January 1– March 31, 2026

• Net sales decreased 3 percent to SEK
  4,441 M (4,562). Organic growth was 1 percent. Currency effects had a negative impact of 4 percent on net sales.
• EBIT increased to SEK 173 M (161) and the EBIT margin to 3.8 percent (3.4). EBIT was impacted by items affecting comparability of SEK -27 M (-70).
• Adjusted EBIT amounted to SEK 200 M (231) and the adjusted EBIT margin to 4.4 percent (4.9).
• Earnings per share, before and after dilution, amounted to SEK 1.00 (0.85).
• Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 441 M (-122).
• Net debt in relation to EBITDA¹⁾ decreased to a multiple of 3.6 compared with 4.0 at the beginning of the year as a result of strong cash flow in operating activities.

Significant events after the end of the period

• No significant events occurred.

CEO comments:
Measures that yield results – and further actions to boost profitability

Initiatives aimed at improving MEKO’s earnings and financial position are yielding positive results. During the first quarter both cash flow and operating profit strengthened compared to previous quarter, while net debt was reduced. However, we need to further improve profitability, and we are now implementing additional cost reductions. In parallel, we will continue to concentrate on increasing our organic growth.

In the first quarter, many car owners decided to postpone servicing and repairs that were not essential to the functioning of the car. Market conditions were therefore largely unchanged compared with the fourth quarter of 2025. We are continuing to see intense competition among spare parts wholesalers, workshops and stores in the eight countries in which we are represented.
Our sales increased organically by 1 percent in total. The Poland/the Baltics business area – and Finland in particular – reported strong growth, while Sweden/Norway, Denmark and Sørensen og Balchen noted a decline. For Sørensen og Balchen, the lower level reflects delivery problems in connection with the relocation to the new central warehouse in Oslo. These challenges have been addressed and are expected to be fully resolved in the second quarter.

Actions to boost our earnings
2025 was an intensive year for MEKO in terms of investments, with the establishment of three new highly automated central warehouses. These investments are an integral part of our “Building a stronger MEKO” program, which aims to strengthen our profitability and leading position in the automotive aftermarket. We have also taken steps to optimize our organization within the scope of this program.

These actions had a clear impact in the first quarter. For example, we have now implemented two thirds of the estimated workforce reduction resulting from our warehouse automation projects. The remaining share of the reduction will be carried out as technology and work methods are fine-tuned over the course of the year. A further impact is that costs, measured as a proportion of sales, have been reduced.

Gradual improvements – but more is needed
Adjusted operating profit amounted to SEK 200 million, compared with 231 for the corresponding quarter 2025, reflecting increased competitive pressure during the previous year. At the same time, we are seeing positive effects from the measures implemented, and adjusted operating margin amounted to 4.4 percent, exceeding the level both in the fourth quarter and the level for the full year 2025. Operating profit, which is no longer burdened by major one-time costs associated with the new warehouses, improved to 173 million, compared with 161 in the corresponding quarter 2025.

The Denmark and Sweden/Norway business areas reported higher margins, while Finland and Poland/the Baltics reported losses. As a result, we have concluded that there is still a need to increase the Group’s profitability and we are taking further actions. This will take the form of continued efforts to enhance efficiency in our business areas as well as a targeted savings program in Poland. In a first step, the workforce in Poland is being reduced by around 10 percent, corresponding to 200 full-time equivalents. This change has already started in the quarter and will be completed in the second and third quarters.

There is also potential for efficiency improvements in Norway, with overall responsibility for MEKO’s operations, including Sørensen og Balchen, to be consolidated into one position effective July 1. We are now reviewing possible synergies in some shared functions in our Norwegian organization.

Strengthened cash flow, reduced net debt – and emphasis on increasing sales
The first quarter exhibited significantly strengthened cash flow. This was due in part to a reduction in working capital and lower investments in the wake of an intense 2025. This improvement was key to our success in reversing the trend of previous quarters and reducing MEKO’s net debt, which is a high priority. The net debt ratio was 3.6 at the end of the period, compared with 4.0 at the end of 2025. Moving forward, our focus is to steadily reduce this figure to within our target range of 2.0–3.0.

Achieving this will not only require efficiency improvements, but also an increase in our organic growth. In this respect, we are implementing our plan to strengthen and develop MEKO’s core business by broadening the range of own-brand products to address new customer needs as the car fleet ages. We are also working more proactively on customer segment pricing, and expanding our e-commerce into new markets in response to growing online demand. Concurrently, we are continuing to pursue our tire initiative, which grew by 10 percent in the first quarter. 

Essentially, it is about fulfilling our ambition: MEKO is to be the most complete partner for everyone that drives, maintains, and repairs vehicles in our markets. We will offer customers the most attractive solutions through our strong logistics capabilities and leading workshop chains – no matter what model of car they drive, or whether they run on petrol, diesel or electricity.

Pehr Oscarson
President and CEO