Borregaard's Core Profit Dips Despite Specialty Cellulose Rally

Wood costs fell roughly 15% year on year, a bright spot in the cost picture. The offset was the Middle East conflict, which pushed up expenses for energy, logistics and chemicals. The net bill from raw materials, energy and logistics came in about NOK 40 million higher than in the second quarter of 2025.

Borregaard is pushing a cost-cutting programme targeting annual savings of NOK 150 million. The savings phase in gradually with full effect set for 2028. The quarter also included a NOK 30 million charge for ground stabilisation work at its Sarpsborg site and a NOK 337 million impairment of its investment in Alginor ASA, booked through financial items.

Those one-offs dragged headline profit into the red. Pretax profit was NOK -45 million versus NOK 326 million a year earlier. Earnings per share came in at NOK -1.27, down from NOK 2.56. Stripping out the stabilisation and impairment charges, adjusted earnings per share were NOK 2.35.

The stock opened little changed on the Oslo exchange. The adjusted EPS figure, which strips out the impairment and ground-work charges, will draw the most attention from investors who track the underlying operating trajectory. The BioSolutions margin compression is the metric to watch next quarter: energy costs and currency headwinds both tend to be persistent, not one-off.