Ahlstrom Corp, Finland

COMPANY WATCH

Alfa Laval AB, Sweden

Ahlstrom Corp, Finland

Key Figures (E million) Fourth quarter ended 31.12 2016 2015

Net Sales Of Which: Filtration & Performance

266.1

255.0

170.5

159.8

Cost of Goods Sold

220.2

227.2

45.9

27.7

Operating Profit/(Loss) Of Which: Filtration & Performance

8.0

(16.4)

8.9

(7.6)

Profit/(Loss) before Taxes

4.8

(20.5)

Net Profit/(Loss)

1.4

(20.2)

Gross Profit

Year ended 31.12 Net Sales Of Which: Filtration & Performance

2016 2015 1085.9

1074.7

697.8

676.0

Cost of Goods Sold

883.5

910.0

Gross Profit

202.4

164.8

Operating Profit/(Loss) Of Which: Filtration & Performance

70.8

21.9

49.8

13.7

Profit/(Loss) before Taxes

56.3

22.6

Net Profit/(Loss)

34.9

8.6



Key Figures (SEK million) Fourth quarter ended 31.12 2016 2015

Order Intake

8709

9422

Net Sales

9904

10 805

Cost of Goods Sold

6848

7377

Gross Profit

3056

3428

R&D Costs

232

200

Operating Income

820

1483

Net Income

616

935

Year ended 31.12

2016 2015

Order Intake

32 060

37 098

Net Sales

35 634

39 746

Cost of Goods Sold

24 581

26 707

Gross Profit

11 053

13 039

822

756

Operating Income

2989

5717

Net Income

2312

3861

R&D Costs

COMMENT COMMENT Ahlstrom Corp recorded net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 of E266.1 million, a 4.4% increase on the year earlier. The company posted an operating profit of E8.0 million, reversing a year earlier loss of E16.4 million. Similarly, a net profit of E1.4 million followed a loss of E20.2 million in the comparator quarter that was marked by significant impairment losses and restructuring costs. Sales in the Filtration & Performance segment were up 6.7% on the year earlier at E170.5 million led by higher sales of wallcover, filtration and glass fibre materials. The segment’s adjusted operating

February 2017

profit rose to E9.5 million from E3.0 million driven by higher sales volumes and better operational efficiency through reduced production waste, as well as lower variable costs. For the full year, Ahlstrom’s net sales were up 1.0% to E1.1 billion while net profit reached E34.9 million from E8.6 million in the previous period. “During the latter part of the year we demonstrated our ability to grow, something we have lacked in the past few years, and achieved remarkable growth in net sales of close to 5% at constant currency rates in the last quarter of the year,” Sakari Ahdekivi, Ahlstrom’s interim president & CEO, said. n www.ahlstrom.com

Alfa Laval AB has posted fourth quarter net sales for fiscal 2016 of SEK9.9 billion, down 8.3% on the prior year. Order intake and profitability also fell significantly, with the former down 7.6% to SEK8.7 billion, operating income 44.7% lower at SEK820 million and net income 34.1% easier at SEK616 million. Results for the quarter included SEK400 million in restructuring costs bringing the total for the year to SEK1.5 billion. Alfa Laval’s president and CEO, Tom Erixon, said the quarter had seen the completion of its recent restructuring endeavours with its new organisational structure launched at the beginning of January.

“This initiative is estimated, in combination with already announced changes, to give annual savings of SEK500 million in total,” he said. For the corresponding full year, net sales were down 10.3% on the year earlier at SEK35.6 billion, while orders slipped 13.6% to SEK32.1 billion. Profitability followed a similar trend with operating income slumping 47.7% to SEK3.0 billion and net earnings decreasing 40.1% to SEK2.3 billion. Order backlog at year end was SEK16.9 billion compared to SEK20.6 billion twelve months earlier. Alfa Laval is expecting demand to ease in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 compared with the final period of 2016. n www.alfalaval.com

Filtration Industry Analyst

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