Chief Executive Officer, Enento Group
Enento Q4'25: Kannattavuusyllätys
Enenton toimitusjohtaja Teppo Paavola sekä talousjohtaja Elina Stråhlman analyytikko Roni Peuranheimon haastattelussa.... Elena Strollman sekä uusi toimisjohtaja Teppo Paavola haastattelussa tervetuloa molemmille jes tosiaan Teppo ensimmäinen ...
About Teppo Paavola
Teppo Paavola, CEO of Enento, discussed the company's second-quarter 2026 results in an interview with analyst Roni Peuranheimo. Paavola stated that all segments and countries showed growth, with Sweden performing the strongest. He noted that profit grew faster than revenue, marking the second consecutive quarter where every segment grew. Regarding the EU's CCD2 regulation, Paavola said it will clarify how credit decisions must be made and what data is required, while also bringing lighter-regulated players under stricter rules. He described the regulation as both an opportunity that will grow the market and a risk, as its application in the Nordic countries remains unclear. Paavola added that the regulation is not expected to affect Enento's revenue this year. He also commented that large banks and smaller analytics-focused banks continue to buy Enento's data because it provides a full market view that improves credit risk predictability.
Transcript (27 segments)
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Host0:00
Welcome viewers of Inderes TV. Enento publishes its financial statements today, and I have with me the company's CFO Elena Strollman and the new CEO Teppo Paavola for an interview. Welcome to both.
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Teppo Paavola0:12
Yes.
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Host0:13
Indeed, Teppo, this is your first interview, at least to my knowledge your first appearance on Inderes TV, so if you could start by introducing yourself and telling a bit about your background and how you ended up at Enento.
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Teppo Paavola0:23
Yes, Teppo Paavola. I have moved back to Finland after 18 years, and I have been abroad doing both tech work and finance work, and then a combination of them, i.e., fintech, in several globally leading companies in the field. And what interested me here is that the whole world is changing based on data and AI, and without data, AI wouldn't exist, so this is very much at the core of what kind of work can be done at the moment.
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Host1:07
You've now been working at Enento for a little over a month, but what kind of picture have you formed of Enento's current situation?
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Teppo Paavola1:14
Well, one thing that was interesting to see right away is that we might be the only company in the Nordic region in our field with a positive NPS, and significantly positive at that. So it shows. Customer relationships are good and long-term, and we have a massive amount of experience and expertise in the field. The team is good and the spirit is good, and the reception has been quite positive. It's been nice.
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Host1:52
If we look a bit ahead, what things do you especially want to drive at Enento? Does the focus shift from profitability to growth or vice versa?
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Teppo Paavola2:00
Well, it's that we want both, and of course in today's world, you have to be able to do both today and tomorrow at the same time. The company's track record shows that there hasn't been growth, and there are reasons for that, and regulation has played a significant role, especially in Sweden. But definitely, developing growth, regardless of where the overall economy goes, solving new customer problems, and through that, revenue growth. That's what we aim for.
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Host2:55
Yes. If we then move on to Q4 and perhaps the full year 2025, if you could briefly review where you succeeded and what challenges there were, and a nutshell of the development.
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Teppo Paavola3:07
Well, of course, if you look at the top line, it was roughly flat, so in that respect, we were able to maintain profitability at the current level, and considering the sales mix effects, we can be satisfied that we were able to maintain profitability through various measures. There were various cost-saving measures, and we also completed the infrastructure consolidation. Similarly, we can be satisfied that we have now started the Swedish SM transformation and it is progressing as planned, and that of course supports our profitability development, but also growth in the future, as it frees up a significant amount of capacity for growth and other measures. If we consider Q4 development a bit more closely, profitability was a very good improvement there, so if you could open up the background a bit more.
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Elena Strollman4:14
Well, it was a combination of sales mix change, then also cost-saving measures, and of course some temporary differences between quarters. Regarding the sales mix change, the most important factor is that the Swedish consumer credit business has stabilized. It is a fixed-cost business, and the decline is now very small, so that of course supports the overall profitability development. On the other hand, in Finland, consumer credit business continued to decline in Q4, which then reduces data costs. The sales mix effect is also seen in that we grew in corporate information on the enterprise side, which is also a fixed-cost business, while on the other hand, sales declined in SM sales in Sweden, which then had a decreasing effect on commissions. Then, various cost-saving measures have been implemented throughout the year, and they are strongly visible in the numbers. So that's it in a nutshell.
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Host5:37
If we go through the market situation or outlook by country and look at Sweden first, bank reports show growth in credit volumes, and economists forecast an improvement in economic growth in Sweden. Apparently, you haven't seen any significant improvement yet, and perhaps also expectations for 2026, what the situation looks like there. I can say one thing from my own experience in the first few weeks, and that is how much the market structure, where brokers play a big role, has affected that even if one loan comes from one end of the pipe, previously there were significantly more credit inquiries per loan. And that is a structural change that has happened, and it probably cannot be expected to change, but it will likely stabilize.
