Outokumpu CEO's review

The year 2025 was marked by subdued demand for stainless steel, driven by rising uncertainty and global trade disruptions, pressuring our profitability. Despite this environment, I am proud of the progress we have made and of the strategic priorities we have chosen, such as circularity, smart decarbonization, and secure access to sustainable, cost-effective raw materials. These priorities have positioned us as the sustainability leader in our industry – an increasingly important advantage as CBAM and the EU ETS reshape the competitive landscape and reward early movers.

We took a major step forward in our strategic journey with the launch of our EVOLVE growth strategy – aimed at strengthening resilience to market cycles by building a stronger product portfolio and differentiating ourselves into areas that support higher growth and profitability.

With a sharper focus on execution and investment prioritization – classifying our businesses as either foundational or transformative – we are fueling profitable growth. Our unwavering commitment to cost competitiveness and cash generation in sustainable stainless steel remains the foundation of our success. At the same time, we are driving higher value creation through transformative initiatives – expanding advanced materials and alloys globally, exploring growth opportunities in the Americas, expanding low-emission ferrochrome portfolio, and developing proprietary technology for low-CO₂ metals production.

This proprietary technology, combined with our chrome mine, marks an important first step towards new business opportunities across the stainless steel value chain as we advance towards carbon emission reductions by 2030 and beyond. To support the transition into industrialization, we announced a USD 45 million investment in a pilot plant in the U.S. dedicated to chromium metal and enriched ferrochrome. Chromium is a critical metal for industries such as defense and aerospace. 

While our strategic initiatives position us for long-term success, recovery in key end markets in 2025 was slower than expected. Demand in Europe and North America remained weak across major end-uses. The European market also faced sustained pressure from low-priced imports from Asia. Group’s adjusted EBITDA in 2025 ended slightly below the previous year, due to business area Europe, which faced market headwinds and temporary challenges in the fourth quarter related to the supply chain planning solution in the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) rollout. At the same time, we achieved a significant improvement in adjusted EBITDA in business area Americas, driven by higher volumes and lower costs. Activity picked up as buyers redirected orders to domestic producers in response to the tariff increase. Selling prices in the U.S. recovered in the second half of the year. Adjusted EBITDA in business area Ferrochrome increased in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of improvement. Demand for our European low-emission ferrochrome remained solid.

We continued implementing our own measures to strengthen our cost position. Our EBITDA run-rate improvement and short-term cost saving programs reached their targets and were completed by year-end. During the fourth quarter we also advanced our restructuring program, aiming to achieve EUR 100 million in cost savings by the end of 2027, the key focus being on Europe and group functions.

I am also happy to welcome Anouk de Graaf to Outokumpu as EVP People, Sustainability and Corporate Relations. Anouk is an experienced international leader and a great addition to the team.

Safety remains a top priority for Outokumpu. Although we did not reach our ambitious safety target in 2025, I am pleased that we returned to a good performance level in Q4 after a challenging September, with a serious accident at our site in Mexico, which led to a fatality.

Looking ahead, the implementation of CBAM, starting in 2026, will reinforce our sustainability leadership in stainless steel and ferrochrome while delivering financial benefits. CBAM raises variable costs for carbon-intensive imports, creating a level playing field on carbon cost and helping reduce global emissions. The default carbon intensity values for the largest importers of stainless steel and ferrochrome to the EU are significantly above the EU benchmarks – benchmarks Outokumpu is well below.

I am proud of our dedicated teams, who have once again shown strong commitment during another challenging year. I would also like to thank our customers and our suppliers for their valuable collaboration, and our shareholders for their continued support.

We are well positioned for the future with a robust strategy. CBAM and the Commission’s proposed safeguards against low‑priced Asian imports are expected to support European producers. Outokumpu's Board proposes a dividend of 0.13 per share to be paid for the year 2025 in two installments. The proposal reflects the company’s financial performance and cyclical market conditions, while maintaining the financial flexibility to invest in transformative growth. I am optimistic about our ability to grow, become more resilient, and strengthen our financial performance.