ÅF AB Interim report January - June 2011
Thu, 14/07/2011 - 08:30 CEST
Regulatory
President and CEO, Jonas Wiström, +46 70 608 12 20 CFO, Jonas Ågrup, +46 70 333 04 95 Director, Corporate Information, Viktor Svensson, +46 70 657 20 26 First quarter 2011 * Net sales totalled SEK 1,297 million (Q2 2010: SEK 1,040 million) * Operating profit was SEK 111 million (SEK 80 million) * Operating margin was 8.5 percent (7.7 percent) * Earnings per share before dilution: SEK 2.30 (SEK 1.64) First half year 2011 * Net sales totalled SEK 2,537 million (Q2 2010: SEK 2,147 million) * Operating profit, excl capital gain, was SEK 211 million (SEK 163 million) * Operating margin, excl capital gain, was 8.3 percent (7.6 percent) * Earnings per share before dilution: SEK 4.57 (SEK 16.91) *) *) Profit for the first quarter of 2010 included a capital gain of SEK 458 million resulting from the sale of the ÅF Group's Inspection Division, ÅF- Kontroll. A few words from the President, Jonas Wiström: The market for ÅF as a whole continued to improve in the second quarter, despite a decline in the nuclear power sector. There were upward trends in capacity utilisation. A key factor behind the rise in demand is the strength of the Swedish economy, particularly the industrial sector, which has led to improved levels of profitability for three of our four divisions. The Industry and Technology Divisions both reported an operating margin of 11.4 percent in the second quarter. Overall growth for ÅF amounted to 25 percent for the quarter, including organic growth of 14 percent. At the end of the reporting period ÅF had close to 600 more employees than at the corresponding point last year. Earnings per share rose by 40 percent, while the operating margin was 8.5 percent (Q2 2010: 7.7 percent), which is also an improvement on the first- quarter figure. One important piece of good news towards the end of the reporting period was that after a 12-month legal delay, the Infrastructure Division can at last commence work on the Stockholm Bypass Project (Sweden's largest infrastructure investment) for the Swedish Transport Administration. The Energy Division noticed a slow-down in activity due to an in-creased uncertainty in the nuclear power sector at the same time as the negative effects of exchange rates continued to drag down profits. Earnings for the ÅF Group as a whole were dented by just over SEK 5 million as a result of negative exchange- rate trends in the second quarter, compared with the corresponding period last year. The Energy Division has seen a rise in demand from the hydropower sector, but this has not compensated for the steep decline in nuclear power consulting services. However, here at ÅF, we believe that the market for these services will stabilise again from the start of the new year. ÅF's most important objective remains to generate levels of profitability that place us among the very best performers in our industry. However, ÅF also now stands well-prepared to boost growth. Our ambition is to grow by around 15 percent a year, with approximately half of this growth coming from new recruitment and half from acquisitions. The outlook for an increase in organic growth has never been better. During the second quarter ÅF was, for the second year in succession, ranked among Europe's top 50 most attractive employers in Universum's survey of some 6,150 engineering students at 56 European universities. Group Head Office: ÅF AB (publ), SE-169 99 Stockholm, Sweden Visitors' address: Frösundaleden 2, 169 70 Solna, Sweden Tel. +46 10 505 00 00 Fax +46 10 505 00 10 www.afconsult.com / info@afconsult.com Corporate ID number 556120-6474 This report has not been subjected to scrutiny by the company's auditors. The information in this interim report fulfils ÅF AB's disclosure requirements under the provisions of the Swedish Securities Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was released for publication at 08:30 CET on 14 July 2011. All assumptions about the future that are made in this report are based on the best information available to the company at the time the report was written. As is the case with all assessments of the future, such assumptions are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may mean that the actual outcome differs from the anticipated result. This is a translation of the Swedish original. The Swedish text is the binding version and shall prevail in the event of any discrepancies. The full report including tables (pdf) is available for download