The Managing Director’s comments

Acquisitions for sustainable growth

 

We continue to grow through strategic acquisitions in attractive areas, and have welcomed almost 50 new businesses to the Bilia family over the past decade. Our acquisition strategy is based on clear and well-established processes from start to finish. We work daily to develop our acquired operations by strengthening our customer offering and focusing on operational efficiency. Integrating acquired operations is extremely important, and it is only when a new operation has been effectively woven into our existing structure, ways of working and culture that we can realise synergies. This combination of growth through acquisitions and continuous improvement in our day-to-day operations puts us in a strong position in a rapidly changing market.

 

 

Expansion with Volvo Trucks with no increase in debt

We have changed our truck brand from Mercedes-Benz to Volvo by divesting our Mercedes-Benz truck operations during the second quarter, to take over the op of Tage Rejmes Lastvagnar AB and Tage Rejmes i Örebro Lastvagnar AB on 1 July. These companies’ operations consist of sales and servicing plus related services for trucks under the Volvo Trucks brand. Operations are conducted at nine facilities in central Sweden, and the companies jointly have a market share in Sweden of approximately 10 per cent. We firmly believe in Volvo Trucks, which is a leading player in the Swedish market. Servicing is a major aspect of the truck business, as customers have to be able to rest assured that their trucks are always in full operation. As part of the financing of the ac of these truck businesses, we divested six properties in Sweden on 3 July where we conduct operations for the Porsche, BMW and Toyota car brands. Divesting the properties enables our expansion with Volvo Trucks without increasing our debt.

 

Pent-up demand points to brighter times ahead

The Service Business’s result was resilient and represented a significant share of Bilia’s operational earnings in the second quarter. Profitability from sales of used cars remained at a good level during the quarter, although there was price pressure in the market for electric cars in Sweden.

Order intake was 13 per cent higher than previous year, with a positive devel foremost at the end of the quar. As in the past years, private individuals particularly in Sweden and Western Europe, have been cautious about order new cars, which is why order intake remained at a relatively low level in historical terms. In Norway, however, new car orders were stronger, with continued high demand also among private individuals. We can see signs of increased activity among private customers in Sweden, and combined with expectations of a gradually brighter economic outlook, we are cautiously optimistic about the demand for cars during the rest of 2025. There is also a pent-up demand for new cars, which could contribute to a more sustained recovery in the longer term as economic conditions improve.