Finnish food group Apetit has cut its full-year profit outlook, citing “challenging” weather conditions in Sweden that are expected to reduce pea crop yields.
Excluding the impact from the acquisition of the Sweden-based pea supplier Foodhills, a deal struck last year, Apetit forecasts its 2026 "operating result" could slip to a loss of €2m ($2.3m) in the worst-case scenario, compared to a profit of €5.9m last year.
On the top side of the new guidance range, Apetit is guiding to a profit of €1m but still down on 2025, according to a "profit warning" notice posted by the company.
Apetit said its Swedish frozen pea harvest target will be “missed clearly due to the challenging weather conditions during the growing season”.
The frozen vegetables, ready meals and soups supplier explained: "Due to hot weather and drought, yield levels have been lower-than-anticipated and more fields than anticipated have had to be left unharvested. The weaker harvest reduces production volumes and weakens the company’s profitability in the second half of the year."
Its latest profit warning builds on the advisory issued in April, when Apetit said its 2026 operating result would “clearly decrease” from the prior year, also excluding the impact of the Foodhills deal.
Announcing the Foodhills transaction in October, Apetit said it would buy the business at an enterprise value of Skr60m ($6.25m), which included up to Skr30m in loan repayments.
Foodhills operates one production plant located in Bjuv, Sweden, and supplies customers in foodservice, primarily for the Swedish market.
The latest downgrade by Apetit also follows a similar warning issued in December for the previous 2025 financial year, when it outlined “delays in harvest production”.
The Helsinki-based manufacturer is due to publish its half-year report on 21 August.
In the first quarter, the group’s net sales stood at €46.1m, up 5.3% year-over-year. It posted an operating loss of €1.4m for the quarter, compared to a profit of €2.3m in the same period a year earlier.
Apetit’s product portfolio includes plant-based options such as vegan wings, meat-alternative patties and pizzas, along with gluten- and dairy-free vegetable appetisers.
