At this point, I consider this a workable and certainly the only possible solution.
Recruiting a new, competent, and capable CEO from outside the company in a situation where the main owner has pulled the rug out from under them can be quite challenging. Few truly competent candidates are bold enough to jump into such a situation.
Poranen is likely the most capable and best of the available options in this situation to see if this ship can still somehow be turned around.
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A good and the only sensible choice in exceptional circumstances. It’s worth remembering that the company needs quick and correct decisions in the coming weeks. Who is better suited for that than the chairman of the board? In the short term, it’s not at all about operational activities, but about financing.
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Interesting to see what happens, as there is still cash in hand (net cash approximately €40.9 M) at the end of 2024, and the enterprise value is negative.
Without new capital, with the current operating model, the money will roughly last until the end of 2026. Now big and new strategic moves are needed - hopefully they will be found.
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Well, it seems Woodspin is being wound down: Sisäpiiritieto: Spinnovan yhteisyritys Woodspin aloittaa muutosneuvottelut - Inderes
Woodspin Oy, the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of wood-based SPINNOVA® fibre, is a joint venture owned by Spinnova Oyj and Suzano Plc. The companies each own 50 percent of Woodspin. The change negotiations are related to Woodspin’s strategic review, which began in February 2025.
As a result of the strategic review, Woodspin will assess the prerequisites for continuing its operations and will alternatively consider closing its operations. Woodspin’s operations have a heavy cost structure and are loss-making. Achieving profitability would likely require significant investments, and securing sufficient funding is uncertain. In 2024, Woodspin incurred a loss of 6.7 million euros, of which Spinnova’s share was 3.4 million euros. On December 31, 2024, the book value of Woodspin in Spinnova’s balance sheet was 19.4 million euros.
The change negotiations cover all of Woodspin’s personnel, a total of 33 employees. All employees may be subject to the measures under consideration, including the potential termination of employment relationships for the entire personnel.
Decisions on potential personnel impacts at Woodspin will be made after the change negotiations have concluded. The estimated duration of the change negotiations is at least six weeks.
According to the current estimate, the outcome will be implemented as soon as possible after the decision-making, but no later than December 31, 2025.
On February 28, 2025, Spinnova began a review of its strategy, covering all its joint ventures, and is planning future actions. Spinnova estimates that the strategic review will be completed in the coming months and will immediately inform the market, including its financial guidance, thereafter.
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What about Jyväskylä’s test plane? It didn’t have time to age much.
This was, in my opinion, unfortunately quite expected news. Woodspinn, operating on a pre-industrial scale, has been and is purely dependent on owner financing, and Suzano is, quite expectedly based on the announcement, not keen on further financing. Spinnova’s ability to bear both its own costs and Woodspinn’s entirely is, at least in my opinion, insufficient. Of course, exploring potential new partners for Woodspinn is probably part of Spinnova’s strategic review, but due to the Suzano link, the situation is far from simple and is naturally also entirely related to the development of Spinnova’s overall strategy.
We wrote down all Woodspinn investments from Spinnova’s balance sheet in connection with the previous update, but this naturally has no cash effect on Spinnova.
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I can’t really say if this was good or bad news. Good from a cost perspective, but apparently this has no impact on the remaining options
- Finding a new partner
- Shutting down the entire operation?
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Here are Antti’s comments regarding this latest news concerning Woodspin.
The news is a continuation of Suzano’s decision in February to withdraw from its planned investments in Spinnova’s fiber production. The situation related to Woodspin is difficult, as Suzano is unlikely to have an interest in the company, while Spinnova, in our assessment, cannot finance the loss-making Woodspin without partners. We expect Spinnova’s strategy and, at the same time, Woodspin’s situation to clarify before the summer holidays. Due to the ongoing review, Spinnova’s share’s risk profile is currently very high, as the uncertainty related to the strategic direction is significant, and the company has very difficult questions to resolve.
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There’s an article on Yle about Spinnova and wood-based fibers more generally. It’s not an easy industry:
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One reason might be purely human: the desire to see it through to the end, to see if anything comes of it. The same pattern repeats in many early-stage companies. Anders Oldenburg of Seligson writes about this topic in his recent blog, which discusses such early-stage companies versus product development projects of established companies:
“How many listed venture capital companies, having determined their project has failed, have distributed their excess funds back to investors? No, something else is invented, and they continue as long as the money lasts. After all, the organization has to get its salary.”
Edit: so if this had been part of a larger company’s business, this would have been the point to consider shelving the project and allocating resources and capital to other business activities
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Spinnova’s annual report states that Business Finland’s loans (EUR 5.066m 12/24) have not been amortized during 2024. Business Finland has also granted approximately EUR 3.5 million in subsidies for Spinnova’s R&D projects, part of which (EUR 1.7m) has been recorded in the 2024 and 2023 results, meaning it has also been used.
Hopefully, Business Finland is active regarding its loan receivables and has set some rules for those grants (if any are still outstanding), so that the outcome of this saga does not result in a loss for taxpayers as well.
