AAK AB’s shares fell over 11% on Friday after the company reported that second‑quarter operating profit, net sales and earnings per share all missed analyst consensus estimates, primarily due to price pressure in its Food Ingredients unit and production‑related challenges at the Karlshamn site.
Operating profit excluding items affecting comparability amounted to SEK 1.10 billion, below the consensus average of SEK 1.22 billion and down from SEK 1.16 billion a year earlier. Reported operating profit, which is not adjusted for items affecting comparability, rose 20% to SEK 1,095 million from SEK 912 million, reflecting a non‑recurring cost of SEK 250 million linked to the launch of the Fit‑to‑Win cost‑performance programme in Q2 2025. Excluding items affecting comparability, operating profit decreased 6% to SEK 1,162 million.
Operating profit per kilogram fell 5% to SEK 2.25, driven by the Food Ingredients price pressure and the Karlshamn production issues, which contributed a negative group impact of roughly two percentage points, mainly affecting the Food Ingredients segment. Currency effects were neutral.
Net sales for the quarter were SEK 11.20 billion, missing the consensus average of SEK 11.60 billion and representing a 1% decline from SEK 11.30 billion a year earlier. Volumes totaled 486,000 metric tons, below the consensus estimate of 497,000 metric tons and down 1% from 490,000 metric tons in the comparable period last year.
In the Food Ingredients segment, operating profit fell 14% to SEK 658 million from SEK 764 million, mainly due to lower operating profit per kilo; volumes in this segment were flat, with declines in Dairy and Foodservice attributed to the Karlshamn challenges. By contrast, the Chocolate & Confectionery Fats segment saw operating profit rise 9% to SEK 491 million from SEK 450 million, with currency translation having a broadly neutral impact.
The Fit‑to‑Win cost‑performance programme, which started well in 2025, has fallen behind plan in the second quarter and has not yet achieved its targeted SEK 300 million in annualised savings, prompting the company to refocus efforts.
Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 1.08 billion, up from SEK 524 million a year earlier. Return on capital employed, measured on a rolling 12‑month basis and excluding items affecting comparability, stood at 20%, slightly down from 20.9% as of 31 December 2025.
President and CEO Johan Westman noted that the second quarter was softer, with lower volumes, price pressure in Food Ingredients and production‑related challenges at Karlshamn, but emphasized that overall performance for the first half of the year remained solid. Production at Karlshamn has since returned to normal.