Kesla Oyj’s Business Review 1 January–31 March 2026: Cautious pick-up in the market environment and strong order development in the defence industry
“In Kesla OYj’s first quarter of 2026, we saw signs of a pick-up in Kesla’s market environment, especially compared to the exceptionally challenging second half of 2025. Although our operating environment remained partly uncertain, our order backlog developed clearly more positively during the review period in both civilian product categories and the defence industry. Orders received during the review period were at an excellent level of EUR 27.8 million. Especially in our KESLA Defence business, order intake was at a very strong level.” President and CEO Pasi Nieminen
-
That’s a remarkable amount of work hours for a single machine, the Norcar 600 owned by Erkki Rinne is taken well care of, it even has the original Diesel engine.
-
Kieran Anders is a forestry contractor working in the lake district. His work involves hand cutting and extracting timber using a skidder and tractor-trailer forwarder.
-
It is not possible to eliminate chain shot, but there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce the risk.
-
Arwel takes great pride in the fact that the mill has no waste whatsoever, “the peelings are used for children’s playgrounds, gardens and for farm animals in barns in the winter and the sawdust has multiple uses in gardens and farms as well.
-
Timber hauliers need to encourage young blood in, and also look after the hauliers we have, we need make the sector a safe and positive place to work.
FIND US ON
January–March 2026 in brief
- Net sales decreased by 3.5% from the comparison period and were EUR 8.0 (8.3) million.
- The operating result remained at the comparison period’s level and was EUR -740 (-778) thousand.
- Cash flow from operating activities was EUR 929 (-229) thousand.
- Earnings per share were EUR -0.27 (-0.28) for both A and B shares.
- Orders received totalled EUR 27.8 (11.5) million.
- At the end of the review period, the order backlog stood at EUR 27.5 (10.3) million.
Key figures
| €1,000, unless otherwise stated | 1.1.-31.3.2026 | 1.1.-31.3.2025 | Change, % | 1.1.-31.12.2025 |
| Orders received | 27 832 | 11 542 | 141,1 % | 35 249 |
| Order backlog | 27 492 | 10 252 | 168,2 % | 7 560 |
| Net sales | 8 026 | 8 321 | -3,5 % | 34 408 |
| EBITDA | -396 | -398 | -3 437 | |
| EBITDA, % | -4,9 % | -4,8 % | -10,0 % | |
| Operating result | -740 | -778 | -4 924 | |
| Operating result, % | -9,2 % | -9,4 % | -14,3 % | |
| Comprehensive result for the period | -898 | -937 | -4 460 | |
| Earnings per share, EUR * | -0,27 | -0,28 | -1,32 | |
| Return on investment, % | -17,0 % | -13,4 % | -23,3 % | |
| Return on equity, % | -51,1 % | -33,5 % | -45,9 % | |
| Cash flow from operating activities | 929 | -229 | 1 119 | |
| Gross investments | 17 | 46 | -63,6 % | 52 |
| Interest-bearing net debt | 9 712 | 11 943 | -18,7 % | 10 722 |
| Gearing, % | 147,5 % | 111,5 % | 141,8 % | |
| Equity ratio, % | 25,5 % | 35,2 % | 30,8 % | |
| Balance sheet total | 26 042 | 30 778 | -15,4 % | 24 627 |
| Average number of employees ** | 190 | 194 | -2,1 % | 192 |
* Both undiluted and diluted earnings per share for both A and B shares.
** Impact of lay-offs taken into account.
Pasi Continues “Our net sales remained at a low level in the first quarter of the year and were EUR 8.0 (8.3) million due to the weak order intake in the fourth quarter of 2025. This was also reflected in the profit level, although the operating result improved slightly from the comparison period and was EUR -740 thousand (-778). Our net working capital management was efficient, and cash flow from operating activities was strong at EUR 0.9 million during the review period. We were also able to repay our interest-bearing liabilities during the review period. Since the beginning of the year, we have adopted EBITDA as one of the reportable key figures, and it is also one of the covenants related to our financing arrangements.”
“The outlook for the defence industry has become even stronger due to the geopolitical situation. In March, we announced an order of approximately EUR 17 million received by the KESLA Defence business from a NATO country for the delivery of Kerberos multi-purpose trailers. Deliveries will begin in summer 2026 and are expected to continue for about a year. The order will significantly improve the utilization rate of our factories and create a good foundation for improving profitability. Investments by NATO countries and the development of defence capabilities support the growth targets of the product group. We will continue our determined international sales of KESLA Defence products, and we expect this to be concretely reflected in 2026 as an increase in the number of export countries and the repatriation of sales projects in progress.”
“Despite the challenges in the market, the order backlog of our civilian product groups strengthened during the review period, especially compared to the second half of 2025. Automotive and industrial cranes saw a clear recovery in the domestic and export markets after the challenging second half of 2025. In tractor equipment, the recovery was mild, and demand did not yet reach a satisfactory level in our key market areas, as the weak development of the agricultural and tractor markets continues to be reflected in forest equipment. In harvesting equipment, the market situation remained uncertain in our key target markets, such as North America, Japan and Southeast Asia, including OEM customers. The prolonged uncertainty has lowered distributors’ inventory levels and created pent-up demand, which we expect to release as the market environment stabilizes.
During the review period, in addition to strengthening the conditions for growth, we focused on maintaining operational efficiency and improving our financial situation. We continued the Group-wide structural assessment of the business and financial position with the aim of ensuring the continuity of Kesla’s business, profitability, financial leeway and long-term competitiveness. As part of this package, we ensured our financial position and the sufficiency of working capital during the review period with the bridge financing arrangement we announced in March. The measures related to the stabilisation of the financial position have been agreed, and the enhancement of the cost structure, the optimisation of the production structure and the strategic reviews for each product group are progressing
as planned. There may be deviations in the implementation and timing of the recovery programme. We continuously guide the implementation of the programme and monitor the achievement of the related goals and key indicators. If deviations occur, we will take corrective measures if necessary. After the review period, we also announced the investigation work initiated by the shareholders regarding the possible combination of the company’s share series.”
“During 2026, we will focus on new product launches in all our product categories to create a foundation for future growth. In the first quarter, we expanded our range of small harvester cranes and launched new and updated solutions for harvester heads, pressure accumulator systems and solid wood cranes, among others, to improve our customers’ performance, productivity and cost-effectiveness.
We will continue towards the summer with cautious confidence, determinedly improving the health of our business and strengthening our competitiveness. The geopolitical situation and the related military escalation continue to increase uncertainty in the market. Despite the challenges, we are making progress in implementing our strategy, restoring our business and strengthening our competitiveness towards profitable growth.”
Sign up for our free monthly newsletter here
Contact forestmachinemagazine@mail.com to get your products and services seen on the world’s largest professional forestry online news network.
#homeoflogging #writtenbyloggersforloggers #loggingallovertheworld
Written by loggers for loggers and dedicated solely to the equipment used in forestry operations.