Kalmar expects its comparable operating profit margin to be above 12.5 percent in 2026.<\/p>\n
President & CEO Sami Niiranen: Kalmar’s sales grew and overall profitability improved, but at the same time we faced operational headwinds in our Services segment. While I\u2019m proud of our resilience, there is clearly still room for improvement. We are operating in an attractive market, from a strong financial position, that allows us to navigate an unpredictable world without compromising on our long-term goals.
\nThe market activity in the quarter was in line with our expectations. We saw stable demand comparable to the previous quarters. Despite the increased geopolitical instability, we experienced continued high interest in our sustainable solutions across our core customer segments and regions. The data from our connected equipment also showed stable activity levels.
\nOur order intake for the first quarter totalled EUR 451 (480) million and continued sequentially on a stable level. The orders received increased in the Americas and the APAC region, but decreased in EMEA. The decline from the strong comparison period can largely be explained in the Equipment segment by the timing of some sizeable orders from our customers in ports and terminals and in the Services segment by a few large service agreements. On a positive note, the distribution end customer market in the US showed a gradual recovery in the first quarter. Our order book remained essentially unchanged.
\nOur financial performance remained solid. Sales increased by 5 percent or by 10 percent in constant currencies to EUR 420 (398) million. Sales grew in both segments and all market areas. The comparable operating profit of EUR 52 (48) million increased by 8 percent, representing 12.3 (12.0) percent of sales.
\nProfitability improved in our Equipment segment, but the Service segment\u2019s profitability continued to be burdened by tariffs and challenges in the spare parts sales in North America, partly due to the sluggish market activity in the region. However, we are confident in our ability to improve the profitability of our Services business. Our large installed base of 70,000 equipment and global service network of approximately 1,500 service technicians, close to our customers, is an important asset and competitive edge. To address the operational shortfalls, we are implementing cost optimisation actions and have proactively introduced targeted sales growth and strategic pricing actions.
\nKalmar\u2019s financial position is strong. At the end of March we were net cash positive. ROCE increased to 24.2%. Our cash flow from operations excluding finance items and taxes amounted to EUR 67 million. Our Driving Excellence initiative continued to deliver results. By the end of March, we had achieved annualised gross efficiency improvements of approximately EUR 40 million.
\nOur eco portfolio sales continued to grow and already accounts for 45 (43) percent of sales. On the fully electric vehicle front the share of total Equipment orders in the last 12 months was 9 (11) percent, hence the pace being below our ambitions. In the coming quarters, we will expand our electric portfolio further. This will increase our competitiveness and meet the customer needs in the different end-markets.
\nSustainable growth is driven by our own operations and by deepening strategic cooperations and partnerships with leading players and institutions. In March, we announced a donation of EUR 100,000 to the University of Tampere, to accelerate the development of electrification, automation, artificial intelligence and digitalisation.
\nLooking ahead. We are maintaining our full year guidance and estimate our comparable operating profit margin to be over 12.5 percent in 2026. Most importantly, we\u2019re executing our core strategy by staying close to our customers’ evolving needs regardless of the geopolitical weather.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kalmar expects its comparable operating profit margin to be above 12.5 percent in 2026. President & CEO Sami Niiranen: Kalmar’s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":22332,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcargoglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/kalmar-ostp.jpeg?fit=640%2C356&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paPyrk-5Yy","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22074,"url":"https:\/\/projectcargoglobal.com\/?p=22074","url_meta":{"origin":22974,"position":0},"title":"Kalmar introduces next-gen Li-ion battery solution","author":"Project Cargo Global","date":"December 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Kalmar has introduced a next-generation lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery solution for the Kalmar electric straddle carrier. The new Gen 2 battery delivers enhanced energy capacity, improved thermal stability and extended operating times. The solution is now available globally. 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The new battery system delivers enhanced energy capacity, improved thermal stability, and a longer, more predictable performance curve across a wide range of operating environments. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/projectcargoglobal.com\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21068,"url":"https:\/\/projectcargoglobal.com\/?p=21068","url_meta":{"origin":22974,"position":2},"title":"Kalmar changes its regional reporting structure","author":"Project Cargo Global","date":"August 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"As part of Kalmar\u2019s growth strategy and in line with the Driving Excellence initiative, Kalmar has decided to change its regional reporting structure and restates geographical area information based on the new regional structure as of 1 October 2025. The new reporting geographical areas will be APAC (the Asia-Pacific), EMEA\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/projectcargoglobal.com\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21457,"url":"https:\/\/projectcargoglobal.com\/?p=21457","url_meta":{"origin":22974,"position":3},"title":"Kalmar changes its regional reporting structure","author":"Project Cargo Global","date":"October 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Kalmar corrects its stock exchange release published on 27 August 2025 at 1:00 PM (EEST) regarding the restated geographical area information based on the new regional structure. The attached figures (PDF and Excel) contained an error in sales and orders received, as a country was mistakenly placed in the EMEA\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/projectcargoglobal.com\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21892,"url":"https:\/\/projectcargoglobal.com\/?p=21892","url_meta":{"origin":22974,"position":4},"title":"Kalmar signs agreement with ArcelorMittal","author":"Project Cargo Global","date":"November 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Kalmar has signed an agreement with ArcelorMittal to supply 12 Kalmar medium forklift trucks, two of which are equipped with Kalmar\u2019s recently introduced second-generation lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology. The large order was booked in Kalmar\u2019s Q3 2025 order intake, with delivery of machines scheduled to be completed during Q1 2026.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/projectcargoglobal.com\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcargoglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kalmar-ArcelorMittal.jpeg?fit=640%2C356&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcargoglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kalmar-ArcelorMittal.jpeg?fit=640%2C356&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcargoglobal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kalmar-ArcelorMittal.jpeg?fit=640%2C356&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22759,"url":"https:\/\/projectcargoglobal.com\/?p=22759","url_meta":{"origin":22974,"position":5},"title":"Kalmar and Yilport Oslo extend partnership","author":"Project Cargo Global","date":"March 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Kalmar has signed an agreement with Yilport Oslo Terminal Investments AS to supply three Kalmar Electric Reachstackers. This order continues a long-standing partnership that began in 2016 and was recently further strengthened with a previously announced three-year Kalmar Complete Care service agreement. 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