Humana raises adjusted operating profit 6% to SEK 221 million in third quarter

Key Facts

Humana AB reported on October 22 that adjusted operating profit rose 6% to SEK 221 million in the third quarter of 2026, compared with SEK 208 million a year earlier, the highest quarterly level according to the company’s report. Net revenue was SEK 2,592 million, up 4% from SEK 2,489 million in the year-earlier period. Revenue growth coincided with organic growth turning positive at 0.3%, after contracting 1.2% a year earlier. The chief executive said the improvement was driven mainly by Sweden, on the back of price increases and efficiency improvements in individual and family care. This represents an improvement in quarterly results, while organic business growth remained limited over the first nine months of the year.

Reported operating profit was SEK 213 million, compared with SEK 206 million in the third quarter of 2025, while net profit for the period rose to SEK 123 million from SEK 120 million. Earnings per share increased to SEK 2.58, compared with SEK 2.40 a year earlier. The difference between growth in adjusted operating profit and the smaller increase in net profit reflects the different levels of results presented by the company, with quarterly comparisons remaining positive for both. Free cash flow was also SEK 12 million, after a negative SEK 17 million in the year-earlier period. By contrast, cash flow for the period was negative SEK 46 million, compared with a negative SEK 346 million a year earlier.

Over the first nine months, net revenue rose to SEK 7,649 million from SEK 7,528 million, but organic growth remained negative at 0.2%, compared with negative 1.6% in the same period a year earlier. Adjusted operating profit was SEK 410 million, compared with SEK 395 million, while reported operating profit fell to SEK 356 million from SEK 424 million. Net profit for the period declined to SEK 152 million from SEK 212 million, and earnings per share fell to SEK 3.19 from SEK 4.18. In contrast, free cash flow over the nine months rose to SEK 183 million from SEK 41 million. These figures highlight a gap between improvement in adjusted profit and free cash flow, and declines in reported operating profit and net profit.

Humana said operating profit over the nine months was affected by a net negative impact of SEK 18 million from recovered claims and SEK 12 million in costs related to the Swedish Health and Social Care Inspectorate’s revocation of a permit. The year-earlier period also benefited from the sale of elderly care operations in Finland, which generated SEK 35 million. These items explain part of the difference in reported operating profit between the periods, alongside an increase in adjusted profit on the company’s stated comparative basis. At the end of its report, Humana described its financial position as stronger, with leverage at 2.4 times, well below its financial target. The improved quarter did not change the fact that organic growth over the nine months remained negative.

The chief executive said demand for care services in the Nordic countries continued to rise, and that the company was addressing it by signing contracts for future care sites and expanding its growth pipeline. She added that efforts aimed at strengthening organic growth had “started to deliver results.” Humana has a medium-term target for annual organic growth of 5%, and says additional acquisitions could add annual growth of between 2% and 3%. It also targets a medium-term operating margin of 7% and a ratio of net interest-bearing debt to EBITDA of 3.0 times, excluding the impact of IFRS 16. These targets put the improvement in quarterly organic growth in the context of the company’s ambitions, while nine-month growth remained negative.

The results come as the company’s ownership and the future trading of its shares change. Ambea announced that its public offer to Humana shareholders had become unconditional, saying it had acquired more than 90% of the outstanding shares and intended to begin compulsory redemption proceedings for the remaining shares. According to Ambea’s disclosure, the offer comprised SEK 20 in cash and 0.305 Ambea shares, as well as one CVR per Humana share, which provides a potential right to additional consideration in the future. Humana said the group’s bank loans in Swedish and Norwegian kronor and euros had been fully repaid after the end of the reporting period and replaced with intra-group financing from Ambea. The company set October 27, 2026, as the last day of trading in its shares on Nasdaq Stockholm, following its delisting request and a call for an extraordinary general meeting.