Huhtamaki Q3 2026 results: adjusted EBIT rose 10% on a EUR 23m one-off as North America's margin fell to 4.3%

How Huhtamaki's four segments work

Huhtamaki reports four business segments, and each sells to a different buyer. Knowing which is which explains why one quarter can show strong growth and a sharp profit fall at the same time.

North America sells foodservice packaging, disposable tableware and egg packaging in North America. It is the segment closest to US quick service restaurants and retail tableware ranges, and its comparable net sales fell 9% in the quarter, the interim report shows¹.

Flexible Packaging makes flexible packs such as pouches and laminates for consumer brands. It was the largest segment by sales in the third quarter, at EUR 363.1 million.

Foodservice Packaging serves foodservice customers outside North America, including Europe, with items such as paper cups, lids, containers and molded fiber packaging. Fiber Packaging makes molded fiber egg and fruit trays and food on-the-go items from recycled fiber.

The company reports adjusted EBIT, which removes items affecting comparability such as restructuring, acquisition costs and large cloud software project costs. In the third quarter those items came to minus EUR 12.7 million, and reported EBIT was EUR 97.8 million against EUR 91.6 million.

Huhtamaki’s President and CEO framed the quarter around demand.

The sentence follows the review’s opening statement that Huhtamaki delivered comparable net sales growth at strong margins despite uneven demand across its businesses².

What Huhtamaki reported on 29 October

Sales. Group net sales rose 5% to EUR 1,017.8 million from EUR 970.6 million, and comparable growth was 4% against minus 1% a year earlier. Currency added EUR 10.7 million to net sales and EUR 1.6 million to EBIT, according to the stock exchange release². The report says sales prices and mix improved, without giving a group volume split.

Adjusted profit. Adjusted EBITDA rose 4.2% to EUR 158.0 million, by SPI’s calculation, a margin of 15.5% against 15.6%. Adjusted EBIT rose 10% to EUR 110.5 million. The report credits higher net sales in Flexible Packaging and Fiber Packaging, continued cost savings and the Foodservice contract, against lower volumes, higher transport and energy costs and the North American site problems¹.

The contract. The report says the Foodservice contract favorably affected both net sales and adjusted EBIT by EUR 23 million. It adds that EUR 16 million is presented as other income, offsetting EUR 16 million of business termination costs that sit in items affecting comparability. The report does not name the customer, describe the contract or say whether similar income will recur.

Earnings. Profit before taxes was EUR 80.7 million against EUR 78.8 million, and profit for the period EUR 62.0 million against EUR 60.4 million. Earnings per share were EUR 0.57 against EUR 0.56, and adjusted earnings per share EUR 0.68 against EUR 0.62.

Cash. Free cash flow fell 39% to EUR 45.1 million from EUR 73.8 million. For January to September it fell 42% to EUR 79.0 million, and the report gives increased raw material prices as the main reason. Capital expenditure was EUR 36.2 million in the quarter and EUR 89.6 million for nine months, against EUR 109.7 million.

Balance sheet. Net debt was EUR 1,183.7 million at 30 September against EUR 1,218.6 million, and net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 1.9 times against 2.0 times. Cash was EUR 363.7 million, and the EUR 450 million sustainability-linked revolving credit facility was extended on 16 October by one year to 7 November 2031¹.

Nine months. For January to September, net sales were flat at EUR 2,973.6 million against EUR 2,979.6 million, with comparable growth of 2% and a currency drag of EUR 67.2 million. Adjusted EBIT rose 2% to EUR 308.7 million, a margin of 10.4% against 10.1%.

Huhtamaki Q3 2026 results line by line

The group figures below are as printed by Huhtamaki. Changes not printed in the report are SPI’s calculation.

North America. Net sales fell 7% to EUR 307.5 million, and comparable net sales fell 9%. The report says demand was below last year, particularly in foodservice, and soft demand in disposable tableware cut sales; volumes fell in all markets except egg packaging. Resin and fiber prices rose, transport costs rose, and adjusted EBIT fell to EUR 13.3 million from EUR 34.2 million¹.

For January to September, North America’s adjusted EBIT fell to EUR 80.6 million from EUR 119.4 million, a drop of EUR 38.8 million or 32.5%, by SPI’s calculation. Operating cash flow for the nine months fell to EUR 24.8 million from EUR 89.0 million. The segment changed leaders in March, when a new President, North America took over.

Flexible Packaging. Net sales rose 17% to EUR 363.1 million and comparable net sales 18%, on volume growth and the pass-on of higher raw material prices. The report says demand stayed at last year’s level and raw material prices stayed elevated due to the crisis in the Middle East. Adjusted EBIT rose 24% to EUR 38.4 million, a margin of 10.6% against 10.0%, though operating cash flow fell to EUR 6.0 million from EUR 33.6 million.

Foodservice Packaging. Net sales rose 5% to EUR 252.6 million, with comparable growth of 4%. The report says demand was below last year, volumes fell and prices and mix improved. Resin and pulp prices rose and paperboard prices stayed close to last year, and adjusted EBIT rose to EUR 41.1 million from EUR 22.1 million, including the EUR 23 million contract.

Fiber Packaging. Net sales rose 5% to EUR 97.1 million, with comparable growth of 3%. Demand for egg packaging was stable and improved for fruit packaging, while food on-the-go products softened. Recycled fiber prices fell, and adjusted EBIT rose 22% to EUR 14.1 million, a margin of 14.5%.

