Fortaco Group Holdco Plc's Half-Year Review 29 August 2025 at 2:00 p.m. EEST
This release is a summary of Fortaco Group Holdco Plc's Half-Year Review for
January-June 2025. The full release is attached and available on our website at
https://investors.fortacogroup.com.
Unless stated otherwise, comparison figures in parentheses refer to the
corresponding period in the previous year.
Financial highlights: April-June 2025
Reported financials
· Order intake was EUR 97.8 (97.6) million.
· Net sales were EUR 89.1 (101.0) million. Net sales decreased due to
generally soft market environment and divestments completed after the comparison
period.
· Recurring EBITDA was EUR 4.7 (6.5) million, i.e. 5.3 (6.5) per cent of net
sales.
· EBITDA was EUR 3.8 (2.8) million, i.e. 4.3 (2.8) per cent of net sales.
· Ramp-up costs impacting EBITDA in Gliwice, Poland, amounted to EUR 1.9
million during the period. Recurring EBITDA excluding ramp-up costs in Gliwice
amounted to EUR 6.6 million, i.e. 7.4 per cent of net sales.
Financials excluding divested businesses
Note: The financials presented below are based on the “New Fortaco” scope, i.e.
excluding the marine, energy and heavy project businesses in Jászberény, Hungary
and Kalajoki & Sepänkylä, Finland, which have been divested during 2024 as well
as the marine and energy business in Gruza, Serbia, divested in 2025.
· Order intake was EUR 96.5 (90.0) million.
· Net sales were EUR 88.4 (92.0) million. Net sales decreased somewhat due to
soft general market environment.
· Recurring EBITDA was EUR 4.7 (7.1) million, i.e. 5.3 (7.7) per cent of net
sales.
· EBITDA was EUR 3.8 (2.8) million, i.e. 4.3 (3.0) per cent of net sales.
· Ramp-up costs impacting EBITDA in Gliwice, Poland, amounted to EUR 1.9
million during the period. Recurring EBITDA excluding ramp-up costs in Gliwice
amounted to EUR 6.6 million, i.e. 7.5 per cent of net sales.
Financial highlights: January-June 2025
Reported financials
· Order intake was EUR 191.1 (205.4) million.
· Net sales were EUR 171.4 (206.8) million. Net sales decreased due to
continued soft market environment especially during the beginning of the year
and divestments completed after the comparison period.
· Recurring EBITDA was EUR 5.9 (11.1) million, e.g. 3.4 (5.3) per cent of net
sales.
· EBITDA was EUR 4.1 (6.1) million, e.g. 2.4 (2.9) per cent of net sales.
· Ramp-up costs impacting EBITDA in Gliwice, Poland, amounted to EUR 3.5
million during the period. Recurring EBITDA excluding ramp-up costs in Gliwice
amounted to EUR 9.4 million, i.e. 5.5 per cent of net sales.
Financials excluding divested businesses
Note: The financials presented below are based on the “New Fortaco” scope, i.e.
excluding the marine, energy and heavy project businesses in Jászberény, Hungary
and Kalajoki & Sepänkylä, Finland, which have been divested during 2024 as well
as the marine and energy business in Gruza, Serbia, divested in 2025.
· Order intake was EUR 187.8 (187.5) million.
· Net sales were EUR 169.3 (188.7) million. Net sales decreased due to
continued soft market environment especially during the beginning of the year.
· Recurring EBITDA was EUR 6.1 (12.5) million, i.e. 3.6 (6.6) per cent of net
sales.
· EBITDA was EUR 4.3 (7.0) million, i.e. 2.6 (3.7) per cent of net sales.
· Ramp-up costs impacting EBITDA in Gliwice, Poland, amounted to EUR 3.5
million during the period. Recurring EBITDA excluding ramp-up costs in Gliwice
amounted to EUR 9.7 million, i.e. 5.7 per cent of net sales.
