Swedish Companies Report Revenue Growth Amid Declining Profit Margins in Q2 2025
Swedish companies experience revenue growth in Q2 2025 but struggle with declining profit margins.
Key Points
- • Viva Wine Group's revenue rose 20% but EBITA fell, decreasing profitability margins.
- • FM Mattsson's revenue increased 2.4%, with EBITA margins dropping due to inventory write-downs.
- • Axichem reported negative operating results, contrasting with Acuvi's revenue growth and improved margins.
- • Analysts highlight macroeconomic challenges affecting the manufacturing sector's profitability.
In a notable financial trend, several Swedish companies have reported increased revenues for the second quarter of 2025, alongside a troubling decline in profit margins. This duality reflects the ongoing challenges businesses face in converting burgeoning sales into sustainable profits.
Viva Wine Group, for instance, reported a substantial revenue increase of 20% from the previous year, reaching 1.339 billion SEK. Despite this impressive sales growth, the company's adjusted EBITA dropped from 107 million SEK to 101 million SEK, leading to a decrease in the EBITA margin from 9.6% to 7.5%. This suggests that even with heightened sales, profitability remains a pressing issue (ID: 41932).
Similarly, FM Mattsson reported a less dramatic but still relevant growth of 2.4% in revenue, hitting 504 million SEK. However, its EBITA margin fell considerably from 11.0% to 8.9%, primarily due to inventory write-downs negatively impacting gross margins. The firm acknowledged that organic growth was also slightly lower than in the preceding quarter, indicating potential struggles in maintaining profitability during a period of increasing sales (ID: 41946).
In contrast, Axichem faced a negative operating result of -3.4 million SEK in Q2 2025, though this was an improvement from -0.9 million SEK a year prior. The company's struggles highlight the difficulties within the industrial chemicals sector. Conversely, Acuvi, while not directly linked to the broader trend, reported a revenue rise to 47 million SEK from 43 million SEK, bolstered by a robust gross margin of 65%. This positive performance led Acuvi to revise its financial targets upward, aiming for an EBITDA margin of 25-30% by 2027, signaling a contrasting narrative of growth and opportunity in a challenging environment (ID: 42022).
Market analysts have attributed these trends to varying macroeconomic pressures. The manufacturing sector is particularly under scrutiny due to adverse economic conditions that may hinder sustained profitability despite revenue increases. Many companies are grappling with issues that stem from weak macroeconomic indicators, raising concerns about their ability to convert sales growth into meaningful profit (ID: 42011).
As the financial landscape evolves, observers are keenly watching how these companies navigate their profitability challenges amid otherwise growing revenue figures. While the second half of 2025 may provide critical insights into these trends, for now, the mix of gains in revenue with losses in profit margins raises significant questions regarding the sustainability of this growth strategy in a turbulent economy.