Report
Press release
Interim Report January - March 2009
- Group profit after net financial items amounted to SEK 102 (818) million.
- Group profit after tax amounted to SEK 79 (777) million, which corresponds to SEK 0.60 (5.93) per share.
INDUSTRIAL AND TRADING OPERATIONS
- Orders received volumes in industrial and trading operations fell to SEK 1,399 (1,840) million, a reduction of 25 percent adjusted for bought and sold operations.
- Net sales in industrial and trading operations amounted to SEK 1,437 (1,754) million, a reduction of 20 percent, adjusted for bought and sold operations.
- Operating results in industrial and trading operations contracted by SEK 65 (173) million, a reduction of 67 percent, corresponding to an operating margin of 4.5 (9.8) percent, adjusted for bought and sold operations.
- At the beginning of the year Hand Tools business area followed through on the acquisition of the Snickers franchise in England.
INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
- The investment portfolio contracted by 4.6 percent at the same time the comparable index (SIXRX) contracted by 1.6 percent.
EVENTS AFTER THE REPORT PERIOD
- No significant events have taken place.
Description of Operations
Investment AB Latour is a mixed investment company consisting of wholly owned industrial and trading operations and an investment portfolio of listed holdings in which Latour is the principal owner or one of the principle owners. The investment portfolio consists of eleven substantial holdings that on 31 March 2009 had a market value of SEK 6.5 billion. The holdings in the investment portfolio with the greatest value are Assa Abloy, Securitas and Sweco, and collectively they make up 73 percent of the entire value of the portfolio.
The wholly owned industrial and trading operations are organised in six business areas; Automotive, Hand Tools, Hydraulics, Air Treatment, Machinery Trading and Engineering Technology. Annual net sales in the industrial and trading operations amount to SEK 6.7 billion.
Industrial and Trading Operations
Results and market
The first quarter was precisely as weak as feared. The drastic decline that began at the end of 2008 has continued in the first quarter of 2009. Orders received declined by 25 percent for comparable units compared with the same period the previous year. The Automotive business area has suffered the most and the rate of sales is less than half the rate in the first quarter of 2008. Hydraulics has also been hit hard as well as Machinery Trading. Hand Tools and Engineering Technology have also been affected negatively but not as dramatically. By increasing its market shares Air Treatment has maintained a good order level and, after elimination of exchange effects, has declined only marginally.
The total level of orders received in continuing operations contracted to SEK 1,399 (1,840) million. Invoicing decreased to SEK 1,437 (1,754) million. The combined operating result for the six business areas was SEK 65 (173) million, entailing an operating margin of 4.5 (9.8) percent.
Significant adjustments to offset the lower level of orders have been made and continue to be made in all the business areas. However, these savings will not affect of results for the first quarter. If all the reductions in personnel had been in effect in the first quarter, the operating result would have amounted to SEK109 million and the operating margin would have been 7.6 percent. In addition to this is the effect of other cost reductions not related to personnel.
Acquisitions and divestitures
Latour's ambition is to continue to develop the wholly owned industrial and trading operations at the same rate as previously. This means that we evaluate both small and large acquisition opportunities that fit in with our current operations. Our objective is to own stable industrial companies with their own products and a platform for internationalisation.
In the first quarter the acquisition of the Snickers franchise in Great Britain for the Hand Tools business area was followed through. The acquisition makes it possible to better structure the sales of all the products in the business area in Great Britain. Snickers Workwear is one of Europe's leading brands in work wear for craftsmen and is represented in 20 countries. There are other strong brands such as Hultafors Tools and Wibe Ladders in the business area.