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Teppo Paavola6:40
Yes, yes, the situation has stabilized. Of course, there is still regulation coming next summer that could affect it. But what can be said about Sweden is that if you look at Statistics Sweden's December figures, Sweden's GDP fell, consumer demand fell in December, and our activity level overall shows that we haven't seen an increase in activity there yet. That said, Sweden has taken many measures to support consumer behavior, taxes have been lowered, and there will be relief for mortgage repayments. So based on that, there are good conditions to get consumer demand to grow.
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Host7:37
You mentioned these regulatory changes that have been one of the headwind elements in recent years. So if you could briefly recap what effects are expected for 2026 from here.
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Elena Strollman7:48
So, next summer, regulation will come into force for loan intermediaries that requires them to have a banking license, and in our understanding, this will likely cause the smallest players to exit the market. The largest loan intermediaries, according to our information, are applying for banking licenses, but there is a long tail of small players whose impact is not massive, but there are some players that will exit the market, and that could have a negative impact on our volumes to some extent. You also have the Premium business transformation underway in Sweden. Apparently, there has been a wider rollout at the beginning of the year, so can you draw any conclusions at this stage about what to expect from that, and then about the profitability improvements, is the timeline still the same or are we expecting gradual improvements during the year?
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Teppo Paavola8:58
The timeline is still the same. The first signs are positive in that sense. Customer retention has been at the expected level, so in that sense, we have been following the progress with a positive mindset.
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Host9:15
Let's then move on to the situation in Finland. If you could go through the outlook a bit more closely, it seems a bit weaker here, but are there conditions to grow here nonetheless?
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Teppo Paavola9:26
We still have many areas where market share is not 100%, so of course there are growth opportunities here, and we are also doing new product development, so absolutely.
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Elena Strollman9:47
Yes, yes, yes. Through new services and products, the growth opportunities in the Finnish market are also good. In my opinion, for example, the real estate information side has been a good example of how we have been able to develop new services there and support significant growth last year. We expect that to continue this year.
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Host10:13
Yes. AI has been a hot topic recently in the technology company arena, so if you could go through what kind of effects it has on Enento's business, what kind of disruption risks it can cause, and of course also opportunities, both.
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Teppo Paavola10:33
Well, our business model is to collect data and convert it into knowledge and insights, and AI is good at that, and sometimes not reliable, and sometimes very good. So it automatically comes into our business model, and increasingly so. Then of course it is also a risk. It could be that in some areas, someone might be able to develop something where we have had a leading position, with new tools more easily. There will certainly be new competitors, new ways to innovate in the field. So this is all from the customer and product perspective, and then of course internally, how things are done. Everyone's job descriptions are changing, and in five years, our organization will look very different, as in other companies, but perhaps even more so in a company where the product is digital and based on data. So we try to be increasingly a frontrunner rather than a follower or someone who is just worried about what is happening.
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Host12:19
So AI development is relatively high on the agenda. Finally, let's go through the guidance. You expect 0-5% comparable growth and improved adjusted EBITDA. Let's start by going through the growth, what different scenarios it is based on. What needs to happen to reach the lower end or the upper end?
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Teppo Paavola12:42
Well, of course, the macroeconomic environment has a significant impact on our volume business and thus on sales development. And that of course greatly affects where we end up within that range this year. Both consumer and corporate credit are volume businesses, and as we saw last year, Nordic growth expectations have been continuously pushed forward, and that of course has an impact on the development of these businesses. Where we seek growth through our own actions, we have a very strong service offering in the real estate information side in Finland. We have seen very good growth in new services last year, we have developed services further and will continue to develop them, and that is one significant growth driver for 2026. The same applies to compliance services both in Finland and in Sweden. In Sweden, of course, we have launched a good service offering, and now the goal is to turn that into commercial success this year. In Sweden, growth is also supported by our new corporate information distribution channels, which have already shown good development.
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Host14:25
Then regarding the profit guidance, what are the clearer drivers there, and do you have any range? How much do you expect EBITDA to grow?
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Elena Strollman14:34
We don't have any range for that. Of course, it is very dependent on revenue development and sales mix development. But if we look at the cost side, we expect that fixed data acquisition costs and other fixed costs will remain roughly at last year's level. We have made many cost-saving measures. Such measures are also ongoing, including our transformation. On the other hand, we also intend to invest more in new growth and success, so roughly a flat outlook is expected. But then of course the variable data costs depend on the sales mix, and regarding personnel costs, wage inflation affects costs, and also new incentive programs will increase the cost level.
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Host15:42
Thank you for the interview and good luck for 2026. Thank you.
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Teppo Paavola15:47
Thank you.