Helsinki’s earnings season continued when 12 domestic listed companies reported their results on Friday. The general index of the Helsinki Stock Exchange decreased by 0.02 percent to 9,940.51 points.
The most traded company of the day was Purmo Group with its share exchange of more than 400 million euros. The company is now one step closer to delisting. Purchasing consortium Project Grand Bidcon the total number of shares and votes rose to more than 94 percent today. The consortium said it will start the redemption procedure for Purmo’s remaining minority shares.
The biggest gainer on the last trading day of the week was BBS-Bioactive Bone Substituteswhose share price rose by 24.0 percent. The company said that it expects the CE mark for its bone substitute in the near future. BBS described the bone substitute product approval process as complex and challenging.
On the other hand, the hard counter was the seller of used cars Kamux. The unit price of the company’s share fell by 16.6 percent, accompanied by a soft result.
The car seller fell far short of the analysts’ consensus
Kamux’s turnover was 252.6 million euros and the adjusted operating profit was 2.7 million euros. Earnings per share remained at zero, while it was 0.06 euros per share a year ago. The consensus forecast of the five analysts who follow the company was EUR 5.9 million for the company’s adjusted operating profit and EUR 272.0 million for the turnover.
According to the company, the weak result was at least due to ongoing challenges in Sweden. Despite the soft result, the guidelines were kept unchanged. Adjusted operating profit is expected to improve from last year’s 18.0 million euros.
“We did not progress with the orientation of new sellers at the speed we had hoped for, and although the corrective measures related to previously identified abuses have proceeded as planned, they have required more resources than expected,” commented the company’s CEO Tapio Pajuharju.
“During August, we also had to state that the implementation of corrective measures has taken its toll, and speeding up the commercial recovery still requires changing Kamux Sweden’s traction responsibility.”
Demand and profit development are expected to improve
PunaMusta Media came out victorious and exceeded analysts’ expectations. The company’s operating profit in April–June was 0.3 million euros, while it was -0.9 million euros in the same period a year ago. Following the company Inderes expected the company’s operating profit to be EUR -1.7 million without the EUR 9.9 million capital gain from the sale of the media businesses.
“In the result development of the digital business, the generally weakened demand in the sector and the lack of new projects were still visible. However, the number of requests for tenders and won customer projects started to increase in June, and we expect demand and thus earnings development to improve during the rest of the year”, CEO Arttu Sallinen comment.
The metal alloy manufacturer that issued a negative earnings warning in July Afarak published the results of the first half of the year. In January–June, the company made an operating profit of EUR 3.1 million on a turnover of EUR 71.4 million. The operating profit percentage settled at 4.3 percent.
In the comparison period a year ago, the company reported an operating profit of 14.4 million and a turnover of 95.4 million euros. At that time, the operating profit percentage was 15.1. Afaraki does not have an active analyst following, so there were no profit forecasts for the half year.
The low price level took a toll on Koskinen’s margins
Koskinen’s turnover in April–June increased, but the high price of wood eroded margins. Turnover increased to 77.8 million euros from 73.9 million euros at the same time last year. The company accumulated an adjusted EBITDA of 9.3 million euros, compared to 13.8 million euros in the comparison period.
Koskinen’s adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 12.0 percent from 18.5 percent in the comparison period. The company kept its guidance unchanged and expects 2024 turnover to increase from the previous year’s 271 million euros. The adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be 8–12 percent.
“For the summer, demand remained stable and the market could see a slight pick-up, especially in terms of sawn timber. However, the uncertainty continued, especially the recovery of construction has been delayed more than expected”, CEO Jukka Pahta comment.
The weak result led to a decrease in guidance
Also a shipping company Viking Line published its half-year report on Friday. In April-June, the company made a turnover of 125.9 million euros, while in the comparison period the turnover was 132.4 million euros. The company does not have an analyst following.
Viking Line’s operating result in the second quarter was 6.2 million euros, while in the comparison period it was 18.0 million euros. The peak season of the third quarter, when most of the profit is generated, is predicted to be at the same strong profit level as the corresponding period in 2023.
Birka Gotland’s initial traffic did not meet the company’s expectations and caused higher start-up costs than expected. In addition to this, the docking of Viking Glory and the canceled shifts of Viking Grace and Gabriella had a negative impact on the second quarter result.
The weak result caused the company to lower its guidance for 2024. The company’s board of directors estimates that the 2024 profit before taxes will be worse than the 2023 level.
Towards profitable growth through changes
Kemira said that it is changing its operating model and organization in order to achieve its goal of profitable growth and that it is moving to a structure of three externally reported business units. The goal of the planned changes is to increase customer orientation, strategic focus, accelerate growth and create shareholder value.
“Now is the time to move to the next stage in implementing the strategy by accelerating our change process and growth path. I am convinced that with the planned change in the operating model, we will be able to offer an even better and more sustainable product portfolio to our customers and create long-term value for our shareholders”, CEO Antti Salminen comment.
Nokia’s strategy and technology director Nishant Batra sold about a third of its Nokia position on August 15. In connection with the transaction, 180,554 shares changed hands at an average price of EUR 3.63. The total value of the share transaction was approximately EUR 665,676.4.
Circular Economy Group EcoUp decided to give financial guidance for 2024. The company did not give financial guidance in the financial statement bulletin published in February due to the uncertain construction market situation.
Due to the clearer outlook, the company estimates that its EBITDA will exceed EUR 2.0 million this year. Last year, the company’s EBITDA was 2.5 million euros. The company’s half-year report will be published next Monday, August 20.