Woman tying shoelaces, white trainers, yellow jacket

ÅF AB Year-end report January - December 2013

Tue, 11/02/2014 - 08:30 CET
Regulatory

For further information, please contact:

 Jonas Wiström, President and CEO                +46 70 608 12 20

 Stefan Johansson, CFO                           +46 70 224 24 01

 Viktor Svensson, Director Corporate Information +46 70 657 20 26



Fourth quarter 2013

  * Net sales amounted to SEK 2,291 million (1,847)
  * Operating profit totalled SEK 274 million (156)
  * Operating profit, excluding non-recurring items, totalled SEK 220 million
    (156)
  * Operating margin, excluding non-recurring items, was 9.6 percent (8.5)
  * Profit after tax totalled SEK 207 million (117)
  * Earnings per share, before dilution: SEK 5.37 (3.23)



January-December 2013

  * Net sales amounted to SEK 8,337 million (5,796)
  * Operating profit totalled SEK 722 million (481)
  * Operating profit, excluding non-recurring items, totalled SEK 724 million
    (481)
  * Operating margin, excluding non-recurring items, was 8.7 percent (8.3)
  * Profit after tax totalled SEK 525 million (353)
  * Earnings per share, before dilution: SEK 13.41 (10.13)
  * The Board proposes a dividend per share for 2013 of SEK 6.50 (5.50)
  * The Board proposes a 2:1 share split



A few words from the President, Jonas Wiström:

ÅF's operating profit for the fourth quarter was the highest in the company's
history, both including and excluding non-recurring items. Excluding non-
recurring items, profit totalled SEK 220 million (156). The operating margin,
excluding non-recurring items, was 9.6 percent (8.5). The higher margin is in
part due to lower central costs compared with the year-earlier period.

Growth amounted to 24 percent in the fourth quarter, mainly due to the
acquisitions of Epsilon and Advansia. ÅF now has a workforce of just over 7,000
highly qualified employees, with a stronger and more comprehensive range of
engineering services to offer our customers than ever before. On top of that, ÅF
offers access to over 20,000 engineers as part of a unique network.

ÅF's overall market saw some improvement in Q4, with heightened activity within
a number of key customer segments. Project assignments are growing and now
account for roughly 60 percent, which is a consequence of our strategy of
creating added value for our customers via long-term and close partnerships.

The Industry and Infrastructure divisions displayed the highest levels of
profitability and growth, and both achieved operating margins approaching 12
percent in the fourth quarter. Technology has shown gradual improvement during
the autumn both in terms of profit and capacity utilisation rate. The division's
operating margin was 8.3 percent (10.7). International maintained its positive
profit trend, despite a deterioration in levels of demand in Russia and the rest
of Europe. The division's operating margin climbed to 6.6 percent (5.9).

The financial statements for full-year 2013 include substantial non-recurring
items. These items include costs of SEK 55 million relating to the integration
of the Epsilon acquisition, which impacted on profit for the first six months of
the year. In addition, accounting adjustments detailed under "Net sales and
profit" gave rise to a positive effect of SEK 53 million in the fourth quarter.

The market forecast for 2014 is cautiously optimistic. The market for
Infrastructure is expected to remain strong. There are several indications that
the market outlook for Industry is a positive improvement on a year ago. The
energy market continues to be characterised by low levels of investment in
Europe, with a more encouraging outlook on the markets in Asia and South
America. All in all, the general assessment is that ÅF's total market will see
gradual improvement in 2014, compared with 2013.

ÅF's most important objective is to continue to generate levels of profitability
that place us among the very best performers in our industry - regardless of the
state of the economy. Our ambition is to continue to grow, both organically and
through acquisitions, without compromising profitability. New long-term
financial objectives for the ÅF Group, Vision 2020, will be presented at the end
of the first quarter.

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 subject to review 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 8:30
a.m. on 11 February.

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


Related files