Qleanair AB

STO:QAIR

Earnings Call Transcript 2024-Q3

[Operator]

Welcome to the QleanAir Q3 2024 report presentation. [Operator Instructions] Now I will hand the conference over to speakers, CEO, Sebastian Lindstrom; and CFO, Henrik Resmark. Please go ahead.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

Welcome to the QleanAir investor presentation for Q3 2024. My name is Sebastian Lindstrom, I'm the CEO of QleanAir. And joining me in today's call is Henrik Resmark, our CFO at QleanAir. Henrik and I will go through the presentation and then open up for Q&A towards the end.

Starting off with the numbers for Q3. We closed a challenging quarter, clear indications of a weaker economy in EMEA, especially Germany, which is our biggest market in EMEA, and beyond our control, postponement of a big project in Americas with Curexa. Positive in the quarter was the stable performance of Japan in local currency and the launch of 6 new products targeting EMEA and APAC.

In the quarter, we also had to deal with handling the final accounting adjustments of the cleanroom projects from 2021 in the Nordics. All these projects have now been fully delivered and approved by our clients. We also had made a thorough review of inventory accounts and made a onetime write-off of inventories relating back to some COVID-related purchases in '21 and '22.

Together, these 2 one-off items amount to SEK 7 million in the quarter. We delivered SEK 113 million in sales, which was 8.9% behind last year and currency adjusted 5.9% behind last year. The main reason of the decline was the lower sales in EMEA and Americas and of course, the weak Japanese yen, which affected top line with SEK 2.5 million in the quarter.

Our recurring revenues remained stable at SEK 73 million, amounting to SEK 301 million on a rolling 12-month basis by the end of September. The slight decline of 4% versus last year is fully attributed to the cancellation of school orders we have reported on previous in the year. Our gross margin and EBIT were hurt, of course, due to lower sales, the FX effect, but specifically due to the 2 one-off items totaling SEK 7 million that I mentioned.

On an adjusted basis, it is a clear sequential improvement over Q2 2024. Our adjusted EBIT landed on SEK 11.3 million versus SEK 16.8 million last year. Cash flow was weak because of the weak operating profit and summing up the quarter, we still have work to do and we'll keep our focus on the 3 objectives towards long-term profitable growth.

Now looking at the quarter from a regional perspective, when it comes to APAC, they delivered satisfactory growth in the quarter in local currency. The momentum in both Cabin Solutions and Air Cleaners remain strong. Air Cleaner sales in Japan are up 41% for the year. In EMEA, we're seeing signs of a slower economy, harder to book meetings, longer sales cycles, especially in Germany that represents half of our EMEA business. But we are launching 6 products to support the sales in EMEA, targeting more critical must-have needs of the customers. This will help us in combating the tougher market conditions. Our development market France is developing well, up 17% so far this year.

When it comes to Americas, we're currently reviewing our distribution strategy and looking at ways to get in front of more clients other than through our own direct sales force. We have great product and very satisfied customers of the 100-plus cleanrooms that we have built across the country. The regulation is there, but we've not managed to have a continuous inflow of orders, which hurts our efficiency.

For 2024, the setback of the very promising agreement with Curexa Pharmacy affect us in a negative way for both Q3 and Q4. We have, in my view, a solid contract and are currently in discussions with the clients' management on compensation. When it comes to our focus, we're moving on as planned. We stick to our 3 prioritized objectives; cost control, sales efficiency and customer focus.

The cost improvement projects launched back in Q2 are delivering to plan. The consolidation of supply chain and carbon filter production in Europe has been completed. Our actions relating to improving service setup for Germany is on track. When it comes to sales efficiency, our strengthening and replacement of sales resources in both Germany and Sweden are coming along fine, and we start seeing the result of the new sales reps getting up to speed. Our investment in France, like I mentioned before, is yielding results and show growth of 17% for the year.

And we already have the first orders of the just launched Oil Mist solution, both in Germany, Sweden and Austria. We've been able to further the measurement-led solution with a key food service brand within air cleaning to 2 more geographies, Belgium and the U.K. The installed base with this client is now exceeding 80 units, including orders on the newly launched FS 70 food grade with all its new accessories.

Our systematic approach to product development, the QleanAir [ Wheel ] delivers no less than 6 new products across all our product categories in '24. In the background, we continue our further explorations to continue to address more critical application areas within the industry. We stick to our plan of developing our company operationally and strategically. And as we keep doing the right things following a very structured approach, we're convinced financial results will follow. Now a few words on the 6 new products, which are addressing both the primary and secondary filtration layers in indoor air cleaning for our clients.

