Q2 2026 Inderes Oyj Earnings Call

August 11, 2026

Speaker #1: As you can see on the front page, you have half your report fresh from the press today. That will be the subject, and the achievements through the first half-year, and a little bit of a look into the future with your guidance.

Mikael Aaltonen: As you can see on the front page, your H1 report, fresh from the press today. That will be the subject and the achievements through the H1, and a little bit look into the future by your guidance. As always, we are joined by CEO Mikael Rautanen to take us through the presentation and answer questions in the end. For full disclosure, it should also be mentioned we have a partnership on technology and business, and you have ownership in HTA. I think we get the disclaimer out of the way as always. There is a box down below where you can ask questions, but I think I will hand the call over to you, Mikael. It looked like me, like there is some acceleration. Is that the Finnish economy who is getting better or is it you getting better? Maybe we will be wiser.

Operator: As you can see on the front page, your half year report, fresh from the press today. That will be the subject and the achievements through the H1 year, and a little bit look into the future by your guidance. As always, we are joined by CEO Mikael Rautanen to take us through the presentation and answer questions in the end. For full disclosure, it should also be mentioned we have a partnership on technology and business, and you have ownership in HTA. I think we get the disclaimer out of the way as always. There is a box down below where you can ask questions, but I think I will hand the call over to you, Mikael. It looked like me, like there is some acceleration. Is that the Finnish economy who is getting better or is it you getting better? Maybe we will be wiser.

Speaker #1: As always, we are joined by CEO Michael Altonen to take us through the presentation and answer questions at the end. And for full disclosure, it should also be mentioned that we have a partnership on technology and business, and you have an ownership in HTA, so I think we get the disclaimer out of the way.

Speaker #1: As always, there's a box down below where you can ask questions. But I think we'll hand the call over to you, Michael, and it looked to me like there is some acceleration.

Speaker #1: Is it the Finnish economy that is getting better, or is it you getting better? Maybe we'll be wiser.

Speaker #2: Yeah, yeah, thanks, Michael. Good afternoon, everyone. On my behalf as well, I would like to give credit to our team for their good work and also good execution, and for the big investments we've been making in previous years.

Mikael Rautanen: Yeah. Thanks, Mikael. Good afternoon, everyone, on my behalf as well. I would take the credit to our team on good work and also good execution on the big investments we have been making in the previous years now starting to be more and more reflected in the growth numbers. We had a good Q2, 14% growth, and today we released also the July revenue report where the growth was 12%. Our growth has continued also in July. We are very happy with that one. Yes, the market conditions there are some signs of recovery. Not much headwind anymore, I would say. Some IPOs coming in, not too many delistings. It is getting better but one can't say it would be a booming market, and especially in the small cap Nasdaq First North Growth Market sector, it is still a pretty weak market. But we are pushing forward nicely.

Mikael Rautanen: Yeah. Thanks, Mikael. Good afternoon, everyone, on my behalf as well. I would take the credit to our team on good work and also good execution on the big investments we have been making in the previous years now starting to be more and more reflected in the growth numbers. We had a good Q2, 14% growth, and today we released also the July revenue report where the growth was 12%. Our growth has continued also in July. We are very happy with that one. Yes, the market conditions there are some signs of recovery. Not much headwind anymore, I would say. Some IPOs coming in, not too many delistings. It is getting better but one can't say it would be a booming market, and especially in the small cap Nasdaq First North sector, it is still a pretty weak market. But we are pushing forward nicely.

Speaker #2: Now, this is starting to be more and more reflected in the growth numbers. We had a good Q2—14% growth—and today we also released the July revenue report, where the growth was 12%. So, our growth has continued also in July.

Speaker #2: So we're very happy with that. That one, I mean, yes, the market conditions—there are some signs of recovery. Not much headwind anymore. I would say some IPOs are coming in, not too many delistings, so it's getting better.

Speaker #2: But one can't say it would be a booming market, and especially in the small-cap First North sector, it's still a pretty weak market. But we're pushing forward nicely.

Speaker #2: All the business areas grew in the first half, and especially we're happy with the software business. There, we have said that one of the targets of this strategy period is to build the software business into the third pillar of interest, and we're making solid progress in terms of that strategic target.

Mikael Rautanen: All the business areas grew in the H1. Especially, we are happy with the software business. There we have said that one of the targets of this strategy period is to build the software business into the third pillar of Inderes, and we are making solid progress in terms of that strategic target. Profitability slightly improved from the previous year in terms of adjusted EBITDA, and since we had no non-recurring items, the reported profit was significantly up. What I am excited about also is that we have been making a lot of investments into AI and turning into a more AI-native organization. We are seeing good momentum there.

Speaker #2: Profitability slightly improved from the previous year in terms of adjusted EBITDA, and since we had no non-recurring items, the reported profit was significantly up.

