NoHo Partners: Solid Q4, but dividend was halved - Nordea

NoHo Partners reported Q4 EBIT of EUR 11.8m (-3.7% y/y), 4% above Vara Research consensus and 6% above our estimate. Q4 net sales were up 5.3% y/y at EUR 101.8m, 3% below consensus and 2% below our estimate. Finland EBIT came in 5% above our estimate and International 16% above. Operational EBITDA (operating cash flow) was EUR 13.8m in Q4 (EUR 14.2m a year ago). The dividend proposal was EUR 0.23 per share (50% payout ratio), clearly below LSEG Data & Analytics consensus of EUR 0.50, aligned with the new dividend policy of at least 50% payout ratio annually. Guidance for 2026 expects the EBIT margin to remain at the current good level (2025: 9.0%) and EPS to increase (2025: EUR 0.46; LSEG consensus: EUR 0.66). Operationally, the results seem solid with Norway developing in the right direction, and consensus estimate revisions for 2026-28 are likely to be moderate. On the other hand, we argue that market is unlikely to take the dividend cut positively, although it should enable future growth and support leverage towards the 2.0x target (2025: 3.0x), which we view reasonable.