Manufacturer of masks and air purifiers Pallas Air published its January-June interim report. The company had a turnover of 4.4 million euros and an operating loss of 3.2 million euros.
At the same time last year, the turnover was 1.5 million euros and the operating loss was 3.1 million euros. Analysis house Inderes expected the turnover to increase to 4.2 million euros and the operating loss to decrease to 1.2 million euros.
Pallas Air had no guidelines for the current year and this was not changed when the half-year review was published.
Pallas Air’s name was previously Lifa Air. The company was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in 2022.
Support for turnover from the merger
Compared to the comparison period, Pallas Air’s turnover was supported by the merger with Gelano, which offers indoor air solutions, which was implemented at the end of last year. At the same time, Pallas Air changed its name from the former Lifa Air.
“The comparable turnover of the group, taking into account the effect of the Genano subgroup, increased by 7.3 percent”, as CEO Tomi Viitanen commented in the half-year report.
“The turnover of the air cleaning business under the Genano brand decreased due to the recession in the domestic market and the tighter competitive situation, as well as the high storage volumes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic at our customers”, commented Viitanen.
On the other hand, the demand for Gelanon’s Healthcare segment strengthened and the business grew significantly, says Viitanen. According to him, the revival of the segment indicates the slow normalization of the market after the pandemic.
“The turnover of the air purification business under the Lifa Air brand grew moderately as international demand recovered. The turnover of the ventilation hygiene product business decreased. Revenue growth in this segment was weaker than demand due to delays in production processes and logistics,” commented Viitanen.
According to the CEO, sales of respiratory protection products continued to decrease due to oversupply on the market.
In July, Viitanen replaced the CFO who had been acting as interim CEO Teppo Sipiläwho handled the task of the company’s founding family Vesa Mäkipää after leaving the tasks in February
Profitability developed weakly
“Profitability developed more slowly than expected, with EBITDA being clearly negative. The change process that started with the merger of Lifa Air and Genano was delayed in the first half of the year,” says Viitanen.
EBITDA was a loss of EUR 1.8 million, while in the comparison period it was a loss of EUR 2.0 million. Pallas Air said at the end of August that it would start change negotiations for the entire staff in order to improve its profitability.
“The success of the financial negotiations during autumn 2024 is a critical factor for implementing the ongoing change program and business growth,” says Viitanen.
Pallas Air’s history has not been rosy. For example, there was a mass exodus from the board in 2022, the management team was replaced by a contract, and a criminal investigation was launched into the company at the beginning of the year in connection with the whistleblowing crime.
The company’s former CEO and members who served on the company’s board in 2022 were heard as suspects in the crime.
Source: www.arvopaperi.fi
