Rapala VMC increases profit expectations for 2026

Rapala VMC – one of the world’s top suppliers of fishing tackle – will have good new for its investors when it announces its financial results for the first half of the year on Thursday.

Ahead of its meeting with investors in Helsinki to reveal its results for the first six months of trading in 2026, the Finnish group has announced that its has increased its profit forecast for the full year to be in the region of €12m to €14m, ahead of the €8.4m it delivered in 2025.

Cyrille Viellard, Rapala VMC Corporation President and CEO, said that replinishment demand has remained ‘robust’ in the second quarter of 2026 in the company’s core North American market following strong initial fill deliveries in Q1 for the open water season. This has compensated for softer demand in Europe where drought conditions and weaker consumer spending have weighed on market activity.

He added: “While macroeconomic uncertainty persists amid georgraphic instability and tariff volatility, the company’s strong 2026 first half performance, healthy inventory levels in the winter fishing category in North America and a robust innovation pipeline reinforce our confidence in Rapala VMC’s recovery trajectory and underpin its improved full year outlook.

“Rapala will continue advancing its brand strategy in H2 2026 and gradually rebuild marketing investment levels, which have remained below industry benchmarks as short-term profitability and deleveraging efforts took place.”