- Email: [email protected]
Ahlstrom Corp, Finland
19/01/2004
10:00
Page 7
(Black plate)
January 2004
Filtration Industry Analyst
Ahlstrom Corp, Finland
Alfa Laval AB, Sweden
Key Figures ( million) Third quarter ended 30.9
Key Figures (SKr million) Third quarter ended 30.9
2003
2002
Net Sales Of Which FiberComposites
377.1 156.7
396.7 168.6
Operating Profit Of Which FiberComposites
11.3 11.6
19.6 15.5
Net Sales
8.9
12.6
Net Profit
5.7
4.5
41.1
52.3
Net Cash Flow from Operations
2002
3426.3
3503.6
Cost of Goods Sold
2183.1
2188.1
Gross Profit
1243.2
1315.5
79.5
82.8
Operating Income
306.1
300.7
Result after Financial Items
191.0
219.3
Net Income
140.7
144.6
Order Intake
3462.9
3528.2
R&D Costs
Profit before Extraordinary Items and Taxes
2003
Nine months ended 30.6 2003
2002
Net Sales Of Which FiberComposites
1190.5 494.1
1372.7 524.1
Operating Profit Of Which FiberComposites
59.5 47.8
70.6 44.7
Profit before Extraordinary Items and Taxes
48.2
49.1
Net Profit
27.0
31.4
Net Cash Flow from Operations 109.5
121.5
Nine months ended 30.9 2003
2002
Net Sales
9823.0
10 419.8
Cost of Goods Sold
6200.6
6548.1
Gross Profit
3622.4
3871.7
R&D Costs
267.5
249.3
Operating Income
798.0
811.1
Result after Financial Items
542.3
26.4
Net Income/(Loss) Order Intake
COMMENT Ahlstrom has reported a weak third-quarter result reflecting low demand for certain product lines and maintenance shut-downs at several of its sites, as well as the dollar decline against the euro. “Markets have been unexpectedly weak during the third quarter and no immediate improvement is in sight,” Juha Rantanen, Ahlstrom’s president and CEO, said. “Against this background it is encouraging that both the FiberComposites and LabelPack divisions have maintained their performance at last year’s level during the first nine months. We will continue focusing on cost control and strong cash flow generation. Additionally, we will proceed with our
growth activities and other actions in order to improve our profitability in line with our business strategy.” Demand for filtration materials, part of its FiberComposites division, remained at the second quarter level, although this was down on the first quarter. Sales in Asia and South America progressed well, but both Europe and North America were slower. The company says the outlook in this area is reasonable, with year-on-year volume gains expected. Its capacity expansion and improvement projects in South Korea, Italy and Brazil are progressing on schedule, with all the lines expected to start during the course of 2004. ■
412.8
(176.2)
10 394.7
11 173.4
COMMENT Alfa Laval reported solid results for its third quarter, although currency translation effects impacted them. Excluding exchange rate variations, the net sales for the group of SKr3426.3 million were up 4.7% up on a year earlier, while the order intake of SKr3462.9 million climbed 5.6%. Adjusted EBITA rose SKr16 million to SKr430 million, with the margin up from 11.8% to 12.6%. For the first nine months, the group generated a gross profit of SKr3622.4 million. Excluding the amortization of SKr228.4 million, the adjusted gross profit of SKr3850.8 million represented 39.2% of net sales. Sigge Haraldsson, Alfa Laval’s president and CEO,
said orders had grown during the period for the equipment division, while business in the process technology division had remained static. Haraldsson said Alfa Laval was expecting order intake to continue to show a modest year-on-year gain for the remainder of 2003, excluding currency translation differences. The major part of the increase is due to acquired activities, although a small amount of organic growth was forecast for the latter part of the year. He said the company’s restructuring programme, ‘Beyond Expectations’, was ahead of plan with end-of-year targets already achieved by the end of the third quarter. ■
