The Fastest on the Baltic Market: Whose Business is on the Rise?
Spring financial results have brought a breath of fresh air to the Baltic stock exchange. In this overview, based on the first quarter of 2026, we look at three companies whose business growth has shown the most impressive acceleration. Although Infortar showed the largest profit growth on paper, we are leaving them out of the top three this time. Their extraordinary result was mainly due to a one-off change in the value of financial instruments, not the expansion of core operations. We focus on those whose engine is real and sustainable business activity.
Nordecon made a powerful comeback at the beginning of the year, growing its first-quarter sales revenue by 32.1% to 52 million euros. Even more impressive is the nearly fivefold, or 485.9%, increase in operating profit to 1.1 million euros, leaving competitors far behind. Although the market reacted coolly to the cancellation of dividends due to last year's loss, the company's current numbers have made a strong turnaround.
Behind this extraordinary growth is successful activity in both building and infrastructure construction, where revenues grew by 22% and a whopping 168%, respectively. Investors are also reassured by the fact that Nordecon's contract portfolio has expanded by a third over the year, reaching 372 million euros. This shows that the company has managed to find new large projects in a difficult market situation, which will feed growth in the near future as well.
Latvian financial company INDEXO reached a significant milestone in the first quarter of 2026, turning its operating profit positive with a 134% growth to 0.7 million euros. A net profit of 143 thousand euros was also earned. The share price has remained stable at the 8.72 euro level, indicating that the market has received the initial news of profit numbers positively but with anticipation.
The main engine for reaching profitability, however, was not the bank's previous organic growth, but the recent acquisition of DelfinGroup, which brought a sharp increase in interest income. Although INDEXO bank's own core business is still operating at a loss, the addition of a new profitable business line helps cover expansion costs. This is a strategic move that makes the company financially stronger and buys time to grow its banking services.
Ekspress Grupp managed to make a remarkable profit turnaround in the first quarter, turning the previous period's decline in operating profit into a 33.8% growth. The company's operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew by a massive 255%, reaching 0.9 million euros, although total revenue fell marginally by 1.2%. The share has remained strong at the 1.25 euro level, being close to its peak for the past year.
The key to this success story is very strict and successful cost management in a situation where the Baltic advertising market is weak due to the economic environment. In addition, the decline in advertising revenue is offset by a stable 6% growth in digital subscriptions, reaching 237,000 subscribers. For investors, this shows that the media group can protect its profitability with digital content sales and cost efficiency even when facing external headwinds.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these three companies show that even in volatile economic conditions, it is possible to find ways for rapid growth. Whether it is Nordecon's strong contract portfolio, INDEXO's smart expansion through acquisitions, or Ekspress Grupp's skillful cost control and digital transformation – each has its own unique engine. Investors should keep an eye on whether these strong first-quarter trends can prove themselves in the second half of the year as well.
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