Speaker #2: What I'm excited about also is that we've been making a lot of investments into AI and turning into a more AI-native organization. We're seeing good momentum there—tangible benefits for the business, better products for the customers, and more efficient internal processes. People are excited and happy about how these new tools are taking away the processes and tasks that are more manual and not that interesting for the talented experts that we employ.

Mikael Rautanen: So tangible benefits for the business, better products for the customers, more efficient internal processes, people being excited and happy how these new tools are taking away the processes and tasks that are more manual and not that interesting for the talented experts that we employ. So overall good H1 and especially Q2. Going into the business lines. Research business revenue up by 7%. Happy to see that the commissioned research contract portfolio is back to growth and also revenue grew by 7%, margins at previous year's level. We are seeing really solid business in Finland, winning the newly listed companies at a really high hit rate. At the same time, churn being very low. Sweden revenues growing, and the losses are getting smaller there.

Speaker #2: So overall, good first half and especially second quarter. Going into the business lines—so, research business revenue up by 7%. Happy to see that the commissioned research contract portfolio is back to growth.

Speaker #2: And also, revenue grew by 7%, margins are at the previous year's level, and we're seeing really solid business in Finland. We're winning new listed companies at a really high hit rate, and at the same time, churn is very low. Sweden revenues are growing, and the losses are getting smaller there.

Speaker #2: So we've made some internal changes there and strengthened the autonomy of the local team, and that's moving also in a good direction, even though it's still not contributing significantly to the growth numbers.

Mikael Rautanen: We have made some internal changes there and strengthened the autonomy of the local team, and that is moving also into the good direction even though it is not still contributing significantly to the growth numbers. Inderes Platform, also the volumes are on a healthy level and increasing from last year. Events business revenue grew by 5%, margins somewhat below last year levels. We had a really good H1 the previous year, so this is fully in line with what we anticipated. Solid AGM season, solid Capital Markets Day season for the H1, and of course, the H2 is more critical in terms of Capital Markets Day productions. Margins. The sales mix puts a bit of pressures on the margins because of higher subcontracting costs. In the events business, the remotely produced earnings calls, such as we are doing actually right now in this call.

Speaker #2: Interest platform—also, the volumes are at a healthy level and increasing from last year. Events business revenue grew by 5%, with margins somewhat below last year's level.

Speaker #2: We had a really good first half the previous year, so this is fully in line with what we anticipated. Solid AGM season, solid capital markets day season for the first half, and of course, the second half is more critical in terms of capital markets day productions.

Speaker #2: Margins—the sales mix puts a bit of pressure on the margins because of higher subcontracting costs. In the events business, the remotely produced earnings calls, such as the one we're doing right now on this call.

Speaker #2: This is a remotely produced earnings call. We're using our own webcams and it's remotely produced. This is a business area that is at the lower price point.

Mikael Rautanen: This is a remotely produced earnings call. We are using our own webcams, and it is remotely produced. This is a business area that is at the lower price point, and it is becoming more and more software-based. We are actually driving the transition into turning this into more and more software-based business. That is putting a bit of a pressure on the pricing of the product. At the same time, there are some price competition in the market, so that is putting a bit of a pressure on the revenue line, which is offset by the strategic goal that we have to grow into the larger responsibility event productions, where we are seeing good growth momentum also in Sweden. That is the strategic play that we have implemented successfully in Finland and now pushing the same transition in Sweden.

Speaker #2: It's becoming more and more software-based, and we're actually driving the transition to turn this into an increasingly software-based business. That's putting a bit of pressure on the pricing of the product.

Speaker #2: At the same time, there's some price competition in the market, so that's putting a bit of pressure on the revenue line, which is offset by the strategic goal that we have to grow into the larger responsibility event productions, where we are seeing good growth momentum also in Sweden.

Speaker #2: And that's kind of like the strategic play that we have implemented successfully in Finland, and now we're pushing the same transition in Sweden.

Speaker #1: Does that mean you're a little bit more protected in Finland because there you have moved to the higher level? Is it Sweden where you're seeing the pricing pressure because there's not that much?

Mikael Aaltonen: Does that mean you are a little bit more protected in Finland because there you have moved it to the higher level? Is it Sweden where you are seeing the pricing pressure because there is not that much? The question is it isolated to Sweden or are you also seeing some tendencies about the price pressure in Finland?

Operator: Does that mean you are a little bit more protected in Finland because there you have moved it to the higher level? Is it Sweden where you are seeing the pricing pressure because there is not that much? The question is it isolated to Sweden or are you also seeing some tendencies about the price pressure in Finland?

Speaker #1: So the question is, is it isolated to Sweden, or are you also seeing some tendencies about the price pressure in Finland?

Speaker #2: It's related to Sweden, so the Finnish business is on a really solid foundation, and then there's the market difference between Finland and Sweden: in Finland, companies tend to invest more in high-quality investor relations event productions.

Mikael Rautanen: It is related to Sweden. This Finnish business is on a really solid foundation. Then there is the market difference between Finland and Sweden that in Finland, companies tend to invest more into high-quality investor relations event productions.

Mikael Aaltonen: Yeah.

