voted in favor of the Board's proposal.

That brings us to the final item on today's agenda. And before we conclude, I'm going to give the floor to Chair of the Board of Directors.

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed shareholders, as of this meeting, 2025 is closed. But before we do so, there is one person I would like to pay tribute to, Petra Hedengran, our Chief Legal Counsel, who have been up here at podium. And you have been sharing the podium with me Petra up here as the meeting sector for almost 20 years. But you will be stepping down from your position as investor shortly. You will be receiving a proper thank you from the company. But here at the AGM on behalf of investors and all the shareholders, I would like to express a very deep debt of gratitude for all your contributions over so many years.

Many of you do not work with legal counsels. But I can tell you that it is a particular category of individuals. We are solving very dependent on having individuals like Petra to help us, not just with such in that knowledge, but with significant integrity and the ability to relate to very, very complex issues whilst at the same time, being an adviser for us where we have ideas about doing business all the time and finding solutions. You provide us somehow with the best informed position of all in the room. It's been so valuable to us. And I myself and the entire Board are so grateful to you, Petra. So thank you so very much. And you're not getting away without some flowers. Same for you here. Thank you.

Now, I'm not going to close the meeting. That's not for me to do, but it is drawing to a close, nevertheless. And in my capacity as Chair of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank you. It's been a rewarding dialogue. Let me also take this opportunity to thank Christian and his team, thank you to you and the team for the extraordinary work that you have done over the past year, and it's such a valuable contribution to investors, and we've continued to develop so well. Thank you.

I hereby declare the 2026 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of the investor closed.

Good morning, and welcome to Investor's results call for the first quarter of 2026. I'm joined here this morning by our CFO, Jenny Ashman Haquinius; and our CEO, Christian Cederholm. Both will soon be giving their presentations. And after that, we will be opening up for questions via our operator and online. With that, over to you, Christian.

Thank you, Jacob, and hello, everyone. So 2026 seems to be another challenging year from a geopolitical perspective, not the least with the situation in the Middle East. The human suffering aside, there are, of course, a number of aspects that we need to focus on from a business perspective. In terms of effects here and now, we have seen, I would say, disturbances, but no major disruption.

Price increases for energy, freight and other goods and services will, of course, come, but typically with some lag in time. If the conflict is not resolved anytime soon, however, we're likely to also see further supply chain disruptions, including potentially drying up of certain goods. Cost inflation will also, together with generally increased uncertainty, impact global demand in a more profound way than we've seen thus far.

In this environment, it's critical to focus on agility with a goal of always being able to continue serving our companies, our customers. It's about adapting and the companies are adapting. Generally, they're doing a good job protecting the businesses and the profits here now while continuing to invest to future-proof. In times like these, decentralized model with great empowered teams close to the customers, ready and able to make decisions is really showing its strength.

And we should not forget our companies have a strong starting point with excellent customer offerings and leading market positions. If we turn to Q1 for Investor, we had net asset value growth of 3% and a TSR of 7%, supported by Listed Companies and Patricia Industries, while EQT contributed negatively this quarter. We also saw high activity across the portfolio, including investments in all 3 business areas.

At the end of the first quarter, adjusted net asset value stood at SEK 1,125 billion. Let me briefly go through the 3 business areas, Listed Companies, Patricia Industries and investments in EQT. Starting with Listed Companies that represents more than 70% of our assets. Total return was 5% with strong contribution from, for example, ABB, Saab, AstraZeneca and Sobi. On the back of market volatility, we acquired shares in Nasdaq and Atlas Copco for a total of SEK 170 million.

Total investments in Listed Companies has now been SEK 2.5 billion in the last 12 months. We also received just over SEK 1.5 billion for SEB shares divested during Q4 to maintain our ownership level as the bank continued to buy back shares. In terms of future-proofing activities, companies continue to identify and implement high-value AI use cases really across the portfolio and across the value chain.

In Electrolux Professional, Paolo Schira was appointed new CEO effective from May. With the AGM season currently in full swing, I'm happy to see all the good additions of new directors to the Listed Companies' Boards of Directors. Based on the latest proposals, we expect north of SEK 14 billion in ordinary dividends during 2026 and an additional SEK 3.4 billion from extraordinary dividends.

Now over to Patricia Industries. Total return in Patricia was 4% with contribution from cash flow and multiples and with a positive translation effect as the U.S. dollar strengthened during this quarter compared to year-end. The major subsidiaries reported a sales decline of 7%. Organic constant currency growth was, however, a positive 3%. Adjusted EBITA declined by 4%, significantly impacted by the weaker U.S. dollar compared to Q1 of last year.

So remember here, the U.S. dollar strengthened during this quarter, which has a positive impact on valuations where we compare to the end of last quarter. But year-on-year, the U.S. dollar is down a lot, as you know, and that has a significant negative impact on year-on-year earnings growth, and Jenny will address this more in her remarks. Margins held up well across most companies despite headwinds from tariffs and currency movements, underlying the importance of operational discipline and efficiency. We saw continued high activity across Patricia.

On the people side, Guillaume Joucla and Bengt Thorsson were appointed interim CEOs in Molnlycke and in Piab Group, respectively. Also, Tomas Puusepp was appointed new Chair in Permobil effective this summer. Vectura announced the acquisition of the remaining 50% in GoCo Health Innovation City in Gothenburg. Patricia Industries contributed capital to support the financing of this acquisition, which closed just after the quarter. For the major subsidiaries and including our 40% in Tre Skandinavien, revenues amounted to SEK 68.6 billion in the last 12 months, and EBITDA was SEK 17.3 billion in the same period.

Note, however, that this is in kroner, so rather sensitive to FX. And finally then, investments in EQT, our third business area. Here, total return was a negative 13%, dragged down by the decline in the EQT AB share price. Generally, alternative asset managers saw valuations come down on the back of concerns about the viability of certain software investments as well as the quality and liquidity of some private debt funds.

We acquired shares for a total of SEK 1.4 billion at the valuation we deemed attractive. Investor had a positive net cash flow of SEK 1.2 billion from our fund investments. This was offset then by the investment in EQT AB shares, resulting in an essentially neutral total net cash flow during the quarter. As we mentioned last quarter, EQT announced the acquisition of Coller Capital, a leading global secondaries firm with nearly USD 50 billion of assets under management, further strengthening the EQT platform for its fund investors.

Looking ahead then, I remain confident in our platform. Investor has a clear purpose and a focused strategy, a portfolio of high-quality companies and an engaged ownership model that is well proven over the years. We have financial flexibility with low leverage and strong underlying cash flows and importantly, great people, both at Investor and in our companies and our broader network.

We, Investor, and our companies are facing a challenging environment, and we need to navigate that well. At the same time, our companies must continue and accelerate investments to future-proof their businesses. Our strong platform, combined with a relentless focus on customers is indeed a strong starting point to build from. But make no mistake, competition is tough, and we need to be highly aware of how fast things are moving out there, including the speed at which, for instance, AI and Chinese competition are evolving. To succeed, speed is crucial. And as we say in the CEO statement, if we lose -- if we snooze, we lose.

With that, I'll hand over to you, Jenny, to take us through the financials.

Thank you, Christian, and good morning. So let me take you through the financials for the quarter. So in Q1 2026, adjusted net asset value was SEK 1,125 billion, which implies an increase of 3% compared to Q4. For the quarter, Listed Companies and Patricia Industries contributed positively, while investments in EQT declined.

And now double-clicking on each of the business areas, and I will start with Listed Companies. Within Listed Companies, share price performance was mixed, particularly strong quarter for Sobi, Ericsson and Saab. Electrolux Professional and Husqvarna, however, had a tougher quarter looking at total return. Total return for the Listed Companies portfolio was 5% in Q1. And as for absolute contribution, it paints a similar picture, although with ABB in the top as the biggest contributor to net asset value given size and weight in our portfolio. All in all, a solid quarter for Listed Companies.

And now moving on to Patricia Industries. So for the quarter, Patricia Industries portfolio for the major subsidiaries grew 3% organically, while the adjusted EBITA declined by 4%. And as a reminder, we are restrictive when it comes to EBITA adjustments. So in the 4% drop for the quarter, we have only adjusted for transaction costs related to M&A, so specifically Laborie and Sarnova in this quarter and also one-off costs related to CEO transitions. And for this quarter, that is relevant for Piab.

So still weighing on the adjusted EBITA is FX, so the stronger Swedish Krona year-over-year, tariffs as well as restructuring costs as we deem this as part of ongoing operations. And for this quarter, we have restructuring costs for Permobil. And then double-clicking on performance across the companies in Patricia Industries, let me comment on a few of them. For Laborie, growth continued to be driven to a large extent by urology and specifically the Optilume urethral strictures product. And as we've alluded to before, short term, comps are continuously getting tougher as Optilume urethral strictures is included in benchmark quarters.

But longer term, there is a lot of runway in both urethral strictures and the more recently launched BPH product. Profitability for Laborie, adjusting for the USD 9 million in costs related to the JADA acquisition was up despite continued commercial investments. NOVA Biomedical grew 1% organically, which is sequentially lower but in line with expectations. So as mentioned last quarter, the acquired part of the business has a particularly strong comparison quarter. Despite muted growth, profitability increased significantly, primarily due to efficiency improvements from integration and integration is progressing according to plan.

Piab returned to growth with 1% organic growth, and the company has been seeing more choppy demand on the back of increased geopolitical tension, but did see some easing at the end of the quarter. Profitability was down, and that's primarily explained by costs related to the CEO transition as well as tariffs. And Permobil continued to see muted growth, also this quarter explained by negative impact from the voluntary product recall of the Power Assist Device announced in Q3 last year. Focus for the company is on innovation and upcoming product launches.

Profitability was weighed down by restructuring, as mentioned, as well as the product recall. Moving on to Molnlycke. Molnlycke had another solid quarter with 3% organic growth, driven by all 4 business areas. Focusing on Wound Care with 2% organic growth, that is sequentially lower and impacted by largely 3 buckets. So U.S. remains a significant growth driver, but at a lower rate than previous quarters, and this is in part due to destocking at some customers, but we continue to see solid market demand.

Further, we see the same tough market dynamics in France as previous quarters, but it's really good to see Molnlycke keeping market share intact. And then finally, we see weakness in the Middle East this quarter, where we see erratic order patterns rather than impact from the conflict in the region. Overall, positive to see improving profitability despite negative impact from FX, lower manufacturing absorption and tariffs, and that's because the company is doing a really good job with efficiency improvements and cost control.

