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Investing.com -- Shares of Swedish food ingredients maker AAK AB fell over 11% on Friday, after second-quarter operating profit, net sales and earnings per share all missed analyst consensus estimates, hurt by price pressure in its Food Ingredients unit and production-related challenges at its Karlshamn site.
Operating profit excluding items affecting comparability totaled SEK 1.10 billion, missing the consensus average of SEK 1.22 billion and down from SEK 1.16 billion a year earlier.
Net sales came in at SEK 11.20 billion, below the consensus average of SEK 11.60 billion and down 1% from SEK 11.30 billion a year earlier.
Earnings per share before dilution were SEK 3.07, missing the consensus average of SEK 3.40, though up from SEK 2.47 a year earlier.
Volumes totaled 486,000 metric tons, below the consensus average of 497,000 metric tons and down 1% from 490,000 metric tons 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, because the second quarter of 2025 included a non-recurring cost of SEK 250 million related to the launch of the Fit-to-Win cost performance program. Excluding items affecting comparability, operating profit decreased 6% from SEK 1,162 million.
Operating profit per kilo fell 5% to SEK 2.25 excluding items affecting comparability, driven by price pressure in Food Ingredients combined with the production-related challenges at the Karlshamn site.
Karlshamn had a negative Group impact of approximately 2 percentage points, mainly affecting Food Ingredients, while currency effects were neutral.
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, while currency effects were neutral.
Volumes in Food Ingredients were flat, with declines in Dairy and Foodservice driven by production-related challenges at Karlshamn.
Chocolate & Confectionery Fats operating profit rose 9% to SEK 491 million from SEK 450 million, with a broadly neutral impact from currency translation.
Cost Performance, which includes the Fit-to-Win project, "started well in 2025 but has since fallen behind plan, particularly in the second quarter," the company said, adding that Fit-to-Win has not yet reached its targeted SEK 300 million in annualized savings and "therefore requires renewed focus."
"The second quarter was softer, with lower volumes, price pressure in Food Ingredients and production-related challenges at the Karlshamn site. Despite this, performance for the first half as a whole was solid," President and CEO Johan Westman said in a statement.
Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 1.08 billion, compared with SEK 524 million a year earlier.
Return on capital employed, measured on a rolling 12-month basis and excluding items affecting comparability, was 20%, compared with 20.9% as of Dec. 31, 2025.
Production at Karlshamn has since returned to normal, the company said.
