Scanfil - Contract Manufacturer for the Portfolio

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It’s perhaps worth clarifying that the Takasens + other early-stage investors from Sievi (the Kotilas, the Pölläs) together own nearly 70% of the shares:

Harri alone has 15.12%, his brother 12.59%. Even Jorma still has 9.88% in his name. Add Varikot Oy, which is the Kotila family’s investment company, and these alone already bring ownership to 49%. Add to that other smaller holdings from the inner circle, and the figure is already 68.59% by a quick calculation.

Scanfil’s ownership is firmly rooted in Sievi, and these owners are very long-term. They think across generations, and there is no rush in developing the company. No quarterly optimization!

You can completely forget about Kosunen’s sales – they have nothing to do with the company’s direction, and it’s not worth trying to conclude anything from them.

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I’ll just add my “gut feeling” here, and those who are more familiar with the logic behind Scanfil’s share incentives can feel free to correct me. At Scanfil, too, the number of shares in these incentives for key personnel has probably increased slightly over the past few years. Anyone who looks into how these shares were obtained can verify the acquisition price.

Even now, when a likely larger number of new, more expensive shares are acquired using salary taxed as earned income (assuming previous ones aren’t sold), one might—to put it bluntly—end up having to finance an amount equal to the gains (appreciation) from the previous incentive with salary income, which is taxed at a fairly high marginal rate in Finland. (Of course, capital accumulates, but life goes on and costs money in the meantime). Alternatively, I believe I’ve seen companies (e.g., state-owned ones) that may have financed such share purchases, perhaps with interest-free loans. I’m not entirely sure (correct me if I’m wrong), but you can certainly acquire more shares if you have a 50–60% (interest-free) loan on one side and the share price has increased by, say, 80–100%.

In my view, this is partly a result of Scanfil’s reasonably disciplined financial management and the protection of shareholders’ assets—something that would have been needed at Fortum, for instance, over the last 20 years. It has been a pleasure to own Scanfil for about 20 years now (despite the various criticisms leveled at the main owner as well).

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Here are Antti’s preview comments as Scanfil reports its Q1 results on a busy Thursday, April 23. :slight_smile:

We expect the company’s revenue to have grown strongly, driven by the MB acquisition completed in January and the ADCO acquisition in December. In our assessment, project wins from recent years will also turn organic growth positive. We also forecast that the operating result has risen significantly from the comparison period due to acquisitions and volume growth, even though the early part of the year may have still included efforts related to integration work. We estimate that Scanfil will reiterate its guidance for the current year, although elevated inflation and macro risks due to the war in Iran may, over the course of the year, also have a somewhat negative impact on Scanfil’s investment-driven demand compared to previous expectations. In our view, Scanfil is priced neutrally (2026e: EV/EBIT 12x) ahead of the Q1 report.

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Scanfil’s Q1 2026 report is out.

Scanfil Q1 2026: Steady Start with Significant Revenue and Profit Improvement

January–March
• Revenue was EUR 229.1 million (192.6), up 19.0%
• Revenue grew organically by 6.5%
• Comparable EBITA margin was 6.8% (6.5%) and comparable EBITA was EUR 15.6 (12.6) million, up 24.1%
• Earnings per share were EUR 0.15 (0.13)
• Net debt/EBITDA was 1.57 (0.22)
• Dividend proposal EUR 0.25 (0.24) per share
CEO Christophe Sut:

“The first quarter of 2026 opens a new chapter for Scanfil. In terms of revenue, profit, and customer base, we are stronger than ever. In an era of increasing complexity in regionalization and supply chain management, Scanfil took a step forward in the first quarter, making us confident in achieving our 2026 targets.

At the turn of the year, we completed two strategically significant acquisitions that elevated Scanfil to a whole new level. The acquisition of ADCO Circuits was completed in December 2025, and the acquisition of MB Elettronica in January 2026. Both companies expand our global operations into new markets with strong growth potential and bring with them a robust customer portfolio in the Aerospace & Defense and Medtech & Life Science customer groups, which have positive long-term outlooks.

Revenue grew by 19.0% to EUR 229.1 million in the first quarter compared to the previous year. The positive momentum continued, with organic revenue growth of 6.5%. The development was as expected, based on strong new sales in the second half of 2025. Acquisitions increased revenue by 14% overall. MB, in particular, showed strong momentum and double-digit growth compared to the previous year.

Our EBITA margin increased by 0.3 percentage points to 6.8% compared to the previous year. The comparable EBITA margin was strong despite several ramp-ups of new customer projects and their impact on efficiency. MB also had a positive impact on the margin from the outset.

