The July-September results period is starting to be patted. The companies have reported on the development of turnover and operating results.
According to data collected by Kauppalehti covering the results of around a hundred listed companies, more than half of the companies increased their turnover and operating profit. On the other hand, even two-thirds of the turnover fell short of forecasts.
“However, it seems that the earnings period is becoming satisfactory or reasonable. The median profit of the companies is increasing slightly, which is a positive result considering how many profit warnings were received before the profit season”, says Inderes chief analyst Antti Viljakainen says the Market Council.
“Listed companies have managed to defend their profitability relatively well by saving. The development of sales is sluggish, which is due to the fact that the European economy is still doing relatively slowly.”
Contrary to what is said in the video above, Samu Lang is Aktia’s investment director.
S-Bank rescuer Tanja Wennonen-Kärnä describes the earnings period as weak.
“You can’t get anywhere with that. Perhaps the expectations have been quite low. Now it was expected that all those disappointments would have been cleaned up a little more.”
Actian investment manager Samu Langin falling short of the forecasts reflects “the overly optimistic expectations” regarding growth at the beginning of this year.
“At that time, companies and analysts on average expected that in the second half of the year the economy would start to recover clearly and that it would fuel demand and turnover. That didn’t happen at all.”
However, according to Lang, the companies have been able to adapt and keep costs under control, which has kept the results at a reasonable level.
The clear election result weakened
The biggest news of the week is Donald Trump’s election to the presidency of the United States. On Wednesday, stock market prices were rising in the United States.
According to the Market Council’s experts, the price increase was partly about relief that the result has been obtained and partly about the fact that the Republican policy would rain more on investors.
“I think it was positive that we got a clear result,” says Viljakainen of Inderes.
S-Pankin’s Wennonen-Kärnä agrees.
“Behind the positive reaction was precisely the fact that the result was so clear and it has removed volatility from the market.”
According to Wennonen-Kärnä, in the longer term, we need to look at how politics is reflected in stock exchange rates.
“In my opinion, Wednesday’s rise in rates priced the removal of regulation and the decrease in corporate tax. Maybe it was a Trump derivative.”
In Europe, the situation is very different, notes Viljakainen.
“Here we can get excited about whether there will be import duties and what Trump’s attitude towards NATO and other political matters is like.”
According to Wennonen-Kärnä, Europe can also benefit if the tariff war is concentrated between China and the United States.
How will Trump’s election affect investors? Watch the entire conversation in the attached video.
Market narrate
This week, the Market Council is discussing the past earnings period.
Have listed companies weathered the recession? What are the positive and negative surprises of the earnings season? Is it worth investing in the Helsinki stock exchange at all? And how does the recent US presidential election result affect investors?
As a guest, the chief analyst of Inderes Antti ViljakainenS-Bank’s chief strategist Tanja Wennonen-Kärnä and Aktia’s investment manager Samu Lang.
Market Council is hosted by Kauppalehti’s editor-in-chief Soili Semkina.
The commercial partner of the Markkinaraati program is Aktia. All journalistic decisions are made in the editorial office.
Watch all Markkinaraati episodes from here.
Strings tighter.
Listed companies have managed to defend their profitability relatively well by saving, estimates Inderes chief analyst Antti Viljakainen.
PHOTO: Petteri Paalasmaa
Source: www.arvopaperi.fi