On the primary side, we have the outdoor -- the new outdoor lounge for smokers, the QleanAir SL12, a new outdoor smoking lounge safeguarding people in the outdoor environment from secondary smoke exposure. More and more clients are asking smokers to go outside, and there is really a need to handle this in a better way. The new addition to our cabin solution range has dramatically improved capacity for the outdoor environment.

Staying on the primary side, we have the QleanAir QS5, which is part of our QleanSpace product category, developed as part of the projects we've done successfully with the space industry over the past 2 years, we can, through this launch, make this technology available to a much broader industrial base.

On the secondary filtration side, we have 4 new additions to the range. Starting with the smallest, our FS 30 industrial, which filled the gap in the industry where our workhorse, the FS 70 is a bit too large. So smaller areas within a production site or production hall where there is a need of powerful air filtration.

We also launched a new and improved FS 70 food grade with improved hygienic design, acid-proof stainless steel for the toughest environments within the food and beverage sector and with a range of unique accessories specifically developed for the needs in this sector. We also launched for indoor smoking room environment, the new FS 70 SRE Smoking Room Edition, which serves as both a powerful engine of the previous mentioned QleanAir SL12, but as well is offered on a standalone basis, able to improve all indoor smoking room environments that are out there in the world.

And finally, we launched the FS 70 Oil Mist, addressing a whole new area at both existing and new customers where there is a very evident demand to protect people and processes from Oil Mist, but more on that product later. All of these products are the result of our QleanAir Wheel and those annual detailed workshops that we do with our sales teams. Our focus is to address more critical must-have application areas of our existing and future customers. And to exemplify what I mean by addressing more critical must-have application areas, I want to talk a little bit about Oil Mist and the recently launched FS 70 Oil Mist.

In our first workshops with our country sales and service teams back in 2023, Oil Mist was highlighted as a key problem area of our customers across all countries in Europe as well as Japan. Our product teams took on the challenge and started explorations. We conducted multiple tests over an 8- to 10-month period in the toughest environments we could find, evaluating both known and new technologies. And now less than 1.5 years later, we have a solution to bring to the market.

The addressable market for Oil Mist is huge. all metalworking industries, plastic and rubber manufacturers, chemical and petrochemical, pulp and paper and of course, further down the line as we expand to handling the handling of animal and vegetable oils, the very large food processing industries.

All these industries have issues relating to those tiny droplets of oil in the air. The pain points of the customers are very apparent, employee health, workplace, health and safety, maintenance cost, operational efficiency and more importantly, the solutions that are out there today, primary solutions, clearly cannot cope with the problem. And I can tell you, when we had completed the tests, I can tell you that there was no way to remove the solution from the test site. Neither the workers nor management would allow it.

So long story short, we now launched the FS 70 Oil Mist, the first real viable secondary filtration complement to existing primary point suction solutions. The FS 70 Oil Mist features a patent-pending metal mesh filter that effectively separates oil mist and particles from the air in these environments. The first versions are targeting the metalworking industry. But we are, of course, as part of our 3 further exploration projects, looking deep into how to best arrive at the version that targets the large food processing industry. And I can tell you, we've already have orders on this product in both from Austria, Germany and Sweden, and we've just started talking about it.

So to sum it up the points, we start with EMEA. We'll continue our focus on sales efficiency, focuses on Germany, Sweden and France and of course, the successful introduction of our 6 new products just launched. We already today actually have orders on all of the 6 new products in the region. And as I've said before, we've just started talking about them. For APAC, we'll just keep up that momentum and of course, push 5 of the 6 new product launches that are certified for their market.

With the U.S., we work to expand the distribution strategy to increase our reach and cast a larger net to capture the regulatory demand. And overall, we keep turning those stones to operationally improve and keep costs under control. And in the background of all this, we'll keep our explorations for the next must-have solutions.

And to sum it up before I hand over to Henrik and the financials, we deliver great value to our clients. We operate across 3 regions and our 3 top geographies, Japan, Germany and the U.S. all rank in the top global economies of the world. We have 3 product categories -- we have very low customer dependency, serving over 3,500 customers around the world. Our regional supply chains have provided us protection against logistics disturbances in the world and allow us to respond quickly to market needs.

We have a strong base of recurring revenues over SEK 300 million on a rolling 12-month basis as we closed the third quarter. And to add maybe the most important, we're a team on a journey. We have a structured and systematic approach. And as we keep our focus on the right things, we're convinced it will yield financial results in the long term.

