ÅF AB Interim report January - March 2014

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

First quarter 2014

Net sales amounted to SEK 2,276 million (2,125)
 Operating profit totalled SEK 200 million (166)
 Operating margin was 8.8 percent (7.8)
 Operating profit, excluding non-recurring items, totalled SEK 200 million (183)
 Operating margin, excluding non-recurring items, was 8.8 percent (8.6)
 Profit after tax totalled SEK 149 million (121)
 Earnings per share, before dilution: SEK 3.83 (3.04)

A few words from the President, Jonas Wiström:

ÅF's operating profit rose to SEK 200 million (166) in the first quarter 2014. This is the highest first-quarter result ÅF has reported to date, even taking into account the fact that last

year's first quarter was affected negatively by SEK 17 million in restructuring costs. The operating margin climbed to 8.8 percent (7.8) in the quarter. The improved profit is chiefly attributable to slightly higher capacity utilisation and synergies from completed acquisitions.

Growth for the ÅF Group amounted to 7 percent in the first quarter, of which 3 percent was organic. Adjusted for ÅF Russia, which saw sales volumes continue to diminish, ÅF grew by just over 12 percent in the first quarter, of which 8 percent was organic. ÅF now has a workforce of 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 around 20,000 engineers as part of a unique network.

With the exception of Russia and Spain, ÅF's market continued to experience a gradual improvement during the first quarter. The highest levels of profit were delivered by the Infrastructure and Industry divisions, with operating margins of 11.9 (13.9) and 10.1 (8.0) percent respectively. Industry stood out for its ability to combine rising profit with growth of over 20 percent in Q1. The Technology Division delivered a stable margin of 8.6 (8.6) percent, which was nevertheless an increase compared to the fourth quarter last year. International's margin climbed to 4.0 percent (2.4). However, growth in the International Division was negative due to persistently weak levels of demand in Russia and Spain.

Market prospects for the rest of 2014 remain cautiously optimistic. The market for infrastructure is deemed to be persistently strong, while 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 for the markets in Asia and South America.

Interest in ÅF as an employer remains very strong. At the beginning of April, ÅF was on Randstad Award's list of Sweden's 20 most attractive employers - all industry categories. The Randstad Award is the world's largest independent employer branding survey. For ÅF, as a knowledge-intensive company, being able to recruit the top engineers is a key success factor. In order to further consolidate ÅF's position as an attractive employer we are launching a strategic investment and process, Even Odds, to continue to increase the proportion of female managers and employees in the company.

ÅF's ultimate goal is to be the most profitable company among its closest comparable competitors in the industry and achieve an operating margin of at least 10 percent over a business cycle. This shall be combined with growth - both organic and through corporate acquisitions. At the end of the first quarter, at ÅF's Capital Markets Day, the company presented new longterm goals including sales of at least EUR 2 billion by the year 2020.

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 11.00 a.m. on 5 May, 2014.

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

Interim report Jan - March 2014


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Source: ÅF AB via Globenewswire
HUG#1782493