Gränges' 2025 earnings show higher shipments and late-year margin shifts

Those differences become clearer when looking at how revenue was generated, where volumes were directed and potentially scrap utilization.

Full-year performance

For the full year, Gränges reported total sales volumes of 616,600 metric tons (t), up from 505,800t in 2024.

Net sales increased alongside volumes, rising to SEK 28.4 billion (about US$3.2 billion) from SEK 23.5 billion the prior year, while profit rose to SEK 1.06 billion from SEK 1.01 billion over the same period.

The alignment between volume growth and revenue growth indicates the higher shipments accounted for most of the increase in net sales. Profit growth, however, lagged both metrics over the year, suggesting margins did not expand in proportion to higher output on a full-year basis.

During the earnings call, President and CEO Jörgen Rosengren said contract renewals are structured to mature across multiple quarters rather than reset simultaneously at year-end, reducing exposure to short-term market conditions. He said higher costs, including wage increases partly linked to consumer price index changes, factored into customer price discussions during 2025, including negotiations conducted in the fall.

Rosengren said the company does not comment on individual contract pricing and aims to manage contribution margins in a stable manner over time.

Quarterly performance

The fourth quarter showed a sharper shift.

Gränges increased sales volumes to 152,400t, compared with 130,300t in the prior year period. Net sales rose to SEK 7.22 billion from SEK 6.18 billion and profit edged up to SEK 251 million from SEK 175 million year over year.

On a year-over-year basis, fourth-quarter profit increased by 43%, compared with a 5% increase for the full year.

The gap between quarterly and annual profit growth coincided with a late-year concentration of earnings rather than a uniform shift across 2025. Management said fourth-quarter results included a positive effect of about SEK 20 million from the rescheduling of a planned maintenance stop from Q4’25 to Q1’26, with a corresponding reversal expected in early 2026.

That said, foreign exchange movements and lower aluminum scrap spreads reduced fourth-quarter operating profit by about SEK 104 million.

Gränges Americas performance

Within Gränges Americas, fourth-quarter sales volume increased by 7% year over year to just about 58,400t, compared to about 54,500t in the previous year period. Full-year sales volume for the division increased by 4% to about 239,100t.

Total net sales in the Americas rose by around 16% to SEK 13.25 billion in 2025 from the year earlier, while fourth-quarter sales grew by 23% to SEK 3.48 billion on a year-over-year basis.

Compared with the broader group’s fourth quarter versus full-year pattern, Gränges Americas showed a smaller divergence between quarterly and annual operating profit growth, though net profit results for the division were not available.

Gränges Americas revenue composition

The net sales breakdown of Gränges Americas clarifies how higher shipment activity translated into revenue ahead of the end-market discussion that follows.

Revenue from contracts with customers consists of two components: “fabrication” and “raw material and other” revenue. Fabrication revenue showed comparatively limited movement.

In the fourth quarter, fabricated revenue declined by 1% year over year to SEK 1.13 billion, while full-year fabrication revenue increased 2% to SEK 4.83 billion.

Meanwhile, customer contract revenue from raw materials and other sources of revenue rose 39% to SEK 2.35 billion and 26% to SEK 8.42 billion, respectively, over the comparable period.

Shipments vs revenue

Gränges Americas’ muted growth in customer contract fabrication revenue stands in stark contrast against sharp increases in shipments, net sales and operating profits from the division.

Sales volumes increased across most end markets in 2025, including automotive, specialty packaging and other niches, and net sales rose accordingly.

However, the revenue composition shows much of this growth accrued through raw material and other revenue rather than fabrication revenue, indicating higher shipments did not translate into proportionally higher value-added income.

That divergence reflects changes in product mix and pricing mechanics, as pass-through mechanisms tied to higher aluminum prices and delivery premium are reflected in raw material and other revenue. Given the Americas division’s weight within the group and its exposure to US pricing structures, like the Midwest premium, these pass-through effects would apply to a substantial portion of shipments.

At the same time, the divergence suggests volume growth was concentrated in product categories requiring less complex processing and higher throughput improved capacity utilization and fixed-cost absorption.

Management described this flexibility as a response to weaker HVAC demand, with the division shifting into products that can be adjusted more quickly, particularly in the automotive end market.

It can be inferred that HVAC-related products, such as heat exchanger material, typically carry higher fabrication requirement than the product categories that expanded in the fourth quarter and throughout the year, possibly due to their use of thinner gauge and tighter specifications tied to thermal performance.

Gränges Americas end market trends

Within Gränges Americas, external sales volumes to automotive customers increased by 19% year over year in the fourth quarter, despite what an analyst on the earnings call’s Q&A session described as flat US vehicle production during this period.

Deputy CEO and CFO Oskar Hellstöm said the automotive volume increase primarily reflected a shift toward less sophisticated aluminum products, including materials used for heat shields, rather than higher demand for traditional automotive heat exchanger materials.

He said those products allow the company to move volumes in and out of the automotive market on a shorter-term basis to offset weaker HVAC demand and support capacity utilization in Gränges Americas.

External sales volumes to HVAC customers in the fourth quarter declined by 28% from the prior year, driven by weaker end-market and continued destocking at manufacturers and distributors.

Fourth-quarter specialty packaging external sales volumes surged by 28% from 2024, as did “other niche markets” by 32%.

Recycled aluminum sourcing

Gränges group (across all three regional divisions) increased its use of recycled aluminum in 2025.

The company sourced 300,000t of recycled aluminum during the year, up from 249,000t in 2024. In the fourth quarter, recycled aluminum sourcing rose to 78,000t, compared with 63,000t a year earlier.

The increase in recycled aluminum usage was not solely a function of higher aluminum shipment volumes.

On a percentage basis, the share of sourced recycled aluminum utilized in their production process increased to 47.1% in the fourth quarter from 45.4% a year earlier, and to 45.7% for the full year from 46.2% in 2024.

While higher production levels would be expected to lift recycled tonnage in absolute terms, the increase in recycled share shows recycled inputs also rose relative to total metal consumption.

That change should be viewed in the context of product mix. Management described a shift toward “less sophisticated products,” particularly in automotive applications in the Americas division. Such products can allow for a broader range of scrap inputs, including scrap streams that are more readily available.

As a result, the higher recycled share may reflect a combination of increased throughput and changes in the types of products being produced, rather than a discrete structural change.

This interpretation is consistent with management’s comments on scrap pricing pressure, which indicate higher recycled usage occurred amid “pressure on scrap spreads,” suggesting that higher recycled usage may point more toward product mix flexibility rather than a structural improvement in scrap sourcing.

Key takeaways

Overall, Gränges’ 2025 results show sustained volume growth across regions and business areas, supported by higher recycled aluminum sourcing.

Profit growth, however, concentrated in the fourth quarter rather than building gradually over the year.

For the Americas division, higher earnings occurred alongside higher shipments and favorable product mix adjustments, while scrap-related pressures remained persistent.