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MARKET OUTLOOK
Mikael Helmerson, Deputy CEO of Mellby Gård, works customers to implement these compensations. Inflation slowed down
primarily with the Group’s industrial companies, chairs the towards the end of the year, but Mikael Helmerson sees a need for
Board of Feralco and is a member of the Board of Roxtec. further cost compensation:
Both companies broke records in net sales and profitability during the
year. “We live in a ‘new era’, or rather a ‘revisited era’. After 10–15 years with
virtually no inflation, it’s now ever-present.”
“Positive currency effects certainly had an impact, but overall both
growth and profitability are looking very good,” says Mikael Helmerson. Mellby Gård has always worked in a flexible way and quickly made
“The development in our companies is very much in line with what we’ve different adaptations, as Mikael Helmerson points out:
seen in general in the industry, and it’s extremely gratifying that we’re
keeping up with it. “The geopolitical events of recent years have increased our
awareness of how quickly the playing field can change, so we need to
We’re continuing to focus on organic growth, but add-on acquisitions be even better prepared. One specific area that has ended up even
may also be of interest in the future.” higher up on the agenda is defence against cyber attacks. We must
carefully ensure that all companies have good control over all data and
“Once again this year, it’s been a challenge to find companies that a high level of security in this area.”
are good potential acquisitions valued at the right price,” he says. For
this reason, we haven’t made any major acquisitions in Industry, but “The world has become more uncertain and we have to deal with
acquisitions remain high on our agenda. However, it’s important to find that,” he says. You have to keep your ear to the ground in the market
the right potential acquisition – we prefer to stay on the sidelines rather and your organization, and then act on things quickly.”
than take unnecessary risks.”
As for currencies, Mellby Gård’s approach is that they go up and
During the year, the profits generated by the companies have down, and that the fluctuations even out over time.
therefore continued to be used to strengthen the existing holdings,
including by investing in new manufacturing and storage facilities in “We’ve had an extremely weak krona for a period, which has been
the US on behalf of Roxtec. positive for Swedish export companies, but which is not good for the
country in the long term,” says Mikael Helmerson. “Our assessment is
SUDDEN NEW GEOPOLITICAL SITUATION that the krona will strengthen in the relatively near future, but by how
much and when is difficult to predict.”
The geopolitical situation has changed rapidly and dramatically in just
a few years. The world has become smaller. By this Mikael Helmerson He also recognizes that recent developments have affected the
means that today, it’s even more important for Mellby Gård to evaluate customers of industrial companies.
where it operates and which customers and suppliers it is dependent
on. This affects to a certain extent how they view potential acquisitions. “Feralco has experienced a slight decrease in demand from German
industry, mainly the chemical industry, which is both a supplier and a
“All forms of geopolitical tensions affect free trade,” says Mikael customer,” he says. “But when it comes to municipal water treatment,
Helmerson. “One of Mellby Gård's tasks, apart from building leading both drinking and wastewater, for example, we haven’t seen any major
companies, is to contribute to free trade between countries and people, changes.
which we believe is one of the very best ways to reduce the risk of
conflict. Globalization had come a long way a few years ago – it’s now CONTINUED FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY
important to restore the understanding that it’s better to cooperate
and do business with each other. Right now, unfortunately, things Sustainability has been and continues to be a major issue for
seems to be heading in the opposite direction.” Mellby Gård. During the year, there has been a lot of focus on
reporting and what this demands from the companies.
Mikael Helmerson goes on to describe how the turbulent geopolitical
situation, in particular the war in Ukraine, has affected energy prices in “For me, it’s important to highlight what we do in concrete terms
particular. in the businesses, and I’d like to highlight Feralco and the fact that
60 percent of the inputs now consist of by-products from other
“The biggest impact in Mellby Gård’s industrial vertical has been manufacturing, which is incredibly positive,” says Mikael Helmerson.
on Feralco, which in itself is not a major energy consumer, but which
buys raw materials, mainly hydrochloric acid, from companies with As a group made up of many different companies, Mellby Gård can
processes that are highly energy-consuming,” says Mikael Helmerson. greatly benefit from encouraging experience and knowledge sharing
“Going back another year, it was obviously important to quickly shut between the companies.
down all operations in Russia.”
“During the year, we’ve seen the people who work operationally
RAPID AND EFFICIENT COST COMPENSATION with sustainability in the companies cooperate with each other in an
exciting way,” says Mikael Helmerson. For example, both Roxtec and
The rising costs meant that companies had to quickly compensate by Feralco have run interesting projects with Kappahl.”
raising prices.
He also believes that customers are increasingly demanding more
“The combination of the changing geopolitical situation, rising from companies in terms of sustainability efforts. This is one of the key
inflation and periodically very high energy costs came at us like a aspects.
whirlwind,” says Mikael Helmerson. “The management of Mellby Gård
immediately agreed to quickly put the price issue on the agenda of all “Again, it’s up to these companies to be responsive and adapt to their
our boards. All holdings have subsequently focused intently on this markets and customers,” he says. “Companies are the ones with the
issue during the year, and this work has been successful.” specialized knowledge, and they need to act on it.”
Since the cost increases were a widely recognized fact, there “Where 2024 is concerned, we hope above all for a more settled
was – at least in the spring of 2023 – a high level of acceptance among geopolitical situation, although unfortunately there’s little evidence
of this. We’re looking forward to interesting acquisition opportunities
arising. We have the resources and are very much ready to use them.
But it must be the right situation and the right price, which we hope will
be the case in 2024,” concludes Mikael Helmerson.
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