We saw a 4% increase in estimated market values compared to Q4, so from SEK 225 billion to SEK 230 billion, and the increase was explained by positive impact from FX, from earnings growth and also expansion in valuation multiples. For FX, although the stronger Swedish Krona has a negative impact on the year-over-year earnings, the U.S. dollar strengthened during the quarter compared to the end of last quarter, and this provides a positive translation effect in the valuation for the U.S. subsidiaries.

Looking at value development across companies, we can see that the biggest contributor for Q1 was Molnlycke, and that's primarily due to expansion in multiples, but also earnings growth. Permobil and Laborie were a drag on value, for Permobil, mainly due to lower earnings, and for Laborie because of contracting multiples. And over the last couple of quarters, we've noticed an increase in questions on the FX exposure in our companies, specifically the U.S. dollar exposure in Patricia Industries.

So we thought that we will take this opportunity to provide some additional color, and we will focus on 2 main buckets, so impact on earnings and impact on valuation. And as you know, we have a U.S. dollar exposure given Patricia's global footprint with exposure to the U.S. as the main market with high profitability. For the U.S. subsidiaries, we have a relatively limited FX impact on earnings from U.S. dollar fluctuations, and that is because earnings are predominantly generated in U.S. dollars, and this is also the reporting currency.

So for the U.S. subsidiaries, the bigger U.S. dollar exposure is rather a quarter-on-quarter effect in valuation, so -- when we translate the U.S. dollar net asset value to a SEK net asset value in Investor's reporting. For this quarter, as mentioned, we had a positive effect on net asset value for the U.S. subsidiaries, and that's due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar versus the Swedish Krona in Q1 compared to Q4.

For the Nordic companies, first, Tre Skandinavien and Vectura have very limited FX exposure given Skandinavien operations. For the remaining Nordic companies, we do see quite a significant impact on earnings year-over-year, and that is because the companies have relatively large and healthy U.S. businesses with high gross margin. So roughly 45% of combined EBITDA is generated in U.S. dollars. And the U.S. dollar profits are translated to Swedish Krona or Euros as reporting currency.

And this impact on earnings, of course, implies an impact on net asset value given our earnings-based valuation method. In addition, for Molnlycke, we also have a quarter-on-quarter exposure to the Euro. So that's when we translate the Euro net asset value to a SEK net asset value in Investor's reporting. And in terms of mitigating actions, so the companies continuously strive for natural hedging, so having costs in the same currency as sales, and they are relatively well matched. If we take Molnlycke as an example, Molnlycke has roughly 35% of sales in U.S. dollars and 30% of cost. So not perfectly matched, and that's because headquarters, central functions, R&D, et cetera, are primarily located in Sweden.

Also, as an example, Molnlycke, despite increasing local U.S. production with the current build-out of the wound care plant in Maine, we'll continue to see imports to the U.S. from the Mikkeli plant in Finland, although to a lesser extent. In addition, the companies seek to borrow in currencies that match the currency of net cash flow. Molnlycke, again, as an example, has roughly 60% of debt in euros and 40% of debt in dollars.

So I hope that provided some additional insight into the U.S. dollar exposure for Patricia and how we think in terms of natural hedging. Now moving on to investments in EQT. So total value change was a negative 13% in the quarter, and that's primarily driven by EQT AB, which was down 22%. Fund investments were up 2%. And as a reminder, we report EQT fund investments with 1 quarter lag. So the 2% is based on EQT's Q4 report. On the right-hand side, we illustrate the net cash flow from EQT to Investor, which was essentially flat in the quarter as quite significant exit proceeds were offset by investments.

And this is an illustration of the net cash flow from investments in EQT over time. While it's quite lumpy on a quarterly basis over the past 10 years, we have received a net cash inflow of SEK 1.6 billion on average per year. Our balance sheet remains strong. Our leverage as of Q1 is 1.2%, and it remains in the lower end of our policy range despite continued investments. And then on to my last slide, looking at the longer-term perspective, the performance of the Investor ABB share truly illustrates the strength and the resilience of our portfolio and strategy.

And with that, I will leave the word back to Jacob.

Thank you very much, Jenny. Thank you, Christian. We are now ready to take your questions, and we will start with the questions through our operator, [ Ember, ] please.

[Operator Instructions] And we will now take the first question from the line of Linus Sigurdson of DNB Carnegie.

Okay. Starting with a couple of questions on Molnlycke. You talked about these continued challenging market conditions in France. But is it fair then to assume that Germany has stabilized? And also, are you seeing anything that sort of implies we could expect headwinds in France to ease in the near term?

I can start. Thank you, Linus, for your question. We've seen challenges in France for a couple of quarters, and that is due to pressure on the healthcare system, which has resulted in reimbursement cuts. And we do not see a reason for that to ease. However, moving along, we will see some easier comps for the French market, specifically when the reimbursement cuts have trickled through in terms -- for Molnlycke. And then it's really good to see that Molnlycke is keeping market share intact. But it remains a tough market. And as for Germany in this quarter, we are not seeing the challenges to the same extent. But again, in Germany, we are continuing to see pressure on the healthcare system. So I think it's too early to tell.

Okay. That makes sense. And then if you could just zoom in on the U.S. business and this sequentially lower growth? Is there any sort of major shift in the demand dynamics that we should be aware of in the U.S.

Well, I think from what we know now and the signals that we see today, we do not see a major shift in kind of the underlying demand in the U.S. But as you know, we are operating in a volatile environment. And so it, of course, depends on what will happen on kind of the global demand. But for Molnlycke specifically in this quarter, it's more about destocking with some customers in the U.S. for Wound Care specifically.

Okay. And then my final question is on Nova Biomedical. So you talked about the strong Q1 last year. And then given that from what we can read, Q2 last year also looks pretty strong. Is it reasonable to expect similar growth dynamics also in Q2 this year?

Well, we do not provide guidance. But I think what we can say is that the company is very much focused on the integration and making sure that they keep momentum in the business. But throughout the integration, as we've alluded to before, we might see some volatility in financial performance. But in terms of the longer-term outlook, we remain very confident in the opportunities for long-term profitable growth.

We will now take our next question from the line of Derek Laliberte from ABG Sundal Collier.

Just wanted to follow up firstly on Molnlycke, if you could comment anything on how it's developing in terms of volume versus pricing in the U.S. specifically?

Well, I think in general, we do not provide the details on volume and pricing. But for this quarter, it's more about destocking. And I think as a general comment for the underlying growth in the Wound Care market, what we do see is that we have mid- to low -- or low to mid-single-digit growth. And then, of course, Molnlycke has an ambition to, over time, grow above that, but that underlying growth is primarily driven by volume.

Perfect. And also on Molnlycke, I know you don't provide sort of forward-looking guidance, but can you comment anything on sort of anything to be aware of in terms of the margin trajectory going forward in terms of costs or any other mix headwinds that might be relevant?

Well, I think what we do see in this quarter, I mean, given kind of the volatility that is increasing also at the global arena, I mean, in this quarter, we are seeing primarily effects from the negative FX and tariffs combined roughly 2 percentage points on the margin. But I think looking ahead, it's too early to tell what the longer-term effects will be.

And then offsetting that, maybe just to add is, of course, the efficiency work that the company is executing on.

Great. And then over to Laborie, I am wondering if you could comment anything on the status of the BPH product rollout.

Yes. Well, as you saw in the report, Laborie received an active reimbursement code for BPH, and that's specifically for physicians. And that's really a first step for a license to operate. And then the ramp-up and the kind of launch of the product will be gradual and will be a lot of work because we need to educate or the company needs to educate the physicians and also receive a broader reimbursement for the product. But longer term, it's a very attractive growth opportunity for Laborie.

Indeed. And then on Nova Biomedical, you had some comments about that already clearly. But can you say something about how the overall market demand situation is developing for this company? Has it kind of gotten more challenging as in? Or is it more of a steady pace and more about continuing to capture market share, et cetera?

I would say, overall, more of a steady pace, but let's see what happens given the volatility that we see globally.

[Operator Instructions] We will now take our next question. And our next question comes from the line of Oskar Lindstrom of Danske Bank. Oskar, we cannot hear. Oskar, you have to come to the phone. All right. Thank you. We have lost Oskar there. So I'll be turning back to the room for webcast questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Ember. Lets see if we have Oskar back at some point. Let's take questions from the web. We have a number of questions. The first comes from [ Christian Salstrom. ] And it goes, Patricia Industries has represented around 1/5 of Investor's NAV for some time now. How do you view the balance between the listed holdings and Patricia Industries going forward? Could Patricia become a larger share of the portfolio over time? Or is the current balance roughly where you want it to be? And where do you currently see the most attractive opportunities for capital allocation between the 2 segments?

I can start on that. Thank you for the question. Really, when we think about capital allocation, we're pretty clear in that, our first and foremost priority is to continue to support and building our existing companies, and that could be by way of supporting add-on acquisitions, rights issues, both on the listed and the private side. Then the second priority is to pay a steady rising dividend over time.

And thirdly, but still important, we are actively looking also for new platform companies. And when it comes to the prioritization between the different business areas, first of all, we should say that we see it as a benefit to have 3 business areas, which all generate attractive opportunities to invest. And that's also what you've seen looking back at the last couple of years. We really have invested in all 3.

In terms of allocation between the 3, we don't steer or set targets based on one part becoming X percent of total assets or anything like that. I would say, however, that, again, if you look back in the last 5 years or so, an unproportional share of capital has gone towards Patricia Industries, and that is basically built on there being some really good opportunities there. And we continue to see a nice pipeline in Patricia but also in the other business areas.

Perfect. I can see now that Oskar Lindstrom is back, [ Ember, ] would you take over, please?

Certainly. So our next question comes from the line of Oskar Lindstrom of Danske Bank.

I hope you can hear me now?

Yes.

Yes.

Super. Sorry for that technical mishap earlier. I have 3 sets of questions. The first is regarding Molnlycke and operations in China. I've seen some peers in the Wound Care segment talk about China having introduced a new volume-based procurement program, essentially trying to reduce the cost of MedTech products and consumables. Is this something which you have noticed and which has impacted your business or margins in China?

I can take a first shot at that. It's correct what you say that those kind of regulations has been introduced. If you look at Molnlycke's business in China, you really have 2 parts. One is selling towards the hospitals, and that's where this would apply. And then the other part is really an E-commerce business, which is more business to consumer oriented, primarily within scar management. And that part is not affected by this kind of regulation. And without commenting in any detail on Molnlycke, these kind of programs typically do have an impact, and it really sort of stresses the importance to be locally present and over time also with production.

Right. But has this program already been impacting you? Or is this something more that you see in quarters ahead?

I would say that the impact so far has been limited.

My second question is also with regards to China, where we've seen some indications that Chinese MedTech and sort of consumables companies are seeking to enter Europe or EMEA. Have you seen that in local markets in Europe to any extent? I guess this is impacting both -- well, both Molnlycke and your MedTech business overall?