7
COMPANY WATCH
FIA Jan04.qxd
10:00
Page 7
(Black plate)
January 2004
Filtration Industry Analyst
Ahlstrom Corp, Finland
Alfa Laval AB, Sweden
Key Figures ( million) Third quarter ended 30.9
Key Figures (SKr million) Third quarter ended 30.9
2003
2002
Net Sales Of Which FiberComposites
377.1 156.7
396.7 168.6
Operating Profit Of Which FiberComposites
11.3 11.6
19.6 15.5
Net Sales
8.9
12.6
Net Profit
5.7
4.5
41.1
52.3
Net Cash Flow from Operations
2002
3426.3
3503.6
Cost of Goods Sold
2183.1
2188.1
Gross Profit
1243.2
1315.5
79.5
82.8
Operating Income
306.1
300.7
Result after Financial Items
191.0
219.3
Net Income
140.7
144.6
Order Intake
3462.9
3528.2
R&D Costs
Profit before Extraordinary Items and Taxes
2003
Nine months ended 30.6 2003
2002
Net Sales Of Which FiberComposites
1190.5 494.1
1372.7 524.1
Operating Profit Of Which FiberComposites
59.5 47.8
70.6 44.7
Profit before Extraordinary Items and Taxes
48.2
49.1
Net Profit
27.0
31.4
Net Cash Flow from Operations 109.5
121.5
Nine months ended 30.9 2003
2002
Net Sales
9823.0
10 419.8
Cost of Goods Sold
6200.6
6548.1
Gross Profit
3622.4
3871.7
R&D Costs
267.5
249.3
Operating Income
798.0
811.1
Result after Financial Items
542.3
26.4
Net Income/(Loss) Order Intake
COMMENT Ahlstrom has reported a weak third-quarter result reflecting low demand for certain product lines and maintenance shut-downs at several of its sites, as well as the dollar decline against the euro. “Markets have been unexpectedly weak during the third quarter and no immediate improvement is in sight,” Juha Rantanen, Ahlstrom’s president and CEO, said. “Against this background it is encouraging that both the FiberComposites and LabelPack divisions have maintained their performance at last year’s level during the first nine months. We will continue focusing on cost control and strong cash flow generation. Additionally, we will proceed with our
growth activities and other actions in order to improve our profitability in line with our business strategy.” Demand for filtration materials, part of its FiberComposites division, remained at the second quarter level, although this was down on the first quarter. Sales in Asia and South America progressed well, but both Europe and North America were slower. The company says the outlook in this area is reasonable, with year-on-year volume gains expected. Its capacity expansion and improvement projects in South Korea, Italy and Brazil are progressing on schedule, with all the lines expected to start during the course of 2004. ■
412.8
(176.2)
10 394.7
11 173.4
COMMENT Alfa Laval reported solid results for its third quarter, although currency translation effects impacted them. Excluding exchange rate variations, the net sales for the group of SKr3426.3 million were up 4.7% up on a year earlier, while the order intake of SKr3462.9 million climbed 5.6%. Adjusted EBITA rose SKr16 million to SKr430 million, with the margin up from 11.8% to 12.6%. For the first nine months, the group generated a gross profit of SKr3622.4 million. Excluding the amortization of SKr228.4 million, the adjusted gross profit of SKr3850.8 million represented 39.2% of net sales. Sigge Haraldsson, Alfa Laval’s president and CEO,
said orders had grown during the period for the equipment division, while business in the process technology division had remained static. Haraldsson said Alfa Laval was expecting order intake to continue to show a modest year-on-year gain for the remainder of 2003, excluding currency translation differences. The major part of the increase is due to acquired activities, although a small amount of organic growth was forecast for the latter part of the year. He said the company’s restructuring programme, ‘Beyond Expectations’, was ahead of plan with end-of-year targets already achieved by the end of the third quarter. ■
7
COMPANY WATCH
FIA Jan04.qxd