I’m satisfied with the big picture. Of course, many things could have gone better. In my experience, that’s often how it goes in business. Many things go well, but never everything at the same time 
However, since growth—and specifically international growth—has been the goal, it hasn’t been anywhere near a walk in the park, and there have been plenty of surprises. Profitability has suffered, and that too is a conscious choice. A major explanatory factor is also Finland’s weak economic cycle. It has hit Finnish companies hard, and that is visible in accounting firms. In a normal economic cycle, Talenom’s figures would also look quite different. Considering the cycle, operational performance in Finland has been excellent. Growth has continued, profitability has improved, and we have gained many new customers.
It would have been possible to stay in Finland and try to achieve 5% annual growth from a saturated market. And improve profitability by the same amount. These figures would have guaranteed the “quality company” label on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, but that has not been the company’s goal; instead, our gaze is set further ahead. Growing the top line in new markets requires acquisitions. Later, organic growth is also possible there. This is largely how we have grown in Finland over the past 15 years.
If the balance sheet is a mess with that level of indebtedness, then it has always been that way in the company. We have always maximized the use of bank debt for growth. The limit I have maintained (for the over 30 years I’ve been with the firm) is that in such a defensive industry, debt can be about 3x EBITDA. During this time, we have grown from about 1 million euros to 130 million euros. Whether this substantial use of leverage for growth has been wise, I don’t know, but it has been our choice in any case. For lenders, this is not an issue.
In Sweden, we haven’t succeeded as quickly as we would have liked, but the trend there turned over a year ago. Spain has gone according to plan. The lessons from Sweden are in our back pocket, and the expansion strategy for Spain is different. Exporting professional services abroad is slow work, and the pace of change cannot be very fast.
In Q3/25, we reported that cash flow improved by 45% from the previous year. Our investments have decreased, and now they are practically collapsing on Talenom’s side as IT investments move to Easor from today onwards.
The demerger of Easor gave Talenom’s owners the opportunity to be part of two growth stories. And I emphasize: growth stories. The company has operated in the same way throughout its history (nearly 55 years), and I believe we will continue in much the same way.
Hopefully, Finland’s economic situation will improve soon and we can get growth started. That is what all companies, people, and our entire society need!