Operator: Yeah.

Speaker #2: While in Sweden, many companies are still doing audio casts and audio-only earnings calls, which are quite simple production-wise and don't have that high price pressure. But there are some companies kind of seeing that, hey, actually investor communications is also one area where we need to represent this company and the brand of the company in a professional way to really critical stakeholders. So, there are also companies that are like, yeah, this is an area where spending a couple of thousand euros more actually makes a lot of sense in terms of building the company brand and trust towards the critical stakeholders—being owners and investors.

Mikael Rautanen: While in Sweden, many companies are still doing audiocasts, audio-only earnings calls, which is quite simple production-wise and not that high price pressure. But there are some companies kind of seeing that, hey, actually investor communications is also one area where we need to represent this company and the brand of the company in a professional way to a really critical stakeholder.

Mikael Aaltonen: Yeah.

Operator: Yeah.

Mikael Rautanen: So there's also companies that are kind of like, yeah, this is an area where spending a couple of thousand EUR more actually makes a lot of sense in terms of building the company brand and trust towards the critical stakeholders being owners and investors.

Mikael Aaltonen: Sense

Mikael Rautanen: Yeah. Then software business, the star business of the H1, 23% growth and EBITDA margin growing to 10% compared with breakeven on the H1 of last year. Here we are, and we have said that we will invest in growth and international growth, and prioritize growth over profitability. But given the successes that we've had in sales, the profitability is also scaling or scaled nicely in the H1. Growth coming from all the product areas. Also within the AGM business, so there we have been quite cautious on the growth outlook because of our really strong market position in Finland. But despite that, we were able to grow still in this season the AGM business and we're seeing good traction for the fully digital general meetings after this spring.

Speaker #2: Yeah, the software business, the high-star business, in the first half saw 23% growth, and the EBITDA margin grew to 10% compared with break-even in the first half of last year. Here we are, and we have said that we will invest in growth and international growth, and prioritize growth over profitability. But given the successes that we've had in sales, the profitability has also scaled, or scaled nicely, in the first half.

Speaker #2: Growth coming from all the product areas. Also within the AGM business, so there we have been quite cautious on the growth outlook because of our really strong market position in Finland, but despite that, we were able to grow still in this season the AGM business and we're seeing good traction for the fully digital general meetings after this spring and I would say it's only when this transition is happening some people are against it, but I mean, come on, like general meetings have been the same for the past 100 years.

Mikael Rautanen: I would say it's only when this transition is happening. Some people are against it, but I mean, come on, general meetings have been the same for the past 100 years. It's just a matter of time when it's going to change. We're going to be driving that change. We delivered one of the biggest AGMs in the Nordics, fully virtual, very happy customer, and executed with no hiccups. That is opening up very interesting opportunities for our AGM business for the upcoming years because we believe the capabilities we have built in our software platform within this category are quite unique. So good development here. Then a bit more detailed, zooming into the numbers. Here's the full income statement of the H1. So 9% growth, recurring revenue up by 8%, and international revenue at 21% of revenue up by 7%.

Speaker #2: It's just a matter of time when it's going to change. And we're going to be driving that change. We delivered one of the biggest AGMs in the Nordics fully virtually, had a very happy customer, and executed with no hiccups.

Speaker #2: And that is opening up some very interesting opportunities for our AGM business body in the upcoming years, because we believe the capabilities we have built in our software platform within this category are quite unique.

Speaker #2: So, good development here. Then, a bit more detail zooming into the numbers. Here's the full income statement for the first half: 9% growth, recurring revenue up by 8%, and international revenue at 21% of total revenue, up by 7%.

Mikael Rautanen: They are still not on a level where we want it to be. At the same time, the business in Finland has been continuously outperforming our own expectations. Cost level on a planned level, fixed costs pretty much flat year-on-year. No significant changes. What is affecting the profitability is the growth in materials and services, which comes from the larger event productions that come up with higher subcontracting costs and a bit different margin mix. The overall adjusted EBITDA EUR 11.4 compared with EUR 11.3 last year, and adjusted EPS at EUR 0.58 compared with EUR 0.55. Zooming into Q2, which showed some acceleration. Revenue up 14%, recurring 9% up, and also we had a good growth in the project revenue in Q2. In June we had good sales in the events business on the month that is usually quite slow. Here is also today's revenue report.

Speaker #2: They are still not on the level where we want them to be. At the same time, the business in Finland has been continuously outperforming our own expectations.

Speaker #2: Cost levels on a planned level: fixed costs are pretty much flat year on year, with no significant changes. What's affecting profitability is the growth in materials and services, which comes from larger event productions that come with higher subcontracting costs and a slightly different margin mix.

Speaker #2: Overall, HS DBR 11.4 compared with 11.3 last year and HS DPS at 0.58 compared with 0.55. Zooming into second quarter, which showed some acceleration.

Speaker #2: So, revenue is up 14%, recurring revenue is up 9%, and we also had good growth in project revenue in the second quarter. In June, we had good sales in the events business during a month that is usually quite slow.

