Reka Rubber reports decline in orders since second quarter

Aura, Finland – Reka Industrial has reported marginal sales growth at its rubber operations along with a 33% year-on-year decline in earnings for the three months to 30 Sept.

The group, which now is now solely focused on rubber-product manufacture following the divestment of its cables business, reported an overall sales of €84.6 million for the first three quarters of the year.

The rubber segment contributed €23.6 million to the overall group sales for the nine months, posting a slightly higher revenue compared to €23.1 million reported last year.

Earnings for the segment, however, dropped 33.3% to €1.4 million year-on-year, as order volumes decreased by 20% since spring, Reka announced in a recent report.

With about 270 employees, Aura-headquartered Reka Rubber claims to be one of the leading technical rubber product suppliers in northern Europe.

The Reka subsidiary is particularly focused on the manufacture of rubber components for the vehicle and mechanical engineering industries.

Earlier in the year, the Finnish group said it was investing for future growth of the rubber segment, with plans to expand the business.

Meanwhile, Reka Rubber has raised productivity of its operations: transferring production of injection moulded products from Poland to its Aura plant at the end of 2022.

The transfer was completed in the first half of 2023, with the Polish production unit in Dopiewo now concentrating on the manufacture of 'black hoses' and silicone hoses.

To increase capacity for 'black hoses', Reka said it had now ordered a new €1.3 million extrusion line for the factory in Poland, which is expected to start production by August 2024.

In addition to the extrusion line investment, Reka said there were plans for “smaller capex both in Finland and Poland” to support growth and productivity.

Reka completed the sale of its Reka Cables segment to Nexans Group in April, registering a gain of €31 million for the transaction.

The group, therefore, expects its first half results to “substantially differ” from the second half which will reflect only rubber segment results.

Reka's cables unit reported sales of €61 million and earnings of €6 million during the first six months of the year.