Husqvarna reworking supply chain to offset tariffs, CEO says
(Reuters) -Sweden's Husqvarna is reworking its supply chain to lessen the blow from global trade tensions as the U.S. considers steep hikes in tariffs on European imports, the company's CEO Pavel Hajman told Reuters.
Around two-thirds of Husqvarna's U.S. sales are tied to imported products, with roughly half of those coming from Europe and the rest from China and other countries.
"We are, of course, worse off because we have two-thirds being imported into the U.S., irrespective of whether it's China or Europe," Hajman said.
U.S. tariffs on EU goods currently stand at 10%, but the White House has floated the idea of raising them to as high as 30%.
Hajman said such a move would not be good for Husqvarna and urged a constructive dialogue between Washington and Brussels.
The group is increasingly concerned that Europe could be pulled deeper into Washington's trade clampdown, putting Husqvarna at risk on both its Asian and European supply routes.
To cushion the impact, Husqvarna has started shifting production of certain products out of China into its European factories.
It is also rerouting some Canada-bound goods away from U.S. distribution hubs to avoid getting caught in the crossfire from the Washington-Ottawa trade friction.
Hajman said the company is working with suppliers on price negotiations to soften the impact of tariff-related cost inflation.
The tariffs have come on top of other margin headwinds which the company is facing, including currency swings and rising raw material costs.
In response, Husqvarna implemented measures including plant closures and focusing on higher-margin products like watering systems and robotic mowers.
Husqvarna's robotic mower sales grew 15% in the quarter even as competition from emerging Chinese rivals intensifies.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Where Morgan Stanley is looking for value after powerful rebound in U.S. stocks
The U.S. stock market mostly added to its big rebound from its April low after President Donald Trump announced on Sunday a trade deal with the European Union, amid worries over rich valuations. Investors have been rotating into cyclical stocks from defensive equities amid signs of a resilient economy and confidence in corporate earnings, Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said in a note Monday. The rotation was partly amplified by optimism over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act suggesting 'a capex boom and cyclical recovery in the second half of 2025 through 2026, potentially further fueled by Federal Reserve rate cuts,' according to her note. Social Security wants to make a change that would cause 3.4 million more people to have to visit its field offices We're in our 70s with a $260K mortgage at 3% interest and $1.6 million in savings. Should we pay off our house in full? Why the man behind 'The Hater's Guide to the AI Bubble' thinks Wall Street's hottest trade will go bust The most important woman in bonds says investors now have unrealistic expectations The stock market has rebounded from the early April selloff sparked by Trump's announcement of 'liberation day' tariffs. The market recovered after the White House paused the tariffs and investors perceived positive developments as the U.S. worked on trade deals. The S&P 500 SPX closed at a record high each day of last week, ahead of Trump's meeting Sunday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland on trade. They reached an agreement under which the European Union will pay 15% tariffs for most goods imported to the U.S. That followed other trade deals announced last week, including with Japan. Read: S&P 500 scores 5th straight record high ahead of Europe-U.S. trade meeting 'The equity market's powerful recovery from the tariff uncertainty bear market has been driven by multiple factors—technical, positional and fundamental,' Shalett said. 'Oversold conditions and derisking set the stage for a strong pivot back to equities once the 90-day reciprocal tariff pause was announced, while economic resilience supported earnings confidence.' With the S&P 500 again approaching historically high valuations, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management sees investment opportunities in the healthcare sector amid the recent rotation into cyclical stocks, according to Shalett. 'Health care—namely, medical equipment, devices and supplies, and distribution logistics —remains one of our favored fishing ponds for value,' she said. Healthcare XX:SP500.35 has been the worst-performing S&P 500 sector in 2025, according to a Bespoke Investment Group note emailed Monday ahead of the U.S. stock market's opening bell. Consumer discretionary XX:SP500.25 was the only other sector in the red year to date, while six of the S&P 500 index's 11 sectors were beating the index, the Bespoke chart above shows. 'Yes, technology is one of the sectors that's ahead of the S&P 500, but other non-tech sectors like industrials, utilities, financials, and materials have also outperformed' this year, Bespoke said in the note. The S&P 500, which has an outsize weight to Big Tech stocks, has climbed 8.6% in 2025 through Monday. In a sign that this year's rally hasn't been just about Big Tech, shares of the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF RSP, an exchange-traded fund that equally weights stocks in the index, has risen 6.5% this year over the same stretch, FactSet data show. Meanwhile, U.S. businesses have been reporting this month their latest quarterly earnings, with results from Big Tech companies Meta Platforms Inc. META, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, Inc. AMZN and Apple Inc. AAPL scheduled for this week, according to the Bespoke note. 