EssityESSITY B
Essity makes hygiene and health products: incontinence products under TENA, feminine care, baby nappies, wound care and compression products, and tissue such as toilet and kitchen paper for consumers and for professional customers under Tork.
Essity had revenue of SEK 138.5bn in 2025. That is 1% more a year since 2019.
The products are bought again every week, so demand is stable. Profit is decided by price against the cost of pulp, energy and transport, where a rise hits before prices can follow. The health products carry the highest margin.
Latest report: January–September 2026
| Now | Year before | |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales | SEK 104,298m | SEK 103,799m |
| Organic sales growth | 0.1% | 1.7% |
| EBITA excl. items affecting comparability | SEK 14,013m, 13.4% | SEK 14,455m, 13.9% |
| Profit for the period | SEK 7,940m | SEK 9,494m |
| Earnings per share | SEK 11.65 | SEK 13.68 |
| Operating cash flow | SEK 12,927m | SEK 10,629m |
Source: Essity, Interim Report Quarter 3, 2026, p. 2. Interim reports are not filed in ESEF, so these figures are read by hand from the report.
Revenue from the group income statement in the annual report (ESEF). Growth is the average annual change.
Of every 100 in sales, 13 became operating profit in 2025. Over the period it has ranged from 6 to 14.
| Year | Revenue | Operating profit | Margin | Net profit | Operating cash flow | Cash conversion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | SEK 129.0bn | SEK 14.3bn | 11.1% | SEK 9.2bn | SEK 19.4bn | 210% |
| 2020 | SEK 121.8bn | SEK 16.8bn | 13.8% | SEK 10.2bn | SEK 17.8bn | 174% |
| 2021 | SEK 121.9bn | SEK 13.2bn | 10.8% | SEK 8.6bn | SEK 14.7bn | 170% |
| 2022 | SEK 131.3bn | SEK 8.5bn | 6.5% | SEK 5.6bn | SEK 12.9bn | 231% |
| 2023 | SEK 147.1bn | SEK 15.1bn | 10.3% | SEK 9.6bn | SEK 21.6bn | 226% |
| 2024 | SEK 145.5bn | SEK 18.3bn | 12.6% | SEK 20.9bn | SEK 16.8bn | 80% |
| 2025 | SEK 138.5bn | SEK 18.5bn | 13.4% | SEK 12.7bn | SEK 15.5bn | 122% |
On average, 173% of profit arrived as cash over the period.
Operating margin = operating profit divided by revenue. Cash conversion = cash flow from operations divided by net profit.
Earnings per share went from SEK 14.00 in 2020 to SEK 18.37 in 2025. Dividends took 56% of owner earnings over the last 6 years.
| Year | Owner earnings | Dividends | EPS | DPS | Shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | SEK 13.4bn | SEK 4.0bn | – | – | 0m |
| 2020 | SEK 11.2bn | SEK 4.4bn | SEK 14.00 | SEK 6.01 | 731m |
| 2021 | SEK 7.4bn | SEK 4.7bn | SEK 12.00 | SEK 6.60 | 718m |
| 2022 | SEK 6.6bn | SEK 4.9bn | SEK 7.93 | SEK 7.00 | 702m |
| 2023 | SEK 13.7bn | SEK 5.1bn | SEK 13.60 | SEK 7.25 | 702m |
| 2024 | SEK 8.3bn | SEK 5.4bn | SEK 29.83 | SEK 7.77 | 700m |
| 2025 | SEK 7.3bn | SEK 5.7bn | SEK 18.37 | SEK 8.29 | 689m |
The share count has fallen 1.2% a year, so each share owns a little more of the company every year.
Owner earnings = cash flow from operations, minus investment in tangible and intangible assets, minus lease repayments. Share count is derived as net profit divided by earnings per share.
Return on capital employed was 13% after tax in 2025. Net debt is SEK 26.5bn.
Return on capital employed has ranged from 13% to 13% after tax over the period.
Net debt was SEK 26.5bn at the end of 2025, on Essity's own measure, which includes pension liabilities. It has since fallen to SEK 25.0bn.
Competitive advantages, our assessment
Return on capital employed = operating profit after 20.6% Swedish tax, divided by equity plus net debt at year end.
Today's price needs owner earnings to grow 7% a year for ten years. Revenue has grown 1% a year.
| Required return | Growth needed |
|---|---|
| 8% | 5% |
| 9% | 7% |
| 10% | 9% |
Market value SEK 191bn, enterprise value SEK 217bn. Base: owner earnings of SEK 9.8bn a year on average over the last three years, an owner earnings yield of 4.5%.
Reverse discounted cash flow. Enterprise value = market value plus net debt. The base is average owner earnings over the last three years. Required return 9%, 10 years, then 2.5% growth.
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Where every number comes from
| Item | Amount | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | SEK 138.5bn | 2025-12-31 | Annual report 2025 (ESEF)ifrs-full:Revenue |
| Operating profit | SEK 18.5bn | 2025-12-31 | Annual report 2025 (ESEF)ifrs-full:ProfitLossFromOperatingActivities |
| Net profit, owners | SEK 12.7bn | 2025-12-31 | Annual report 2025 (ESEF)ifrs-full:ProfitLossAttributableToOwnersOfParent |
| Cash flow from operations | SEK 15.5bn | 2025-12-31 | Annual report 2025 (ESEF)ifrs-full:CashFlowsFromUsedInOperatingActivities |
| Equity | SEK 85.6bn | 2025-12-31 | Annual report 2025 (ESEF)ifrs-full:EquityAttributableToOwnersOfParent |
| Cash | SEK 8.5bn | 2025-12-31 | Annual report 2025 (ESEF)ifrs-full:CashAndCashEquivalents |
| Net debt | SEK 26,543m | 2025-12-31 | Interim Report Quarter 3, 2026, p. 6 |
| Net debt | SEK 24,952m | 2026-09-30 | Interim Report Quarter 3, 2026, p. 6 |
The figures come from the company's annual reports in the machine-readable ESEF format, via filings.xbrl.org and the Swedish financial regulator. The latest filing wins, so restated comparatives replace the originals. Anything not tagged in ESEF is given with its source and page.
General analysis and educational material, not personal investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell. The figures are mechanical and can be rebuilt from the company's public reports; the text is the author's judgement. Author's position in Essity: not disclosed. Data to 2025-12-31, price as of 2026-10-23.