Speaker #2: Here's also today's revenue report. So we report our revenues monthly. We also released today the revenue development in July, showing 12% growth compared to last year.

Mikael Rautanen: We report our revenues monthly. We also released today the revenue development in July, showing 12% growth compared to last year. Events business being flat and research and software driving the growth. Balance sheet, not much surprises or exciting stories to tell about this one. We have a strong and solid balance sheet. Cash flow on a healthy level. Because of strong sales in June, we did increase the amount of receivables, which affected the cash flow for the H1 report somewhat. There is just a seasonality effect in terms of collecting the receivables that is having a slight negative impact on the cash flow. Guidance for this year remains unchanged. Revenues increase from previous year level and relative profitability measured by EBITDA margin, excluding non-recurring items, 10% to 13% compared with 11.4% last year.

Speaker #2: Events business being flat and research and software driving the growth. Balance sheet not much surprises or exciting stories to tell about this one. We have a strong and solid balance sheet.

Speaker #2: Cash flow is at a healthy level because of strong sales in June. We did increase the amount of receivables, which affected the cash flow for the first half report somewhat, but there's just a seasonality effect in terms of collecting the receivables, and that's having a slight negative impact on the cash flow.

Speaker #2: Guidance for this year remains unchanged. So revenue to increase from previous year level and relative profitability measured by EBITDA margin excluding non-recurring items 10 to 13% compared with 11.4 last year.

Speaker #2: And still, we're seeing slight growth in the market as background, and we'll continue to make investments in international growth and R&D, which is affecting the profitability. One item to lift from the first half.

Mikael Rautanen: Still we are seeing slight growth in the market as background. We will continue to make investments in the international growth and R&D, which is affecting the profitability. One item to lift from the H1, for example, R&D spending, which we book directly to the income statement. We do not activate R&D spending to the balance sheet. That was EUR 0.6 million and growth of 30% compared to last year. One example of the investments we are putting. That is the H1 in a nutshell. You want to throw in a few questions?

Speaker #2: For example, R&D spending, which we booked directly to the income statement—so we don't activate R&D spending to the balance sheet—that was €0.6 million, a growth of 30% compared to last year.

Speaker #2: So, one example of the investments was put in. So that's the first half in a nutshell. You want to throw in?

Speaker #1: Yeah, there's some question as to whether the margin level software is sustainable, or do you need to invest more there? You have invested a lot in the past and now you're seeing the top line come, and that also the margins.

Mikael Aaltonen: Yeah, there are some questions. Is the margin level software sustainable, or do you need to invest more there? You have invested a lot in the past, and now you are seeing the top line come and then also the margins. Do you increase investments again, or are this starting to be a sustainable margin in the software business?

Operator: Yeah, there are some questions. Is the margin level software sustainable, or do you need to invest more there? You have invested a lot in the past, and now you are seeing the top line come and then also the margins. Do you increase investments again, or are this starting to be a sustainable margin in the software business?

Speaker #1: But do you increase investments again, or is this starting to be a sustainable margin in the software business?

Speaker #2: As said in our strategy, we're continuing to grow the investments, which will affect profitability. In our strategy, we did say that we are seeking to scale the profitability towards the end of the strategy period, meaning towards 2029.

Mikael Rautanen: As said in our strategy, we will continue to grow the investments, which will affect profitability. In our strategy, we did say that we are seeking to scale the profitability towards the end of the strategy period, meaning towards 2029.

Mikael Aaltonen: Yeah.

Operator: Yeah.

Speaker #2: So, in the short term, we are not looking to scale this to the high margin levels because it's not yet a mature business. But for the first half, it did develop better than we expected.

Mikael Rautanen: Short term, we are not looking to scale this to high margin levels because it is not yet mature business. For the H1, it did develop better than we expected. In a way, you can also think that that gives us better capability to accelerate the growth at the same time. Profitability is not yet the priority for this business line.

Speaker #2: But in a way, you can also think that gives us better capability to accelerate the growth at the same time. Profitability is not yet the priority for this business line.

Speaker #1: Do you have revenue from AI products, or is it primarily cost savings? I know it can be hard to make that distinction, but do you have an AI product that you're directly selling and getting revenue from, or is it more enhancements of current product portfolios that increase stickiness, and it's more on the cost-saving side that you see the AI effects?

Mikael Aaltonen: Do you have revenue from AI products, or is it primarily cost savings? I know it can be hard to make that distinction, but do you have AI products that you are directly selling and get revenue from, or is it more enhancement of current product portfolios that gets figured in as, and it is more on the cost-saving side that you see the AI effects?

Operator: Do you have revenue from AI products, or is it primarily cost savings? I know it can be hard to make that distinction, but do you have AI products that you are directly selling and get revenue from, or is it more enhancement of current product portfolios that gets figured in as, and it is more on the cost-saving side that you see the AI effects?