So with that, I hand it over to Henrik to take you through the financial update. Henrik?

[Henrik Resmark, executive]

Thanks, Sebastian, moving into a financial summary. We are present in 3 geographies with 3 different product categories. In QleanAir Group, both EMEA and APAC are strong contributors to sales, representing approximately 90% of total sales. EMEA accounts for approximately 45% of QleanAir Group revenues. There is a solid performance in the third quarter, even though Germany is not reaching our targets. Other European markets are contributing to a higher extent.

APAC accounted for approximately 46% of the total revenues. There is a clear demand for our solutions, and we are gaining more and more traction with air cleaners through focused work on chosen customer segments. Americas represent 9% of total revenues. We are hurt by the postponed delayed Curexa contract in the quarter, and we continue to experience longer sales cycles.

Slow net sales. We had a negative growth of 6% currency adjusted in the third quarter, reached a sales of SEK 113 million versus SEK 124 million a year ago. The recurring revenue accounts for 64% of total revenues and amounts to SEK 73 million. It's a relatively stable quarter.

The gross margin was 62%, down from 67%. The operating profit was SEK 11 million adjusted in the third quarter versus SEK 17 million 1 year ago. In the third quarter, we reached an operating margin of 10% adjusted. That's a sequential improvement versus second quarter 2024 of 1%.

Stable rental revenues. This slide illustrates the relation between the booked values of units in QleanAir balance sheet and the revenues stemming from such units, including service, the recurring revenues. The recurring revenues of SEK 301 million on a rolling 12 months basis. The recurring revenues are a solid base of revenues that to a larger extent are predictable in the future. The booked value is relatively low, SEK 50 million compared to the recurring revenues, and this is a contributor to our long-term margins. To break these recurring revenues down per unit on an average, the revenue is approximately SEK 64,000 with a booked value of SEK 11,000. We experienced a high profitability on renting out the units over time.

Revenue split and installed base. In the third quarter, we saw a decline in the installed base. School orders of air cleaners in Germany were not prolonged, resulting in fewer installed units. However, going forward, we see a growth in air cleaners in both EMEA and APAC. We have 3 different revenue streams; the mix of recurring revenues, sales to finance companies and product sale to end customer. The main drop is product sale in Americas, down by approximately SEK 8 million in the quarter. The nature of our business is that we have recurring revenues as a foundation of the total revenues.

On top, we have product sales, and that is customers that do not want to have a rental setup, we offer them to buy the units, and that is to a large part in the U.S. And we are also having revenue stemming from sale to finance companies. That is long-term rental contracts that are sold to finance companies, and that is primarily in Japan.

Balance sheet and cash flow. The cash flow was weak due to the decline in operating profit and changes in working capital couldn't compensate in this quarter. We continue to amortize according to plan every quarter, and the net debt equity ratio is 0.8. In the quarter, we have a waiver on one covenant from Swedbank. The reason for the need for the waiver is the one-off costs for cleanroom in the Nordics and the inventory write-downs in total SEK 7 million. Excluding the one-off costs, we had managed the original covenant.

Handing over to Sebastian for a summary.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

Thanks, Henrik. What we do at QleanAir is really important. We dedicate our work to improve the health of people, the quality of products and the performance of processes. And we do so throughout our 3 product categories; Cabin Solutions, Air Cleaners and Cleanrooms.

Looking at the amount of QleanAir that is delivered through our solutions, we estimate that we clean 7.2 billion cubic meters of indoor air by end of Q3. And that matters because air pollution is a key challenge for human health. People die prematurely from exposure to polluted air. We spend an important part of our lives in indoor air environments, and indoor air can often be more polluted than outdoor air.

And before opening up for the Q&A, I want to reiterate a number of measures have been initiated that we expect to yield results. We stick to our plan with a very systematic approach to both operational and strategic development. We have our 3 clear priorities: customer focus, sales efficiency and cost control. And we continue our focused product development that just brought a record amount of new products, 6 new products to the market, and there are more to follow.

With that, I would like to open for questions, please.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] The next question comes from Anders Roslund from Pareto Securities.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Yes, I would like to start off with the Cleanroom business. I'm just curious, is the Curexa order canceled and now you're sort of talking about compensation? Or is it still possible that you may deliver the order or because you don't specifically mention that the order is canceled?

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

No, and that's true. There is a postponement. I was myself over in the U.S. last week and met with the Chairman, CEO and CFO of Curexa discussing this.

