The Helsinki market processed a fresh batch of earnings updates today, with several mid-cap names reporting mixed results. Investor reactions were cautious, with Aspo, Framery, and Wulff all trading lower by the close despite generally improving underlying performance.

Industrial conglomerate Aspo closed down 6.25 percent after reporting a clear improvement in profitability but weaker-than-expected revenue. Group revenue rose to EUR 616.3 million from 592,6 million, while comparable EBITA increased more than 25 percent to EUR 36.5 million from EUR 29.1 million a year earlier. Comparable earnings per share climbed to EUR 0.51, and free cash flow turned positive at EUR 26.5 million.

Performance diverged across segments: Telko improved, while ESL Shipping continued to face weaker spot demand. The company is evaluating structural options for ESL Shipping, including a possible divestment or partial demerger, and expects the sale of Leipurin to close in the first quarter of 2026. Management guided for higher comparable EBITA in 2026, and the board proposed a EUR 0.25 per share dividend, equivalent to roughly 49 percent of comparable EPS. I

Office pod manufacturer Framery also declined sharply, with the shares closing 11.14 percent lower, after delivering strong growth but softer-than-expected profitability. Full-year revenue surged 37 percent to EUR 222.1 million, while adjusted EBIT reached EUR 50.5 million, representing a margin of 22.8 percent. Fourth-quarter profitability was pressured by IPO-related costs, U.S. tariffs, and unfavorable exchange rates.

The company completed its listing on Nasdaq Helsinki during the year and continues to expand beyond office pods toward broader smart office solutions. It targets annual organic revenue growth above 10 percent and a midterm adjusted EBIT margin of 25 percent. Despite strong growth and high employee participation in the IPO, the market reacted negatively to the earnings quality and near-term cost pressures.

Wulff reported record net sales and rising operating profit but also traded slightly lower, ending the day down 1.22 percent. Net sales for 2025 increased 19 percent to EUR 122.3 million, while operating profit reached EUR 4.8 million and comparable operating profit rose to EUR 4.0 million.

Growth was driven primarily by the Worklife Services segment, supported by organic expansion in staffing services and acquisitions in accounting. The company continues to pursue a strategy aimed at doubling net sales to EUR 230 million by 2030, with a focus on operational efficiency and digital development. The board proposed a dividend of EUR 0.17 per share. Investors appeared to welcome the growth but remained cautious about profitability momentum.

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Business

[Earnings wrap] Aspo improves margins, Framery posts strong growth as market reacts cautiously

[Earnings wrap] Aspo improves margins, Framery posts strong growth as market reacts cautiously

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The Helsinki market processed a fresh batch of earnings updates today, with several mid-cap names reporting mixed results. Investor reactions were cautious, with Aspo, Framery, and Wulff all trading lower by the close despite generally improving underlying performance.

Industrial conglomerate Aspo closed down 6.25 percent after reporting a clear improvement in profitability but weaker-than-expected revenue. Group revenue rose to EUR 616.3 million from 592,6 million, while comparable EBITA increased more than 25 percent to EUR 36.5 million from EUR 29.1 million a year earlier. Comparable earnings per share climbed to EUR 0.51, and free cash flow turned positive at EUR 26.5 million.

Performance diverged across segments: Telko improved, while ESL Shipping continued to face weaker spot demand. The company is evaluating structural options for ESL Shipping, including a possible divestment or partial demerger, and expects the sale of Leipurin to close in the first quarter of 2026. Management guided for higher comparable EBITA in 2026, and the board proposed a EUR 0.25 per share dividend, equivalent to roughly 49 percent of comparable EPS. I

Office pod manufacturer Framery also declined sharply, with the shares closing 11.14 percent lower, after delivering strong growth but softer-than-expected profitability. Full-year revenue surged 37 percent to EUR 222.1 million, while adjusted EBIT reached EUR 50.5 million, representing a margin of 22.8 percent. Fourth-quarter profitability was pressured by IPO-related costs, U.S. tariffs, and unfavorable exchange rates.

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The company completed its listing on Nasdaq Helsinki during the year and continues to expand beyond office pods toward broader smart office solutions. It targets annual organic revenue growth above 10 percent and a midterm adjusted EBIT margin of 25 percent. Despite strong growth and high employee participation in the IPO, the market reacted negatively to the earnings quality and near-term cost pressures.

