Karnov’s Third-Quarter Profit Rises to SEK 62 Million Despite Lower Sales
Key Facts
Karnov Group’s net profit rose to SEK 62 million in the third quarter of 2026, from SEK 43 million in the same period a year earlier, while operating profit increased to SEK 101 million from SEK 89 million. Profit improved despite sales falling to SEK 637 million from SEK 654 million. The company said growth in Online Legal and strong demand for AI solutions supported performance. Organic sales growth, calculated at constant exchange rates, was 2.5%, with a positive currency effect of 0.2% and negative acquired growth of 5.2%. The results reflect a divergence between improved profitability and growth in the underlying business on one hand, and a year-on-year contraction in total revenue on the other.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortization were SEK 173 million, compared with SEK 172 million a year earlier, and the adjusted margin rose to 27.1% from 26.3%. Karnov attributed the margin improvement to operating leverage from growth, a favorable product mix and cost control. This shows that the improvement in profitability was not attributed solely to demand for AI solutions; the company cited other operational and commercial factors. Total sales, meanwhile, remained below their level in the year-earlier quarter despite positive organic growth. Earnings per share were SEK 0.62 both before and after dilution, compared with SEK 0.40 in the corresponding period.
Online Legal, which Karnov described as its core business by revenue, grew 9% during the quarter. The chief executive said performance was "driven by strong demand for AI solutions," pointing to the contribution of those solutions to the group’s online legal business. Growth was spread across the Northern and Southern regions: the business rose 11% in the North and accelerated to 8% in the South. The company linked the South’s acceleration to the launch of the shared AI platform in the spring. It also said sales of AI solutions supported growth in all markets, without disclosing their contribution to total revenue.
In earlier context illustrating the digital business’s trajectory, Karnov said online sales accounted for 87% of its total sales in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 84% in the first quarter of 2025, and that organic growth was 4.8% at the time. The company described sales of its AI-based solutions as an important driver of that first-quarter growth. Total sales in that quarter also fell to SEK 628 million from SEK 673 million a year earlier, with organic growth of 3.2%; the company attributed the negative acquired-growth effect at the time to the divestment of its Spanish environment, health and safety, and training businesses. These figures place the third-quarter results in a period of continued organic growth alongside lower total sales, though across different periods and for different reasons. The company had set a target for annual organic sales growth of between 4% and 6% in the medium term, an adjusted margin above 25% in the medium term and 30% in the long term.
On cost control, annualized savings from cost-efficiency initiatives stood at SEK 228 million at the end of the third quarter. Karnov said its efficiency programs would be completed by the end of 2026, setting a specific deadline for the initiatives that have contributed to cost management. On products, the company said its workflow solution, launched at the end of June, had been well received by customers and had generated sales in all markets. It said it would add features to the solution in December 2026. The company is also reviewing options to maximize shareholder value with a financial adviser, but said no decision had been made and no timeline set.
Taiwan Mobile, which the first news item grouped with Karnov, had not announced third-quarter results on its investor relations page at the time of review. The company scheduled an online results presentation for November 12, 2026, at 16:00 to review key financial results and corporate strategy. The published information therefore provides no figures on which to assess the Taiwanese company’s quarterly performance or link it to demand for AI services. In its report on the first quarter of 2026, Taiwan Mobile said operating income in its telecoms business rose 20% year on year to TWD 4.53 billion. It also linked an increase in depreciation in the business at the time to a new AI data center; that information relates to the first quarter and does not represent third-quarter results.