And there is still a possibility that we will be building a Cleanroom for them or multiple Cleanrooms for them. But we are already, of course, for the initial project as that was thought, we've already built sort of that or ordered and everything the customized material for it. So there still needs to be a settlement before we can move on and see whether we will build something in the end. And as we are in these discussions, of course, I cannot be too wordy about it. But we have an open and straight discussion.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Yes. But I just mean that could it be that you get a compensation, are those costs already in your present cost base and you get compensation and then later on, you will deliver? Or how should it be regarded those compensation issues?

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

Yes, so the compensation is totally focused on the project that we bidded for, right? And all the work that had been done up until the point we communicated the postponement. So -- and we've been very prudent in how we've handled our income relating to this and our costs. When we do these Cleanrooms, we ask for a 55% upfront payment, right?

So we're not in a really bad position. But of course, we've been very prudent in how we've handled that over our P&L. And just to mention, I feel very -- I was part of the negotiation and the buildup of the contract. We actually took in new legal advice that we really experienced in the project type construction business. So we have a very solid contract in this. And we have acted to the last millimeter according to the contract through the whole process.

So I feel -- I don't feel good about the fact that the original project is not going -- we would have loved to build that Cleanroom. But I'm very positive on the way we've approached it from -- all the way from the contract to our performance up until the postponement time.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Okay. But then continuing with Cleanrooms, you are not satisfied with the order intake. So you have taken some measures to, one increase your distribution network, but at the same time, you had to adapt to lower -- to maybe cost as well. So how should you launch new initiatives at the same time as reducing costs for the lower order intake you have in the U.S?

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

So I think we've done significant investments since the start back in 2013 and '14, right? And we've tried several avenues to improve profitability, but always with the view that we delivered the room, including the entire project, right? And in 2023, we took the decision to increase our direct sales force to see if we could drive that order intake required to leverage the structure that you need to do this kind of project business. And clearly, we're now -- I think when you look at it, our Cleanroom product is great.

We have over 100 client installations to prove it. The challenge is the way we sell it as a project, which I agree is really different from what's in our DNA for the past 30 years. So when I say that we are revisiting our distribution strategy, it's about being more focused around the product itself and see how we, to a greater extent, can leverage others project organization or partners to take that product to the market. And there are, for sure, companies which are in a big way towards the health sector in the U.S. That could really benefit from having a defined product like our QleanSpace product is and to offer that as part of their solution.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Okay. So what you mean is that you will shift from direct sales to use partners instead?

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

So when you look at this kind of distribution strategy move, you're always going to be a little bit of both, right, before you transition. But I think that, that approach is more part of the core of our company to be -- we are extremely good at developing products that really address customer needs. I mean, through my entire professional career, I've never been with a company that have so little issues around product quality and performance. So I think that part, we are really strong at.

The difficulty with this business is that because you need that structure, you need to have more volume to leverage. And to get that more volume, I think we need to look beyond a direct sales force. And just as an example, in the Nordics, where we just cleaned -- I almost clear, closed off the last Cleanroom projects. In the Nordics, we didn't build that structure. And that's not an avenue either, right? And then I have the write-downs and all that to prove it, right? So I think we've had the right approach in the U.S., having that structure, but we're just going to have to see if we can work more with partners in a distribution strategy, so to say.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

But that means that you will take down costs for direct sales and you will then let partners take over more of the sales process or distributors. So short-term effect...

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

Yes, it's not only that, right? It's also the actual cost associated with the installations and so forth. And usually, if you look at any of our developments, especially towards hospital pharmacies, when they do a new Cleanroom, it's seldom just a Cleanroom. It's a new wing, it's a new department that they're building. So there's usually someone else also in there doing a bigger project. And I think that if we can partner up with some of those companies – we will come in front of more client situation for Cleanrooms, but we will be more of the product specialists scoping out, understanding the pharmacy, standard operating procedures and sort of designing the room, but the actual delivery of it would happen through a partner.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Yes, and have you set up such a partnership already? Or is it something you plan to do now.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

So we've had some discussions. And of course, in certain projects, we've already been towards the hospital working very closely together with some general contractors, right? They are doing other things around the perimeter of the Cleanroom. So I think we have some relations already, but we still have work to do to build that business model forward.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Okay. Going to the Cabin Solutions, at least my estimates, you saw a sequential uptick in Japan of sales of Cabin Solutions. And what to expect in the fourth quarter? You have mentioned you had a weak fourth quarter 2021, and that means 3 years after, there will be less contracts up for renewal. So how should we look upon Cabin Solutions sales in Japan? Is it a new higher level? Or should we come down in the fourth quarter again?

