The Helsinki Stock Exchange is typically sleepy in July, but on Friday investors rushed to buy stocks in Finnish drugmaker Orion as it reported better-than-expected profits. The Espoo-based pharmaceutical firm saw its share price leap by nearly 10 percent on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.
That followed the release of Orion's second-quarter results, which showed revenue up by more than a quarter while operating profit rose by nearly 70 percent compared to a year earlier.
"We expect that at least one of our biologic drug candidates will be able to advance to clinical development later this year," said CEO Liisa Hurme, referring to a medicine derived from living organisms.
Tyres, forest products and fuel in demand
Meanwhile, Nokian Tyres's stock price jumped by more than six percent, also after posting second-quarter profits that beat analysts' expectations. Operating profit rose sharply, driven by higher sales volumes, improved pricing and greater cost efficiency, it said.
Other gainers in Friday trading include the forest-products companies, perennial mainstays of the Finnish economy. Stora Enso and Metsä Board were both rose by nearly two percent, as did fuel producer Neste and telecoms operator Telia, which posted rising profits.
Chemicals manufacturer Kemira's stock price was up by about 1.6 percent — even though the firm announced that its operating profit fell by 31 percent in the April-to-June period while net sales remained flat.
Kemira said that its profitability was mainly undermined by higher costs for raw materials and transport due to the war in the Middle East.
Nordea and Fiskars boost profits despite war worries
Nordea Bank also said it was being affected by the knock-on effects of the conflict, but nevertheless announced that Q2 profits were up by about one percent year-on-year. Assets under management grew by 16 percent to over 500 billion euros, a new record for the Finnish branch of the pan-Nordic financial group. Its share price slipped a bit.
Fiskars, best known for its orange-handled scissors and garden tools, said on Thursday that its net sales were up for the fourth consecutive quarter. Operating profit more than doubled compared to the previous year, while sales edged up by one percent.
CEO Jyri Luomakoski predicted that Fiskars will improve its results during the rest of the year, despite the unstable global situation.
And while Telia's profits and share price rose, rival Elisa said that its sales and profits were down slightly. However, the company issued an upbeat press release predicting that its full-year revenue may rise compared to last year.
In May, the Helsinki Stock Exchange reached a 25-year high, thanks largely to AI-related investments in networking giant Nokia.