Mikael Rautanen: We are embedding AI into our products and product portfolio, new features that make the products more rich and thus increase our pricing power or open up new monetization opportunities for us, and that is going across all business areas. Then within our internal operations, we are seeing concrete efficiencies. For example, within the research business, the number of companies one analyst can cover, given the new tools, we are seeing that we can increase that number quite a bit. It is still early days. Then, of course, software development is an area where the impact is something we are really seeing already how much, like with the same small software team, how much you can get done. It is incredible. Kind of like when we needed to grow, especially with software development, it is like you do not need to be always just recruiting new team members to get new things done.

Speaker #2: We're embedding AI into our products and product portfolio with new features that make the products richer and thus increase our pricing power or open up new monetization opportunities for us.

Speaker #2: And that's going across all business areas. Then, within our internal operations, we're seeing concrete efficiencies. For example, within the research business, the number of companies one analyst can cover—given the new tools—we're seeing that we can increase that number quite a bit.

Speaker #2: It's still early days. And then, of course, software development is an area where the impact is something we're really seeing already—how much, with the same small software team, how much you can get done. It's incredible.

Speaker #2: So, kind of like when we needed to grow, especially with software development, you don't always need to be just recruiting new team members to get new things done.

Mikael Rautanen: Kind of like when we needed to grow, especially with software development, it is like you do not need to be always just recruiting new team members to get new things done.

Speaker #1: And then finally, the revenue growth, is this is there some timing in this or is there something we should be aware of that has moved into the first half versus the second half or is it someone if you look at the first half, is that a kind of underlying growth rate?

Mikael Aaltonen: Finally, the revenue growth. Is there some timing in this or is there something we should be aware of that has moved into the H1 versus the H2? Or if you look at the H1, is that a kind of underlying growth rate?

Operator: Finally, the revenue growth. Is there some timing in this or is there something we should be aware of that has moved into the H1 versus the H2? Or if you look at the H1, is that a kind of underlying growth rate?

Speaker #2: If you look at the July revenue report, you can see that there's no first-half compared with second-half timing effect, because we did continue good growth also in July.

Mikael Rautanen: If you look at the July revenue report, you can see that there is no H1 compared with H2 timing effect because we did continue good growth also in July. We have had five consecutive months of good growth level. The recurring revenue grew by 9% in the Q2. For me, those are signals that we still need to accelerate, but the growth is becoming more sustainable.

Speaker #2: So and we've had five consecutive months of good growth level and the recurring revenue grew by 9% in the second quarter. So for me, those are signals that the growth is we still need to accelerate, but the growth is becoming more sustainable.

Speaker #1: Sustainable. Perfect. I think that was that from this part.

Mikael Aaltonen: Sustainable. Perfect. I think that was that.

Operator: Sustainable. Perfect. I think that was that.

Mikael Rautanen: Yeah

Mikael Aaltonen: From this part.

Operator: From this part.

Speaker #2: Very good. Then, just to quickly recap the strategy, zooming out to the big picture over the past 10 years: how we're building the company, this is where we come from, and this is where we're building this company.

Mikael Rautanen: Very good. Then just quickly recap of the strategies zooming out to the big picture, past 10 years, how we're building the company. This is where we come from, and this is where we're building this company. The research business that we've built is a really solid business. Even though we haven't yet succeeded in getting that to a strong international growth path, it's a very strong and resilient and solid business. That's the foundation for Inderes and gives us the platform and the community. in 2020, we went into the events business, which has built into the second pillar of Inderes, especially in Finland, and now we have interesting opportunities within this niche market in Sweden.

Speaker #2: The research business that we've built is a really solid business. Even though we haven't yet succeeded in getting that to a strong international growth path, it's a very strong, resilient, and solid business that's the foundation for Inderes and gives us the platform and the community.

Speaker #2: In 2020, we went into the events business, which has become the second pillar of Inderes, especially in Finland. Now, we have interesting opportunities within these niche markets in Sweden.

Speaker #2: Then, the third pillar will be the software unit that we have kind of ramped up from scratch during the past years, very much with the help of the proceeds we raised in the IPO. So, that has given us the capability to invest and build new businesses, and we're on a good path to build that into the third pillar of Inderes.

Mikael Rautanen: The third pillar will be the software unit that we have kind of ramped up from scratch during the past years, very much with the help of the proceeds we raised in the IPO. That has given us the capability to invest and build new businesses and we're on a good path to build that into the third pillar of Inderes. Given these three businesses, the growth opportunities we see in the market, and the business mix, we firmly believe that this combination enables us to reach the level of 30% revenue growth and profitability combination that we are aiming for. In terms of payout, here's a quick update on the payout for this year.

Speaker #2: And given these three businesses, the growth opportunities we see in the market, and the business mix, we firmly believe that this combination enables us to reach the level of 30% revenue growth and profitability combination that we are aiming for.

Speaker #2: In terms of payout, here's a quick update on the payout for this year. So, we've communicated that this year we intend to pay out €1.7 million to the shareholders, divided into a share buyback program of €900,000 and a dividend of €0.45 per share to be paid in two installments.

