Aksell expands its reach in an evolving market

We sat down with CEO Bjarte Hordnes of Norwegian Aksell to gain a clear picture of their 2025 financial performance, as well as an outlook on how 2026 is shaping up so far. The Aksell Group currently comprises six distinct company accounts alongside one consolidated group financial statement.

In this feature on Aksell, we have chosen to focus on the consolidated group accounts, as we believe this provides the best overview of the total picture—with intercompany transactions eliminated.

How would you briefly describe Aksell’s development in 2025?

“2025 was a stable year for us. We delivered slight improvements in both revenue and earnings, demonstrating healthy operations for the second consecutive year. The results show that Aksell maintained profitability through a period of significant market transformation,” explains Hordnes.

Key Figures: Aksell Group Revenue (2025): NOK 753.7 million NOK (2024: NOK 746.4 million NOK) EBITDA (2025): NOK 45.6 million NOK (2024: NOK 45.5 million NOK) Employees: 356 employees at year-end

2026: “Clear Improvement in Profitability”

While 2025 was largely characterized by stabilization and ongoing development, the first half of 2026 shows that strategic initiatives are beginning to yield results. In recent years, Aksell Group has evolved from a purely print-based group into a broader hub of expertise across visual communication, production, logistics, and experience-based services. According to Hordnes, this diversification makes the group less reliant on trends in traditional graphic services.

“Following a year of stable progress in 2025, the first half of 2026 is showing a clear improvement in profitability,” notes the Aksell CEO.

The latest acquisition for Aksell Group was Fjuz Kommunikasjon in November 2024. Hordnes views this business area as crucial, developing in line with clients’ growing demands for end-to-end communication solutions.

“Fjuz went through a major turnaround following the acquisition and reported negative results for 2025, but that trajectory has now been reversed,” Hordnes continues.

Structural Changes Expected to Continue

The printing and graphic arts industry is undergoing major structural shifts, with Aksell positioning itself as one of the key drivers.

What do you see as the primary drivers behind this trend?

“I believe digitalization, changing client needs, and declining volumes in certain traditional product areas have significantly accelerated consolidation in the market. All these trends have made it increasingly difficult to operate independently as a smaller player,” says Hordnes.

And Aksell expects this shift to continue?

“Yes, we believe the trend toward increased consolidation will persist. As we see more large corporate entities emerging across the Nordics, we also anticipate consolidation happening across international borders,” Hordnes adds.

What is Aksell’s top priority moving forward—further growth or profitability?

“One does not exclude the other, but further improving profitability will clearly be a top priority for us moving forward. Our ambition is to continue building a resilient group capable of driving growth across multiple segments of the communication and service markets,” Hordnes concludes.