Positive start to year at Rapala despite ‘global market uncertainty’

Rapala VMC Corporation has made a positive start to 2026 with a 6% increase in sales – 13% at comparable exchange rates – during the first quarter of trading despite what it described as continued global market uncertainty.

During the period, the Finnish brand saw revenue rise to €69.5m (€65.3m), delivered an operating profit of €7.8m (€5.6) and predicted its full year performance would increase from 2025.

President and CEO, Cyrille Viellard told investors today: “The positive start to the year was supported by exciting new product introductions and efficient supply chain execution, which enabled an encouraging performance despite continued global uncertainty. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the entire Rapala VMC team for its dedication to deliver this solid Q1 in turbulent times.”

He added that the business remained cautious given the geopolitical volatility and inflationary pressures driven by rising oil prices that is impacting raw materials such as plastics and could affect consumer demand. “Despite that, we remain confident in our resilience and ability to further improve comparable operating profit in 2026.”

Rapala reported ‘exceptionally strong’ sales in North America, partly explained by tariff-related price increases with revenue up 8% compared to the previous period – 20% with comparable exchange rates. It said: “A strong ice fishing season supported by replenishment orders and retailer interest ahead of the summer fishing season remained healthy with a solid order book and clean sales pipeline.

“New products continued to drive sales, with growth broad-based across the main brands.”

Sales across the European market increased 4% as demand developed positively, although with notable differences across the countries. “First-quarter pre-season deliveries for the fishing season topped last year’s level although the region continued to face soft market conditions and retailers focused on preserving cash,” said Rapala.

“A continued focus on strategic brands and key customer relationships together with good delivery reliability supported sales development. Lower OEM hook sales slowed overall sales growth, primarily due to softer consumer demand.”

In the rest of the world, although revenue grew 3% – 7% with comparable exchange rates – sales continued to be difficult and decreased in Asian markets due to global disputes weighing on consumer sentiment and discretionary spending. Growth in the region came solely from the Latin American markets where growth was described as broad-based and further supported by the new Okuma distribution in Chile.

Flagship Rapala new products are ‘very well’ received by market

Under the flagship Rapala brand, key new products – including CrushCity, Mooch Minnow, Claptail and Share – were ‘very well’ received by the market. “Our Sufix fishing lines division – a leader across braids –continued to deliver strong momentum, further supported by the launch of the Sufix Defcon fluorocarbon range,” said Viellard.

“Growth in Rapala CrushCity soft baits continues to fuel demand for our innovative VMC jigs. The ICAST award-winning VMC Minnow Shaker (above) has successfully translated into a strong commercial performance. Overall, all brands benefited from positive momentum across the portfolio, underlining the strength of our innovation-led strategy backed by our line-up of trusted brands.”