Mikael Rautanen: We've communicated that this year we intend to pay out EUR 1.7 million to the shareholders divided into share buyback program of EUR 900,000 and a dividend of EUR 0.45 per share to be paid in two installments. After the H1, the status is that we have completed approximately half of the share buyback program. That's ongoing full speed, and we aim to complete it during the H2. We have paid out the first installment of the dividend, EUR 0.22, and the board is planning to pay out, that's going to be a separate decision, a dividend of EUR 0.23 in the H2 of the year. To conclude, we're here to democratize financial information by connecting investors and listed companies. Investors need to find accessible and trustworthy information on companies and stocks in this world of noise and AI-generated content.

Speaker #2: After the first half, the status is that we have completed approximately half of the share buyback program. So that's ongoing at full speed, and we aim to complete it during the second half.

Speaker #2: We have paid out the first installment of the dividend, 22 cents. The board is planning to pay out—though that's going to be a separate decision—a dividend of 23 cents in the second half of the year.

Speaker #2: So, to conclude, we're here to democratize financial information by connecting investors and listed companies. Investors need to find accessible and trustworthy information on companies and stocks in this world of noise and AI-generated content.

Speaker #2: They need a trusted information source, which Inderes is, and once the company is listed, they need to communicate to the markets and to their shareholders.

Mikael Rautanen: They need a trusted information source that interests and the listed companies, once they go public, they need to communicate to the markets, to their shareholders. They need to find the right investors for the company. We're here to help the listed companies to get the most out of being a publicly listed company, as we are ourselves. All right.

Speaker #2: They need to find the right investors for the company, and we're here to help the listed companies get the most out of being publicly listed companies.

Speaker #2: As we are ourselves. All right.

Speaker #1: And then maybe we should look a little bit at the guidance. You love this question as an analyst; you hate it as a CEO.

Mikael Aaltonen: And then maybe if we should look a little bit at the guidance. You love this question as an analyst, you hate it as a CEO. Profitability mid-range going up. You still keep a bottom range on the profitability side. Is that to keep open for investments if you see that, or can you talk a little bit about the range on the profitability side, 10% to 13% you are delivering in the middle, maybe with acceleration in Q2. You still keep the bottom there. Is that to keep you open for investments or is there anything else we should be aware of?

Operator: And then maybe if we should look a little bit at the guidance. You love this question as an analyst, you hate it as a CEO. Profitability mid-range going up. You still keep a bottom range on the profitability side. Is that to keep open for investments if you see that, or can you talk a little bit about the range on the profitability side, 10% to 13% you are delivering in the middle, maybe with acceleration in Q2. You still keep the bottom there. Is that to keep you open for investments or is there anything else we should be aware of?

Speaker #1: Profitability mid-range going up. You still keep a bottom range on the profitability side there. Is that to keep open for investments if you see that, or can you talk a little bit about the range on the profitability side: 10 to 13—you are delivering in the middle, maybe with acceleration in Q2.

Speaker #1: You still keep the bottom there. Is that to keep you open for investments, or is there anything else we should be aware of?

Mikael Rautanen: Yeah. To give a bit of a flexibility, that's one way to look at it. Then, of course, the project business, as we've seen in the previous years, it has been volatile and sometimes we've had negative surprises there in the H2 because we don't have the In the H1 we have the AGM business, which is really predictable even though it's project-based. In the H2, we don't have the same visibility into the project business. Right now things are looking fairly good. Yes, the recurring base is growing. The markets are showing some signs of pickup and so forth. But that's mainly to buffer for the somewhat volatile and uncertain markets that we've seen in the previous years.

Speaker #2: Yeah, to give a bit of flexibility, that's one way to look at it. Then, of course, the project business, as we've seen in previous years, has been volatile, and sometimes we've had negative surprises there in the second half.

Speaker #2: Because we don't have, in the first half, we have the AGM business, which is really predictable even though it's project-based. In the second half, we don't have the same visibility into the project business.

Speaker #2: Right now, things are looking fairly good. Yes, the recurring base is growing. The markets are showing some signs of pickup and so forth, but that's mainly to buffer for the somewhat volatile and uncertain markets that we've seen in previous years.

Speaker #1: And then maybe finally, if we now I just jump back to this one. I guess you're seeing 23% software is it also the biggest opportunity market meaning you are trying to grow a third pillar but if you look a little bit into the future is the software business more is that going to be the biggest pillar maybe that's what I'm asking also on market opportunity time scalability that it can be global actually and so on.

Mikael Aaltonen: And then maybe finally, and now I just jump back to this one.

Operator: And then maybe finally, and now I just jump back to this one.

Mikael Rautanen: Yeah.

Mikael Aaltonen: I guess you're seeing 23% software. Is it also the biggest opportunity market, meaning you are trying to grow a third pillar, but if you look a little bit into the future, is the software business more, is that going to be the biggest pillar? Maybe that's what I'm asking. Both on market opportunity, TAM, scalability, it can be global actually, and so on. So when you think about this area and what you have seen until now, could that be the biggest pillar in the future?

