Norway's Orkla Is a Play On Food and Energy

The former industrial giant transformed itself into a consumergoods company and earned about 37% of its 2021 revenue from its core food business making frozen pizza, sauces, and ready-to-eat meals. The Oslo-listed stock also owns legacy hydroelectric power stations. "There appears to be a misunderstanding in the market around this hydropower plant, causing Orkla to trade like any other fast-moving consumergoods firm," Monteyne wrote in a note. adding that the same factors squeezing margins are also driving a "massive increase in profitability for Orkla's hydropower plant," softening the negative margin impact on the consumer business.