Interim report 1–3/2025: Difficult operating environment, increasing order flow
– The Tulikivi Group’s first-quarter net sales were EUR 6.0 million (EUR 8.5 million, 1–3/2024). – The Tulikivi Group’s first-quarter operating profit was EUR -0.7 (0.3) million and the profit before taxes was EUR -0.9 (0.1) million. – The equity ratio at the end of the review period was 49.4 per cent (49.5). – Order books stood at EUR 4.3 (5.4) million at the end of the review period. – The environmental permit process for the Suomussalmi talc project is making progress. – Future outlook: Net sales and the comparable operating profit for 2025 are expected to improve on 2024.
Comments by Heikki Vauhkonen, Managing Director:
In the first quarter, net sales remained low due to the seasonal nature of the fireplace sector and general economic uncertainty, which was exacerbated by international tariff disputes. Because of the uncertainty, consumers postponed renovation and new construction projects. The company’s order flow continued to increase moderately during the quarter and was EUR 7.8 (7.6) million. Sales of Tulikivi sauna heaters and interior design stones also made positive progress, while demand for subcontracted cladding stones for room-heating stoves continued to decline. Due to the decline in net sales, the relative profitability for the first quarter of the year was weak. The company’s balance sheet position remained strong and its equity ratio was 49.4%.
During the period under review, Tulikivi advanced its strategic projects as planned. The strategic projects are to grow the market share in the Central European fireplace market, to increase the net sales of the sauna business, and advance the Suomussalmi talc project to the investment stage.
In Central Europe, the expansion of the sales and distribution network for the new compact Jero collection continued. Consumers in Central Europe prefer products in the heater-size range, and the new Jero collection will enable Tulikivi to reach new customer groups. The aim is to increase the total number of dealer sales offices by 50 per cent from 330 (in 2023) by the end of 2026. The number of sales outlets continued to grow during the first half of the year to around 400 dealers.
The sauna business focused on launching a new collection of electric sauna heaters on the market. The new Kevo collection was introduced at the Interbad trade fair in October 2024, and its features attracted a lot of interest in the market. The work to launch the collection continued in the first quarter by starting cooperation with new retailers in Finland and abroad. The collection highlights the great features of Tulikivi sauna heaters: high-quality design, energy efficiency, original materials and safe exterior surfaces that do not become hot.
In the Suomussalmi talc project, the focus during the review period was on making progress with the environmental permit and on process design and producing a larger sample of enriched talc powder. The environmental permit application for the talcum powder project was submitted to the Regional Office of Northern Finland after the review period on 9 May 2025.
ATTACHMENTS: Interim report 1-3/2025
TULIKIVI CORPORATION
Board of Directors
Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki Key media www.tulikivigroup.com
Further information: Heikki Vauhkonen, Managing Director, tel. +358 (0)40 524 5593
Tulikivi Oyj has submitted the environmental and water permit application for the Suomussalmi talc project to the Regional State Administrative Agency of Northern Finland on 9 May 2025.
The environmental impacts of the project have previously been assessed in the environmental impact assessment procedure (EIA), as a result of which the coordinating authority, the Kainuu ELY Centre, issued an official statement in November 2024. In the official statement, the coordinating authority took a position on the conclusions and the adequacy of the assessment. The conclusions of the coordinating authority were taken into account in the environmental permit application submitted to the Regional State Administrative Agency of Northern Finland.
Based on the studies of the EIA phase, it was decided to apply for a permit to discharge effluents towards Kivijärvi. Several changes were made to the project plan, for example, to minimize the impact on water bodies. These included changes related to the location of the waste and tailings areas and their base and cover structures. The changes also allowed the size of the mining area expansion to be reduced.
The company’s goal is to enable a modern, carbon-neutral and traceable talc production facility at the current Suomussalmi soapstone quarry and factory site.
Distribution: Key media www.tulikivigroup.com
STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 24 APRIL 2025 AT 2:00 P.M. EEST
The Annual General Meeting of Tulikivi Corporation was held on 24 April 2025 in Helsinki.
The Annual General Meeting approved the financial statements for the financial year 2024 and discharged the members of the Board and the Managing Director from liability. The Annual General Meeting accepted the proposals of the Board to authorise the Board to decide on the issue of new shares or the company’s own shares in the possession of the company and on the right to issue option rights and other special rights entitling to shares. The Annual General Meeting approved Tulikivi Corporation’s Remuneration Report for Governing Bodies. The resolution on the Remuneration Report is advisory.
