ÅF AB Year-end report 2015

Fourth quarter 2015

• Net sales amounted to SEK 2,717 million (2,376)
• Operating profit, excl items affecting comparability , totalled SEK 257 million (205)
• Operating margin, excl items affecting comparability, was 9.5 percent (8.6)
• Operating profit totalled SEK 261 million (229)
• Operating margin was 9.6 percent (9.6)
• Profit after tax totalled SEK 191 million (171)
• Earnings per share, before dilution: SEK 2.46 (2.21)

January-December 2015

• Net sales amounted to SEK 9,851 million (8,805)
• Operating profit, excl items affecting comparability, totalled SEK 832 million (747)
• Operating margin, excl items affecting comparability, was 8.4 percent (8.5)
• Operating profit totalled SEK 839 million (756)
• Operating margin was 8.5 percent (8.6)
• Profit after tax totalled SEK 609 million (553)
• Earnings per share, before dilution: SEK 7.81 (7.16)
• The Board proposes a dividend per share for 2015 of SEK 3,75 (3.50)

A few words from the President, Jonas Wiström:

ÅF's operating profit for the fourth quarter was the highest ever. Excluding items affecting comparability, operating profit amounted to SEK 257 million (205), a rise of 25 percent, and the operating margin rose to 9.5 percent (8.6). All divisions improved their operating profit and they all either increased their opera­ting margins or maintained them at a good level. It is also gratifying that growth remains strong, with a net sales increase of 14 percent, combined with good cash flows.

The reorganisation of the Industry and Tech­nology divisions provided the synergies that had been identified and have now helped to improve earnings.

The Infrastructure Division continues to deli­ver strong growth while maintaining its opera­ting margin.

The International Division, which has its seasonally strongest performance in the fourth quarter, continues to improve its earnings despite a weak European domestic market in the energy sector. Investments in power gene­ration are a predominant portion of the Division's business exposure. Efforts made in the Division with both the restructuring and an increase in the proportion of projects out­side Europe has been successful.

During the quarter, an important step was taken in the strong infrastructure markets of Sweden and Norway when the Norwegian engineering and consulting company Reinert­sen and ÅF decided to combine their infrastructure operations in Norway in a jointly owned company starting in February 2016. A decision to acquire Reinertsen's infrastructure business in Sweden was made at the same time. This provides a good basis for continued growth in the Infrastructure Division.

The businesses acquired during the year have progressed well. With the acquisition of Lean­Nova Engineering, originally part of the for­mer Saab Automobile's development depart­ment, ÅF is now the leading and most compre­hensive provider of development services to the automotive industry in the Nordic countries. ÅF offers end-to-end solutions and has expertise in everything from joining sys­tems together to developing complete cars.

ÅF's services to the pharmaceutical industry were strengthened by the acquisition of PRC Engineering and its specialists, while the acquisition of EQC strengthened ÅF's infrastructure services in road and rail.

Six businesses were acquired during the year, resulting in a net sales increase of about SEK 800 million on a full-year basis.

The strong finish to the year meant that the total operating income for 2015 increased to SEK 832 million (747), an increase of 11 per­cent, excluding items affecting comparability, and that net sales increased 12 percent. Despite some challenging changes in the mar­ket, especially in the energy sector, ÅF has continued its growth strategy while maintain­ing profitability and a strong cash flow.

Net sales have now surpassed one billion euros, which means that ÅF has exceeded the 2015 target set five years ago. The target for 2020 is for ÅF to generate net sales of at least EUR 2 billion and achieve an operating mar­gin of at least 10 percent over a business cycle.

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

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 13.00, 8 February, 2016.

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