So I'll take a first shot at that. I mean I think the short answer is, yes, we do see Chinese competition in a number of segments or subsegments. And there are several, let's say, well-regarded Chinese manufacturers and vendors. And that includes, for example, on the ORS side, folks like [ Shende ] as an example. So we certainly see, and that's also why relating to the comment we make in the CEO statement that Chinese competition in MedTech, but also in other areas is increasing. Their ambition is high and their capabilities are increasing.

And then my third and final question is on Nova Biomedical, the drop in organic growth. I mean you partly, I think, mentioned tougher comps, but also how much was due to the sort of integration or is there a meaningful component, which is more sort of overall market slowdown?

According to what we see right now, it's not due to any weakness in kind of the demand or the market. So as we've alluded to already last quarter, the acquired part of the business has a very tough comparison period. And that is the main explanation for the sequentially lower growth. And then in addition to that, we've also mentioned earlier that we might see some added volatility in financial results throughout the integration. But we remain very confident in the longer-term prospects for profitable growth for the company.

If I may, just a follow-up on that. How long are the year-on-year comps going to be tough? And how long is the integration process, the possible sort of resulting volatility in earnings going to continue? I'm sorry if you already answered this and I missed it, but...

I think on -- in terms of the tough comps, we choose to call out Q1 of last year in 2025 as a sort of very significant comp quarter. And that says something, I guess. In terms of the integration, I mean, as always, it's sort of a -- it's an ongoing process. I would say that come the anniversary or maybe the 18 month or so anniversary of the acquisition, the majority of integration streams should be expected to be completed.

There are no phone questions at this time. I'll now turn back to the room for further questions from the webcast.

Thank you, [ Ember. ] And then we have a question online from [ Alexander Deprez. ] Could you provide an idea of how much of the consolidated cost of goods and services sold could be impacted by higher energy prices?

Yes, I can start. And as Christian mentioned, in the quarter, we are seeing limited impacts connected to this. But we do know from experience that these effects typically come with some lag, so 1 or 2 quarter lag. I think with the volatility that we're seeing, it's too early to tell what the actual implication will be. So I think what's important here and now is that the company are working actively in doing what they can to mitigate. And that goes from working with the supply chain, of course, but also active pricing. I don't know if you have anything you would like to add.

I think -- and maybe we read into your question that it relates to the Middle East and energy prices. I would point out that there are other choke points as well in the global supply chains, I mean, chipsets is one where the build-out of AI capabilities and AI data centers is clearly impacting us, and we saw Ericsson, for example, commenting on that in their quarterly report. Unfortunately, it's not just limited to energy.

Thank you. Next questions come from [ Holger Bergersten. ] Two questions. I'll take the first one. Investor has very strong financial flexibility and low leverage. How do you prioritize capital allocation today between new investments, adding to existing holdings, debt capacity and share buybacks when the share price trades close to or above adjusted NAV.

Maybe I can start. I mean in terms of capital allocation, as we talked about in one of the previous questions, we have a quite clear view on capital allocation priorities. Number one is to support and build on our existing companies. And that, again, can involve, for example, supporting add-on acquisitions in both listed or private companies. It could be buying incremental shares in existing Listed Companies, et cetera.

Number two is paying a steadily rising dividend. A buyback is not something we've used as a way to distribute cash, and I don't see that happening going forward either. And then thirdly, but still importantly, we are actively looking for new platform investments as well. And we are looking, as I said, to invest in all 3 business areas. If I look at the pipeline recently and also at this point in time, I think it's fair to say that we have an overweight of opportunities in the -- on the private side.

Good. Next question is also to you, Christian. Investor has compounded value for decades through active ownership, patience and disciplined capital allocation. If we meet again in 10 years, what do you think will have changed the most in Investor's model? And what must remain exactly the same?

Thank you. Great question. And I really think that as we mentioned in our presentation as well, the platform we have with a strong portfolio companies and a sort of well-proven and well-vetted model for engaged ownership seems to serve us pretty well. So I don't foresee any significant change there. Then in terms of capital allocation, our priorities are what they are. We do see that if we look at the coming, call it, 3 to 5 years and compare that to the previous, call it, 3 to 5 years, it's clearly so that our cash-generating ability is larger than it has been.

So that, of course, opens for opportunities to invest more. And then I think maybe the most profound change will be if you look at all of our companies really across the portfolio and across the value chain, there are a number of, call it, future-proofing initiatives and future-proofing themes that we need to get right. That includes, of course, AI and making sure we leverage AI across the value chain, everything from R&D to production, to how we go to market. And of course, ultimately, and the holy grail is a little bit to use AI in the products and in the solutions offered to our customers so as to enhance customer value.

And one other part is that we've been calling out is dealing with competition and competition is pretty tough out there, including from Chinese competitors, but also from elsewhere. And there, at the end of the day, you need this sort of relentless, almost obsessive focus on customers and making sure that you spend enough and are successful in innovating so that you continue to improve the lives and the businesses of our customers and our users. And if we do that well, we will be very strong also in 10 years' time.

Thank you very much. Then we have 3 questions from [ Michael Gilkins. ] First one, can you give some concrete examples of how your portfolio companies are implementing AI? Are there any examples that stand out?

I think maybe I can start, [ Jen. ] I mean we called out Verafin in our quarterly report, which is a software business that Nasdaq acquired a number of years ago. And really, what they do and what they provide to their customers is software to detect fraud and money laundering. And if you look at what AI can do to this software suite, it's really interesting because you can create both better efficiency for the customers. So Nasdaq is talking about maybe a 4x productivity improvement in terms of scanning of transactions, scanning of new customers, et cetera, for example, for a bank.

But also the outcome is significantly improved. And in that case, one important part is removing or getting away from what we call false positives that otherwise create a lot of extra work. Sorry, if I may. And I think there are lots of great examples, but as we also say, we have a lot more to do and all our companies are working with sort of good engagement, high ambitions and lots of resources to make sure that we really make AI an advantage to us as opposed to a risk or disruption.

Thank you. And you could stand here the whole morning running examples. So there are not -- there are many more than this one. Also related to AI, it would be great to learn a bit more about Piab's role in the AI hardware value chain. It seems they are a logical beneficiary of this megatrend.

Yes. So if I start, I mean, Piab is, as you alluded to in your question, well positioned in that it's a critical part of automation. And really, what we see in, call it, factory or production automation is that AI enables much more agility in robots or in machines, meaning that also -- steps in the production that are maybe a little bit lower volume, higher variations are now possible and sort of relevant to automate. So in that sense, very well positioned.

And then the final question from [ Michael Gilkins. ] Can you give us an update on the attempts to turn around the businesses through your Board work at Electrolux, Electrolux Professional and Husqvarna?

Yes. So if I take Electrolux and Husqvarna, I mean, as we've seen, they've been underperforming for a number of years. And really, our go-to model in these kind of situations is to, number one, make sure that we create as fast as possible, a common view between management, Board and us as owners about what the issues are; two, create a plan to address it; and three, for us to make sure that we feel we have the right people around the table to succeed.

And then we go at it. Does that mean that we will succeed the first time? No, unfortunately, often, it takes several attempts. But I would say in both Husqvarna and Electrolux, we do feel that we have sort of the building blocks in place, but a lot of work continues.

Thank you very much. We have another hand raised. So over to you, [ Ember. ]

Our next phone question comes from the line of Jacob Hesslevik of SEB.

I have a question on Laborie. It's finally completed the acquisition of JADA Systems. And at the same time, its EBITDA margin has been fairly volatile. It is up from Q4 last year, but it's still down year-over-year. So I'm just wondering what are the expected revenue and margin synergies from the JADA acquisition? How should we view the integration time line? And how does this affect Laborie's trajectory on EBITDA margin going forward?

So maybe if I start and just sort of taking a step back and looking at what the JADA acquisition is, it's really in very simple terms, it's adding a great product to the Mother and Child Care segment of Laborie. And in terms of synergies, without going into, call it, the margin effects of it, what we want to achieve with this type of acquisition is really matching a great product with a great channel and sort of sales force network at Laborie.

And in that sense, without any other sort of commonalities maybe, it's similar to Optilume. But of course, in JADA's case, this is a well-established sort of a gold standard of care product already. And with regards to the volatility in the margin, as we disclosed in Q1 here, it's primarily related to some acquisition-related costs for exactly JADA.

Yes. I saw the acquisition cost and adjusted for it. But you also mentioned it's partially offset by commercial investments. Are these one-off nature related to Q1? Or should we expect additional investments in coming quarters?

So that's really ongoing commercial investments, and they're related to not the least, the rollout of an Optilume, both urethral strictures which continues to grow, but also -- and Jenny had talked about that at some length, the introduction of the Optilume BPH product, where we now have sort of basic reimbursement, but then we need insurance coverage, physician training, et cetera, et cetera.

Okay. I can't see any further questions online, and I don't think there are any more in the queue. That means it's time to conclude this webcast. Many thanks to Jenny, to Christian. Our next scheduled call is the first half report for 2026, which is scheduled for the 16th of July. And until then, thank you, and goodbye.

Good morning, and welcome to Investor's Q4 and year-end results for 2025. I'm joined here in the studio in Stockholm by our CFO, Jenny Ashman Haquinius; and our CEO, Christian Cederholm and both will soon be giving their presentations. After that, as usual, we'll be opening up for questions, both on the call via our operator and online.

And with that, over to you, Christian.

Thank you, Jacob, and hello, everyone. As we look back on the past year, it's clear that 2025 was anything but straightforward. The world remains impacted by significant geopolitical uncertainty. Now despite these headwinds, the global economy delivered decent growth. And in this environment, our companies are doing a good job balancing profitable growth here and now, including focus on efficiency and cost out whilst continuously investing to future-proof their businesses.

Let's take a closer look at how we performed over the last year. So 2025 turned out a strong year for Investor. Adjusted net asset value grew by 14%, and our TSR, total shareholder return, was 15%. Listed companies total return amounted to 22%, and we strengthened our ownership in Ericsson and Atlas Copco for a total investment of about SEK 2.3 billion. Patricia Industries total return was minus 9% with considerable headwind from the weaker U.S. dollar.

Operationally, it was a good year in total for the major subsidiaries. And in addition to organic growth of 4%, the companies made add-on acquisitions for a total of SEK 24 billion, of which Patricia funded about SEK 16 billion with the rest funded by the portfolio companies themselves. The biggest one by far, of course, being the acquisition of Nova Biomedical.