1. Use of profit
The Annual General Meeting decided to authorise the Board of Directors to resolve on the distribution of funds, in one or more instalments from the reserve for invested unrestricted equity, of a maximum of EUR 0.01 per A share and EUR 0.0083 per K share.
2. Remuneration of Board members and auditor’s fees
The annual remuneration of each member of the Board of Directors is EUR 22,000. The annual remuneration shall be paid in the form of Series A shares in Tulikivi Corporation so that the shares are purchased on the stock exchange by 31 December 2025. The company will acquire shares from the market on behalf of, or transfer the company’s own shares held by the company to, the board members. The company will bear the costs of acquiring the shares.
Unless the Board of Directors grants express permission in advance on a case-by-case basis, the members of the Board of Directors are not allowed to transfer any shares received until their membership on the Board of Directors has ended. Alternatively, the annual remuneration may be paid in whole or in part in cash. The Chair of the Board of Directors shall, in addition to this, be paid a monthly remuneration of EUR 4,500 for this work. Those members of the Board of Directors who perform non-Board work for the company shall be paid a fee on the basis of time rates and invoices approved by the Board of Directors. Travel costs shall be reimbursed in accordance with the company’s travelling compensation regulations.
The members of the Audit Committee and the Nomination Committee of the Board of Directors shall receive a fee of EUR 350 per meeting. The Chair of the Audit Committee shall receive a fee of EUR 700 per meeting.
The fees for the auditor are paid according to the relevant invoice approved by the company.
3. Board members
The number of Board members was set at seven. The following current Board members were re-elected as members to the Board of Directors: Jaakko Aspara, Niko Haavisto, Satoko Taguma, Tarmo Tuominen, Jyrki Tähtinen and Heikki Vauhkonen. Panu Paappanen was elected as a new Board member.
4. Auditor
Authorised Public Accounting firm KPMG Oy Ab was elected auditor, with Heli Tuuri, Authorised Public Accountant, acting as the auditor in charge.
5. Authorisation of the Board to decide on the issuance of shares and issuance of option rights and other special rights entitling to shares as referred to in Chapter 10, Section 1 of the Companies Act
The General Meeting authorised the Board of Directors to decide on the issue of new shares and the company’s own shares in the possession of the company in accordance with the proposal of Board of Directors. The new shares and the company’s own shares in the possession of the company could be issued either against payment or without payment to the company’s shareholders in proportion to their current shareholdings in the company or through a directed issue by deviating from the shareholders’ pre-emptive subscription right provided that there is a weighty financial reason for the company to do so. A directed share issue could only be made without payment if there is an especially weighty financial reason for it from the point of view of the company and all its shareholders and their interests.
In addition, the authorisation includes a right to issue shares without payment to the company itself, provided that the number of shares issued to the company does not exceed one tenth (1/10) of all shares in the company. When calculating this number, the number of shares held by the company as well as those held by its subsidiaries must be taken into account as set out in Chapter 15, Section 11(1) of the Companies Act.
The authorisation also includes the right to issue special rights, as referred to in Chapter 10, Section 1 of the Companies Act, which entitle their holders to subscribe for new shares in the company or the company’s own shares in the possession of the company against payment. The payment for the share subscription may be made either in cash or by setting off the subscriber’s receivable from the company.
The Board of Directors is entitled to decide on other issues related to the share issues and share transfers.
No more than 10,437,748 Series A shares in the aggregate, and no more than 1,536,500 Series K shares in the aggregate (no more than 11,974,248 shares in the aggregate) may be issued on the basis of this authorisation (including the shares issued under special rights), regardless of whether such shares are new shares or the company’s own shares in the company’s possession.
The authorisation to issue shares will remain in force until the Annual General Meeting to be held in 2026, but no longer than until 30 June 2026. The authorization will not revoke any prior authorizations granted to the Board of Directors.
6. Organisation of the Board
At its organisational meeting following the Annual General Meeting, the Board elected Jyrki Tähtinen as its Chair. Jyrki Tähtinen was elected as Chair of the Nomination Committee and Heikki Vauhkonen and Niko Haavisto as its members. Niko Haavisto was elected as Chair of the Audit Committee and Jaakko Aspara and Panu Paappanen as its members.
The minutes of the General Meeting will be available on the website of Tulikivi Corporation at www.tulikivigroup.com/en/tulikivi/General_meetings as of 8 May 2025, at the latest.
