Norwegian contract manufacturer Kitron raises guidance – as expected
Summary
- Norwegian contract manufacturer Kitron raised its guidance for the current year, projecting revenue of 1,050-1,150 MEUR and EBIT of 97-112 MEUR, citing strong demand and improved supply chain outlook.
- The market anticipated this guidance upgrade, as Kitron's revenue and EBIT forecasts were already aligned with consensus expectations prior to the announcement.
- Kitron's increased capacity needs, particularly in the defense sector, led to a slight negative market reaction despite the guidance upgrade.
- The guidance upgrade is seen as a positive signal for peers Scanfil and Incap, indicating strong demand and manageable supply chains, although they do not benefit as much from the defense sector.
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Translation: Original published in Finnish on 8/25/2026 at 9:15 am EEST.
Yesterday, Norwegian contract manufacturer Kitron raised its guidance for the current year, citing continued strong demand and an improved outlook for supply chains. According to the new guidance, the company's revenue this year will be 1,050-1,150 MEUR (previously 900-1,050 MEUR) and EBIT will be 97-112 MEUR (previously 84-108 MEUR).
Market was expecting the guidance upgrade
The share of the defense industry in Kitron's portfolio is about one-third, which is clearly the largest among Nordic contract manufacturers. In addition, the company's business has developed positively in the majority of other customer sectors. Thus, the company's H1 was already very strong, but the company refrained from raising its guidance in connection with its Q2 report, especially citing supply chain uncertainties.
As a result, the consensus was expecting a guidance upgrade, as the current year's revenue forecast was 1,120 MEUR and the EBIT forecast was 108 MEUR before the profit warning. Additionally, when examining the midpoints of the ranges, Kitron's revenue guidance increased slightly more than its EBIT guidance. This atypical trajectory for the industry was likely due to the company's need to increase its capacity, especially to meet demand from the defense sector, which also incurs front-loaded costs. For these reasons, the market reaction to Kitron's earnings was only slightly negative last night.
We see the guidance upgrade as a somewhat positive signal for Scanfil and Incap
Kitron is a peer especially for Scanfil and also for Incap, although in our view the companies rarely encounter each other in direct competition due to differences in geographical portfolios and customer structures. On the other hand, their demand and supply chains are driven to a significant extent by the same factors. Therefore, we feel that the strong demand flagged by Kitron is a positive signal for Scanfil and Incap, even though they do not receive the same kind of boost from the defense sector as Kitron. In addition, based on Kitron's warning, supply chains remain manageable, which in our view is at least neutral news from the perspective of Scanfil and Incap.
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