Analyst Comment

Anora: Expected efficiency measures

Summary

We expect Anora's efficiency measures to achieve savings of 7 MEUR starting next year, aligning with CEO Puntila's earlier indications.
The planned staff reductions will affect around 500 employees, with 70-80 positions terminated, aiming for full savings visibility by 2026.
The measures are significant, representing about 10% of our adjusted EBITDA forecast for 2025, supporting our view of improved profitability despite potential cost absorption.
We predict a 5 MEUR growth in adjusted EBITDA for next year, driven by cost savings and slight revenue growth, although this year's EBITDA may fall below the company's guidance.

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Translation: Original published in Finnish on 9/18/2025 at 7:48 am EEST.

Yesterday, Anora announced its plan to launch measures to improve efficiency, aiming to achieve savings of 7 MEUR starting next year. These measures were anticipated, as CEO Puntila, who took office in March, had already provided a clear indication of them in connection with the Q2 report. However, the scale of the measures is significant, given that the company's adjusted EBITDA is around 70 MEUR. The savings support our expectations for improved earnings next year, and we see no need to adjust our estimates.

Anora seeks efficiency and savings through staff reductions

Anora announced yesterday that it would launch cooperation negotiations to improve profitability and efficiency. The negotiations will affect approximately 500 employees, and the company estimates that they will result in the termination of 70–80 positions in 2025. Through these measures, Anora aims to achieve annual savings of approximately 7 MEUR in personnel expenses, which would be fully visible from 2026 onwards.

Measures were anticipated, but significant in scope

Kirsi Puntila, Anora's new CEO who started in March, said in connection with the Q2 report that the company is accelerating its efforts to improve its financial performance. We have been waiting for concrete action, so the newly announced plans come as no surprise. The company will present its updated strategy in more detail at its Capital Markets Day on November 5, 2025. The targeted annual savings of 7 MEUR are significant, as they correspond to approximately 10% of our adjusted EBITDA forecast for 2025 (67.5 MEUR). The savings are expected to be fully realized during 2026, so they will not yet support the 2025 result, which may be affected by one-off costs arising from the measures.

Savings support expected earnings growth next year

The news is positive and reinforces our view of the company's potential to improve profitability, which has been sluggish in recent years. However, we believe that some of the savings will be absorbed by normal cost inflation and/or other cost increases, so we do not expect the savings to be fully reflected in the result. Our estimates predict 5 MEUR growth (in adjusted EBITDA) for next year, also supported by our expectation of slight revenue growth. Together with cost savings, the predicted improvement in earnings appears realistic. On the other hand, we estimate this year's EBITDA to be 68 MEUR, which is below the company's guidance of 70-75 MEUR.

Anora Group is a producer of alcoholic beverages. The product portfolio consists of wine and spirits marketed under various brands. The largest operations are found in the Nordics and the Baltics, and the company's products are exported to retailers in Europe and North America. The company was created through a merger of Altia and Arcus in 2021 and has its headquarters in Helsinki.

Key Estimate Figures18.08

	2024	25e	26e
Revenue	692.0	675.8	689.4
growth-%	-4.7 %	-2.3 %	2.0 %
EBIT (adj.)	42.1	40.8	47.5
EBIT-% (adj.)	6.1 %	6.0 %	6.9 %
EPS (adj.)	0.27	0.26	0.35
Dividend	0.22	0.22	0.25
Dividend %	7.9 %	6.1 %	6.9 %
P/E (adj.)	10.4	13.9	10.2
EV/EBITDA	4.9	5.3	4.8