Investments in EQT generated a total return of 15%. And here, we also made our first co-investment, Fortnox, alongside EQT X, exploring another way to create value together with EQT. Lastly, supported by a strong balance sheet and cash flow generation, Investor's Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 5.60 per share for fiscal year 2025. This represents an increase of SEK 0.40 or 8% over last year. At the end of the year, adjusted net asset value stood at SEK 1,087 billion.

Now let me briefly go through the 3 business areas. Starting with Listed that represents about 70% of our assets. Listed Companies generated a total return of 6% in the fourth quarter. Investor received proceeds of close to SEK 900 million or SEB shares divested in Q3, so the last quarter to maintain our ownership level as the bank continued to buy back shares. Portfolio companies continued activities focused on future-proofing their businesses. So as an example, Sobi announced its acquisition of Arthrosi, expanding its portfolio within gout with a promising Phase III drug. Wärtsilä announced the divestment of its gas solution business, further focusing the Wärtsilä portfolio.

Now over to Patricia Industries, which represents about 20% of our portfolio. Total return in the fourth quarter was 1%, driven by earnings growth and multiple expansion, offset by significant negative currency impact. While reported sales declined by 5%, our major subsidiaries grew sales 5% organically. Adjusted EBITDA declined by 6%, heavily impacted by the same negative currency effects I mentioned and with some costs relating to restructuring initiatives in a couple of the companies. We saw continued high activity in Patricia. For example, Laborie announced the acquisition of the JADA system, expanding its offering within obstetrics for a potential maximum value of USD 465 million. Sarnova completed 2 add-on acquisitions for a total of $165 million, strengthening Sarnova's software offering for revenue cycle management.

Also, we contributed SEK 200 million to Atlas Antibodies to strengthen the balance sheet after a period of weak demand and performance. Mölnlycke and BraunAbility distributed a total of SEK 4.1 billion to Patricia Industries in the fourth quarter.

All the major subsidiaries and our 40% in 3 Scandinavia in aggregate, including the combined Nova Biomedical from Q3 and onwards, reported last 12-month sales stood at SEK 68.4 billion, and EBITDA was SEK 17.2 billion. We should note here that this is in Swedish krona, so of course, rather sensitive to FX. And finally then, investments in EQT, our third business area, which represents about 10% of the portfolio. In Q4, total return for investments in EQT was 8%, driven by strong share price development in EQT AB. Net cash flow to Investor was SEK 1.2 billion with approximately SEK 0.9 billion net inflow from EQT funds, driven by continued healthy exit activity in the funds. During the quarter, we also completed the very last part of our SEK 4.5 billion investment in Fortnox.

So it was a strong quarter and a strong year. But as always, our focus is on the future. I'm confident in our strong platform. Investor has a clear purpose and a focused strategy, a portfolio of high-quality companies, an ownership and governance model that is well proven and great people, both at Investor and in our network and in the companies. And we have financial flexibility with low leverage and strong underlying cash flow. Our strategy towards 2030 is clearly defined and well aligned with our purpose with the ultimate target, of course, of generating an attractive shareholder return. Our objectives are to grow net asset value, to pay a steadily rising dividend and to operate efficiently and sustainably. We will remain focused on our 3 strategic pillars: Performance, portfolio and people.

And let me say a few words about each of these. Performance first. While it varies between industry segments and geographies, overall demand remains lukewarm. In addition, the U.S. dollar is down significantly and tariffs need to be managed and the geopolitical situation remain profoundly unpredictable. Against this backdrop, companies need to focus on efficiency here and now to drive profitable growth. At the same time, focus on future-proofing initiatives is critical to ensure long-term competitiveness. This includes, for example, R&D, other investments for innovation, expansion of sales, including to new geographies and investments to leverage the potential of AI and other new technologies.

So moving to portfolio then. Based on our financial strength and strong cash flow generation, we continue to seek attractive investment opportunities across all 3 business areas. This includes additional investments in our listed companies, add-on investments and potential new platform companies within Patricia Industries and continued investments, of course, in and together with EQT. Ultimately, the allocation will depend on where we find the best opportunities.

And finally, people. Given the rapid transition pace in all industries, we have to ensure that the right people are driving our companies. With 24 portfolio companies and around 200 board seats across the portfolio, talent sourcing and succession planning is a top priority for us. So near-term priorities are clear, and we have a lot of work cut out for ourselves.

With that, I'd like to leave the word to Jenny to talk more about our financials. Please, Jenny.

Thank you, Christian. Yes, so let me take you through the financials for the quarter. So in Q4 2025, adjusted net asset value was SEK 1,087 billion, and this implies an increase of 6% compared to Q3. For the quarter, all business areas contributed positively. Investments in EQT increased with 8%, Listed Companies with 6% and Patricia Industries with 1%. So this implies a total return of 6% for the quarter and 14% for the full year.

And now double-clicking on each of the business areas, and I will start with Listed Companies. So within Listed Companies, share price performance was mixed, but with positive share price development in almost all companies, particularly strong quarter for the Electrolux share, followed by AstraZeneca, Wärtsilä, Ericsson and Sobi. Saab and Husqvarna, however, had a tougher quarter looking at total return.

Total return for the Listed Companies portfolio was 6% and largely in line with SIXRX. And as for absolute contribution, it paints a similar picture, but with AstraZeneca and Atlas Copco in the top due to the weight in our portfolio. All in all, a solid quarter for the Listed Companies portfolio.

And then moving on to Patricia Industries. For the quarter, the Patricia Industries portfolio, so the major subsidiaries, grew 5% organically, while the adjusted EBITA declined by 6%. For the full year, organic growth was 4% and the adjusted EBITA declined by 1%. And as a reminder, we are restrictive when it comes to EBITA adjustments. So in the 6% drop in EBITA for the quarter, we have only adjusted for transaction costs related to M&A and one-off costs related to CEO transitions. Other than that, and of course, then not adjusted for and hence, still weighing on the adjusted EBITA margin, we have negative impact from FX, so the stronger SEK and also tariffs as well as restructuring costs to unlock efficiencies in several of the companies, and we deem this as part of ongoing operations.

And now double-clicking on performance across the companies in Patricia Industries. And first to highlight a few positives. We saw a second strong quarter for BraunAbility, in part explained by a relatively weak comparison quarter, but also due to strong demand. Profitability improved, but coming from a depressed level in Q4 2024. Nova Biomedical had a solid quarter in terms of growth and profitability. Growth was partly helped by recovery following the cyber incident in Q3. Integration is progressing according to plan, and this includes initiatives such as merging the organizations and implementing a common ERP system. And this, as we mentioned last quarter, may have an impact on sales and earnings near term. We also do know that Q1 last year was a particularly strong quarter for the acquired part of the business.

Laborie continued to see solid growth, driven by a large extent the Optilume urethral strictures product. Reported profitability for Laborie was down as it includes USD 11 million in cost for the JADA acquisition and the CEO transition. If we were to adjust for this, profitability was still down, but only slightly on the back of commercial investments. Permobil and Piab had a more challenging quarter. Permobil is experiencing muted growth, and that's primarily explained by negative impact from the voluntary product recall of the Power Assist device announced in Q3. But positive to see good cost containment and a slight increase in EBITA margin, and this is despite SEK 32 million in restructuring costs.

Piab had a quarter with negative organic growth, and that's on the back of weaker customer demand, particularly in the semiconductor market. Generally, Piab's end markets have been more choppy following the introduction of tariffs and increased geopolitical disruption. Lower sales impacts margins together with negative FX and tariffs as well as SEK 37 million in restructuring costs to drive efficiencies. And finally, on to Atlas Antibodies, we contributed SEK 200 million to strengthen the balance sheet. And this is to give room to the relatively new management to execute on the plan. And we do see that roughly 70% of the business is recovering, but we still see challenges in terms of soft market and competition for the evitria part of the business.

And over to Mölnlycke. So Mölnlycke had a solid quarter with 3% organic growth, and this was primarily driven by Wound Care. So Wound Care grew 5% organically and Gloves 3% organically, and this was somewhat offset by a contracting ORS. On a general basis, we see continued good momentum in U.S. and China, while softer markets in Europe and the Middle East. In Europe, as mentioned before, there are pressures on health care budgets and that's specifically in Germany and France. And in the Middle East, we see customers with relatively high inventory levels.

Profitability for Mölnlycke improved, and this is despite negative impact from FX and tariffs, and this is driven by positive product mix, but also lower cost on the back of continuous work with efficiency improvements. And Mölnlycke distributed EUR 200 million to Patricia Industries in Q4. We saw a 1% increase in estimated market values compared to Q3, so from SEK 223 billion to SEK 225 million. And this increase was explained by earnings growth in the portfolio companies as well as cash flow generation and, to a lesser extent, also expansion in valuation multiples. However, the increase was essentially offset by a negative impact from currency.

And looking at value development across the companies, we can say that the main contributors for Q4 were Nova Biomedical and Laborie, while Sarnova and Piab was a drag on total value. For Sarnova, mainly due to multiples and for Piab, mainly lower earnings. Also worth highlighting is the distribution, so roughly SEK 2 billion from Mölnlycke and BraunAbility, respectively as well as the already mentioned equity contribution to Atlas Antibodies of SEK 200 million to strengthen the balance sheet.

And now moving on to investments in EQT. So total value change was 8% in the quarter, and that's primarily driven by EQT AB, which was up 14%. Fund investments were essentially flat. And as a reminder, we report EQT fund investments with 1 quarter lag. So the 0% is based on EQT's Q3 report. On the right-hand side, we illustrate the net cash flow from EQT to Investor, which was roughly SEK 1 billion in the quarter, and this is driven by exit proceeds as well as dividend from EQT AB. And here, we have an illustration of the net cash flow from investments in EQT over time. While it's quite lumpy on a quarterly basis, over the past 10 years, we've received a net cash inflow of SEK 1.6 billion on average per year. And the LTM net cash flow is a negative SEK 2.4 billion. However, this includes SEK 800 million in acquisition for EQT AB shares and also SEK 4.5 billion in investment in Fortnox. If we were to adjust for this, net cash flow on an LTM basis is a positive SEK 3 billion.

Our balance sheet remains strong. Our leverage as of Q4 is 2.1%. So it remains in the lower end of our policy range despite significant investments. And we closed the year with SEK 27 billion in cash at hand. All of our 3 business areas generate cash flow to support investments and a steadily rising dividend to shareholders. And as you know, from Listed Companies, we receive ordinary dividends as well as extraordinary dividend. In Patricia Industries, the portfolio companies generate cash flow, which can be reinvested in the companies or paid in distribution. And for investments in EQT, we have an ownership in EQT AB, which yields an annual dividend as well as fund investments where cash flow is, by definition, lumpy because it's dependent on drawdowns and exits, but it remains a strong contributor to cash flow over time.

