Savaria (TSE:SIS) executives highlighted record profitability and improving operational performance during the company’s Q4 2025 investor and analyst call, pointing to continued momentum from its Savaria One improvement program and outlining areas of focus for growth and acquisitions going forward.
Record EBITDA and full-year results
CEO Sébastien Bourassa said the fourth quarter was the “best quarter ever,” with adjusted EBITDA reaching CAD 51.3 million, representing a 21.2% margin. For the full year, he said Savaria generated CAD 913 million in sales and CAD 186.2 million of adjusted EBITDA, a 20.4% margin.
Revenue growth, segment performance, and margins
Consolidated Q4 revenue was CAD 241.8 million, up CAD 18.4 million from the prior year. Boulianne attributed the increase to 5.2% organic growth, a 2.5% positive foreign exchange impact, and a 0.6% contribution from the Q2 acquisition of Western Elevator.
By segment, management said the quarter’s revenue growth was driven by both accessibility and patient care:
- Accessibility revenue rose 7.7%, including 7.2% growth in North America and 9% growth in Europe. Boulianne said Europe posted positive organic growth in Q4 and that management believes it has “turned the corner” there.
- Patient care revenue grew 10% in Q4, bringing full-year segment revenue growth to “almost 5%.” On the call, management cautioned the patient care business can be “lumpy” by quarter due to larger projects and the timing of government funding deadlines, and suggested the segment is better assessed over a full-year timeframe.
Profitability also improved. Boulianne reported consolidated gross margin of 38.9% in Q4, up from 37.7% in 2024, and said operating income increased 36.6%, primarily driven by continued accessibility improvements under Savaria One and operating leverage. Adjusted EBITDA margin for accessibility was 23.4%, while patient care was 19.4%.
Savaria One: shifting in-house, ongoing initiative pipeline
JP, who discussed both Savaria One and Europe, said 2025 was a “year of transition” as the company internalized its continuous improvement efforts while maintaining the same “rigorous cadence” of implementation. He said the business implemented more than a dozen initiatives per month—over 160 initiatives during the year—and has seen “accelerating momentum,” with gains increasing quarter by quarter.
In Q4 specifically, JP said Savaria implemented about 35 new initiatives, generating “multiple millions of recurring savings.” Examples mentioned included renegotiating key IT support and license contracts, improving the RMA (returns and warranty parts) process to reuse more parts, completing procurement RFPs, partnering with a distributor to reduce small hardware costs, further automating business processes, improving field engineer dispatching efficiency, and reducing warehousing costs.
Looking ahead, JP said Savaria entered 2026 with “at least 100 new initiatives” planned, along with tailwinds from initiatives implemented in 2025 that were not fully realized in last year’s results. Boulianne also said Q4 marked the final quarter of consulting fees tied to Savaria One, as the company incurred CAD 4.7 million of strategic initiative expenses and CAD 1.8 million of other one-off optimization-related expenses.
Europe: pricing discipline, subsidies variability, and new product launches
In response to analyst questions about prior European top-line pressure, JP described several factors management said affected growth in the past two years: a focus on higher-margin sales and pricing discipline, tougher stances on unfavorable dealer terms (which sometimes resulted in lost business to competitors), aggressive competition in certain markets, and the “stop-and-go” nature of some government support programs for accessibility products in countries such as France and Italy. Management characterized the slowdown as largely spanning 2024 and the first half of 2025, with Boulianne noting the company is now “lapping” that period at the end of 2025.
JP said his recent leadership focus in Europe is shifting from reorganization and profitability improvement toward top-line growth. He said Savaria reorganized European leadership responsibilities, has spent time with dealers, and has already seen some wins with dealers switching their product portfolios to Savaria offerings. He added 2026 is expected to be a year of new product introductions and innovation in Europe, including new stairlifts and a new incline platform lift, with field trials underway and potential mass-market introductions if trials go well.
Management also emphasized efforts to build a “one-stop shop” offering in Europe. Bourassa said the European business has long been centered on stairlifts, while also including Garaventa incline platform lifts, the Luma product introduced last year, Vuelift, and a short vertical platform lift called the Multilift. JP said a missing piece remains traditional home elevators (beyond Vuelift), but added there remains runway to cross-sell products, including educating historical stairlift dealers to sell more platform lift products.
Capital allocation: deleveraging, CapEx, and acquisition strategy
Management emphasized balance sheet strength and capacity for acquisitions. Bourassa said Savaria ended the year with CAD 212 million of liquidity and a 1.03 leverage ratio, and suggested the company could invest CAD 200 million over the next three years while maintaining an EBITDA debt ratio below 2, which he described as a comfort zone.
During Q4, Boulianne said cash flow from operating activities was CAD 35 million, supported by strong earnings and a CAD 2.8 million working capital reduction. CapEx was CAD 6.8 million in the quarter and CAD 22 million for the year (about 2.4% of sales), in line with guidance. He said the company repaid CAD 45.2 million of debt in Q4 and CAD 75.2 million for 2025 overall, contributing to the lower leverage ratio.
For 2026, management discussed a planned increase in CapEx tied to a Greenville, U.S. expansion project, while expecting spending to normalize afterward. Boulianne said 2026 CapEx is expected to be 2.5% to 3% of sales due to the project, with a plan to return to 2% to 2.5% of sales in 2027. He also noted that, in a typical year, roughly half of CapEx is directed toward R&D and intangibles.
Bourassa said the company began producing home elevators in Greenville in Q2 2025 and is currently manufacturing roughly 35% to 40% of Savaria brand home elevators there (depending on end-user location), while remaining compliant with USMCA. He said the Greenville building extension is under construction and expected to be ready in October.
On M&A, Bourassa reiterated Savaria’s preference for acquiring dealers (vertical integration) and product additions. He cited the acquisition of Baxter Residential Elevator as a “small tuck-in” but “very strategic,” describing Texas as a high-potential area with strong housing starts and stating the company intends to invest in sales and marketing to build a stronger position in the region. In response to an analyst question, Bourassa said Baxter’s profitability was “in the low teen.”
Boulianne said near-term capital deployment priorities include continued debt repayment and maintaining flexibility for acquisitions, noting the company is not focused on buybacks in the short term and expects a relatively stable dividend policy.
Management said additional detail—including a refreshed strategic plan and longer-term targets—will be presented at the company’s Investor Day on April 14. When asked about issuing 2026 guidance, Bourassa said Savaria intends to focus on longer-term targets rather than short-term guidance.
About Savaria (TSE:SIS)
Savaria Corporation ( savaria.com ) is a global leader in the accessibility industry. It provides accessibility solutions for the physically challenged to increase their comfort, their mobility and their independence. Its product line is one of the most comprehensive on the market. Savaria designs, manufactures, distributes and installs accessibility equipment, such as stairlifts for straight and curved stairs, vertical and inclined wheelchair lifts and elevators for home and commercial use. It also manufactures and markets a comprehensive selection of pressure management products for the medical market, medical beds for the long-term care market, as well as an extensive line of medical equipment and solutions for the safe handling of patients, including ceiling lifts and slings.
