MEKO cuts third-quarter sales 2.1% to SEK 4,341 million
Key Facts
MEKO reported a 2.1% decline in net sales in the third quarter of 2026 to SEK 4,341 million, compared with SEK 4,432 million in the corresponding period of 2025, and said organic sales growth was negative 3%. In the same results, operating profit rose to SEK 174 million from SEK 145 million a year earlier, while adjusted operating profit fell to SEK 214 million from SEK 217 million. The operating margin was 3.9%, compared with 3.2% in the third quarter of 2025, while the adjusted margin was unchanged at 4.8%. Chief Executive Pehr Oscarson said the company's profitability remained stable, but sales did not meet its ambitions. He added that the focus is on increasing organic growth while continuing to control costs.
The figures show a divergence between sales and reported operating profitability: sales declined year on year, but operating profit rose compared with the same period a year earlier. Adjusted operating profit, by contrast, edged lower, and its margin remained at the level recorded a year earlier. Oscarson attributed management's position to sales not meeting the company's ambitions, without describing them as below analysts' expectations. The company says its aim is to strengthen organic growth while maintaining cost control. The guidance puts management's focus on expanding underlying sales while managing expenses.
MEKO's net sales fell 1% in the first half of 2026 to SEK 9,002 million, compared with SEK 9,070 million in the first half of 2025, while organic growth was 1%. The third quarter's organic change was therefore negative, following positive organic growth in the first half. The first-half results provide a time-based comparison with the company's performance before the current quarter, while the quarterly sales figure is the latest measure in the report. Total net sales in the first half were SEK 9,002 million, against SEK 9,070 million in the corresponding period. MEKO's third-quarter statement puts the year-on-year sales decline at 2.1%.
At Swedish company Crunchfish, quarterly sales moved in a different direction in the third quarter of 2024, rising to SEK 274,000 from SEK 189,000 in the third quarter of 2023. The company at the same time recorded a pretax loss of SEK 6.997 million, compared with a loss of SEK 6.916 million in the corresponding period. In the first nine months of 2024, sales were SEK 2.371 million, against SEK 654,000 in the same period of 2023. Cash and cash equivalents also reached SEK 9.062 million at the end of September 2024, compared with SEK 4.770 million at the end of September 2023. These figures cover periods before MEKO's third-quarter 2026 results and show Crunchfish's trajectory in its 2024 report.
In its 2024 annual report, Crunchfish said it was optimistic that its approach and patented Digital Cash solution could generate significant business in 2025, and pointed to progress in the Indian market. In its third-quarter 2026 report, the company said technical specifications had been completed for interoperable offline payment acceptance using the digital rupee in India. The report also cited emerging opportunities to license patents related to the digital rupee and the UPI system. Crunchfish said its major shareholders had offered a SEK 10 million credit facility to support turning the technology and intellectual property into commercial agreements and sustainable revenue. The report said revenue generation had taken longer than expected.
One upcoming date for MEKO investors is the release of its 2026 fiscal-year report on February 11, 2027, according to the company's calendar. The report will cover January to December 2026, according to the published calendar. The reported third-quarter results remain the latest quarterly data on the company in the evidence. The first-half figures provide earlier context for the sales trajectory during the year. Management's stated priorities are organic growth and cost control.