Since 2015, we have received total funds from all of these 3 business areas of SEK 216 billion, and note here that EQT is net cash flow in the pie chart to the left. The use of proceeds is illustrated on the right of more than 50% has been distributed to shareholders, roughly 30% has been reinvested in Patricia Industries and north of 10% in Listed Companies. So this platform with 3 strong business areas provides a broad-based cash flow that supports continued growth and distributions. The incoming funds provide strong investment capacity and have been deployed across all of our 3 business areas. 2025 was a record year in terms of investments, and this has been executed on while maintaining a strong balance sheet going into 2026.

While sustaining this high level of investment activity, as mentioned, more than 50% of incoming funds have been distributed to our shareholders. We have continuously delivered on our commitment to pay a steadily rising dividend, and we continue to do so also in 2025. So the dividend proposal for 2025, as Christian has already mentioned, is SEK 5.6 per share, which is an increase of SEK 0.4 per share compared to 2024. And this applies an average annual growth of 8% over the last 10 years.

And then on to my final slide. So looking at the longer-term perspective, the performance of the Investor ABB share truly illustrates the strength and the resilience of our portfolio and strategy.

So with that, I will leave the word back to Jacob.

Thank you, Jenny. Thank you, Christian as well. We are now ready to take your questions, and we will start with the questions through our operator, Sharon. Sharon, please.

[Operator Instructions] And your first phone question comes from the line of Linus Sigurdson from DNB Carnegie.

Starting off with a question on Mölnlycke and Mölnlycke growth. Is there any visibility on these France and Germany headwinds subsiding? Or should we expect this effect to persist in the foreseeable future?

I can start. Thank you for the question, Linus. It's quite hard to say. We are seeing muted growth across many sectors at the moment, given what we're seeing globally. And specifically for Mölnlycke in Europe, there's weakness in France and Germany, and that is because there's a lot of pressure on health care budgets. But it's really hard to say if that would look any different in the next quarter, but really good to see continued momentum in the U.S. and China.

And maybe just to add, I think it's fair to say that this started somewhere during the first half of last year. But to Jenny's point, we don't really have visibility on the future development.

That's fair. And then on the margin in Mölnlycke, is it fair to assume that the sort of tariff and currency impacts on profitability there are in line with previous quarters? And I mean, with 30-plus EBITDA margin, have we sort of already reached the potential for the efficiency program?

Well, I can start. I would say that for the companies impacted by the tariffs, on a general basis, they're doing a really good job to mitigate, but it's roughly 1 percentage point or so still impacting margins. In terms of FX for Mölnlycke for this quarter, it's roughly 3 to 4 percentage points in negative FX. And Mölnlycke is doing a really good job working with efficiencies and really demonstrated that in this quarter. Then, of course, that's ongoing work because it's a mix of travel restrictions, using less consultants and also finding more sustainable efficiencies. So I think that work will continue also through 2026.

Okay. And then my final question is a more general one. When you talk about solid cash flow in the coming years and this ambition to accelerate investments, could we view this as a comment on, say, EQT exit markets and the potential for, for example, Nova Biomedical start generating dividends to investors after the integration?

Sorry, can you repeat the question? You were asking about our comment on accelerated investments and the cash flow, and then I didn't quite follow.

Yes. I mean, implicit in that statement is accelerating cash flows to fund those investments. So just -- is there anything you can comment on in terms of where those cash flows will come from?

Okay. I can take a first crack. So thanks, and it's a good question. And really, the way we think about it is we look at the cash generation from the 3 business areas. And when it comes to Patricia and you were asking about Nova, the way we think about it there is that really the cash flow generated and the debt capacity generated in the subsidiaries is all a potential funding source for acquisition and/or distribution. And really, cash is sort of a corporate asset. So whether it's distributed or not is maybe not the key point, but rather that the underlying cash generation in these businesses is solid. Does that answer your question?

Yes.

And your next question comes from the line of Derek Laliberte from ABG Sundal Collier.

I wanted to ask on Mölnlycke. You say the prevention and post-op were strong product segments in the U.S. I was wondering if you could give some more insight on why these areas are performing so strongly now and which product areas perhaps aren't doing as well. Also, I'm wondering if the product mix is similar in Europe in terms of performance right now.

I can start on that. I think the main difference we see is relating to the different geographies, as Jenny mentioned. And when it comes to product mix and channel mix, maybe the one thing to say there is that in the U.S., we're more heavily leaning on acute and hospital, while in Europe, including in France, for example, we have more towards post-acute and even some home care.

And I could also add to that maybe that the Prevention segment is larger in the U.S. because of the reimbursement structure. So there's a clear market for that in the U.S., which is very different compared to Europe as well.

Okay. Great. That's very helpful. And on Laborie, what's the status on this BPH product, is it reasonable to expect any meaningful contributions from that during '26?

Well, we don't really provide guidance, but what we can do say is that for this quarter, as we mentioned, the growth is a lot driven by the urethral strictures product. But as of now, we do have an active reimbursement in the U.S. for the BPH product. So we continue investing behind that launch. And of course, it will also depend on the reception in the market, et cetera. But the launch is very much ongoing, and we are very optimistic about the long-term runway with both of these products.

All right. And regarding Nova Biomedical, looking at the combined company now, I was wondering how the geographical split looks like, how high is the share of U.S. sales, for example?

We provided that in the last quarter. Let us come back to that.

Yes, absolutely. That's fair. And on Three Scandinavia, I was wondering generally here, the background, I think the growth looked pretty strong here in Q4 and actually over the year. What's driving this growth? Is it mainly continued market share gains or also some price increases involved here as a contributing factor?

Well, yes, we agree. Three has been continuing to gain market share, as you can also tell from the subscriber growth numbers. And then with regards to price, I mean, it remains a fiercely competitive market, of course, but at least they have been good at holding prices. That's what I would say on that.

Okay. Great. And finally, if I recall correctly, on Sarnova, you have this high inventory situation with distributors affecting market demand and so on. Is it fair to say that this has subsided now?

Thank you. Yes, this is primarily relating to the AED or cardiac response business. And really, what we see there is it is continuing to be a tough market. However, on a sequential basis, it has been more stable recently. And then, of course, inventory could be one part in that.

We will now take the next question. And the question comes from the line of Jakob Hesslevik from SEB.

First, on demand navigation. So several businesses face weak demand and cautious demand in their segment. How do you differentiate between cyclical weakness that require patience versus structural challenges requiring strategic pivots?

I can start there. Well, so really, what we try to track, if I start there is, one, of course, total market development, but also we're benchmarking with a certain cadence so as to make sure that we understand whether we're gaining, holding or potentially losing market share. And there, I think it's fair to say that for the majority of the portfolio, we're confident that we're holding or increasing market share. And then the other part of your question was whether -- to what extent we see structural weaknesses in markets. And that's, of course, something we continuously evaluate. And generally, when it comes to investments, we're quite keen and that's one of our top criteria to make sure that we are in industries where we see, call it, GDP plus rather than GDP or GDP minus growth. And of course, sometimes that changes over time. And then we make sure we keep track of that.

Great. And then double-clicking on the currency exposure management. So FX headwinds significantly impacted Patricia Industries performance during this year. It should have affected your Listed portfolio as well given its large exposure towards exports. But beyond the operational efficiency improvements mentioned, what strategic actions are you considering in order to manage your FX exposure across the portfolio more efficiently, especially to hedge the Patricia portfolio that seems to be more sensitive to USD weakening while not having a professional treasury department helping out, which you can maybe found in most of your listed portfolio. Is this something you're looking into how you can help out Patricia more in managing their exposure?

Thank you for the question. Well, as you allude to, our main way of, let's say, balancing FX exposure is by way of operational hedging, i.e., to try to have the costs where we have the revenues and the income. Now despite that, we do have a significant earnings stream in U.S. dollar, thanks to our presence and strong market positions in the U.S. When it comes to sort of further hedging within the companies, we typically don't engage much in that. But rather, we want the FX effect to be seen immediately and then addressed and dealt with. So with a long-term perspective, the changes and the FX environment will be a reality and will hit. So we'd rather just see it upfront and then try to deal with it. The only additional hedging we do is we try to match our debt currency with what our underlying cash flow is per currency. So for example, if you have a company with a lot of earnings in U.S. dollars, it's appropriate to have some level of U.S. debt there as well.

Okay. And then just finally on Atlas Antibodies. Following the goodwill impairment and now equity contribution, what strategic options are you evaluating for Atlas Antibodies? I mean it's a holding from back in the days when it was called investor growth capital. It is still a very small investment and contribute limited to NAV. Why are you not looking into divesting this holding?

Yes. Well, thank you for the question. First and foremost, so we are contributing the SEK 200 million, and that is to give management some room to execute on the plan. And we have a clear plan. I think we also mentioned in the presentation that roughly 70% of the business is doing well, while we have the 30% evitria business, which is struggling, and that's on the base of weaker market demand. But we have belief in management and also the plan to continue to build on Atlas Antibodies. So that's what we are focusing on here and now. I don't know if you want to add something.

No. As alluded to previously, I mean, you have 2 out of 3 business areas that are performing well. And the struggle we see is within evitria.

Yes. Fair enough. I'm just thinking about the time it takes versus the size of the company relative to the rest of your portfolio, maybe we can come back to Atlas in the future?

No, but I think the one thing to say there is maybe that, of course, with Atlas Antibodies as with the other companies, our ambition is to grow it bigger over time, for sure.

No, I agree. It should -- it's just it hasn't really grown over the past 15 years. It's not that much larger than it was when it came out of Investor Growth Capital. But it's clear. Thank you for the elaboration at least on the business performance in the name. That makes a lot of sense.

May I just, before we take the next question, come back to the question on the geographic split on the combined Nova Biomedical business. And then the numbers are roughly 60% North America and then the other 40% is roughly equally divided between Europe and rest of the world.

[Operator Instructions] And your next question comes from the line of Johan Sjöberg from Kepler Cheuvreux.

I hope you can hear me. My question is, if you start off with the Wound Care business and looking at the growth rates over the last year, it seems like you continue to be in the high single-digit growth area. And my question here, going forward here, I heard your comments on especially what's going on in Europe here. But do you see any change to that or any -- I mean, over the next, say, like 3 years, whatever, is that the sort of -- do you see any change to the market that would sort of change that picture, if you take some sort of a helicopter view on that one, please?

Yes, I can start. And I think the short answer is, not really. So no clear change. I think looking at the full year, Wound Care specifically grew 7% organically and was 5% in the last quarter. And that is, as we've talked about before, in a market that's growing low to mid-single digit. So Mölnlycke has continued to take market share within Wound Care on the back of a strong product offering, very much focused on the customer.

