Berner had a presentation at Redeye’s Serial Consolidators Day. To my understanding, the first slides on the company’s website. 
Things are happening…
Others can rake in big money with AI, but you can also do decent business with vibration dampers!
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Thanks for sharing.
I have a slight hunch that this year there will be acquisitions as well (we’ll get to do serial combinations!! 
)
"we have developed our own pipeline of
companies that we want to add to the group, based on a combination of
• Fit with our overall strategy of technology for the future society
• Satisfactory potential financial characteristics of the target"
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As soon as I lightened up on stocks, things start happening.
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Thanks for the link. Good news!
I checked Autofric’s key figures here
https://www.merinfo.se/foretag/Autofric-AB-5565839379/2k1r95f-g0np/nyckeltal
If I’m looking at and interpreting that correctly, EBIT was 7.6m last year. The debt-free purchase price is stated in the link shared by Verner as 55m + a potential “earn-out” of 20m, which depends on how the results develop by 2028.
Hopefully, Verner will have opportunities to get back into the shares if the company is still interesting enough!
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Thanks for the numbers. The pre-tax profit vs. purchase price and additional purchase price is as high as 14x, and with the best result. Perhaps the company sees the future better.
It’s interesting, it’s interesting when the price is agreed upon! Fewer sellers though.
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BERNER
On Twitter, there was a good comment regarding the valuation, stating that the company’s (Autofric) EBITA in 2024 was a total of 9.768 MSEK, which translates to an EBITA margin of 16.28%. At this level, the multiple paid for the company (EV/EBITA) falls between 5.6x–7.7x, depending on a potential additional purchase price in 2028. EBITA has grown by an average of 22% per year between 2017–2024, so the growth has been quite impressive.
Of course, a somewhat high multiple is being paid here, but perhaps those famous synergies will be found. 
However, I see the acquisition as more positive than negative, especially if it leads to continued organic growth. If reasonable acquisition targets are found on the market, it’s good to snap them up for one’s own portfolio. It’s foolish to own a serial acquirer if you don’t believe that management will make smart additions to the portfolio, so we proceed with faith. This will turn out well!
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ABG has published an update on Berner. They see the acquisition as positive.
https://cr.abgsc.com/foretag/berner-industrier/Equity-research/
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Lifco’s good Q1 result: revenue 3.3% and EBITA 0.7% above analysts’ consensus estimates. EPS growth of 21% compared to the previous year. What’s positive in my eyes is the good performance in Demolition & Tools, which has faced minor challenges in previous periods.
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Berner Industrier Q1
ABG’s forecasts for the quarter were
- Q1e sales -2% y-o-y, orders +10%, adj. EBITA margin 6.3% (6.5%)
Actual figures
- Order intake totaled SEK 262.7 (222.3) million, an increase of 18.2 percent.
- Net sales for the first quarter totaled SEK 236.1 (243.2) million, down 2.9 percent, whereof -0.4 percentage points from currency effects when translating foreign subsidiaries.
- EBITA totaled SEK 18.3 (14.5) million, an increase of 26,3 percent. The EBITA margin was 7.7 percent (5.9).
- Earnings per share before and after dilution were SEK 0.66 (0.47).
- Cash flow from operating activities was SEK 15.1 (53.6) million. Total cash flow for the period was SEK 7.3 (26.4) million.
- The debt/equity ratio was further reduced during the quarter and amounted to 0.3x (interest-bearing liabilities/EBITDA for the last 12 months) at the end of the period.
- The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting a total dividend of SEK 0.95 (0.90) per share.
At a quick glance, it seems like an OK quarter. 
EBITA margin comfortably above forecast and order books growing well. Net sales met the forecast.
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Berner
Now Berner has found a good flow again with positive news, great!
A few highlights:
- EBITA margin amazing (7.7%)! Operational performance has developed tremendously in the background. The full-year 2024 EBITA margin was probably 6.1%. The company aims for 9%.
- ROE 25%. Hits the company’s target level (25%) perfectly. (Year 2024 19.5%)
- Technology & Distribution performance poor. (revenue -7.2%, EBITA margin 3.8%). Margin improvements should come later.
- Energy & Environment good performance. (revenue +3.2%, EBITA margin 16.5%)
- Direct impact of tariffs limited.
All in all, this report reminds us that Berner is a pleasant company to own. There is plenty of room for growth, and as operational activities improve piece by piece, it’s easy for the owner to be on board. If the macro environment also starts to improve, Berner is truly emerging as a successful serial acquirer!
