HKScan - growth-seeking but shrinking company

HKScan shrinks but the strategy for profitable growth is kept alive.  Currently it means plans of investing in poultry product plant in Finland and some kind of a “Flodins factory” in Rakvere, Estonia.  It is noteworthy, that the Group seems to be investing in poultry.  In Estonia, a new poultry facility was just opened and of course, there is already a large unit in Denmark, which has not been very successful lately.  It is true, that consumption of chicken meat is rising constantly but anyway plans to invest quite heavily in poultry in Finland makes me think if there will be overcapacity.

There are many so funny writings in the net including those of mine, especially the posting on this blog May, 23.  At that time I was so excited to announce the fact that in autumn and thereafter HKScan Finland’s rapeseed products will be GMO free.  I wrote for instance: “We’ll see, but GMO free product group might well be a game changer in Finland.” And perhaps or even likely HKScan would succeed in the competition and win it.  That’s what I thought in May.  Currently, I would be surprised, if HKScan wins any competition anywhere.  Looks like the term ‘win’ is not included in the Group’s playbook.

Hannu Kottonen, CEO HKScan, has always found lot of reasons for bad results:  expensive feed, private labels, low demand, aging population, recession, surplus of meat and also lack of meat, for instance.  The latest Q3 report gives one reason more.  Namely the company tells about decreasing retail sales volumes in Finland and this time one reason is that food wastage among consumers remained low.  That’s straight out of Dilbert, the comic strip.

We will discuss HKScan later but on Friday, November 21^st, we are going to look at Atria’s businesses.  But now, let’s look at some failures in Russia.

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