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

So we don't make forward-looking statements, right, Anders. But you're quite right in making your analysis back to 2021 and the sequential -- specifically the finance company business that we had back in those days. And as we've said before, we know that 2024 really sticks out as a low point for these important renewals to finance companies. So I'll probably let it stay with that not to make any forward-looking statements. But I think you're understanding the cyclicality of our contract – renewal contract base.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Okay. And -- but you're doing fairly well with the air cleaners in Japan, as you mentioned here up 40%. And that I expect is a positive trend going forward.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

So unfortunately, of course, due to the FX effects, we don't see enough of it on a group level, right? That's the unfortunate part. But if you look at the business and I mean, we're growing 41% this year on air cleaners in Japan. And these products that I've been talking about, right, they are really relevant for the market. It's really only the food-grade product that is not certified yet for the Japanese market, but that's, of course, in our plans.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Yes, excellent. And then coming back to Europe here, where you see a weaker German and also Swedish market in the air cleaner segment. And that I expect not to change very much in the short term at least.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

No. But I think one should look at the products that we are launching, right? We're fueling -- it's a tougher economic environment clear, but we're fueling the sales force with 6 new products, which is really record-breaking within our company. And if you look closely on the air cleaner side, it's really bespoke products. So they have a very clear purpose at the customer side. And I think that very focused product development towards more must-have applications will help us be more resilient through this economic environment.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

I'm a little bit curious here because Air Cleaner is a very different technology from the Cabin Solutions or Cleanrooms business. So -- those Oil Mist filter you talk about, which is a new area for you as it is more in metalworking, heavy industries, et cetera, is that is also based on an air cleaner, the same type of technology that it takes in the air, cleans the air and get it out.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

Yes, yes.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

So this will be a 100% air cleaning, but it's more for heavy oil related.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

It's a quite difficult area, and we did serious exploration in this. And we tested all known technologies. We used the same technology that primary solutions like Absolent and so forth are using. So we tried a variety of things. And it's not just the mesh filter that is the thing here, but that's the thing I pointed out. I think overall, we're good at really getting into the real environment. So there are lots of things around this product that really makes it very practical use for the customer. And this is a huge issue and across really the entire industry, I would say.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

But there are new market segments. You are going from light manufacturing, logistics, retail, et cetera, now into more heavy industries. So you have the sales force to do this?

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

Yes. So when we -- I mean, the wheel has one clear benefit. As we do these workshops with our own sales and service organization, right, we get products that are very close to the demand that they feel in their existing customer relationships. And that's also the reason why -- I mean, almost before we start talking about the products, we already have orders on them, right?

So we don't need to branch off with a new sales team to address a new market segment. These are our existing customers. It's just that we have not been able to have solutions. And frankly, no one else has secondary filtration solutions for this part of our customers' business.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

So those new products will be…

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

So it will be on the tangent of what we do.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

And those new products will be launched not only in Germany, other parts of Europe as well?

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

Absolutely.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

And -- but you target Germany more than other markets here in Europe.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

No, I mean Germany is a very large portion of our EMEA market. So therefore, of course, we have a lot of focus on that market. But when we have the -- when we went through the workshops, -- this was one of, I should say, 3 areas that came from each and every country, right, and from Japan. So it was really in all markets had this issue. So I think the first orders were actually from Austria.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Okay. Then finally not something you are not talking about in this report, and that was the elevated cost level for services when you change your service supplier in Germany in the Cabin Solutions area. How do you see -- have you gradually raised rental rates? Or how long will it take before restoring those margins again? A gradual process.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

Yes. So when it comes to the service agreements that are part of our renting contracts with -- when we sell our product as a service, we have little possibility to move on those that are made in the past, right? So that is a challenge. But we are taking actions, right? We're consolidating the supply chain and the production of cold filter across Europe. We communicated that in Q2, the project has been finished. It has an improvement of our cost of filters of about 10% and our logistics costs of 8%. So it's not like we cannot address it, right?