In Helsinki, 24 April 2025
Jyrki Tähtinen Chair of the Board
Additional Information: Tulikivi Corporation, 83900 Juuka, tel. +358 403 063 100 Jyrki Tähtinen, Chair of the Board, tel. +358 400 406 509 Heikki Vauhkonen, Managing Director, tel. +358 40 524 5593
Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd Major media www.tulikivigroup.com
On 2 January 2025, Tulikivi Corporation received a flagging announcement pursuant to Chapter 9, section 5, of the Securities Markets Act from Mikko Laakkonen, according to which the holding of Mikko Laakkonen of shares conferred by Tulikivi Corporation shares has exceeded the threshold of 10 per cent.
As a result of transactions made on 30 December 2024, Mikko Laakkonen’s ownership increased to 6,031,475 shares, i.e. 10.07 per cent of Tulikivi Corporation shares and 4.68 per cent of Tulikivi Corporation voting rights.
Tulikivi Corporation
Managing Director Heikki Vauhkonen, +358 (0)40 524 5593
Distribution: NASDAQ Helsinki, key media www.tulikivi.com
Tulikivi Corporation financial reporting in 2025
Tulikivi Corporation will publish its 2024 Financial Statements Release on 7 March 2025. The Annual Report will be published on the company’s website during the week starting on 24 March 2025. The Annual General Meeting will be held on 24 April 2025.
The following reports will be published in 2025:
– Interim Report for January–March 9 May 2025
– Half Year Financial Report for January–June 15 August 2025
– Interim Report for January–September 7 November 2025
Further information: Heikki Vauhkonen, Managing Director, tel. +358 40 524 5593
Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki Key media www.tulikivi.com
Tulikivi Corporation has received the following notification on 11 November 2024.
Person subject to the notification requirement
Name: NENAN Invest Oy
Position: Member of the Board/Deputy member
(X) Legal person (1): Person Discharging Managerial Responsibilities In Issuer
Name: Niko Haavisto
Issuer: Tulikivi Oyj
LEI: 743700GSL41H2DXZY963
Notification type: INITIAL NOTIFICATION
Reference number: 84520/4/10
____________________________________________
Transaction date: 2024-11-08
Venue: NASDAQ HELSINKI LTD (XHEL)
Instrument type: SHARE
ISIN: FI0009900583
Nature of the transaction: ACQUISITION
Transaction details
(1): Volume: 7771 Unit price: 0.42 EUR
(2): Volume: 8031 Unit price: 0.42 EUR
(3): Volume: 444 Unit price: 0.419 EUR
(4): Volume: 3626 Unit price: 0.418 EUR
(5): Volume: 1299 Unit price: 0.417 EUR
(6): Volume: 2268 Unit price: 0.417 EUR
(7): Volume: 791 Unit price: 0.417 EUR
Aggregated transactions (7):
Volume: 24230 Volume weighted average price: 0.41914 EUR
Further information: Heikki Vauhkonen, Managing Director, Tulikivi Corporation Tel. +358 (0)40 524 5593, heikki.vauhkonen@tulikivi.fi
Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki, Key media
www.tulikivi.com
The Kainuu ELY Centre provided a reasoned conclusion on the Suomussalmi talc project.
Tulikivi Oyj’s subsidiary, Nordic Talc Oy, is investigating the commencement of talc production in the Kivikangas mining area within the Haaponen deposit, located in Suomussalmi. The project aims to transform the Suomussalmi soapstone quarry and factory into a modern, energy and material-efficient talc production facility.
The environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure for the Suomussalmi talc resource utilization project concluded with a reasoned decision by the Kainuu ELY Centre, which acted as the contact authority, on 6.11.2024.
The ELY Centre considers the EIA report to be of sufficient quality and largely compliant with the content requirements set out in the EIA Act. The reasoned decision includes a description of the project and its environmental impacts, as well as additional study needs. The company will now carefully review the contents of the just-received reasoned decision and take it into account in the preparation of the project’s environmental permit application.
The ongoing planning of the talc production project is progressing as planned. Despite the good progress of the project, it is still too early to assess the final implementation or economic impact of the project.
The documentation of the EIA process can be found on the State Environmental Administration’s website at:
https://www.ymparisto.fi/nordictalcSuomussalmiYVA
For more information: Tulikivi Oyj, CEO Heikki Vauhkonen, tel. +358 40 524 5593 Nordic Talc Oy, CEO Erkki Kuronen, tel. +358 50 599 3539
Distribution: Key media www.tulikivi.com