Revenue in the Americas grew organically by 12.3% in the first quarter compared to the previous year. Business prospects remained strong. In the first quarter, we achieved a record in the ramp-up of new customer projects. While these affected profitability in the first quarter, they built strong momentum for the second half of the year.

APAC revenue in the first quarter grew organically by 10.9% compared to the previous year. Customer demand and operational efficiency are strong. In January, we announced investments in our Chinese operations. These investments should be fully operational in 2027, at which point they will begin to support our development in the region.

Central Europe revenue grew organically by 2.9% in the first quarter compared to the previous year. Total revenue grew by 32.7% due to the acquisition of MB. Operations in Poland grew organically, but the operating environment in Germany remained challenging.

Northern Europe revenue grew organically by 5.6% in the first quarter compared to the previous year. Growth was supported by strong demand from our Aerospace & Defense customers.

Recent developments in the global geopolitical situation favor our customer group strategy. The energy sector is crucial for crisis resilience, and at the same time, the need for internal and external security is growing. Both trends have a positive impact on our Energy & Cleantech and Aerospace & Defense businesses. In the first quarter, the total value of new customer projects was EUR 51.7 million compared to EUR 46.7 million in the previous year.

Aerospace & Defense revenue grew by 130.5% to EUR 21.0 (9.1) million in the first quarter. Aerospace & Defense figures were reported for the first time as a separate customer group from Industrial. Most of the growth was due to acquisitions, but also from existing customers. In the first quarter, the total value of new customer projects was EUR 0.9 million.

Energy & Cleantech revenue grew by 18.8% in the first quarter compared to the previous year. Projects for new customers decreased by 3.7% to EUR 23.9 million. Underlying demand has remained strong.

Industrial revenue grew by 12.4% in the first quarter compared to the previous year. New customer projects increased by 0.7% to EUR 15.5 million year-on-year. The high revenue growth was due to acquisitions.

Medtech & Life Science revenue grew by 7.1% in the first quarter compared to the previous year. The number of new customer projects increased by 79.1% to EUR 11.5 million year-on-year. Revenue was boosted by acquisitions and investments in sales.

After the first quarter, our confidence strengthened. Our acquisitions are yielding results and supporting our strong organic growth. We estimate 2026 revenue to be EUR 940–1,060 million and comparable EBITA to be EUR 64–78 million. In January, we announced an investment in our Chinese operations, where demand has grown and prospects are positive. Our 2025 investments in Malaysia and the United States are in the commissioning phase and will start to have an impact during 2026.

We celebrate Scanfil’s 50th anniversary year with confidence. We want to thank our customers, partners, and employees for their strong trust and cooperation over the past 50 years.”

Full report:

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Antti has already written comments on Scanfil’s Q1 results :slight_smile:

Scanfil published its Q1 report this morning. The numbers for the beginning of the year rose significantly, driven by acquisitions, but they did not reach our forecasts on any income statement line. Scanfil reiterated its guidance as expected. According to our preliminary estimate, the report does not cause significant pressure for changes in our short-term forecasts for Scanfil. However, Scanfil’s share price has risen strongly recently. Today, the stock’s reaction to the report may be negative relative to the general market, as the operational Q1 numbers fell somewhat short of our and, to our understanding, other analysts’ forecasts.

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This is probably what will happen, the stock will crash. Scanfil, however, again significantly improved its revenue and profit, even if not quite to expectations. So the reason why I bought the company for different portfolios a few months ago remains: stable growth.

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Antti has published a new company report on Scanfil regarding Q1. :slight_smile:

Scanfil’s Q1 figures released on Thursday were slightly softer than our expectations, but we made no significant changes to our forecasts for the coming years. The company’s outlook is positive in both the short and long term, but in our view, the expected earnings growth is already appropriately baked into the share price (2026e: adj. EV/EBITA 13x). Thus, the expected annual return from the current valuation level does not become quite attractive enough. Consequently, we reiterate our Reduce recommendation and EUR 11.50 target price for Scanfil.

Quoted from the report:

..Among Nordic peers, Kitron is valued significantly higher than Scanfil, but Note’s and Hanza’s valuations are fairly well in line with Scanfil. Incap, on the other hand, is at a clear discount relative to Scanfil. Against this overall backdrop, we do not see the stock’s relative valuation as particularly low either.

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Nordean näkemys Scanfilista:

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2.2 Million Euro Block Trade in Scanfil Shares

The price in the block trade was 12.92 euros per share, representing a premium of approximately 2.1 percent compared to Monday’s opening price of 12.66 euros. The share price rose to 12.92 euros on Monday afternoon.

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Antti and Isa discussed Scanfil in English regarding Q1 :slight_smile:

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