And we, of course, have the absolute aim to continue to do so by continuing to investing in innovation and also go-to-market. And then in addition to that, we also have new geographies. So we are investing in China, where we now have local production. And there we, of course, are seeing potential for higher growth. And then also the investments and the building presence in the post-acute channel, which is also an addition because Mölnlycke has historically had the strong position in acute, and that will also add potential avenues for higher growth. So we're not seeing anything differently now. But of course, in the more short-term perspective, we will always have markets that can be under pressure like we're seeing now in Europe.

That's great. And also, Jenny, can I ask you on EQT funds, EQT reported today also and sort of you -- given a quarter lag on your -- the reported value of EQT funds. Should we expect any shift -- or put it like this, is there any material change if you were to use the Q4 numbers compared with the Q3 numbers?

No, the short answer is that there will not be a material change, at least not for this quarter.

No, good. Then also FX is all over the place right now or rather going in the wrong way, you can say, to some extent. How -- what -- could you sort of give some sort of indication? We know about the domicile of all the companies, but just to get a feeling for what is sort of the -- what is the most important currency to look at? Is it Euro-Dollar, is it the Euro-SEK or the U.S. dollar-SEK, just to see sort of the flows within the company, so to speak here, because it is a little bit big movements, to put it mildly.

I assume you're referring to the Patricia portfolio?

Yes.

So this is what I would say. First of all, the #1 exposure is, of course, to the U.S. dollar, just given our big presence there with some U.S. domiciled companies, but also for a company like Mölnlycke and Permobil, I mean, the U.S., clearly the single biggest market for many companies. And then in Swedish krona, for most of the Swedish domiciled companies or the global, I should say, Swedish domicile companies, you would typically look at SEK exposure that is or krona exposure, where we sort of short the krona because we have headquarters here, R&D, et cetera. But of course, sales in Swedish krona is typically quite limited.

And then thirdly, just to comment on the euro, I think from Mölnlycke, in particular, it's worth to highlight that we do have manufacturing for Wound Care, for example, in the U.S., in Maine. That said, we are still net exporting from Mikkeli in Finland and so from euro into U.S. dollar. So that's another one to keep track of.

Okay. Cool. My last question, it's really about -- I mean, some of your portfolio companies are talking about also the hesitance among customers to place orders due to tariff uncertainty, geopolitical stuff and everything like that. I would like to hear your thoughts upon, especially when you're looking at -- or you are looking for a platform acquisition or if your companies are doing an add-on acquisition, do you see that being impacting, well, sellers and buyers also here in terms of hesitance. I know one thing is the sort of valuation, but that's always a thing you can say. But this geopolitical stuff here, is that something which is also sort of hindering your M&A ambitions in both platform and add-on?

Thanks for the question. I would not say that it's sort of the major obstacle. But of course, all the factors that you point to just add to the general sort of uncertainty in terms of deciding what's the underlying earnings, et cetera. That said, on a lot of things that we're looking at, for example, in the health care and life science market, tariffs, for example, is sort of not the biggest factor driving that. So it certainly adds to the unpredictability and uncertainty, but it's not a -- I would not call it out as a major obstacle for doing transactions as proven also in the recent year where we've done lots of add-on acquisitions, for example.

Thank you. There are currently no further phone questions. I will now hand the call back to Jacob for webcast questions.

Thank you very much, Sharon, and let's take the questions from the web. We can start with one from [ Tommy Falk ] around the dividend for 2025. Maybe add some flavor to that, Jenny.

Yes. Well, thank you for the question. Well, I think, first of all, the dividend proposal is the Board's proposal to the AGM and for the AGM to decide. But maybe some flavor commenting on the SEK 0.40 increase. It seems balanced looking at our robust balance sheet and also view on cash flow generation and investments. And I think the SEK 0.40 is also really a testament to the fact that we have 3 business areas generating cash flow that really supports continued growth, also investments and delivering on our dividend policy to pay a steadily rising dividend.

Next question, [indiscernible]. Please, how Investor AB is engaged in rearm Europe programs or other defense investments globally? Would you like to pick that up, Christian?

Yes, I'll take a crack at it. So Investor AB as such is not particularly involved in this. But of course, the build-out of the defense of Europe means business opportunities for Saab quite obviously, but also for other companies. And as an example, Ericsson do see a potential from the rebuilding of the European defense.

Next question comes from Oskar Lindstrom, Danske. On Mölnlycke, are there opportunities to growth, more through acquisitions in the Wound Care or adjacent segments given weak main markets? That's the first one. And then on Patricia acquisitions, for some time now, you've been talking on and off about adding a new major leg in Patricia, mentioning industrial automation as a segment of interest. Is that still the case? What does the pipeline look like? And what is your thinking on valuations?

Yes, I can start with Mölnlycke. Yes, well, add-ons is a priority for all of our subsidiaries and Mölnlycke included. So there is a lot of time spent to, of course, understand the different segments within Wound Care, but also adjacencies. And I think so far, there has not been any major available targets that have made sense because Mölnlycke has been able to grow so strongly organically. What Mölnlycke has done and is, of course, also continuing doing is add-ons that are smaller and more focused on innovation. So early-stage research, for example. And I think a recent example of that is a product for potential debridement of wounds, which would be a good addition to the Mölnlycke portfolio. But as for the other subsidiaries, it's also an important focus for Mölnlycke, of course.

And then the question on new platforms. And just to recap, our capital allocation priorities are quite clear in that we always put development and growth of our existing companies first. So that's our top priority. And as we've said, we are also open for and actively looking to add new platform companies, not the least in Patricia. And yes, industrial automation or industrial technology has been pointed to as one area that we're looking in, but we are also looking more broadly than that. And as for the pipeline, I think all I can say there is the work with identifying, scouting and potentially executing on acquisitions is a continuous process. And then when it comes to sort of closings and actual execution, that is inherently volatile and will remain so.

Then the next one is from [indiscernible]. Will you organize another Capital Markets Day in 2026 for us, long-term shareholders? This is helpful to gauge the development of nonlisted companies. I think I can answer that briefly.

It's been a while since we had the last Capital Markets update, and we'll be getting back with more information on that in due course.

Next question and the final question I can see is from Jens [indiscernible]. From a strategic perspective on China, how do you assess the competitive risks and opportunities, the latter in terms of growth, investment and cooperation?

So as we comment on in the CEO statement in this report, we do see China as a very important region and for several reasons. I mean, one is that for many of our companies, both on the listed side and in Patricia, China is a large and growing market. So that's one thing, the market potential. But also, it's increasingly clear that competition in China or from China is evolving and evolving quite fast. So as we comment on, it's important for many of our companies to be in China, not just for the market opportunity, but also to be where and to compete where some of our toughest competitors are. And it's quite clear to me that comparing China today to a number of years ago, they're not just leading on low cost, but also on implementation of new technology, on fast innovation cycles, et cetera. So even more reasons to be there.

Thank you very much. There are no further questions on the web. That means it's time to wrap up. Thanks to both of you. Our next scheduled call is the Q1 results for 2026 scheduled for April 21. And until then, thank you, and goodbye.

Good morning, and a warm welcome to Investors Results Call for the Third Quarter 2025. I'm joined here in the studio by Jenny Ashman Haquinius, CFO; and Christian Cederholm, CEO. Both will soon be giving their presentations. And after that, as usual, we will be opening up for questions both via our operator on the call and online.

With that, over to you, Christian.

Thank you, Jacob, and hello, everyone. Q3 was a strong quarter with net asset value growth of 7% with contribution from all 3 business areas. In a turbulent environment, our portfolio companies maintain a good balance between focusing on efficiency to protect profits here now and at the same time, investing appropriately for the future, both organically and by way of acquisitions. The Patricia Industries subsidiaries showed solid performance with good organic growth and stable profits despite significant headwinds from a weaker U.S. dollar. We also saw continued high portfolio activity, including investments in all 3 business areas. At the end of the quarter, adjusted net asset value stood at SEK 1,028 billion.

Let me briefly go through the 3 business areas. Starting with the listed companies, that represents about 70% of our portfolio. Listed companies generated a total return of 8%, well ahead of the SIXRX return index at 3%. We invested in Ericsson and Atlas Copco at valuation levels that we deem attractive. We also entered into a new contract to divest shares in SEB with aim to maintain our current ownership level as SEB continues to buy back shares. Companies continue their efforts to future-proof their businesses.

For example, in the past 12 months, Atlas Copco has acquired more than 30 companies, including several in this third quarter. AstraZeneca announced a plan to invest USD 50 billion in the U.S. by 2030, further strengthening its position in this key market. Wärtsilä divested its Marine Electrical Systems business, further focusing its portfolio. After the end of the quarter, ABB announced an agreement to divest of ABB Robotics to SoftBank. We share the view of the ABB Board that this will be financially attractive for ABB while providing a good new home to ABB Robotics.

On people then, the Husqvarna Board appointed internal candidate, Glen Instone, as new CEO, effective August this year. And the nomination committees are currently forming ahead of next year's AGMs. We will continue to push for higher compensation levels to secure competitiveness for the long term.

Moving to Patricia Industries then. Total return for Patricia Industries was 4%, with the largest positive contribution from multiples this quarter. Our major subsidiaries grew sales organically by 4% with BraunAbility and Laborie growing significantly faster. Adjusted EBITDA declined by 2% and largely driven by a weakening U.S. dollar year-on-year. Chris Smith was appointed new CEO of Laborie. Chris has served on the Laborie Board and is a seasoned MedTech executive. Advanced Instruments completed the acquisition of Nova Biomedical, which is now the name of the new combined business. Organic growth in the quarter was a negative 4% on a pro forma basis, driven by a particularly strong comparison quarter last year for the acquired business and a cyber incident that disrupted operations this quarter.

Integration work is off to a good start and entails, for instance, implementation of a common ERP system and alignment and investments in the organization, all with the goal to realize the combined company's full potential. The underlying qualities of the business are all in line with our investment case. For the major subsidiaries and our 40% in Three Scandinavia, including also the combined Nova Biomedical business from Q3 reported last 12-month sales was SEK 68 billion, and EBITDA was just north of SEK 17 billion. We should note here that this is all in Swedish krona, of course, rather sensitive to FX.

Investments in EQT, our third business area represents about 10% of our total assets. Here in Q3, total return was 1% exit activity in EQT funds was high with net cash flow to investor of SEK 2 billion, excluding our investment in Fortnox. We invested an additional SEK 1.8 billion in the co-investment of Fortnox, taking the total investment close to the communicated SEK 4.5 billion.

