As defence spending in Europe continues to grow, building additional capacity and investing in capabilities based on new technologies will be crucial to meet the growing needs of customers. In 2023, we put relentless effort into customer deliveries and increasing capacity. With the growing interest in Saab's unique and diverse portfolio, we have increased our investments in R&D and intensified our ambitions in innovation, to ensure that Saab’s product portfolio remains strong and that we can grow sustainably in the long term. Much of this is done in collaboration with customers who seek to replenish stocks and develop new technologies to strengthen defence capabilities both now and for the future.

The emergence of disruptive technologies such as AI and autonomy is set to be a game-changer for our industry and reshape defence and security applications in the future. 年内, we accelerated our activities in these areas and completed the acquisitions of the AI-enabled defence tech company BlueBear in 美国.K. and the Silicon Valley-based AI company CrowdAI in 美国.S. These acquisitions will enable Saab to leverage emerging technologies across our product portfolio and drive capabilities for future growth.

此外, we announced three strategic 合作伙伴hips; we entered into a cooperation agreement with Helsing, a European defence company specialising in AI-based software technology and made an investment for a 5% stake in the company. We also signed an agreement with Babcock to explore future opportunities within advanced surface ships. 除了, we signed an MoU agreement with 新加坡 Technologies Engineering to further deepen our collaboration and opportunities in several defence domains.

We believe increased collaboration and 合作伙伴hips will further strengthen our competitiveness in the market and support our customers' evolving needs. Saab's position as a trusted partner was further confirmed during 2023 by the significant order intake we recorded. Order bookings grew 23% and amounted to 瑞典克朗 78 billion (63). Our backlog reached 瑞典克朗 153 billion. 全年, we have continued to execute on our focused multi-domestic strategy, with growth in all of our selected strategic markets; Sweden，美国.S.，美国.K.、德国和澳大利亚.

An important milestone in 2023 was the signing of framework agreements with NATO’s 支持 and Procurement Agency for the Carl-Gustaf and AT4 weapon systems, in line with our focus on supporting our customers in building up their defence capabilities. We also received an order for two 空气borne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft to 波兰 and rolled out the first aircraft two months after contract signing. 此外, we delivered Sweden’s new SIGINT ship as well as the first serially-produced Gripen E to the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration.

有机销售增长 for the full year was 23% and reflected the higher production volumes we have in all our businesses. Profitability also improved with an operating margin of 8.3% (7.8). Cash flow for the full year reached 瑞典克朗 3.20亿年. 2023年即将结束, it is with satisfaction that I conclude that we have again reached all our financial targets.

Looking ahead, delivering on our customer contracts and our strong backlog will be key. Based on current visibility for planned project execution and deliveries, we expect the organic sales growth for the full year 2024 to be between 12-16%. We are also committed to continue growing the operating income above organic sales growth in 2024. The last four years we have reported positive cash flow and we foresee a continued positive cash flow for the full year.

As a growing Swedish defence company, we have the ambition to be a sustainability leader in our industry and we strive to be sustainable in all parts of our business, in support of 美国N Global Compact and its ten principles. 我们有, in addition to accelerated climate transition initiatives within the Group, also launched a new 行为准则 and updated our sustainability strategy framework. 年内, we have also undertaken a thorough project across the organisation to be compliant with the new upcoming European 可持续性 Reporting Standards. I believe that this project and the updated sustainability strategy, together with our strong foundation of responsible business practices, will guide us along the ambitious growth path that is ahead of us.

2023 was also an innovative year for Saab with several new products launched, including the Giraffe 1X Deployment Set and new features for our Barracuda camouflage solutions as well as showcasing our land-based capabilities for next-generation air defence. 在海军方面, we introduced our future operator workspace console concept, leveraging on Saab's expertise within combat system hardware and software for warships. 所有 of this is the result of our most important resource at Saab, our people.

Beyond actively engaging 我们的员工 to ensure that they are set to address the growing demand, it is key that we continue to invest, secure relevant competences and adapt to new technology. In 2023, we have been successful in attracting close to 2,全球新增员工500人, 增长13%. 同时, Saab has climbed in the rankings as a top-ten most attractive IT and Engineering employer in Sweden. 当我们展望未来, we are investing in upskilling through our learning platform and putting efforts into both onboarding and our people experience. 所有 our efforts within sustainability, innovation and people will be key to our long-term success and value creation.

斯德哥尔摩，2024年2月

Micael Johansson
总裁兼首席执行官