Administer - Q1 below estimates, guidance broadly in line
Administer's Q1 results came in clearly below our expectations, with net sales declining 6% and EBITDA dropping sharply by 41% y/y. The miss was driven by unexpected weakness in Silta (customer contract terminations) and EmCe (delayed project starts), while cost savings have yet to flow through fully. Company issued FY26 guidance of EUR 105-115m net sales and EUR 6.5-9.0m EBITDA.
- Net sales in Q1 were EUR 17.8m (EUR 19.0m in Q1'25), below our estimate of EUR 18.8m. The challenging market environment continued to weigh on organic growth.
- EBITDA in Q1 was EUR 1.2m (Q1'25: 2.0m) vs Evli EUR 2.2m. This translates to a margin of 6.8%, with CEO commenting that corrective measures are ongoing but not yet sufficient, with full impact visible in H2’26.
- EBITA in Q1 was EUR 0.6m (Q1'25: 1.6m) vs Evli EUR 1.7m.
- Operating result in Q1 was EUR -0.4m (Q1'25: 0.5m) vs Evli EUR 0.7m.
- Across the business areas, payroll and HR services provider Silta showed the weakest Q1 performance, with net sales declining 13.5% to EUR 5.7m (Evli: EUR 6.4m). Sales were impacted by customer contract terminations and the challenging market.
- HR and staffing provider Econia improved its trajectory as expected, with net sales declining 4% to EUR 4.8m in line with our estimate.
- Net sales in Administer's accounting operations were essentially flat and in line with our estimates at EUR 4.6m. A few smaller acquisitions were completed during the period.
- Software services provider EmCe reported net sales of EUR 1.8m, down 13.5% y/y (Evli: EUR 2.0m), driven by delays in Microsoft Business Central project starts.
- Guidance for 2026 (issued): Administer estimates net sales of EUR 105-115m and EBITDA of EUR 6.5-9.0m. quite in line with our expectations, though slightly more conservative on the sales line.