After the quarter, Jean Salata was nominated new share in EQT, taking over after Conni Jonsson from the next AGM. In this turbulent environment, I'm glad that we have a really strong platform. Investor has a clear purpose and a focused strategy. We have a portfolio of high-quality companies, a proven ownership and governance model, great people at investor and in our companies. And importantly, we have a financial flexibility with low leverage and strong underlying cash flow from all 3 businesses. The current somewhat turbulent environment will offer opportunities to further strengthen the position of our companies and investor itself, building strong and sustainable businesses and ultimately driving long-term shareholder returns.

With that, thank you, and let me hand over to Jenny.

Perfrect. Thank you, Christian, and good morning. So let me take you through the financials for the quarter. So in Q3 2025, adjusted net asset value was SEK 1,028 billion, and this implies an increase of 7% compared to Q2. For the quarter, all business areas contributed positively. Listed companies increased with 8%, Patricia Industries, 4% and investments in EQT, 1%. So this implies a total return of 7% for the quarter and 8% year-to-date. Double-clicking on each of the business areas, starting with listed companies. So within listed companies, share price performance was mixed. Wärtsilä was a strong contributor also this quarter, followed by ABB and SEB. We saw positive share price development across several of the companies.

However, Electrolux and Electrolux Professional had a tougher quarter looking at total return. Total return for listed companies portfolio was 8% compared to SIXRX benchmark index of 3%. As for absolute contribution, the strong performance was mainly in companies with size and weight in our portfolio so this implies a strong net asset value contribution from listed companies in Q3.

Moving on to Patricia Industries. In Patricia Industries, we saw a 10% increase in estimated market values compared to Q2. So from SEK 202 billion to SEK 223 billion. Adjusting for the equity contribution from investor to Patricia Industries for the Nova Biomedical acquisition, the underlying increase is 4%. The increase was mainly explained by an expansion in valuation multiples as well as cash flow generation in the portfolio companies. However, the increase was somewhat negatively impacted by currency, so a stronger Swedish krona negatively impacting earnings in Mölnlycke and Permobil. Worth highlighting is that we have included the combined Nova Biomedical business in the estimated market value using our previously established method.

As a reminder, the method is relative valuation versus listed peers. So for each company, we have identified a set of listed peers, roughly 15 to 20 peers per company. And then for each peer group, we find an EV to EBITDA multiple where the EVs or the enterprise value reflects the 3-month value-weighted average price as opposed to the spot price at the end of the quarter and EBITDA over the last 12 months.

So backward looking and not forward-looking. And this relative valuation metric is then applied to the EBITDA of our companies. So for Nova Biomedical, we applied a relative multiple to the LTM pro forma EBITDA of the combined business. Looking at value development across companies, we can see that the main contributors in terms of value for Q3 were the North American companies, while the Nordic companies were more flat over the quarter. So some extent were done by a negative impact from FX.

And now commenting on performance across the companies in Patricia Industries. First to highlight a few positives. We saw a strong quarter for BraunAbility, in part, explained by a relatively weak comparison quarter, but also due to strong demand. Laborie continued to see solid growth, driven to a large extent by the Optilume urethral strictures product. In the short term, comps are getting continuously tougher as Optilume urethral strictures is included in benchmark quarters. But the longer term, there is a lot of potential in both urethral strictures and the more recently launched BPH product. Nova Biomedical and Permobil had a tougher quarter for Nova Biomedical, we are coming from a particularly tough comparison period last year for the acquired business.

We also had a cyber incident this quarter impacting sales, but this was partly offset by strong organic growth in the acquiring Advanced Instruments business. Permobil is experiencing muted growth, which is explained by weakness in the U.S., but also a negative impact from a voluntary product recall.

Moving on to Mölnlycke. Mölnlycke had a solid quarter with 3% organic growth, primarily driven by Wound Care and Gloves, both growing 5% organically. This was somewhat offset by a contracting ORS. Profitability improved despite negative impact from FX and tariffs, and that is driven by positive product mix but also lower cost on the back of the accelerating work to find efficiency improvements.

And then moving on to investments in EQT. Total value change was 1% in the quarter, and that's primarily driven by EQT AB, which was up 2%. Fund investments were down 1%. And as a reminder, we report EQT fund investments with 1 quarter lag. So the negative 1% is based on EQT's Q2 report. For Q3 earlier this morning, EQT reported 3% in positive development in key fund investment. But again, note that this is in euros and that the correlation to our EQT fund investment is not 1:1.

On the right-hand side, we illustrate the net cash flow from EQT to investor, which was close to 0 in the quarter. And this is despite exit proceeds given our investment in Fortnox and acquisition of shares in EQT AB. And here we illustrate net cash flow from our investments in EQT over time. While it's quite lumpy on a quarterly basis, over the past 10 years, we have received a net cash inflow of SEK 1.6 billion on average per year. The LTM net cash flow is a negative SEK 2.7 billion, but that includes SEK 800 million in acquisition of shares in EQT AB and SEK 4.4 billion investment in Fortnox. If we adjust for this, the net cash flow on an LTM basis is a positive SEK 2.5 billion.

Our balance sheet remains strong. Our leverage as of Q3 is 2.6%, so it remains in the lower end of our policy range despite significant investments. On to my last slide, over the 5-, 10- and 20-year period, the Investor AB B share has outperformed both SIXRX Index and our return requirement, which we highlight in orange. And this underscores the strength and the resilience of our portfolio and our strategy. The past 12 months have presented headwinds, looking at the Investor B share. However, adjusted net asset value is up compared to SIXRX, which has been essentially flat.

And with that, I will leave the word back to Jacob.

Thank you very much, Jenny. Thank you also, Christian, for your words. We are ready to take your questions, and we will start with questions through our operator, Sharon, please.

[Operator Instructions] And your first question today comes from the line of Jacob Hesslevik from SEB.

So maybe we could first start off with you mentioning that the portfolio companies are focusing on cost efficiency, while the Patricia Industries showed minus 4% reported sales growth. Can you elaborate on what you're seeing operationally? And how sustainable is the 4% organic growth when we adjust for the currency effects?

Well, I think it's a bit difficult to answer that question in terms of the entire portfolio because it varies across the companies. But if we start with the work in terms of operating efficiencies or finding cost efficiencies, the work is a focus for all of our business or subsidiaries. For this quarter, it's a lot about less hiring, also less traveling, reducing consultants. So a lot of focus on kind of external cost. But at the same time, there is a parallel work to find more structural efficiencies. But as we alluded to last quarter, the timing of the impact of such effects will vary. And I think in terms of the organic growth, how sustainable it is, I think it depends on each of the different businesses.

Maybe I can start commenting on Mölnlycke, for example, which is the biggest subsidiary. So we saw Mölnlycke with 3% organic growth for this quarter. And if I focus on the biggest business areas, the Wound Care, which is more than 60% of the business and even more so in terms of EBITDA. We saw a good 5% organic growth. And if we look at the year-to-date number, it's 7% organic growth, which is in line with the same number during the same period last year. And this is in a market where we see a low to mid-single-digit underlying market growth.

So we are very pleased with Mölnlycke continuing to take share. And that is on the back of attractive products, also a really good market -- go-to-market execution and in parallel focus on geographic expansion, where China is a good example. But we do recognize for all of our companies that we have fierce competition. So there will be a lot of hard work also going forward. I don't know if you want to add something, Christian?

Comprehensive.

And can you walk us through the integration plan for Nova Biomedical and how you're thinking about the leverage profile at advanced instruments post acquisition? And how should we expect organic growth to continue to be negative for the upcoming 2 quarters given your comment, Christian? Or is it only in Q4 that organic growth could be under pressure?

Okay. Thank you. If I start with, let's say, the underlying performance of the business and then maybe we can come back to the leverage question. So as we said in Q3, we had a negative minus 4% and really 2 things that stood out. One was a tough comparison quarter, including some one-off orders that we didn't expect to get back basically this year. And the other thing that we bring up is the cyber incident that impacted operations, both sales and cost during the quarter. Integration is off to a good start. And the integration work includes, of course, bringing the organizations together and aligning them but also other things such as rolling out a common ERP system. And really what we say is that, that may impact both sales and earnings near term.

But importantly, the first months since we got the keys here,have really confirmed the qualities of this business. And focus is now on moving fast forward with the integration to really realize the full potential of this combined business, creating a really strong platform for accelerated growth as we go forward. And then with regards to the leverage profile, I mean, we did use the combined business and leverage that to pay part of the proceeds here or the price for Nova Biomedical. And cash flow, as you know, is inherently volatile quarter-to-quarter, but we do expect to see deleveraging over time.

And did you mention how much the one-off costs related to the cybersecurity incident was?

I did not, and that's intentionally. So I mean it is hard to quantify the impact on both sales and operations. But what we said is that we are confident that it was significant enough to bring up.

Okay. And it's all completed now and fine?

It's -- the attack or the incident is remedied or rectified and operations are up and running since several weeks back.

Glad to hear that. And then just a final question. Could you help us understand the property divestment from Vectura? Is that there are a lot of renovation debt in that property portfolio as a price seem to be quite low, given how large [ Arsenalsgatan and Teknisk högskolan ] unique property position in Stockholm?

Yes. Well, thank you for the question. I mean the combined property value of SEK 1.4 billion is roughly in line with what Vectura has in the books, and that's been revalued every quarter. So it's in line with the market values that we've had. And in terms of the value in the transaction, we've also used on both sides of the transaction, independent appraisal firms and also done a fairness opinion of the entire -- so we have confirmed that this is the market values.

Maybe it's fair to say that the vast majority of the value lies in [ National Scott ] and Okta.

Yes. I would just say that [ Agarden ] is a unique property, which is -- could be difficult to sort of price on. That's where we came to as well, given it seems that [ Agarden ] is almost worth close to 0 when you take multiples on [ National Scotlands ] what's called space or office space?

Yes. Yes. I think in addition to that, one also has to reflect that it's a land less and also a significant renovation. So it's not renovated in the same sense.

So a there's a lot of renovation debt then, I guess, or upcoming renovation debt...

Yes. It's like always with the properties. When you haven't renovated for a while, you need to do renovation. So a lot is may be a bit too much, but it's, of course, more than [ Arsenalsgatan ] which is newly renovated.

And the question comes from the line of Oskar Lindstrom from Danske Bank.

My first question is on Mölnlycke. Should we expect any further impact from tariffs or any secondary logistics disservices as a consequence of tariffs that have been introduced? Is that still ahead of us?

Well, I think it's very hard to say because, as you know, tariffs also keep changing, is moving material. So for this quarter, the impact so far that we see is less than 1 percentage point in terms of sales.

Negative impact on organic sales growth?

Well, no, the actual cost is less than 1%.

On margin.

Yes.

And if we move on, you mentioned in your section on Mölnlycke, the weakness in the Wound Care market in France and Germany. I mean, first off, is this something that's sort of getting weaker? Or is it just sort of a weak spot? And what's the nature of this weakness? And do you have any sense of how long term that could be?