'We hope you had a restful weekend, because the last four days of July and the first trading day of August are going to be jam-packed with earnings and economic data,' Bespoke said. The Federal Reserve will wrap up its two-day meeting on monetary policy on Wednesday with a decision on where it's setting interest rates. The U.S. jobs report for July will be released Friday, while data on manufacturing and consumer sentiment will be released that same day. More imminently, Tuesday's U.S. economic calendar includes fresh reports on areas such as job openings and consumer confidence. The U.S. stock market closed mostly higher Monday, with the S&P 500 eking out a gain of less than 0.1% to notch a sixth straight record peak. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite COMP rose 0.3% to book a fresh all-time closing high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA slipped 0.1%. The S&P 500 ended Monday up 28.2% from its April 8 low, according to Dow Jones Market Data. 'The stock market's stunning rebound and resilience have again emboldened equity investors,' said Shalett, who pointed to their optimism about 'Goldilocks' economic conditions. But she cautioned against 'buying the market' through the passive S&P 500 index, saying 'complacency is elevated, and valuations are rich.' Shalett said to consider stocks with 'earnings and cash-flow upside-surprise potential,' which may be found among 'select tech hardware and services names, industrials, financials, energy and parts of health care that are policy beneficiaries amid higher structural volatility and real rates, and a weak U.S. dollar.' Comcast could see its heaviest internet-subscriber losses ever. Then what? How stock-market investors should trade what could be a historic Fed dissent on Wednesday Royal Caribbean stock gets rocked despite higher demand for cruises. Here's why. 'I have Type 1 diabetes': I'm 64 with a $1.3 million 401(k). Is it too late for long-term-care insurance? Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Santander's quarterly profit hits record as fees offset weak Mexico and Brazil
By Jesús Aguado MADRID (Reuters) -Santander on Wednesday said its second-quarter net profit rose 7% on the year as higher fees and lower provisions offset a decline in Brazil and Mexico due to currency depreciations. The euro zone's largest bank by market value reported a record fifth consecutive quarterly net profit, reaching 3.43 billion euros ($3.96 billion) in the April to June period, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations of 3.36 billion euros from a Reuters poll. It also announced a new share buyback of 1.7 billion euros set to begin on Thursday, representing around 25% of the group's profit in the first half of 2025. The buyback is part of its previously announced 10 billion euros programme for 2025 and 2026. The bank has benefited in the past from higher interest rates, while growth in key Latin American markets such as Brazil has given it an edge over more Europe-dependent rivals. However, quarterly net profit in Mexico, its fourth-biggest market, fell 6.8% against a backdrop of geopolitical risks stemming from U.S. trade tariffs, particularly in that market, due to the depreciation of the Mexican peso, while net profit in Brazil, its second-biggest market after Spain, fell 16%. A 2.4% rise in fees and a decline of 3.2% in provisions helped lift Santander's return on tangible equity ratio (ROTE), after the impact of additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital instruments, a measure of profitability, to 16.2% in the quarter, compared with 15.8% at the end of March. It said it was on track to meet its target of around 16.5% this year. It said it was also on its path to meet its full-year revenue target of around 62 billion euros, while its core Tier-1 capital ratio rose 10 basis points from the previous quarter to 13% by end-June, at the top end of the bank's operating range of 12% to 13% after achieving the 2025 target ahead of schedule. ($1 = 0.8669 euros) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
KTM AG returns to full production
KTM AG resumed production across all four lines at its main plants of Mattighofen and Munderfing, with 1,000 production employees returning to normal operations. Production for its KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas motorcycle brands is included. "A special thank you goes to our employees, who have made this restart possible through their tremendous dedication, flexibility, and team spirit over the past months," said KTM AG CEO Gottfried Neumeister in a news release. "Their commitment during one of the most challenging phases has been - and continues to be - a key success factor for the company's future development. Restarting production gives us the stability we need to fully refocus on quality, customer proximity, and further development." While this does not necessarily conclude the saga of KYM parent company Pierer Mobility AG's restructuring, which was announced in November 2024, it further lessens speculation about the overall health of the company that produced last year's Pro Motocross champion, Chase Sexton. In May 2025, the company announced that Bajaj Auto Ltd., a co-owner of KTM AG alongside Stefan Pierer, had secured a one-year, $632 million loan to keep the company operational as it restructured some of its debt. Representing KTM, Sexton is currently fourth in SuperMotocross World Championship points. Husqvarna's top rider is Malcolm Stewart, who sits sixth in the standings. GasGas is best represented by Justin Barcia in ninth. More SuperMotocross News Motocross of Nations to return to U.S. in 2028, 2031Loretta's Lap-a-Thon Benefitting St. Jude returns for 2025Washougal 450 Results | 250 ResultsJo Shimoda earns second Motocross win of 2025 at WashougalChase Sexton beats Jett Lawrence at WashougalHaiden Deegan wins Washougal Moto 1 over Jo ShimodaChase Sexton wins Washougal Moto 1, Jett Lawrence thirdWashougal 450 Qualification | 250 QualificationJason Anderson out for remainder of 2025 SMX seasonWashougal Preview | Betting Guide