Operational highlights
· Group-wide performance improvement program focused on identifying and
executing both profitability and cashflow improvement opportunities continued
with full focus and is expected to deliver results as planned as year 2025
progresses.
· Structural investments in Narva (Estonia), Holic (Slovakia) and Gliwice
(Poland) were completed, and operations were started. The start-up and ramp-up
phase of the Gliwice investment is impacting profitability negatively in 2025.
· On 23 May 2025, Fortaco Oy, a subsidiary of Fortaco Group Holdco Plc, signed
an agreement on the sale of its Serbian subsidiary and its marine and energy
business in Gruza, Serbia, to Entec Evotec AS. The transaction was completed on
11 June 2025.
· Fortaco completed the reorganisation of its financing, including the
extension of the maturity of the bond debt by two years, EUR 20 million of new
equity to further strengthen the balance sheet and the liquidity position, other
favourable amendments to the terms and conditions of the bond contributing to
cash-flow improvements in 2025 and 2026 as well as extending the maturity of the
EUR 7.5 million super senior revolving credit facility by two years.
Key figures
Fortaco Group key financials
EUR million unless 4-6/25 4-6/24 1-6/25 1-6/24 1-12/24 Last 12 months
otherwise noted
Net sales 89.1 101.0 171.4 206.8 356.5 321.0
EBITDA 3.8 2.8 4.1 6.1 7.6 5.6
% of net sales 4.3% 2.8% 2.4% 2.9% 2.1% 1.7%
EBITA -0.3 -0.7 -4.0 -1.3 -7.4 -10.1
% of net sales -0.4% -0.7% -2.3% -0.6% -2.1% -3.1%
Non-recurring items 0.9 3.7 1.8 5.0 11.1 7.9
Recurring EBITDA 4.7 6.5 5.9 11.1 18.6 13.4
% of net sales 5.3 % 6.5% 3.4% 5.3% 5.2% 4.2 %
Recurring EBITA 0.6 3.0 -2.2 3.7 3.7 -2.2
% of net sales 0.6% 2.9% -1.3 % 1.8% 1.0% -0.7%
Financial position
Return on Capital 1.0% 5.0% -1.9% 3.1% 1.6% -0.9%
Employed % (ROCE)
Equity ratio % 12.8% 19.3% 12.8% 19.3% 12.7% 12.8%
Net debt 134.6 102.7 134.6 102.7 150.0 134.6
Net gearing % 333.5% 166.5% 333.5% 166.5% 384.9% 333.5%
Net debt / last 12 10.0x 5.5x 10.0x 5.5x 8.1x 10.0x
months recurring
EBITDA
Guidance for 2025 (specified)
Fortaco estimates that its net sales will be in a range of EUR 335-350 (332,
excluding divested businesses) million and recurring EBITDA in a range of EUR
20-23 million in 2025 (EUR 20 million excluding divested businesses). On an LTM
basis (excluding divested businesses), net sales is estimated to be in a range
of EUR 323-338 million for Q3/2025.
Net sales of the comparison period has been specified to be EUR 332 million
(previously EUR 338 million) due to the divestment of the marine and energy
business in Gruza.
President & CEO Mika Mahlberg's comments
In the second quarter of 2025, the market situation remained challenging. As
expected, our comparable revenue for the quarter was below the level of the
comparison period and amounted to EUR 88.4 million (92.0). However, our
comparable order intake increased by approximately 7 per cent compared with the
second quarter of last year and by 6 per cent from the first quarter of this
year.
Operational profitability declined from the comparison period. Our comparable
EBITDA, excluding items affecting comparability, was EUR 4.7 million (7.1),
representing 5.3 (7.7) per cent of revenue. The result was significantly
burdened by the ongoing ramp-up measures at the Gliwice unit in Poland, the
costs of which will continue to impact profitability during the remainder of the
year. The turnaround process at the Breitenau, Austria business unit, which is
progressing as planned, also continued to affect the result.