Operator: I guess you're seeing 23% software. Is it also the biggest opportunity market, meaning you are trying to grow a third pillar, but if you look a little bit into the future, is the software business more, is that going to be the biggest pillar? Maybe that's what I'm asking. Both on market opportunity, TAM, scalability, it can be global actually, and so on. So when you think about this area and what you have seen until now, could that be the biggest pillar in the future?

Speaker #1: So, when you think about this area and what you have seen until now, could that be the biggest pillar in the future?

Mikael Rautanen: In terms of visible shareholder value creation opportunities, yes, software represents right now the most obvious value creation opportunity, which is why that's the area where we are putting most investment, and which is why that has such a strong emphasis in the strategy.

Speaker #2: In terms of visible shareholder value creation opportunities, yes, software represents right now the most obvious value creation opportunity. That is why that's the area where we are putting most investment, and why it has such a strong emphasis in our strategy.

Speaker #1: Yeah. And then on the research business, we always return to it. AI—huge productivity gains on the research business. I should know. But it could also be a threat.

Mikael Aaltonen: Yeah. Then on the research business, we always return to it. AI, huge productivity gains on the research business. I should know. But it could also be a threat. Are you seeing any threats out there? Are you seeing anything new emerging or is it still I kind of seen it, why hasn't AI hit job markets more? I think people try to explain with it by they have hit the young ones but not the old ones because you need someone to interpret AI and direct it in right direction and then it goes. On the research business, is that also your viewpoint that you still need the last human touch, the experienced analyst, but he will just be able to do much more so you are not so afraid of someone suddenly coming in and starting creating from scratch analysis?

Operator: Yeah. Then on the research business, we always return to it. AI, huge productivity gains on the research business. I should know. But it could also be a threat. Are you seeing any threats out there? Are you seeing anything new emerging or is it still I kind of seen it, why hasn't AI hit job markets more? I think people try to explain with it by they have hit the young ones but not the old ones because you need someone to interpret AI and direct it in right direction and then it goes. On the research business, is that also your viewpoint that you still need the last human touch, the experienced analyst, but he will just be able to do much more so you are not so afraid of someone suddenly coming in and starting creating from scratch analysis? A little bit about this area, I guess.

Speaker #1: Are you seeing any threats out there? Are you seeing anything new emerging, or is it still—yeah, kind of seeing it? Why hasn't AI hit job markets more?

Speaker #1: I think people try to explain it by saying they have hit the young ones, but not the old ones, because you need someone to interpret AI and direct it in the right direction, and then it goes.

Speaker #1: So, on the research business, is that also your viewpoint—that you still need the last human touch, the experienced analyst—but he will just be able to do much more, so you are not so afraid of someone suddenly coming in and starting to create from scratch analysis?

Speaker #1: So, a little bit about this area, I guess.

Mikael Aaltonen: A little bit about this area, I guess.

Mikael Rautanen: Well, we need to keep our finger on the pulse and not become arrogant.

Speaker #2: Well, we need to keep our finger on the pulse and not become arrogant. And also invest in transforming ourselves. But right now, we're not seeing any of our customers looking for, for example, alternatives like, 'No, we don't need commissioned research because we have this AI,' or something like that.

Mikael Aaltonen: Yeah

Operator: Yeah

Mikael Rautanen: and also invest in transforming ourselves. But right now we're not seeing any of our customers looking for example, alternatives, no, we don't need commissioned research because we have this AI something.

Speaker #2: So, that we haven't seen any signs of. So the customers are still there; they're happy with our service, they're trusting our service. And, at the same time, from the—and that's the listed companies.

Mikael Aaltonen: Yeah.

Operator: Yeah.

Mikael Rautanen: So that we haven't seen any signs of. So the customers are still there. They're happy with our service. They're trusting our service. At the same time from the and that's the listed companies. Then on the investor side, yes, investors are using more and more AI tools for their investment decisions. But the AI tools need reliable information, and that's what our analyst team is generating. They're generating vast amounts of information on the listed companies that will be then processed by the AI tools used by the investors. So there's still a still maybe even increasing role for the analyst. Then what we believe in is also the analyst brands, the personal brands. We're growing strong analyst and strong individual brands here at Inderes.

Speaker #2: And then on the investor side, yes, investors are using more and more AI tools for their investment. This is what the AI tools need—reliable information—and that's what our analyst team is generating. They’re generating vast amounts of information on the listed companies that will then be processed by the AI tools used by the investors. So there's still a, maybe even increasing, role for the analysts. And then what we believe in is also the analyst brands, the personal brands. We're growing strong analysts and strong individual brands here at Inderes.

Speaker #2: So while some companies are going with the company or bank's logo first and then putting the analyst just a small name in the small print, we're bringing the analysts to the front of the play which we think will be also it has been a success driver for us and it will be so also in the future because I mean it's still human to human communication investors want to they seem to want to hear opinions and insights from people that they know that they trust that they're familiar with that tell good stories and so forth.

