EMS@C-LEVEL

APEX 2025 - Double Digit EBITDA and Growth in 2024 with InCap CFO Antti Pynnönen

• Philip Spagnoli Stoten

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While much of the European electronics manufacturing industry faced a 14-15% downturn in 2024, InCap Corporation demonstrated remarkable resilience. In this  conversation filmed at APEX 2025, CFO Antti Pynnönen reveals how InCap not only weathered the storm but thrived, delivering double-digit EBITDA performance and particularly strong Q4 results.

The secret to their success? According to Antti it's a combination of prescient timing and operational excellence. Antti explains how InCap experienced inventory challenges a  year before many competitors, allowing them to adjust early and return to growth mode while others were still struggling. This advantage was magnified by their decentralized organizational structure, which keeps overheads minimal while fostering entrepreneurial spirit and rapid decision-making across their manufacturing sites.

Looking toward the future, Antti outlines InCap's strategically balanced approach to growth amid geopolitical uncertainties. Despite the "limbo situation" created by potential tariff changes and trade tensions, the company maintains an active M&A strategy with a decades long investment horizon. Their financial strength positions them well for targeted expansions in North America, Germany, and Southeast Asia. Particularly promising growth sectors include defense (especially with increased European spending), renewable energy technologies, electric vehicle infrastructure, and data center power solutions driven by AI development.

Whether you're navigating manufacturing challenges, seeking insights on international expansion, or exploring growth markets in electronics manufacturing, this conversation offers valuable perspective from a company that's mastered the art of thriving during industry downturns. Listen now to understand how organizational agility and strategic foresight can transform challenges into opportunities.

EMS@C-Level Live at APEX is sponsored by global inspection leaders Koh Young (https://www.kohyoung.com) and Creative Electron (https://creativeelectron.com)

EMS@C-Level is sponsored by global inspection leaders Koh Young (https://www.kohyoung.com) and Creative Electron (https://creativeelectron.com)

You can see video versions of all of the EMS@C-Level pods on our YouTube playlist.

Philip Stoten:

I'm at Apex Expo 2025 and I'm joined by Antti, who is the CFO of Incap. Antti, thanks for joining me On the flight over. I was actually reading your results from 2024. You seem to have done better than most of the industry in Europe. The overall trend in Europe seems to have been down around about 14-15% overall. You guys had a particularly good last quarter as well. What do you put your success down to?

Antti Pynnönen, InCap CFO :

Well, I think in our case we kind of had some issues already, actually a bit earlier than our peers. So we had some of these key stocking exercise already started a year before then in some of our Nordic years, which they announced, some issues during the 24. And we informed the market with similar issues in 2023. So I mean, we had already kind of started our production to a growing pace during the 24., added our production to a growing pace during the 24 and, as anticipated, we grew quarter on quarter in terms of the profitability and then, indeed, the Q4 was quite nice growth figures in terms of the revenue and profitability.

Philip Stoten:

And the EBITDA is pretty impressive. You're a double digit EBITDA for the last quarter and actually for the year overall.

Antti Pynnönen, InCap CFO :

Yeah, absolutely impressive You're a double digit editor for the last quarter and actually for the year overall. Yeah, absolutely, in InCAP we have a very, very lean organizational model and we are very efficient in terms of the units, how they operate the business and that's how we have this decentralized organizational structure in InCAP. So, yeah, we focus a lot in keeping the overheads low. That also nourishes the entrepreneurial culture in our sites. And then obviously the decision-making process also is very, very fast because we have always our meetings decision-maker in place.

Philip Stoten:

Yeah, and in the guidance for 2025, you talk about modest organic, but you also talk about some inorganic growth. Yeah, is there anything there you can tell me? Or is that keeping your powder dry? Is it adjustment of footprint based on geopolitics and such?

Antti Pynnönen, InCap CFO :

Yeah, absolutely. So we are still very beginning of the year 2025. So obviously we are a little bit cautious in that sense. And then, obviously, the geopolitical tensions that are currently out there, and then, of course, the new administration in the US and a lot of discussion back and forth, the tariffs and trade wars, and there's a big question mark in that sense. So that's course, impacts in our industry as well.

Antti Pynnönen, InCap CFO :

Customers a little bit hesitate, what are the new rules of the game, so to speak? And then uncertainty, of course, on the market is really really you know bad always and you know where to invest and you know it's easier when, when there's a change of the rules even they are like two worse, but as long as they are like the rules are aware, so companies are able to adjust their operations. But now we don't exactly know the rules and that makes it a little bit tricky and we are in a sort of limbo situation. But end of the day, we believe that the second half of the year will be already. You know the market will pick up and we believe in the growth in InCap. As you mentioned, incap also is focusing on inorganic growth. So we are financially in an extremely strong position to continue our M&A path, and that is part of, and one of the cornerstones of, ingap's own growth strategy.

Philip Stoten:

Yeah, and does the lack of clarity on the tariffs slow down some of those M&A decisions? Because obviously, when you're planning and you're developing and you're growing a business, you're thinking about where we should be manufacturing. You're already in the US, in North America, you're already in Europe. You're already in the US, in North America, already in Europe, already in India, for example, which seems like an exciting market, particularly at the moment. Are you finding yourself having to hold back because of that lack of clarity?

Antti Pynnönen, InCap CFO :

Well, obviously, of course it's always one criteria, but we still look M&A as a long-term, 20, 30 years ahead type of investment. So if we still have uncertainties, one quarter, maybe two quarters ahead of us, so it kind of don't stop our M&A work in that sense. But we are working on different expansion plans. We are interested in expanding still in North American market. We are looking still European market, German market this is one of the interesting ones for Inca to expand and then Southeast Asia. So yeah, Options are there.

Philip Stoten:

Options are there. Options are there, and you mentioned the German market. We've just had the elections in Germany. We've also raised the debt ceiling for defense spend. That seems to be happening more and more in Europe. Do you see that as an impetus for growth and does defense represent much of your business?

Antti Pynnönen, InCap CFO :

It doesn't represent that much of the business in the gap at the moment but, as you said, said it's a growing market. We do see a lot of opportunities. Just read an article from Bloomberg that Germany defense sector will be, you know, growing up tremendously.

Antti Pynnönen, InCap CFO :

There's a lot of investments going into that sector so obviously that's gonna be interesting growth area for InCAP as well. So we already do, from a couple of our sites, a defense business and then hopefully it will be growing as well. But then the traditional areas, such as the kind of renewable energy related, still receive some growth in electric vehicle, ev charging station related to business. Obviously the traditional 5G IoT medical related products are still selling well. So we do see there's growth opportunities.

Philip Stoten:

Yeah, and you mentioned energy and one of the areas that energy is becoming really important is with data centers, with the development of AI, Huge demand for energy and I hope a lot of it is alternative forms of energy rather than fossil fuels. Do you see that as an area of growth here in the US, but also in Europe?

Antti Pynnönen, InCap CFO :

Yeah, absolutely. We have seen a lot of investments in Europe lately for different kind of renewable energy technologies, mainly solar wind power. So yeah, we do see those going forward as growing sectors also in US. Same thing here, all kind of battery related, you know, battery solutions enabling this kind of renewable energy production and technology to become even more popular. So, yes, opportunities there.

Philip Stoten:

Well, I hope your prediction for upturn in the second half of the year is correct, and I hope by then we've got a lot more clarity on the tariff situation.

Antti Pynnönen, InCap CFO :

But in the meantime, Antti, thanks so much for your time. Thanks, Philip, for having me. Thank you.