Suominen - Nonwoven Manufacturer for the Wiping Segment

Here is Rauli’s company report on Suominen. :slight_smile:

Suominen’s Q3 result fell clearly short of the comparison period and forecasts due to the company’s operational challenges. Although the full-year guidance for an improving result was reiterated, we significantly lowered our forecasts for both this year and the coming years. Valuation multiples for the coming years are high, and in our view, the stock is pricing in a earnings level clearly higher than current levels and our expectations for the coming years. For this reason, we believe the expected return remains weak.

Quoted from the report:

Due to negative cash flow and earnings remaining weak, the company’s balance sheet position has also deteriorated. Net debt/adj. EBITDA (rolling 12 months) was 3.5x at the end of Q3, which we believe is starting to be alarmingly high. This may require Suominen to, for example, take measures to release working capital at the expense of margins and to cut the dividend, our forecast for which we lowered to zero for this year. The expected turnaround in earnings would, of course, contribute to improving the ratio, which in our forecasts improves to the 2.0x level by the end of 2026.