Mikael Rautanen: So while some companies are going with the company or bank's logo first and then putting the analyst just a small name in the small print, we're bringing the analyst to the front of the play, which we think will be also, it has been a success driver for us, and it will be so also in the future because it's still human-to-human communication. Investors, they seem to want to hear opinions and insights from people that they know, that they trust, that they're familiar with, that tell good stories and so forth. So I think the human element is going to remain critical there. With the new tools that we have, we can get rid of the manual workflows and leave more time for that and perhaps not as stressful earning seasons for the analysts as well.

Speaker #2: So, I think the human element is going to remain critical there, and with the new tools that we have, we can get rid of the manual workflows and leave more time for that—and perhaps not as stressful earnings seasons for the analysts as well.

Speaker #2: Not so long.

Mikael Aaltonen: I think it's still stressful, but let's hope it gets better now. Then on the last part, the monetization, you create a lot of content. You let the AI agent scrape you off because, hey, that also creates value to your customers that you're creating it for. But is there a monetization also potential on this content in the future? Any thoughts about that?

Operator: I think it's still stressful, but let's hope it gets better now. Then on the last part, the monetization, you create a lot of content. You let the AI agent scrape you off because, hey, that also creates value to your customers that you're creating it for. But is there a monetization also potential on this content in the future? Any thoughts about that?

Speaker #1: I think it's still stressful, but let's hope it gets better. And then, on the last part—the monetization—you create a lot of content.

Speaker #1: You let the AI robot, the AI agent, scrape yours because, hey, that also creates value to your customers that you are creating it for. But is there also a monetization potential on this content in the future?

Speaker #1: Any thoughts about that?

Speaker #2: Yeah. We should be creative and open to building up new monetization streams also outside the IR budget of the listed companies. And as we've done in Finland, we do have quite significant revenue streams also outside the listed company customer segment within the research business.

Mikael Rautanen: Yeah. We should be creative and open to build up new monetization streams, also outside the IR budget of the listed companies. As we have done in Finland, we do have quite significant revenue streams also outside the listed company customer segment within the research business. We do have partners that are redistributing our research and that is of course a really high-margin revenue.

Speaker #2: So, we do have partners that are redistributing our research, and that's, of course, a really high-margin revenue. But to make that happen, it's of course possible because we have such an attractive offering for anyone who wants to offer information on Finnish listed companies.

Mikael Aaltonen: Yeah.

Operator: Yeah.

Mikael Rautanen: To make that happen, it is of course possible because we have such an attractive offering for anyone who wants to offer information on Finnish-listed companies. Yeah, new monetization opportunities are of course possible to emerge and we need to keep the finger on the pulse there. At the same time, keep in mind our company mission, democratize financial information, make it available for all investors and all companies.

Speaker #2: So, yeah, new monetization opportunities are, of course, possible to emerge, and we need to keep our finger on the pulse there. But at the same time, keep in mind our company mission: democratize financial information and make it available for all investors and all companies.

Speaker #2: So that's.

Speaker #1: Yeah, that should also include AI agents. No, I'm joking. That should also include the non-human—the AI agents. No, I was just curious whether you have thought to make some thoughts, because AI agents will not work unless they have to consume training material, which you actually provide a lot of.

Mikael Aaltonen: Yeah, that should also include the AI agents. No, I am joking. That should also include the non-human AI agents. No, I was just curious whether you have started to make some thoughts, because AI agents will not work unless they have

Operator: Yeah, that should also include the AI agents. No, I am joking. That should also include the non-human AI agents. No, I was just curious whether you have started to make some thoughts, because AI agents will not work unless they have

Mikael Rautanen: Exactly

Mikael Aaltonen: consumer training material, which you actually provide a lot of.

Operator: consumer training material, which you actually provide a lot of.

Speaker #1: So it was just to have some of your early thoughts on that potential revenue stream.

Mikael Rautanen: Yeah.

Mikael Aaltonen: It was just to have some of your early thoughts on that potential revenue stream.

Operator: It was just to have some of your early thoughts on that potential revenue stream.

Speaker #2: Yeah.

Mikael Rautanen: Yeah.

Speaker #1: Perfect. I think we will leave it there then. I'm just checking—no more questions. Thank you to you, Michael, for taking us through your results for the first half-year and answering questions.

Mikael Aaltonen: Perfect. I think we will leave it by then. I'm just checking no more questions. Thank you to you, Mikael, for taking us through your results for the H1 and answering questions. And thank you for the audience listening in. May everybody have a nice day.

Operator: Perfect. I think we will leave it by then. I'm just checking no more questions. Thank you to you, Mikael, for taking us through your results for the H1 and answering questions. And thank you for the audience listening in. May everybody have a nice day.

Speaker #1: And thank you to the audience listening in. May everybody have a nice day.

Mikael Rautanen: Thanks, Mikael. See you next time.

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