Although comparable revenue and EBITDA remained below the level of the
comparison period, the gap was smaller than in the first quarter of the year,
and we take a cautiously positive view of the remainder of the year. We are
increasing production capacity at several plants to meet customer demand. Sales
development is encouraging, and we see new, tangible opportunities in the market
related to the long-term outsourcing trend. We have lately secured several new
customers, which are currently ramping up. Fortaco is committed to delivering
the highest quality, reliability of supply and flexibility in its industry,
thereby supporting its customers' profitable growth across different market
cycles. We believe these factors will become increasingly important as volumes
return to growth.
Fortaco's performance improvement programme, Fortaco 25, had a positive impact
on second-quarter profitability and partly offset the cost effects of the ramp
-up operations in Gliwice. The programme is progressing according to plan, and
we are pleased with the positive impacts it has delivered on both result and
cash flow. We will continue to focus on improving the profitability of our core
business and strengthening our cash flow.
Positive market signals, but US tariff policy creates uncertainty
Despite the positive signs observed in some of Fortaco's customer segments, the
market does not yet show signs of broad-based recovery, although conditions in
the mining and defence equipment industries remain favourable. United States
trade policy continues to create significant uncertainty and reduces the
predictability of market developments. At present, US tariffs have no material
direct impact on Fortaco's business, as both direct and indirect exports to the
United States are limited and the business is primarily focused on Europe.
Our balance sheet strengthened significantly
Our balance sheet and liquidity strengthened significantly in May, when the
company's principal shareholder made an equity investment of EUR 20 million in
the company, and amendments were made to the terms and conditions of our bond to
strengthen cash flow. As a result of these measures, we are well positioned to
implement our strategy and grow together with our customers when market
conditions improve.
In June, we sold our Serbian subsidiary and the business unit located in Gruza,
which focused on the marine and energy industries, to the Norwegian Entec Evotec
AS. The sale of the Gruza business unit was the final step in the strategic
review of the company's marine, energy and heavy project businesses, which has
now been completed. The sale of the subsidiary will have no material impact on
Fortaco's revenue or profit this year.
Developing our climate targets and sustainability reporting
In the first half of 2025, we advanced key elements of our sustainability
agenda. A project was launched to define science-based climate targets and
outline our transition plans. We also explored ways to improve product-level
emission calculations and identified further opportunities to decarbonise our
Scope 1-3 emissions.
We follow closely the development of EU regulations and the Omnibus proposal. We
have gathered stakeholder feedback, benchmarking data, and insights to develop
our reporting and processes further. We also integrated material sustainability
topics more deeply into our business processes, reinforcing our commitment to
long-term value creation and climate resilience.
Fortaco's personnel have done excellent work to improve our profitability and to
meet the needs of our customers, and I would like to thank all Fortaco employees
for their strong commitment. I also wish to thank our partners for their smooth
cooperation, as well as our customers and principal shareholder for their
continued trust.
Mika Mahlberg
President & CEO
Financial reporting in 2025
In 2025, Fortaco publishes the following financial reports:
Business Review January-September 2025 on Wednesday 26 November 2025
Fortaco Group Holdco Plc
Board of Directors
Further information
Mika Mahlberg
President & CEO
+358 40 548 3353
mika.mahlberg@fortacogroup.com
Kimmo Raunio
Senior Executive Vice President & CFO
+358 40593 6854
kimmo.raunio@fortacogroup.com
Distribution
Nasdaq Helsinki Oy
Financial Supervisory Authority
Main media
investors.fortacogroup.com
Fortaco Group
Fortaco is the leading European full-solution provider for OEMs in the off
-highway equipment industries. Pioneering the design and production of
assemblies, cabins, steel fabrications, and zero emission solutions, we offer
cutting-edge technology for enhanced productivity. We empower off-highway
machines to use fossil-free steel and our customers to optimize their operations
and move towards a greener future. Fortaco Group has operations in multiple
European and Asian business sites and technology hubs, which support our global
customers. www.fortacogroup.com