Translation: Original published in Finnish on 11/4/2026 at 9:20 am EET.

 Source: Inderes

This morning, Exel Composites published its Q3 report, which exceeded our expectations by a wide margin. Even the company itself described the quarter as exceptionally strong, and we believe this was reflected in the favorable timing of deliveries, at the very least. Although the company expected growth to moderate toward the end of the year, taking this into account as well, we believe the implementation of its strategy is progressing exceptionally well overall. The guidance, which indicates significant earnings growth for the full year, remained unchanged, and the market situation also appears to have remained largely favorable.

Revenue once again well above expectations

Exel's Q3 revenue grew by a whopping 59% to 38.2 MEUR, clearly exceeding our estimates. The company described the quarter as exceptionally strong, and, in light of this, we estimate that the development was further boosted by tailwinds from the timing of delivery requests (e.g., conductor core orders), in addition to strong execution. As expected, growth in production volumes at the Indian factory also supported this trend. Accordingly, the Energy customer segment's revenue grew by as much as 137%. Revenue in the Other customer industry also more than doubled (+112% y/y), driven by the defense industry. In contrast, Industrial (+2% y/y), Transportation (+2% y/y), and Buildings and infrastructure (-3% y/y) remained around the level of the comparison period. However, quarterly fluctuations within customer industries are typical. Nevertheless, the company noted that, in certain Transportation applications, competition and price sensitivity have increased, despite making new inroads into the Chinese market. We will therefore continue to monitor any further information regarding these market factors. Reflecting the overall picture discussed above, the Customized Solutions business unit grew by 43% and Industrial Solutions by as much as 130%, in line with the volume growth of the Indian factory.

Exel's order intake (38.2 MEUR, +42% y/y) also saw strong growth. Order development thus continued with a fairly positive trend. Based on the comments, we interpret that orders received from customer industries have generally followed the revenue trend. However, the potential impact of the recent Suzlon contract on orders was not specified. Reflecting the overall picture, the company's order book remained at nearly the same level as the previous quarter (98 MEUR, +99% y/y), still providing solid support for the future.

Volume growth and efficiency measures drove profitability above expectations

Strong volume growth and, according to the company, continued operational improvements were effectively reflected in the operating profit and margin. In fact, Exel's adjusted operating profit rose to as much as 3.4 MEUR, well exceeding our 2.2 MEUR estimate. Margin growth also clearly exceeded our forecast. However, the more concise business review means that evaluating the detailed cost structure development will have to wait until the Q4 report. The company's reported earnings did not include any notable non-recurring items. Strong operational performance was also visible all the way through the bottom line of the income statement, driven particularly by taxes remaining at zero.

Guidance remains unchanged, but efforts were made to manage Q4 expectations

As we expected, Exel reiterated its full-year guidance and anticipates that its revenue (2025: 103 MEUR) and adjusted EBIT (2025: 3.2 MEUR) will increase significantly from last year. However, the company noted that it expects growth to moderate in Q4, following two exceptionally strong quarters. The outlook for the rest of the year is indeed somewhat in line with our previous estimate that the timing of order requests for large framework agreements causes natural volatility between quarters. Prior to the report, we expected revenue for the whole year to stand at 134 MEUR and adjusted EBIT to rise to 8.5 MEUR. As the day progresses, we hope to gain further insight into the company’s more detailed year-end expectations, as the strong Q3 report showed that the company had generated revenue of 103 MEUR and adjusted EBIT of 7.4 MEUR from January through September. For now, we are seeing upward pressure at least on our earnings forecast, although the growth rate is expected to level off toward the end of the year, which will temper this effect to some extent. Overall, however, we see the company’s strategy being implemented in a very convincing manner.