Wulff reported record net sales and rising operating profit but also traded slightly lower, ending the day down 1.22 percent. Net sales for 2025 increased 19 percent to EUR 122.3 million, while operating profit reached EUR 4.8 million and comparable operating profit rose to EUR 4.0 million.

Growth was driven primarily by the Worklife Services segment, supported by organic expansion in staffing services and acquisitions in accounting. The company continues to pursue a strategy aimed at doubling net sales to EUR 230 million by 2030, with a focus on operational efficiency and digital development. The board proposed a dividend of EUR 0.17 per share. Investors appeared to welcome the growth but remained cautious about profitability momentum.

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Authors

Founder and ceo

Helene Auramo is a co-founder of Listeds and Nordic Listed Leaders. She has previously co-founded Slush, Indiedays, Zipipop, and Okimo Clinic, building ventures at the intersection of media, technology, and community. She holds board positions at the Finnish Business School Graduates (Suomen Ekonomit) and Finnvera, and serves as Chair of the Investment Committee at the Finnish Business School Graduates. Helene is also a columnist for Talouselämä, Finland’s leading business magazine, and Aamulehti, one of the country’s largest newspapers. Her work focuses on leadership, growth, and the structures that shape decision-making in Nordic companies. She was awarded Future Board Member of the Year in 2022 by Future Board.

Founder and ceo

Helene Auramo is a co-founder of Listeds and Nordic Listed Leaders. She has previously co-founded Slush, Indiedays, Zipipop, and Okimo Clinic, building ventures at the intersection of media, technology, and community. She holds board positions at the Finnish Business School Graduates (Suomen Ekonomit) and Finnvera, and serves as Chair of the Investment Committee at the Finnish Business School Graduates. Helene is also a columnist for Talouselämä, Finland’s leading business magazine, and Aamulehti, one of the country’s largest newspapers. Her work focuses on leadership, growth, and the structures that shape decision-making in Nordic companies. She was awarded Future Board Member of the Year in 2022 by Future Board.

Authors

Founder and ceo

Helene Auramo is a co-founder of Listeds and Nordic Listed Leaders. She has previously co-founded Slush, Indiedays, Zipipop, and Okimo Clinic, building ventures at the intersection of media, technology, and community. She holds board positions at the Finnish Business School Graduates (Suomen Ekonomit) and Finnvera, and serves as Chair of the Investment Committee at the Finnish Business School Graduates. Helene is also a columnist for Talouselämä, Finland’s leading business magazine, and Aamulehti, one of the country’s largest newspapers. Her work focuses on leadership, growth, and the structures that shape decision-making in Nordic companies. She was awarded Future Board Member of the Year in 2022 by Future Board.

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Leadership Moves

Elecster keeps leadership inside the board as Juuso Halonen becomes CEO

Oct 2, 2026

Elecster's board has named Deputy CEO Juuso Halonen as chief executive from 1 December 2026. Arto Kinnunen, CEO since 2017 and with the group for more than 30 years, leaves the role on 30 November and stays on as management advisor. On the same day, CFO Veronika Halonen becomes deputy CEO, eleven months after taking the finance role.

The March deputy appointment was the succession plan

On 5 March, Elecster appointed Halonen deputy CEO and a member of the management team from 30 March, reporting to Kinnunen. The stated remit was global sales and marketing and the development of management systems. Seven months later, the board has confirmed what that move signalled.

Halonen is an insider in every sense. He joined the group in 2011, has been CIO since 2019 and has sat on the board since 2024. At the time of the March appointment he held 32,705 Elecster shares. The company says Kinnunen's advisory role is meant to secure continuity through the year-end financial statement process, which places the first results under the new CEO in early 2027.

“Juuso knows Elecster, its business, personnel and international operating environment very well. The Board believes that his long experience with the company and the close work with Arto in recent months create a strong foundation for transferring the CEO's responsibility and further developing Elecster's operations,” says Jukka Halonen, Chairman of the Board, in the press release.

“I am pleased that the change of CEO can be implemented in a planned and controlled manner. I have worked closely with Juuso, and I can confidently transfer the responsibility of CEO to him,” says Arto Kinnunen.

