Market situation

The MSCI Nordic Small Cap Index ended 2024 up 10 percent in NOK terms. The weak Norwegian Krone (NOK) was the main contributor to the performance, as the index performance was close to 0 in local currency. Long–term interest rates were volatile during the year, ending the year higher than in 2023. The consumer sector continued to struggle, but improved macro conditions and better consumer confidence helped some consumer stocks to perform well as expectations for 2025 improved.

Portfolio

Private companies

Aibel

Aibel delivered its best year ever in 2024, with record-high revenue and EBITDA. The company has a wide spectrum of projects within oil and gas, electrification and offshore wind. There was a high level of activity in all areas, and the electrification and offshore wind areas accounted for more than 45 percent of the company’s overall revenue in 2024. Aibel had an order backlog of over NOK 27 billion at the end of 2024, of which more than 50 percent relates to electrification and offshore wind. Aibel’s cash flow is strong, and the company is debt-free. During 2024, the group expanded its production capacity in Thailand with a new yard in Map Ta Phut. 

Aidian

Aidian continued to strengthen its foothold as a leading European patient-centered diagnostics provider, resulting in healthy revenue and profitability growth across all key segments. Management continued to execute on the updated strategic plan, and a new QuikRead Go Plus instrument was successfully launched in the market. The new instrument is expected to provide Aidian with a solid technical fundament and several exiting growth opportunities in the years to come.

Brav

Brav experienced mixed commercial performance in 2024 as it continued its turnaround efforts in a challenging market for sports and outdoor wear. The year started strongly, driven by a successful 2023/24 winter season in the Nordics and a more streamlined organisation. However, the second half of the year was affected by a warm start to the 2024/25 winter season, high retail inventory levels, and cautious consumer sentiment, leading to weaker full–year sales. Despite the sales decline, Brav managed to improve its profitability compared to 2023. Throughout the year, the company further refined its brand-oriented structure, enhancing its focus on customers and individual brands. In December 2024, Brav appointed Filip Ekvall as its new permanent CEO. 

Fjord Line

Fjord Line´s first fully ‘normalised’ operational year was 2024, with all three vessels active following the 2023 restructuring, including the engine conversion for SF/BF, port relocation to Kristiansand, and the shutdown of the Sandefjord-Strømstad route. The company returned to profitability, despite a continued weak consumer sentiment, and the new organisation is now firmly established and well-prepared to deliver strong growth in 2025 and 2026

Fürst

Fürst continued its focused approach to deliver high-quality laboratory services in a cost- and time-efficient manner. The relatively high level of different respiratory diseases in the Norwegian population continued throughout 2024, but the volume of tests related to respiratory diseases particularly accelerated during the second half of 2024. Fürst continues to see growth in the number of General Practitioners that use Fürst as their principal testing laboratory, and winning 100 percent of the Helse Sør-Øst tender was a testament to Fürst’s capabilities and positive contribution to the Norwegian healthcare system.

General Oceans

General Oceans delivered good results in 2024 with revenues of close to NOK 1 billion, corresponding to a growth of more than 15 percent relative to 2023. Nortek and Tritech continued to deliver growth and strong margins. The smaller operating companies had an active year and made significant progress on their respective roadmaps. The Group is well positioned to capitalise on the positive outlook in the end markets within marine construction, research, and defense. 

Interwell

Interwell delivered satisfactory results in 2024 with a turnover of NOK 3.1 billion following a very strong 2023. The year was characterised by a high level of activity in the sector, and Interwell enjoyed healthy growth in its core markets. Interwell boasts a portfolio of cutting-edge technologies that are expected to gain commercial traction in the coming years. During the year, Interwell relocated to a new headquarters in Sola, Stavanger, thereby co-locating its activities from seven different sites in the area. The company also underwent a complete rebranding to integrate and unify the company under one brand following several acquisitions in recent years. Interwell has seen increasing interest in the development of new solutions for more sustainable energy sources and is well-positioned for continuing growth in both existing and new markets.

Mestergruppen

Mestergruppen delivered decent results in 2024 in light of the challenging market conditions. This was particularly the case for new buildings, which experienced their weakest market since 1946 (according to Boligprodusentene). Despite another year of focus on cost efficiency, Mestergruppen managed to complete strategic acquisitions of Happy Homes and Colorama, thereby becoming the market leader for paint and surface products in Sweden. In addition, Mestergruppen acquired Boligpartner in Norway, which further strengthened the portfolio of house chain concepts. In the second half of the year, the market started to stabilise and there is generally a more optimistic outlook for 2025. 