North America’s fall came late in the year. The half-yearly report of 22 July shows the segment at a 10.1% margin in the second quarter, on adjusted EBIT of EUR 33.3 million, and comparable net sales already down 8%³.

The EUR 23 million one-off behind the margin

The report presents Foodservice Packaging’s 16.3% margin and the group’s 10.9% margin with the contract included. It does not give either figure without it, so a reader has to strip it out.

SPI calculation (the quarter without the contract): taking EUR 23 million out of both net sales and adjusted EBIT, as the report says the contract affected both, group adjusted EBIT was EUR 87.5 million on net sales of EUR 994.8 million. That is a margin of 8.8%, against 10.3% a year earlier, and a fall of 12.8% in adjusted EBIT. Foodservice Packaging earned EUR 18.1 million on EUR 229.6 million, a margin of 7.9% against 9.2%.

The accounting adds a wrinkle. The report says EUR 16 million is presented as other income, offsetting EUR 16 million of business termination costs booked in items affecting comparability. If the termination costs relate to the same operation, the contract and the costs are two sides of one change in the European smooth molded fiber business, but the report gives no further detail.

Who gains and who pays after Huhtamaki's third quarter

Flexible packaging buyers. Brand owners buying pouches and laminates are paying more. The report says Flexible Packaging passed on higher raw material prices, which rose due to the crisis in the Middle East, and sales grew in all regions¹. With comparable growth of 18% against flat demand, the segment is, by SPI’s reading, taking share or filling capacity, which can lengthen lead times.

North American foodservice and tableware buyers. Restaurant chains, distributors and retailers buying cups, plates and containers from Huhtamaki in North America face a supplier whose margin fell to 4.3%. Volumes fell everywhere except eggs, and resin, fiber and transport costs rose, so cost-recovery requests are likely to follow.

European and Asian foodservice buyers. Coffee chains and food-to-go outlets buying paper cups and lids saw paperboard prices close to last year and resin and pulp prices higher. Prices and mix improved in the segment, so buyers have already absorbed some increases.

Egg and fruit packers. Fiber Packaging’s recycled fiber costs fell, while egg demand held and fruit improved. The segment’s 14.5% margin rose on better prices and mix, so packers are paying for that improvement.

Huhtamaki. Group adjusted EBIT rose EUR 10.2 million, but the contract was worth EUR 23 million. Free cash flow fell EUR 28.7 million in the quarter, by SPI’s calculation, as raw material costs tied up cash.

Large foodservice buyers sit on the other side of these numbers. The SPI Buyers Database profile of McDonald’s records 13,706 US restaurants at the end of 2025 and fibre at 96% of its primary guest packaging in Europe at the end of 2024¹². SPI does not report which suppliers any buyer uses; the figures show the scale of demand that cups, bags and containers serve.

The pinch point: North American costs while demand stays weak

North America is now Huhtamaki’s weakest segment by margin, and its recovery depends on two things the company does not fully control. The report links the fall to demand below last year, particularly in foodservice, and to inflation in transport and energy, alongside operational challenges at a few sites¹.

The site problems are within management’s reach, and fixing them would recover part of the EUR 20.9 million fall. Demand is not. Volumes fell in all North American markets except eggs, and the outlook gives no sign of a pick-up beyond relatively stable trading conditions.

Cash is the second constraint. Free cash flow for nine months fell EUR 57.9 million to EUR 79.0 million, by SPI’s calculation, as raw material prices rose. Leverage at 1.9 times leaves room, but any restructuring to a more optimal footprint would carry costs before savings.

What board and fiber suppliers said in the same week

Huhtamaki buys paperboard, resin and pulp, so its suppliers’ reports set part of its cost outlook. In the third quarter its Foodservice segment said paperboard prices stayed close to last year, while pulp prices rose and recycled fiber prices fell¹.

Stora Enso, which also reports in euros, said on 30 October that demand across several end markets stayed subdued while pricing had improved in certain packaging grades, and warned of higher energy, logistics, chemicals and wood costs in the fourth quarter, as SPI’s Stora Enso story reported¹³. Its consumer board deliveries rose 8.7% in the quarter.

Smurfit Westrock said price increases across most paper grades should more than offset higher freight and energy costs, according to SPI’s Smurfit Westrock story¹⁴. SCA said further kraftliner price increases were implemented in the third quarter, as SPI’s SCA story reported¹⁵.

How foodservice packaging rules differ in Europe and the United States

Huhtamaki’s report lists the PPWR, the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition directive (ECGT), national EPR laws and updated sustainability reporting standards as evolving rules, and says the company is well placed to meet requirements¹. The SPI Regulation Tracker shows how those rules reach the formats Huhtamaki’s segments sell.

The PFAS limit in PR-EU-002 has applied since 12 August 2026 to food-contact packaging of every material, and the Commission’s June 2026 guidance on testing is the main reference until a harmonised EU method exists⁶. That reaches paper cups and molded fiber, the formats where Huhtamaki’s European Foodservice and Fiber segments sell.

Under PR-EU-008, single-use packaging for food and drink consumed on hotel, bar and restaurant premises is barred from 1 January 2030, and the Commission’s Annex V guidelines are due by 12 February 2027⁷. In the US, Oregon’s PR-US-013 bars foodware with intentionally added PFAS as well as foam, and California’s PR-US-005 has halted EPS food service ware sales since the 25% rate was not met^9,11.

Track each rule in the SPI Regulation Tracker for the European Union and the United States.