Mips AB President and CEO Max Strandwitz said the company’s “very good sales development“ in recent quarters continued into the first quarter of 2025 as the Sweden-based maker of helmet protection technologies posted organic growth of 42 percent to SEK 116 million for the quarter, compared to SEK 83 million in the year-ago first quarter.

“We saw a good development in all our categories, and in most geographies, we sell to,“ offered Strandwitz in a letter to investors.

The double-digit increase for the quarter was also accompanied by profit growth, with operating profit surging 78 percent to SEK 24 million, compared to SEK 14 million in the year-ago Q1 period. The operating profit was affected by the impact of the revaluation of accounts receivable due to a weaker dollar in the quarter.

Operating margin improved 4.5 percentage points to 20.9 percent of net sales.

The company reported that legal costs negatively impacted the quarter due to a lawsuit to which one of Mips’ U.S. customers is a party. Strandwitz said Mips is not a party to the suit, but since the suit concerns areas where Mips has intellectual property rights, being an important cornerstone of the company’s brand strength, it has chosen to engage to secure the best possible outcome. Mips’ intellectual property rights are not part of this suit.

Diluted EPS increased by 63 percent to SEK 0.71 per share in the first quarter, compared to SEK 0.44 per share in Q1 2024. Operating cash flow was reported strong in Q1 and amounted to SEK 36 million, compared to negative SEK 10 million in the 2024 Q1 period.

Tariff Impact
“In early April, there was an announcement of high tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. The tariff package was extensive and larger than most people had expected and, despite the communication of a temporary pause in the introduction of the tariffs for many countries, the tariff level for China has been further elevated,“ Strandwitz continued. “Given the speed and scale of the changes, it is very difficult to assess the total impact.”

Strandwitz said the company’s assessment is, in the short-term, that this can create uncertainty for customers with a possible delay of orders, possibly resulting in postponed sales.

“This has nothing to do with the long-term demand for Mips products nor Mips position in the market, which remains strong,“ he assured investors. “Regarding the direct impact of the tariffs for Mips specifically, nothing has changed from what we have previously communicated. We sell all our products based on Incoterms Ex Works, which means that the buyer takes responsibility for transport costs, fees, taxes, tariffs, and so on.”

As for consumer markets where products with Mips technology are sold, the trends are said to differ.

In the U.S. market, The CEO said that the company sees that the consumers are more uncertain about what to expect going forward.

“The outlook for the economic situation and the impact of tariffs is unclear,“ Strandwitz said. “This reflects the fact that many consumers are more cautious. At the same time, we are seeing a good level of demand in the bicycle helmet market so far.“

In Europe, Strandwitz said there are “good developments“ on the consumer side and continued growth in sales, especially in Germany.

“The demand in our industry has been subdued for some time and the recovery of the market is now characterized as more normal, despite continued challenging economic developments,“ Strandwitz noted.

“Globally, our strong customer offering and brand strength mean that we continue to see a positive trend in the number of implementations of Mips technology in new helmet models,“ he continued. “Our project revenues were lower this quarter, which is exclusively due to the mix and the phasing of projects and the total number of customer projects remains at a high level.”

Region Summary
The company’s revenue centers on customers in North America and Europe. The company explains the substantial concentration of sales in North America by the large number of helmet manufacturers based in this geographical region. Specification by region is based on customers’ domicile and not distribution.

Revenues increased during the first quarter, with 40 percent mainly driven by North America with a growth of 35 percent to SEK 63 million, Europe with a growth of 51 percent to SEK 32 million and Sweden with a growth of 172 percent to SEK 14 million. Asia and Australia declined as a region to SEK 7 million in Q1, compared to SEK 10 million in Q1 2024.

Category Summary

  • Helmets (Sports): Progress continued as Mips posted growth of 40 percent to SEK 100 million in the Sports Helmet category in the first quarter, and delivered growth in the Bike sub-category, Mips’ largest sub-category, for the sixth quarter in a row the company. Inventory levels of bike helmets have now largely normalized around the world. Despite a relatively weak winter season in several geographies, the company also saw continued growth in the Snow sub-category. As opening inventory levels for the winter season have generally been relatively low, Strandwitz said they do not expect this to affect sales for the next season to any great extent as a whole during the year.
  • Helmets (Motorcycle): The company saw strong growth in the Motorcycle helmet category, with sales growing 32 percent to SEK 10 million in the quarter. “We are seeing the off-road sub-category, in particular, coming back strongly after a deep slump, but the company is also said to be still advancing its position in the On-Road sub-category,” said Strandwitz. “I am pleased to see that despite a generally challenging consumer market, we have seen good developments for Mips in this category,“ Strandwitz added. “Our growth has mainly been driven by the fact that we are gaining greater market share, as well as the roll-out of new helmet models equipped with Mips’ technology.”
  • Helmets (Safety): The Safety helmet category once again delivered a strong quarter, with 60 percent growth to SEK 6 million in Q1, said to be the best quarter ever posted in the category. “This is despite the fact that, seasonally, we are not in the most active period,“ the CEO noted. “We continue to launch new helmets with brands such as HexArmor and so far this year, we have launched one new partnership with the brand Pyramex. Through these launches, we have sharpened our offering even further, and it will be exciting to follow developments in 2025.”

Focus on the Business
“The year has started strongly, and we have a broader and stronger offer than ever,“ Strandwitz said in his conclusion. “However, it is currently unclear what the effects of the implementation of trade tariffs will be in the short term. In these types of circumstances, we do best to focus on what we can influence: develop technical solutions that create safer helmets, win new customers, and strengthen our brand.“

Image courtesy Mips