Interim report January-September 2011: Continued Growth with High and Stable Profitability

 

Nine months

  · Order intake increased by 12% to 1,063.7 MSEK (945.6)
  · Net sales up by 20% to 1,072.4 MSEK (896.1)
  · Operating profit increased by 36% to 121.2 MSEK (89.3)
  · Profit after tax up by 33% to 84.0 MSEK (63.3)
  · Earnings per share increased by 33% to 4.28 SEK (3.22)
  · Share split creating 12.7 million new shares, to a total of 18.9 million shares

Third quarter

  · Order intake up 16% to 332.3 MSEK (287.5)
  · Net sales increased by 14% to 342.5 MSEK (300.7)
  · Operating profit increased by 14% to 39.5 MSEK (34.7)
  · Profit after tax up by 13% to 26.5 MSEK (23.4)

 

COMMENTS FROM FREDRIK JÖNSSON, CEO
In the third quarter, Beijer Electronics continued its growth with stable and high profitability, which was at record levels. Sales increased by 14% in the period. Increased volumes meant higher earnings and an operating margin of 11.5%. Our acquisitions, Korenix and QSI, have continued to perform better than expected and have contributed significantly to increasing our sales and earnings. Global financial turmoil did not have any impact on our third-quarter results. There are tendencies toward slowdown on certain markets and sub-segments. We are monitoring progress closely and are prepared to fend off deteriorating demand.

The IDC business area remained convincing in the third quarter, with a 45% sales increase and 53% earnings gains.This meant a record margin of over 17%. IDC's progress indicates substantial growth opportunities. Our initiative in the US has only just begun, and progress is really positive, with increased sales quarter on quarter. Korenix has been integrated successfully and we've maintained a high product development tempo with several new product launches for Korenix and Westermo.

The HMI Products business area achieved good growth and continued very positive profitability. The integration of QSI has gone as planned and the company has made a good contribution to sales and earnings. But the business area's organic order intake was someone weaker in the third quarter. Demand for HMI products in China slowed in the period, affecting the business area's sales there negatively.

We also started up a sales company in Brazil in the third quarter and created a separate business area, Asia/Pacific, to drive development and expansion in each region.

The Automation business area made stable progress with somewhat higher sales and unchanged earnings in the third quarter. Growth year to date was positive in Denmark, Sweden and Finland, and there was a recovery in Norway in the third quarter. The Baltics achieved strong growth and all markets that Automation addresses are now delivering positive earnings. The focus on large OEM customers resulted in some new business. However, we have noted some slowdown on the market and increased caution, especially for major investment decisions."

 

INVITATION TO CONFERENCE CALL

Today a conference call will be held for press and analysts where President and CEO Fredrik Jönsson and CFO Lennart Mauritzson present the company and comment on the report.

Time:  Tuesday October 25 at 10.30 a.m. CET

To participate in the conference, please dial:

From Sweden: +46(0)8 56627513
From the UK:+44(0) 207 750 9950

To access the presentation, please use this link:
https://www.anywhereconference.com/?Conference=108263114&PIN=402078 (https://www.anywhereconference.com/?Conference=108263114&PIN=402078)

The interim report and the presentation will be available at Beijer Electronics' website www.beijerelectronics.se (http://www.beijerelectronics.se/) under Investors/Presentations.

A recording of the conference call will also be available here later on.

Welcome!

For more information, please contact:
President and CEO, Fredrik Jönsson,
tel 46 (0)40 35 86 10, mobile 46 (0)705 17 16 26
  
CFO, Lennart Mauritzson,
tel 46 (0)40 35 86 53, mobile 46 (0)705 52 05 57