A varying year for Grano

The sale of the SokoPro business operations to the Swedish iBinder company in February enabled Grano to focus on developing added-value services for marketing communications in accordance with its strategy, thanks to a stronger financial position. The sale price of the divested shares was approximately MEUR 45.5. Still, the company’s profitability for the financial period fell short of the target. At the beginning of 2022, Kimmo Kolari was appointed as the CEO of the company. He had already served as the acting CEO for the preceding fall season.

One of the highlights of the financial period was the opening of a 15,000 square-meter factory in the Koivuhaka district of Vantaa. The factory combines state-of-the-art technology, traditional craftsmanship and a strong belief in Finnish work. The coronavirus pandemic impacted Grano’s business operations for the early part of the financial period. The demand recovery was also slowed down by the war in Ukraine, which broke out in the spring. Despite the difficulties, the market recovered in April, and demand normalized during the summer and early fall. That said, Grano’s profitability fell short of the target level due to increased material costs and the decline in demand early in the year. 

Specified strategy brings focus

Grano’s strategy emphasizes a customer-oriented approach and value creation. The company wants to continue providing comprehensive marketing communications solutions from content production and translation services to turnkey deliveries. Panostaja has supported Grano with strategic efforts as well as market and competitor analysis, for example. The cooperation has also been close with regard to board work and sparring related to financial and HR matters.

Leader in its field in responsibility

Grano wants to be a trailblazer in its field in terms of responsibility, which is why it prepared a responsibility strategy in 2022 and is measuring its implementation regularly. One of the goals is to ensure that Grano uses only renewable sources for electricity and heating by 2025. The responsibility efforts take a wide variety of matters into account, and they cover business profitability in addition to environmental factors and social responsibility.

Winds of change persist

At the beginning of the new financial period, Grano will be updating its organizational structure. The new organization will expedite decision-making and the deployment of practical measures. It will also support the implementing of the updated strategy. Grano now has an excellent foundation for success, but the uncertainties of the operating environment may impact its result. The company is developing its own operations and wants to shape the entire field at the same time. The bar has now been set higher than ever before, and the operations are being modelled after the best operators in Europe and North America, in particular.