He inherits a company whose order book has halved since March

The numbers Halonen takes over are thin. First-half 2026 revenue fell around 5.2% to EUR 15.8 million, and operating profit dropped to EUR 0.1 million from EUR 0.5 million a year earlier. The order backlog stood at EUR 4.8 million at the end of June, down from EUR 8.6 million at the end of March, as the Middle East conflict delayed customer investment decisions. A fire at the Kenyan subsidiary in Nairobi added around EUR 0.4 million in one-off costs.

The longer trend points the same way. Full-year 2025 revenue fell around 3.6% to EUR 32.7 million, and operating margin narrowed to 3.0% from 4.7%. The April AGM approved no dividend. The Russian packaging business, which the company says it will keep running for now, is the risk it flags most directly in the H1 report. Elecster still guides for revenue growth and improved earnings per share in 2026.

Halonen's own priorities match the gap. He names international sales and marketing, the service business and presence in core markets as the areas to develop, while keeping profitability as a cornerstone.

“Reliability, customer focus and profitability remain the cornerstones of our operations. At the same time, we must develop international sales and marketing, service business, our products and operating methods, and strengthen our presence and customer cooperation in our key market areas,” says Juuso Halonen in the press release.

Halonen family will hold both top executive roles and four of six board seats

The appointment concentrates leadership further. The board elected at the April 2026 AGM has six members: Aija Bärlund, Jarmo Halonen, Jukka Halonen as chair, Juuso Halonen, Veronika Halonen and Timo Kangas. From December, the CEO and deputy CEO will both come from that board.

“With her analytical and dynamic approach, Veronika Halonen has taken on the responsibilities of her current position well, and with this appointment as Deputy CEO, we are clarifying the Group's overall management structure,” says Jukka Halonen.

For a company of Elecster's size, an internal successor with seven months of supervised handover is a defensible choice. It also means the board chose continuity over an external search at a point when the business needs commercial renewal. Whether that trade pays off will show first in the order book, not in the governance chart.

Market Signals

Nightingale Health's USD 6.5 million brain health deal lands as it targets EUR 10 million in revenue

Oct 1, 2026

The Michael J. Fox Foundation will pay USD 6.5 million for Nightingale Health to analyse 60,000 UK Biobank samples for neurodegeneration markers. The company disclosed the agreement as inside information on 30 September. A day later, Nightingale published an annual report setting a revenue target of at least EUR 10 million for the current financial year.

The work will use Alamar Biosciences' NULISAseq™ Neuro 220 Panel, which is designed for neurodegeneration and other brain health conditions. At the Foundation's direction, the dataset goes to UK Biobank and opens to the wider research community in 2027. The aim is to find blood markers that change years before the symptoms of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's appear.

CEO and founder Teemu Suna said the company believes the deal will produce the world's largest brain health-focused proteomics study on a single research cohort.

The contract puts Nightingale's move into proteomics to work

The annual report says Nightingale expanded its offering into proteomics in response to growing interest in multiomics, strengthening its position in the research market. The step came through its November 2025 partnership with Alamar.

The report describes research as a separate business with its own customers and products. It is also where much of the evidence for Nightingale's healthcare business comes from, including measurements of all roughly 500,000 UK Biobank participants. The largest research agreements the report lists for the past financial year were with Aalborg University, at about EUR 2.4 million, and the Moli-sani study, at about EUR 0.7 million.

Revenue follows the samples, and the first read comes in March

Nightingale's revenue for the financial year ended June 2026 was EUR 5.50 million, up from EUR 4.69 million. That fell short of the more than 50% growth the company had targeted. In June, Nightingale warned that a EUR 2.4 million project announced in September 2025 had been delayed for reasons outside its control. As a result, about EUR 2 million of revenue moves into the current financial year. Suna called it "timing, not lost business".

The company recognises revenue over time as samples are analysed. It collects advance payments for most of its services, and the gap between payment and analysis is typically three to six months. The release gives no timeline for analysing the 60,000 samples.

The company expects its liquid funds of EUR 36.8 million to last until the end of the 2027/2028 financial year. The half-year report on 9 March 2027 will be the first chance to see how much of the delayed project and the Fox Foundation contract has turned into revenue towards the EUR 10 million target.

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