Balco’s After-Tax Loss Jumps to SEK 74 Million in Third Quarter
Key Facts
Balco Group reported an after-tax loss of SEK 74 million in the third quarter of 2026, compared with a loss of SEK 5 million in the same period a year earlier, according to its interim report. The result came despite net sales rising to SEK 295 million from SEK 277 million. The company said organic sales growth was 6%, with currency effects adding 1%. This coincided with restructuring costs and asset write-downs totaling SEK 88 million during the quarter. The company attributed these items to its ongoing transformation, while offering no separate explanation linking sales growth alone to the widening loss.
Items related to the transformation comprised restructuring costs of SEK 9 million and asset write-downs of SEK 79 million, the company said. Adjusted net profit after tax was a loss of SEK 4 million, compared with a loss of SEK 5 million a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share were also a loss of SEK 0.21, versus a loss of SEK 0.23 in the year-earlier quarter. These adjusted measures show that the reported loss of SEK 74 million coincided with accounting items related to restructuring and asset write-downs. They do not change the fact that the group continued to report an adjusted loss during the period.
At the operating level, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell to SEK 1 million from SEK 3 million in the third quarter of 2025. The adjusted margin declined to 0.5% from 1.1%. The sequential comparison was sharper: in the second quarter of 2026, sales were SEK 370 million, while adjusted operating earnings were SEK 12 million, with a margin of 3.2%. In the third quarter, annual sales growth did not prevent continued weakness in adjusted operating profitability. The acting chief executive said the gross margin had begun to improve and selling and administrative expenses as a share of sales had started to decline.
For the first nine months of 2026, sales totaled SEK 963 million, compared with SEK 924 million in the year-earlier period. Order intake rose 7% to SEK 1,090 million from SEK 1,016 million. But the group reported an after-tax loss of SEK 75 million, compared with a loss of SEK 34 million in the first nine months of 2025. Operating cash flow was also negative at SEK 42 million, versus negative SEK 26 million. These figures combine growth in sales and orders with wider losses and more negative operating cash flow.
Quarterly demand indicators showed new orders of SEK 220 million, close to SEK 222 million a year earlier. The order book rose 14% to SEK 1,571 million at quarter-end, compared with SEK 1,377 million at the end of the third quarter of 2025. The increase in the order book came alongside a slight decline in new orders, while the company said efficiency measures would have a clearer impact in the fourth quarter and beyond. The group reduced its workforce by slightly more than 60 people, or more than 10%, while maintaining production capacity. Its measures include rationalizing operations geographically, consolidating activities and cutting costs. It also halted its local operations in the Netherlands and assigned the remaining obligations to Balco UK during a transition period.
The group’s measures also include the sale of the property owned by TBO-Haglinds, with handover scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026. In its second-quarter report, the company said its main bank had agreed to temporary relief from loan terms, with restrictions on dividend payments through the third quarter of 2027. On management, Charlotte Mattsson was appointed as the new chief executive and is due to take up the role in the first quarter of 2027. Balco has scheduled publication of its 2026 year-end report for February 8, 2027, and its 2026 annual report for April 5, 2027. The year-end report will provide the next financial update after the current results, while the company expects the impact of efficiency measures to become clearer in the fourth quarter and beyond.