Mintra

Mintra delivered solid growth in both revenue and EBITDA in 2024. The company is a leading provider of digital learning and enterprise Human Capital Management (HCM) software solutions for safety-critical industries worldwide, mainly Offshore and Maritime. Mintra is the market leader in the Offshore industry, and the number two in the Maritime industry, where it continued to take market share during the year. The market outlook is favorable, and the growth is set to continue. 

mnemonic

mnemonic continued to deliver solid growth in 2024 with 18 percent revenue growth. The broader Nordic IT Services market remained challenging with tighter budgets, but demand for mnemonic’s cybersecurity solutions continued to grow. The profit margin declined in 2024, reflecting that mnemonic continued to invest heavily in R&D and its international organisation. Throughout 2024, mnemonic continued to demonstrate its leading position in Norway with new major customer wins, sustained low employee churn, and once again winning “Great Place to Work” within its category. mnemonic also took significant steps in growing its offering for cloud environments, and the organic expansion in the Netherlands continued to progress well.

Norkart

Norkart continued to deliver profitable organic growth throughout 2024 across all its products and services. During 2024, Norkart’s most important customers, municipalities, experienced tightening budgets, while activity among real estate and construction customers improved despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop. We are therefore pleased to see that demand for Norkart’s products has remained strong, which illustrates how Norkart helps digitalise and increase efficiency for its customers. Norkart has also reached several key milestones in its product modernisation journey, which is a key strategic priority for the coming years. Part of this is also to strengthen the core technical platform, IT security, system support, and streamlining operations to improve profitability margins and ensure scalability. Employee satisfaction remains high compared to industry benchmarks, and recruiting processes show that Norkart is an attractive employer across different tenures.

Simployer

Simployer continued to deliver growth in revenues and increased profitability significantly in 2024. Its profit margin improved in 2024 due to efficiency improvements and general cost focus.  In the beginning of 2024, Simployer acquired Alexis HR. Alexis offers an HRM system for SMBs and will improve Simployer’s product portfolio. The market for HR technology and expertise is growing, which supports the outlook for long-term growth in demand for Simployer’s services.

Servi

Servi had a strong year in 2024, benefiting from solid activity in its core Offshore and Maritime markets, along with increasing deliveries to the offshore wind sector. The company achieved robust top-line growth while maintaining comparable margins to 2023. Throughout the year, Servi moved into new and upgraded facilities in Kongsberg, Rissa, and Kristiansand. In December, Ferd sold a significant stake in the company to the investment company Tjaldur. With a high volume of new orders secured in 2024, Servi is well-positioned for continued growth in 2025.

Try

Try faced another year of difficult market conditions in 2024. Try delivered top-line growth, but profits declined. The various business units that make up the group continue to receive recognition and awards for the work they produce and their position in the market. Try was once again voted overall agency of the year in Byråprofil, in addition to winning best digital agency, media agency, advertising agency, and coming second in the PR category. Furthermore, Try was the overall winner of Gulltaggen, which is dedicated to digital creativity. The awards underline the leading position the company has in the Norwegian market. Try is well-positioned for further growth at the intersection of creativity, strategy, and technology.

Listed companies

Benchmark Holdings

Benchmark Holdings demonstrated resilient performance in 2024, a year of market headwinds and change. A strategic review was announced on 22 January 2024 and concluded in November, resulting in the sale of the Genetics business. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. The transaction enables the repayment of debt and return of capital to shareholders, in addition to a significant opportunity to reduce complexity and streamline the Group structure reducing costs. Total revenues were 7 percent below the prior year at constant currency. Adjusted EBITDA was 10 percent below the prior year at constant currency. For more information about the disposal of the Genetics business, see Benchmark’s website and its announcement of 25 November 2024.

BHG Group

BHG Group experienced a significant fall in demand in 2024 due to high interest rates and low consumer confidence. Sales were down 15.5 percent from 2023 to 2024. However, the negative sales growth was reduced during the year, and sales in the fourth quarter showed a small growth compared to the same quarter the previous year. BHG Group has worked actively to reduce costs and adjusted EBIT increased from 0.8 percent in 2023 to 2.6 percent in 2024. Net working capital, including inventories, was further reduced in 2024 and the company’s debt continued to decrease. At year–end 2024 the NIBD/EBITDA was 3.3x, a significant improvement.   

Boozt

Boozt delivered both growth and profitability in 2024 despite challenging market conditions. This was driven by an increase in order values, thanks to new product categories (children’s wear, sportswear, and home) combined with stable rates of product returns and high customer satisfaction. The company continued to increase its market share over the course of 2024 despite challenging market conditions for both offline and online retailers. New revenue streams, such as Booztpay, are now making a significant contribution to its strong results. The growth in 2024, however, slowed from the previous years and was 6 percent. 