But I think when it comes to Germany, we had really a challenge with that new service partner we took on back in 2022, and we are well underway now in a transition of that partnership in a very positive way. But as we are not completely through, I do not want to elaborate too much.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

No. But I guess the new service supplier has a higher cost level versus the old one. And then you have gradually, that's what I mean in every new contract you sell, you have to raise prices for those services costs. And that's what I mean is it will gradually improve.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

It will gradually improve, but I should also point out, and you can actually see a sequential improvement, I think, of our service cost, if you look closely in the P&L. And that has to do with -- because the challenges with the existing service supplier, we had to double up on taking in support from some other partners and spending more money than that contract really required, so to say. So it's not -- we are not setting that high level that you saw in the first half in that new relationship that we're building.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Okay. No, because longer term, it's interesting to see when you expect to be within the target range of 15% to 20%. I mean it's good enough that you are up to 10% now, but I guess that's a longer-term.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

I mean this year is what would I say, an extraordinary year in many terms, right, with the FX, the lower renewals for -- in Japan towards finance companies and so forth. So there's a lot of things coming together in this year. So...

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Excellent, no I think -- and the cash flow situation, will that improve then in the fourth quarter?

[Henrik Resmark, executive]

I mean we are not guiding on the next quarter, but obviously, we had a very weak cash flow in the third quarter and primarily due to lower operating income. During the second quarter, we had also a poor operating income, but then the cash -- the movement in working capital improved.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

Yes, that's what I think.

[Henrik Resmark, executive]

Exactly. But in the third quarter, we didn't manage to do that. So obviously, the goal is to deliver long-term strong cash flows, that's top of the agenda. And -- but we're not promising anything for the fourth quarter, but we are working on that constantly and hopefully.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

And I mean.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

No, I was talking about the working capital here. I mean, the cash earnings are what they are, but the working capital improvement must be better in the fourth quarter. That's what I mean.

[Henrik Resmark, executive]

Yes, we are looking to achieve that.

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

And I think when you look at our longer-term financial goals and so forth. And so our ambition hasn't changed. All our operational and strategic actions are aiming at putting us back on a profitable growth track, right? And I think it's important to see on an adjusted EBIT margin basis, right, we are showing a clear sequential progress as we deliver an adjusted EBIT of 10%.

[Anders Roslund, analyst]

That's good, no that was all questions for me thank you.

[Operator]

There are no more questions at this time. So I hand the conference back to the speakers for any written questions and closing comments.

[Henrik Resmark, executive]

We actually have some questions through the webcast. So I will read the questions, and then we will answer them. Can you please elaborate on how QleanAir is conducting the cleanroom projects in Americas? Are the projects carried out with an own project organization in Americas? Or are the services needed to carry out the projects in Americas bought on the market?

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

So when it comes to the approach on the Cleanroom projects in the U.S., we have our own installation team. So we have a project organization with people and operations planning the whole supply chain and delivery of the actual equipment to the site. We also have our own at least a minimal team of own installation professionals that actually build the room on site. And then, of course, when we have a lot of projects at the same time, we double up sort of with the external contractors to support it. And this is where we want to be much more open in the future to have others building our QleanSpace product on site.

[Henrik Resmark, executive]

And the second question through the webcast is, are there any plans to establish QleanAir in new countries like India or China?

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

So specifically, India and China is not on our radar at the moment. But we see -- even within Europe, we see a couple of really interesting larger markets. And you can think of our focus today within Europe is really on Germany, Sweden and as a new market, France, because we see a lot of similarities between the success that we've had in Germany and the type of industries that are in France. And clearly, when we look at the growth of France, that's really yielding results. And there are further markets closer to us within Europe that we will focus on before we focus on China or India.

[Henrik Resmark, executive]

And there is a third and last question through the webcast. Can you please give some color on how the other markets besides Germany in EMEA are developing. As an example, how is the situation in Poland?

[Sebastian Lindstrom, executive]

So overall, as I tried to highlight in the presentation, we see a weaker economy across Europe. So I think when you look at all the European markets, we see a more carefulness on the customer side, longer sales cycles, harder to book meetings and so forth. And I think our approach to that is to be much more specialized in the solutions that we provide. I mean, if you have an Oil Mist problem regardless of economic situation, from pure employee health, work health and safety and your maintenance and operational efficiency, you're going to make investments in this area.

Okay. So I hope we've answered all the questions. And let me see -- sorry. So if there are no further questions, I would like to reiterate our communicated financial targets remain delivering 7% to 13% organic growth annually and building up our EBIT margin into the range of 15% to 20% in the medium to long term. Taking our company to new levels is a journey. We have a very structured and systematic approach in this that we stick to, and we're convinced that this is the right way and that it will yield financial results and allow us to meet our communicated financial objectives in the mid to long term.

Thank you all for your participation and interest in QleanAir, and we wish you a great continuation of the day. Thanks.