Well, it's a very good question. It's hard to know how long term it will be, but we do see pockets of weakness in Germany and France, and that's on the back of pressure on health care budgets essentially. There's no fundamental difference in the actual need for products that Mölnlycke provide. So it's more about the health care funding, at least for the short term.

Right. Okay. And sorry, when did this weakness appear? I mean, is it something that has come now in I can't remember if you mentioned it in your Q2 report as well.

No. I think it's a bit different in terms of both Germany and France. In France, we've seen more focus on kind of reimbursement cuts historically, which we've explained. Now we don't see the reimbursement costs to the same extent. It's more of the pressure on the health care budget and for Germany, I mean it's different. But I think for now, what we see in terms of the macroeconomic pressure, that kind of weakness has grown larger during this quarter.

All right. My final question is on M&A. You or investor rather have previously talked quite a lot about acquiring sort of business is in industrial automation, probably sort of a larger addition. Now you've further increased our exposure to -- in the pharma or [indiscernible] segments. What are you thinking about this sort of future direction of you privately held assets?

Thank you. Great question. And I think that -- if you look at the recent acquisition of Nova as an example, that's a great way for us to leverage the competence and the platform we have in advanced instruments, not the least in this case and we are happy to continue expanding where we stand. That said, we also remain open for new platform investments. And then as you point out, we have mentioned industrial technology or technology more broadly as one focus area. And we continue to be actively looking for that.

And you mentioned, I think, here in your introductory presentation about sort of the current turbulent environment. I mean is that something would you connect to this?

Sorry, could you repeat the question? I lost you there in the middle or we lost you.

Yes. Sorry. In your presentation now, you mentioned that the current turbulence environment offered opportunities for investors with regards to acquisitions and growth as well, I presume. Could you expand on that a little bit? Are you seeing a lot of acquisition opportunities at the moment? .

We do. And I mean, as we said before, the work of finding and courting and hopefully executing on these opportunities. That's a continuous work. And oftentimes, it takes a year before we identify a potential candidate and then until we close on an acquisition. So that work is ongoing, and I would say the pipeline looks healthy. Then in terms of closing rate, it will inherently be volatile over the quarters. Maybe just to add one thing to your last question also, which I think is important on where we expand it's also important when you think about our portfolio, we tend to think about it, first and foremost, as one portfolio. And that means that if you look at, for example, life science tools and reagents or MedTech, et cetera, it's still a relatively small share of our portfolio so I really see concentration risk in that sense.

I'm happy with those answers.

And the next question today comes from the line of Johan Sjöberg from Kepler Cheuvreux.

Continuing on the last question on the closing rate, which you mentioned, Christian, and talk a little bit about that. I mean, given the character of companies you're looking for sort of high growth -- high operating strong growth environment and good profitability. This comes with the cost or a high valuation, I assume. Do you think right now that the valuation multiples on especially in the U.S. on these sort of companies and also including the industrial or the automation or it doesn't technology. Is that a big obstacle right now, would you say?

Well, I think your observation is spot on. And I would say that the kind of companies that we're looking for puts us in a place where almost everything we look at comes at somewhat reached price. It obviously helps if you do add on acquisitions, you may not have to pay the same kind of, call it, platform premium. And also, you may have synergies that sort of help you finance and help to balance the calculation. But then again, I mean, this has been the case for many years. And I think the teams have proven that they can find and execute on really good opportunities. If you look at the investment pace over the years here, it's been quite solid. And I would say not just within Patricia, but across all 3 business areas.

And when you look at the pipeline here, sort of companies which are sort of coming up for sale or up for sale. I mean, first of all, you have these sort of family companies, which where you have no or no successor was to take over. But also you have the private equity market. And if I -- so the -- if they were quoted right, EQT was saying that the activity here or exit market is improving, et cetera, and in Sweden, we've definitely seen that. Is that sort of you share that and also looking at that portfolio is at sort of a good alternative for you now going forward here compared with what you've seen over the past sort of 3 years, maybe?

Well, I think absolutely, in terms of that is one of private equities is one source of good companies and opportunities, and they come with the benefit of being over time for sale as well. So we have done a number of those kind of transactions, but also a number of that first category mentioned, where it's a more sort of founder-owned business and sometimes a more bilateral process as well.

Just looking also at Mölnlycke, I want to come back to that. And I heard your comments here, Jenny on this. But I'm just sort of returning to a question. When you had Sladko on the call of the last one, but the sort of the one before, I think it was 2 or 3 years ago, and he mentioned that the Mölnlycke continue to grow with a high single-digit organic growth here. And I'm sure that continues to be the ambition also.

But of course, there is a market also. I just want to hear your thoughts upon is sort of not Mölnlycke looking at the underlying markets, you see that growth in the market supporting that for I understand that -- when you have 5%, that's a good growth for Wound Care, but being a spoiled analyst, well, we are used to higher operating organic rate in that. Maybe this is sort of clear outperforming. I just want to get your feeling on what is sort of the underlying market and sort of your -- how you view that growth rates, both especially for the wound care.

Yes. Well, first of all, I mean taking it back to kind of the year-to-date number, that's 7%. So that's in line with kind of the high single digit and similar to the same rate last year. the ambition remains, as you say, what we also said earlier is that the market is more low to mid-single digit in underlying growth. But I think as you also saw in Sladko presentation is that we see pockets of higher growth. We have a lot of attractive geographic expansion alternatives. We have China, which is a good example where we're also establishing a local presence also Middle East is another area. And then in terms of the U.S., we also have a shift of volumes from kind of the more low growth, acute setting to the higher-growth post-acute setting where Mölnlycke is also establishing a strong position.

So I think even though the underlying kind of acute channel growth is lower, we do see good pockets of growth that would help build to kind of the high single-digit organic growth over time. But it will require a lot of hard work and also continued focus on making sure that we have an attractive offering to customers. So in terms of investing in future innovation.

Okay. Cool. Just also coming to the cyber attack also here and minus 4% for -- in Q3, tough comps also, of course, here. Just do you I remember when Mölnlycke had this new IT system, you said that what part of this we could sort of catch up with over the coming quarters in terms of loss sales during the quarter. Is that a possibility also in Norway now?

I would say that you may catch up some of it, but it's never a 1:1 really.

And timing is also difficult.

Timing. Yes.

Cool. Just one final question, if I may. The continue to perform quite well. Now CapEx through sales is also coming down slightly in the quarter. Is this large investment phase over now? And it's sort of what is sort of a normal CapEx to sales figure in '26, just to get a feeling, especially for this has been a reliable source of funds for you also in terms of dividends when we could sort of expect that to start up again.

Maybe I'll start by disappointing you saying we don't provide guidance on the CapEx number or the dividends. But you're right in pointing out that we've been through a couple of years really with rather high investments. And that has included, for example, the swap out of Huawei equipment to Ericsson equipment that followed the decision from PTS here in Sweden as an example.

Thank you. There are currently no further phone questions. I will hand the call to Jacob for web questions.

Thank you very much, Sharon. Let's take questions from the web then. We can start with, in fact, 3 questions, I think, from Anil Sharma. I think one of them has been answered many times here. But the tax days, I have 3 questions on Nova Biomedical. The Q3 organic sales performance was disappointing, how much of this was due to the cyber attack and how much other factors such as the integration? Second one, the pro forma EBITDA margin is also lower than it should be. Can you explain the moving parts here? And the third, how do you expect 2026 revenues and EBITDA margins to evolve?

I can start. And as you said, Jacob, I think in terms of the quarter, we've discussed that, and it's really hard to say exactly what is what in terms of the impact from the cyber incident. But I come back to our statement that it's significant enough for us to bring it up. And then when it comes to margins, I would say, to some extent, they are also related to the very high comparison quarter where we had a couple of really good biopharma orders and more generally, again, we are in this phase. We got the keys here a couple of months ago. There is lots of integration work ongoing, and I've said it before, but both in terms of bringing the organizations together in a good way, but also implementing a common infrastructure across the companies, et cetera.

So there are lots of moving parts here. And therefore, we never provide guidance for '26. But we just all was worthwhile pointing out some of the factors that we think could impact performance in the near term.

Thank you. Then we have 3 separate questions from Michael Glen. First one, will Investor AB submit capital to the initiative of Wallenberg Investments and your subsidiaries with regards to AI infrastructure. I suppose he's referring to Sferical AI company.

So investor is not an investor in the company's Sferical AI. That is a, call it, a joint effort and investment between Wallenberg Investment AB, which is a separate entity, just to be clear, and the number of portfolio companies who signed up to use this AI infrastructure really to, for example, train models for R&D and better efficiency in terms of managing networks for Exxon, et cetera, et cetera.

Second question, can you provide some insights and examples of the Board work on future proofing initiatives, particularly with regards to digitalization and AI.

I can start. It's a great question. And just to sort of state the obvious here, we do see a lot of opportunities really across the whole portfolio in terms of all our companies and interestingly, the opportunities are distributed across the whole value chain. So from R&D to efficient manufacturing, efficient administration to go to market. And then ultimately, of course, also using AI to enhance the product offering for our service offering for our customers, so making life better for customers. This is really high on our agenda. We drive it, as you allude to, not the least through the Boards. I mean it's obvious that the recipe here and the focus areas are different from -- or between each companies.

What we try to do in addition to driving this company by company is to also make sure that we try and share as much as possible in between the companies what has worked, what has not worked, et cetera, so as to create an open sharing culture and also some healthy peer pressure.

Good. Third one, would you, as a shareholder, rather hold on to the Robotics division of ABB? Or was the valuation offered too attractive to pass up?

Well, we share ABB or the Board of ABB's view that this is financially attractive for ABB and provides a good new home for ABB robotics. So it's good for ABB. It's good for ABB robotics.

And the last question I can see here, it comes from Martin Lindgren, is the divestment of, 8C, I guess, [ Arsenalsgatan and Teknisk högskolan ], preparation of a divestment of Vectura in order to keep core Wallenberg property within the Wallenberg sphere?

Yes. Thank you for the question. On the contrary, the rationale for the transaction is that FUM provides a very good new home with the long-term perspective and long-term owners, given the importance of these properties to the Wallenberg ecosystem similar to the Grand Group transaction a couple of years ago. And as for Vectura, it is anchored in Vectura's strategy to continue to develop innovation clusters or knowledge intense clusters, and Vectura has a really promising and attractive pipeline of projects going forward.

Great. I can't see any further questions, so time to conclude and wrap up. Thank you, Jenny. Thank you, Christian. Next scheduled call, this our year-end report for 2025, which is scheduled for January 22 next year. Until then, thank you, and goodbye.