E. Coincidentally, new news just came out.
Berner Industrier appoints CFO Henrik Nordin as CFO and Executive Vice President
Henrik Nordin has been the CFO of Berner Industrier since August 15, 2022. The Board has now decided to also appoint him as Executive Vice President.
“Henrik Nordin has had a central and important role in the transition of the Group that we have carried out since 2022. I am pleased that the Board has now appointed him as Executive Vice President as well, thus also formalising the important role he has in Group Management,” says Caroline Reuterskiöld, CEO Berner Industrier.
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Indeed, there’s a lot of good in Berner’s report. 
The long-standing underperformance on the technical side seems to be turning around with the new leader.
“The restructuring work in the largest company in Technology & Distribution, Christian Berner AB, is advancing well under the new CEO, and we are already seeing improved margins. Finnish Christian Berner Oy, which was the first to feel the economic downturn in the fall of 2023, has started 2025 very well, with strong order intake growth and an EBITA margin of 11 percent. “
The stock has risen above 50 kronor. The stock could well be worth 60 kronor if the profitability turnaround gains momentum and the top line also grows…
The company also commented that direct trade with the USA and China is very limited (no exports to the USA and China accounts for less than 1% of sales) and historically Berner has been able to pass on increased prices to customers. On the other hand, it goes unsaid that one could assume many of Berner’s customers are again more dependent on export markets. And where Berner’s own products actually come from, because if a trade war ignited between the EU and China, the situation could be more complicated, I suspect.
The direct impact of the current tariff discussions on us is limited as we have mainly European customers. In 2024, less than 1 percent of sales were to customers outside Europe, and virtually all were to customers in China. We have some purchases from companies in the US, but even these are relatively limited, and we have historically been able to absorb effects such as supply chain disruptions, inflation and rising raw material and energy prices without too much impact on our gross margin.
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Yes, the company is now in a very good situation, as profitability is at a reasonable level (and there is still room for improvement) and the acquisition engine has also been started. I think these are good starting points for the company to continue creating value.
ABG mentions that the valuation is now roughly at the level of its peers, and it has indeed risen a couple of notches since the time the share was added to the portfolio (I think it’s been about two years, I don’t even remember exactly).
ABG
Over the past three months, the share has returned +53%, compared to the peer median of -6% and the -7% of the OMX Stockholm Allshare. The share is currently trading at 17x-13x '25e-'27e P/E, compared to its 10-year historical median of 13x-11x and peers at 16x-12x.
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Berner
ABG has published a new report.
Valuation is slightly elevated compared to historical levels, but if the profitability turnaround continues to progress from here, it’s still not fair to call it expensive.
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https://mfn.se/a/berner-industrier/berner-industrier-has-completed-the-acquisition-of-autofric-ab
Berner Industrier has completed the acquisition of Autofric AB
2025-05-02 10:30:00
As previously communicated, Berner Industrier entered into an agreement on April 10, 2025 to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Autofric AB including its subsidiaries and has today completed the acquisition. Autofric has a long and successful history of metalworking and custom manufacturing as well as niche products within water treatment. The company was founded in 1984 and has since built up a strong brand where competence, quality and efficiency have been success factors for the company. Turnover in the last financial year amounted to approximately SEK 60 million.
“We are today pleased to welcome the entire team of Autofric to Berner Industrier and look forward to continuing to develop the company together with the local management. The acquisition will be included in the Energy & Environment business area as of May 2,” says Caroline Reuterskiöld, President and CEO of Berner Industrier
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I calculated that the current revenue, plus Autofric Berner’s revenue, is approximately 1020 million SEK.
The company’s target is a 9% EBITA margin, which the energy side easily exceeds already (this might not be so surprising, e.g., Sdiptech’s product-driven companies achieve ~20% margins on average, and the energy side has performed very well there too), the technical side not yet (but the target was set even before the energy side acquisitions!), and Autofric easily exceeds it.
If we assume that the whole will achieve a 9% EBITA margin, EBITA would be approximately 90 MSEK. Roughly speaking, with 22% taxes, the adjusted EPS would be around 3.3 SEK, or NOPAT around 3.4 SEK per share. If 3.4 SEK is multiplied by a 20x multiple, the share would be 68 SEK. But first, profitability needs to be improved. And note, the company has historically been capable of quite good growth (target, if I recall correctly, is 10%), so the top line will also expand. Note that the current realized EPS is about 2 kronor.
