Outokumpu tops Q4 core earnings forecast, sees improvement in the near-term (updated)

Outokumpu Oyj

12/02/2026 07:13

Sees profitability recovery in the near-term

Flags demand challenges

Shares fall 5%

Expects stainless steel deliveries to improve 20-30% in Q1

Rewrites throughout with CFO quotes, share move, background

By Jagoda Darlak

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Finnish stainless steel maker Outokumpu OUT1V.HE on Thursday warned that a challenging market would persist in 2026 despite reporting core profit for the fourth quarter of 2025 that was ahead of market expectations.

The shares were down around 5% at 1319 GMT.

Pressured by weak domestic demand, elevated energy costs, and low-priced Asian imports last year, European steelmakers have welcomed increased EU protections such as Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) or the European Commission's proposal to cut import quotas.

Despite expecting a significant recovery in volumes and seeing more activity in the market and demand for its products due to the introduction of CBAM, finance chief Marc-Simon Schaar told Reuters the underlying demand in Europe had not improved.

"There is no sign yet of any recovery," Schaar said.

Core earnings in Europe, Outokumpu's key market, came at a loss of 56 million euros in the quarter.

"On the European side, it's fair to say that it was probably the most challenging quarter I have seen with the lowest profitability," Schaar said.

     Outokumpu's fourth-quarter stainless steel deliveries fell by 15% quarter-on-quarter, negatively impacted by market weakness and challenges related to the supply chain planning solution in the rollout of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

They are, however, expected to improve 20-30% in the first quarter, with the leftover impact from the rollout included in the guidance.

The company expects its core earnings to improve in the first quarter, benefiting from recovering stainless steel delivery volumes, it said in a statement.

"We expect to break even again in Europe in Q1," Schaar told Reuters.

     Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA of 10 million euros ($11.9 million) beat analysts' forecast of 4.1 million, having recovered from a loss of 3 million euros a year ago.

The group, whose stainless steel products are used in tanks, facades and consumer goods such as washing machines, proposed a dividend of 0.13 euros per share for 2025.

 (Reporting by Jagoda Darlak, editing by Matt Scuffham)

 ((Jagoda.Darlak@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 65 40;))