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Introduction & Market Context
Atria Plc (HEL:ATRAV) released its Half Year Financial Report for January-June 2025 on July 17, showing improved profitability despite facing several market challenges. The Finnish food company’s stock closed at €13.85, down 0.72% following the announcement.
The company navigated a difficult operating environment that included a cool start to summer affecting seasonal product sales, a Finnish Food Workers’ Union strike in April, and continued sluggishness in the Finnish retail market. Despite these headwinds, Atria managed to improve its EBIT across all business areas in the first half of the year.
Quarterly Performance Highlights
For Q2 2025, Atria reported net sales of €459.8 million, representing a modest 1.2% increase year-over-year. However, EBIT for the quarter declined slightly to €17.6 million from €18.4 million in the comparable period, with EBIT margin narrowing to 3.8% from 4.0%. Earnings per share improved to €0.41 compared to €0.39 in Q2 2024.
As shown in the following chart of quarterly financial results:
For the first half of 2025, Atria’s performance showed more significant improvement. H1 net sales reached €880.3 million, up 1.0% from the previous year, while EBIT jumped 15.5% to €30.5 million from €26.4 million. The EBIT margin expanded to 3.5% from 3.0%, and earnings per share increased substantially to €0.69 from €0.49, representing a 40.8% improvement.
The company’s first-half financial metrics are illustrated in this chart:
Detailed Financial Analysis
Atria’s financial position strengthened considerably during the first half of 2025. Free cash flow surged to €44.0 million compared to just €1.9 million in H1 2024, providing the company with additional resources for its planned investments. The equity ratio improved slightly to 43.6% from 43.2% at the end of 2024.
The company’s cumulative net sales and EBIT trends show consistent performance over recent years, as illustrated in these charts:
A more detailed breakdown of Atria’s financial performance is provided in the income statement:
Regional Performance Analysis
Atria’s business performance varied significantly across its operating regions. Atria Sweden emerged as the strongest performer, with H1 net sales increasing by 9.7% to €193.0 million and EBIT growing by €1.4 million to reach €3.0 million. The Swedish market showed positive development with retail market value increasing by 4.0% during January-May.
In contrast, Atria Finland, the group’s largest business area, experienced a 1.3% decline in H1 net sales to €637.8 million, though EBIT improved by €2.6 million to €26.9 million. The Finnish retail market contracted by 1.7% in value terms during January-May, reflecting challenging market conditions.
The regional breakdown of H1 net sales is shown in this chart:
Similarly, the EBIT performance by region demonstrates how all business areas contributed to the overall improvement:
Atria Denmark & Estonia reported a 2.2% decrease in H1 net sales to €61.4 million, while EBIT improved slightly by €0.3 million to €3.2 million. The business was negatively impacted by swine fever on one of Atria Estonia’s pig farms, with estimated costs of €0.6 million.
Strategic Initiatives & Investments
Atria announced significant investments to modernize its operations and enhance sustainability. The company plans to invest €82.4 million in modernizing convenience food production, with Business Finland granting €24.7 million in investment aid for the project. Additionally, Atria Finland is investing €7 million in a new pancake production line.
The company also highlighted its sustainability initiatives, including commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency projects, improved manure storage and treatment, and reduction in soy use.
These strategic investments are expected to strengthen Atria’s competitive position and operational efficiency in the coming years, particularly in the convenience food segment which represents a growing market opportunity.
Forward-Looking Statements
Despite the positive H1 results, Atria provided a cautious outlook for the remainder of 2025. The company expects its adjusted EBIT for the full year to be lower than in 2024 (€65.4 million), citing continued sluggishness in the Finnish retail market as a key factor.
CEO Kai Gyllström commented on the company’s performance: "We can be satisfied with the April-June result because despite less than favorable market conditions and a variety of challenges, we managed to achieve a good result."
Atria identified several short-term business risks, including uncertainty from the war in Ukraine, global geopolitical tensions, long-term effects of nutrition recommendations, beef market imbalance, market disruptions from animal diseases, and potential cybercrime or information system disruptions.
The company will publish its Q3 2025 report on October 23, 2025.
Full presentation:
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