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Today would have been Spinnova’s general meeting, unfortunately, I missed it because I was at NoHo’s equivalent in Tampere. Perhaps someone who was there will dare to write a few words to us about what was discussed. The CEO’s review may possibly be made available later.
A strategic assessment is underway again, and we will be wiser by the end of May. However, I believe that operationally, all cost-saving targets are currently being reviewed. Hopefully, the cuts will not affect the purchase of analysis from Inderes; that would be a considerable disservice to us investors.
Regrettably, this mess-up by Tariffimies happened just now, and it may be futile to hope for help from the capital markets in such a chaotic situation. Everyone is postponing their investments as uncertainty increases, and a small company like Spinnova is certainly not a priority.
This is particularly sad for Janne Poranen and Juha Salmela, who founded the company; Woodspin’s change negotiations (shutdown) are surely taking a toll. I myself am not longing for the potentially lost money, as I have said many times that the risk was worth taking. In any case, in addition to the cash, patents must also have some value, so let’s wait calmly to see what happens.
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Yes, this increasingly feels like a shutdown now: Muutoksia Spinnova Oyj:n johtoryhmässä | Kauppalehti
Spinnova is making changes to its management team to better align roles with the current development phase.
As of April 11, 2025, the management team will consist of the following members and roles:
Janne Poranen, CEO
Santeri Heinonen, CFO and HR Director
Johanna Valkama, Legal Director
Shahriare Mahmood, Product and Sustainability Director
Juha Salmela, CTO
CFO and Deputy CEO Ben Selby and Business Director Lasse Holopainen are leaving the management team. Ben has been a member of the management team since 2021 and Lasse since 2022. They will continue to support strategy work in different roles and will leave the company by the end of June 2025 at the latest.
“I want to thank Ben and Lasse for their commitment to scaling and commercializing Spinnova. I wish them all the best for the future,” says CEO Janne Poranen.
And another new release is coming: Sisäpiiritieto: Spinnova aloittaa muutosneuvottelut sopeuttaakseen organisaatiotaan yhtiön nykyisen kehitysvaiheen ja toimintaympäristömuutoksen takia - Inderes
Inside Information: Spinnova initiates co-determination negotiations to adapt its organization due to the company’s current development phase and changes in the operating environment
Spinnova plans to adapt its organizational structure due to the company’s current development phase and changes in the operating environment. For this reason, Spinnova is initiating co-determination negotiations.
The co-determination negotiations cover all Spinnova employees, excluding top management. According to the company’s preliminary estimates, the co-determination negotiations may lead to possible changes in teams and roles, as well as temporary layoffs and dismissals. The estimated need for reductions is a maximum of 35 people. The company estimates that the planned change would result in annual savings of approximately 2.6 million euros. The number and targeting of possible dismissals will be specified during the negotiations. Spinnova employs 56 permanent employees.
The negotiations will begin on April 23, 2025, and are estimated to conclude by June 4, 2025, at the earliest.
According to the current estimate, the outcome will be implemented as soon as possible after the decision-making, but no later than December 31, 2025.
Spinnova began evaluating its strategy on February 28, 2025. Spinnova estimates that the strategic evaluation will be completed in the coming months and will immediately inform the market, including its financial guidance, thereafter.
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Here, this competent technology development team elevates its own role.
I wonder if there’s anyone in the company who has ever sold a product to a customer. This looks like VTT or some other well-lobbied state-owned outfit will buy the company and its people back as its own pilot factory, and the payment of salaries to the management for demanding work will continue for another couple of decades,
Strong bet that the government will resign before summer.
Antin’s comments on how Spinnova is starting change negotiations and reducing its management team. 
The news is a continuation of Suzano’s decision in February to withdraw from its planned investments in Spinnova fiber production. We do not find the organization’s downsizing and cost-saving plans surprising at all, as Suzano’s decisions will at least delay the company’s entry into a revenue-generating commercial phase. Thus, savings are necessary, but from the perspective of Spinnova’s share, strategic choices and revenue growth are still in the main role.
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CEO Janne Poranen’s review from this spring’s Annual General Meeting! 
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This has risen sharply in recent days on low volume. I suspect the reason is that the results of the strategy review were promised for the summer. It will be interesting to see what the company’s decision is.
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No comment was given on Woodspin’s fate, but it will be announced separately.
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At the beginning of the co-determination negotiations, it was announced that there would be a maximum of 35 fewer job positions, and the final result was (only) 10.
If only one could draw some conclusions about the future from that, but I can’t. Operations are at least continuing, and funding is presumably being sought.
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Chief Analyst Antti has commented on Spinnova’s change negotiations.
From the perspective of Spinnova’s share, the company’s strategic choices going forward are key. Based on the rather large organization remaining in the company, we consider it possible that the company will continue to commercialize its technology mainly on its own. We have expected Spinnova to announce its strategy before the summer holidays.
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