Much depends on whether one believes in improving profitability and how successful the acquisitions turn out to be. This company is very much at the beginning of its journey, and I wouldn’t just pull P/E 30-40x multiples of large comparables out of my hat for it, as those companies have refined processes and large teams continuously making acquisitions across Europe. Plus, in large entities, the risk level of acquiring small companies is low. In contrast, for Berner, one miss can consume a tremendous amount of management time and resources.
A large serial acquirer is like a minigun player in a game with a large ammo count who can spray and pray (while still aiming relatively carefully; even a serial acquirer can be brought down if they mess up too much, especially with debt). Berner is a creeping survivalist with limited ammo, and every shot must hit.
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Sdiptech’s CEO is switching back to the CFO position, which he held previously. This is justified by “strategy acceleration.”
The company has struggled a bit after years of massive growth and an acquisition spree, and now has plenty of debt.
The stock has recovered slightly from its lows. I have been seriously considering the company for a longer time, but so far, the debt level, the digestion of the past years’ growth, and the lack of a clear main owner have kept me away.
Often, CEO changes can be a positive boost, at least initially, unless one believes the company’s businesses are structurally poor. Cf. e.g., Berner earlier.
By the way, earlier the company’s long-time former CEO was elected to the board.
One possibility here is that the outgoing CEO inherited the previous mess, couldn’t fix them, and now they’re trying with a new face.
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Every now and then I glance at these buy-and-forget multi-industry serial acquirers who don’t focus on anything and don’t integrate the companies they acquire into any coherent whole, and I always get scared; it has gone well but the multiples are high, and what kind of cultural debt do these companies have and when will they start eating each other?
This thread deals almost exclusively with Swedish companies, but looking more broadly, there are plenty of similar mixed-serial acquirers elsewhere; for example, in the United States, just in the S&P500 index, among others, Ametek, Dover, Fortive, IDEX, and Roper (these came to mind now, but there are more). Then there’s also the private equity side, etc.
Focused industry consolidators are understandable: they buy smaller companies at lower multiples than their own valuation and more or less integrate them, gaining economies of scale, market share, etc., but I wonder about these messy gluttons and watch from the sidelines. 
That smaller companies are bought at lower multiples than one’s own is understandable
I would gladly hear counter-arguments because clearly these companies are highly valued even as a group.
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Those interested in compounders should keep an eye out for an upcoming book release, as REQ, known for its research on compounder funds, is publishing a book based on its studies.
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Fascinating real-life examples of all this quiet excellence at work
As many who have followed the thread surely know, REQ’s website offers extensive research material, so if you can’t wait for the book’s release in September, you can find similar material on their site
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Q2 expectations
We expect the order intake recovery trend to continue in Q2, where we forecast SEK 287m of orders, up 15% y-o-y. Given the order weakness seen throughout the majority of last year, however, we estimate sales will be roughly flat y-o-y at SEK 255m, with the Autofric acquisition contributing ~4% sales growth (consolidated on 1 May). On margins, we expect an adj. EBITA level of 7.5% (6.8%), with the y-o-y increase mainly driven by improvement in T&D, which we hope will be able to deliver a better level compared to last year thanks to cost saving measures and the organisational changes in Christian Berner AB.
Our long-term view of the company remains unchanged, and we reiterate our fair value range of SEK 40-70. The share is currently trading at a P/E of 17x on our updated estimates.
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Second quarter 2025
• Order intake totaled SEK 278.8 (249.4) million, an increase of 11.8 percent.
• Net sales for the second quarter totaled SEK 272.8 (254.8) million, up 7.1 percent, whereof 4.4 percentage points organic growth.
• EBITA totaled SEK 24.6 (15.4) million, an increase of 59,5 percent. The EBITA margin was 9.0 percent (6.0).
• Earnings per share before dilution were SEK 0.92 (0.54). Earnings per share after dilution were SEK 0.91 (0.54).
• Cash flow from operating activities reached SEK 33.8 (2.6) million. Total cash flow for the period was SEK -32.0 (-37.1) million.
• On May 2, 100 percent of the shares in Autofric AB was acquired and since consolidated into the accounts and included in the business area Energy & Environment. The company had sales of approximately SEK 60 million in 2024.
From ABG’s forecasts, the order book was slightly lower (forecast SEK 287m, actual 279m) but net sales absolutely blew past expectations! Earnings per share also significantly exceeded, with 0.74 EPS expected. EBITA 9%. 
What kind of beast is this turning into? The “new” CEO (2021) Caroline has done a great job!
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