Elopak

Elopak delivered a strong 2024, successfully executing on all its key strategic priorities including realising global growth (US, MENA, and India), strengthening leadership in core (Europe), and leveraging plastic to replacement shift. Revenue was up 2 percent (organic) to EUR 1.2 billion with an EBITDA of EUR 176 million (15.2 percent margin). Its debt ratio ended the year at 2.1 x EBITDA thanks to strong cash flows and despite capex of EUR 109 million. In September 2024, Elopak hosted its first Capital Markets Day, presenting its reshaped strategy, “Repackaging Tomorrow,” after successfully achieving all IPO targets in 2023. During the year, Elopak commenced construction of its new production plant in Little Rock, Arkansas, US, which remains on track to start production in the first half of 2025, on time and within budget. Elopak successfully refinanced its debt capital structure by issuing an inaugural triple-tranche green bond and securing a new revolving credit facility. In 2024, Elopak continued to expand its product portfolio, including in the non-food segment, supplying fiber-based packaging solutions for home and personal care products. 

Lerøy Seafood

Lerøy and the Norwegian salmon farming industry faced an overall challenging year in 2024, experiencing an invasion of string jellyfish in the winter of 2023/24, lower prices in the second half of the year, and continued inflation in feed costs. These factors negatively impacted Lerøy’s financial results, with operating EBIT declining by 11 percent in 2024. Despite the financial setbacks, Lerøy made significant progress with new farming technologies, and by the end of the year, 34 percent of salmon were “shielded” in submerged and semi-closed technologies. Lerøy also delivered improved biological performance in 2024, achieving an all-time high production at sea, and significantly reduced mortality and lice treatments compared to the five-year average. The company projects a 14 percent volume growth in its Norwegian farming operations in 2025. 

Nilfisk

Nilfisk demonstrated resilience in 2024, delivering a solid performance despite macroeconomic challenges and market uncertainties. The company sustained its positive gross margin trend throughout 2024, driven by price increases and reductions in raw material costs. Cash flow was impacted by higher net working capital and capex levels, where the increase in capex reflects the company’s strategic focus on new product development. In 2024, Nilfisk maintained its all-time low gearing level from 2023 within the target leverage range. The new CEO appointed in December 2023, Jon Sintorn, joined the company in June. Revenues for 2024 are expected to remain flat compared to 2023, with guidance pointing to an approximately 13 percent EBITDA margin. 

Trifork

Trifork’s core segment experienced a challenging 2024 with tough market conditions for Nordic IT services. This resulted in slower growth and declining margins. Trifork has adapted to the market conditions by increasing business development efforts and by initiating a cost reduction programme. The company carried out three smaller acquisitions: Sapere Group, Spantree Technology Group and Marstrand Innovation, and M&A continues to play an important part in the company’s strategy. Trifork Labs has had a very successful year. Several of the larger investments have developed positively. In addition, the company made a partial exit in one of its larger portfolio companies in December 2024, booking a substantial financial gain.  

Transactions

During 2024, Ferd Capital conducted two successful sell downs in Elopak and one in Boozt, while we increased our ownership in Nilfisk. Benchmark Holdings completed a strategic review which resulted in the sale of the Genetics business (expected to close in the first quarter of 2025). We took Mintra private, and we sold our entire stakes in Devyser.  

In our private portfolio a stake of Servi Group was sold to Tjaldur, a Faroe Islands industrial holding company that Ferd Capital also works with on Mintra. In addition, there have been several add-on transactions for our portfolio companies such as Happy Home, Boligpartner and Colorama for Mestergruppen, RS Aqua for General Oceans and Beining&Bogen for Try.  

Organisation

Ferd Capital has a dedicated team of 19 people going into 2025. There were no new hires that started in 2024, but two of our Investment Professionals pursued career opportunities in our portfolio. Their transitions highlight the strength of our collaborative approach and the depth of relationships we cultivate with our portfolio companies. At the end of the year, we hired one new Investment Professional that will join the team in March 2025. 

Future prospects

In 2025, companies will continue to face uncertainty regarding their future earnings and economic growth, compounded by increasing geopolitical insecurity. Ferd Capital has a diversified portfolio of companies across various sectors, and we expect the portfolio to be well positioned to deliver growth going forward. In addition, we will work proactively on new investment opportunities and take advantage of the long-term opportunities that can arise in turbulent market conditions, both through M&A activity for our portfolio companies and by establishing new strategic positions. Our focus will be on promoting our ownership agenda and providing support to our existing portfolio companies.