Valmet: Norron Sustainable Equity down 1.12 percent in September - profit warning issued by Note

The Norron Sustainable Equity fund fell 1.12 percent in September. Since the beginning of the year, the fund has returned 14.44 percent. This is stated in a monthly report from the management team consisting of Jesper Laudon and Johan Solini. Initially, the managers note that the month was characterized by high volatility, which is largely believed to be due to continued concern about macro data and a reporting season that began with several profit warnings. The profit warnings have come from companies operating in the industrial and consumer sectors. The fund's holding, Note, was one of the companies that issued a profit warning, where the company revised down both sales and profit forecasts for Q3 as well as for the full year 2024. "More encouragingly, Valmet received an order worth more than EUR 1 billion, allaying market concerns about the company's order intake and capacity utilization, while cash flow is expected to strengthen," the managers write. A number of changes were made to the portfolio during the month. Stora Enso was sold in favor of buying UPM. The purchase of UPM is justified by the managers by having a stronger financial position and a better balance sheet. The holding in Nordic Semiconductor was also sold during the month, as the managers see more attractive opportunities in other companies. The fund's main contributors during the month were Epiroc, Valmet and Kone. On the negative side were Novo Nordisk, Astra Zeneca and Bravida. Among the Fund's sustainability themes, "Innovative and Sustainable Solutions" was the top contributor, while "Healthy & Prosperous Communities" was the weakest theme. The largest holdings at the end of the month were Novo Nordisk, Astra Zeneca and Hexagon, with portfolio weights of 7.92%, 4.58% and 4.52% respectively. In terms of sector exposure, Industrials accounted for 49.2% of the allocation, followed by Healthcare and Technology at 24.4% and 10.9% respectively. At the geographical level, Sweden accounted for 56.6% of the allocation, followed by Finland and Denmark at 14.7% and 14.2% respectively. Norron Sustainable Equity, % September, 2024 Fund MM, % change -1,12 Fund this year, % change 14,44