GÖTEBORG, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
SKF Group: (STO:SKFA)(STO:SKFB)(LSE:SKFB)(Pink Sheets:SKFRY)
Tom Johnstone, President and CEO:
“The SKF Group had a very strong performance in 2011 with record sales, operating profit and operating margin. The integration of Lincoln is going according to plan and we have also made important progress on the initiatives we announced last year to support our long-term financial targets. We launched a number of new products, gained significant business and opened our new bearing factory in China. Spending on Research and Development increased significantly as planned, and our new Global Technical Centre in India was opened.
In the fourth quarter overall demand softened as expected but with a somewhat better demand in USA and weaker in Asia. As planned we ran our production lower than sales to reduce inventories and this had the expected impact on our results.
Looking into the first quarter we still see uncertainty in demand in Europe and in our automotive business. Demand for the Group in total is expected to be lower than in the first quarter last year and similar to the fourth quarter. We will continue to drive our initiatives to strengthen SKF and to invest in the faster growing regions and markets. Our new structure for the industrial market is under implementation and will improve our ability to even better support our customers in each industry.”
|
Key figures |
Q4 2011 |
Q4 2010 |
Full year 2011 |
Full year 2010 |
|||||
| Net sales, SEKm |
16,257 |
15,409 |
66,216 |
61,029 | |||||
| Operating profit, SEKm |
2,006 |
2,202 |
9,612 |
8,452 | |||||
| Operating margin, % |
12.3 |
14.3 |
14.5 |
13.8 | |||||
| Profit before taxes, SEKm |
1,823 |
2,048 |
8,932 |
7,549 | |||||
| Net profit, SEKm |
1,205 |
1,350 |
6,224 |
5,296 | |||||
| Basic earnings per share, SEK |
2.57 |
2.87 |
13.29 |
11.28 |
| Net sales change | |||||||||||
| in SEK, attributable |
Volume |
Price/mix |
Structure |
Currency effect |
Total |
||||||
| to: | |||||||||||
| Q4 2011 | 0.0% | 2.8% | 4.8% | -2.1% | 5.5% | ||||||
| Full year 2011 | 9.6% | 1.9% | 4.8% | -7.8% | 8.5% |
Sales in local currency in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year (excl. structure)
Sales for the Group increased by 2.8%. In Europe they increased by 0.5%, in North America by 5.6%, in Latin America by 11.0%, in Asia by 0.8% and in the Middle East and Africa by 19.9%. The manufacturing level was lower than in the fourth quarter last year.
One-off costs
The quarter included one-off costs of around SEK 100 million. Around SEK 40 million are related to impairment of assets and have no impact on cash flow. The remaining costs are related to various restructuring activities.
Dividend proposal
Based on the strong performance, cash generation capacity and outlook, the Board has decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting an increase in the dividend of 10%, giving a dividend of SEK 5.50 (5.00) per share.
Outlook for the first quarter of 2012
Demand compared to the first quarter last year
The demand for SKF’s products and services is expected to be slightly lower for the Group. It is expected to be lower in Europe, higher in North America, relatively unchanged in Asia and slightly higher in Latin America. The demand is expected to be relatively unchanged for the Industrial Division and the Service Division and significantly lower for the Automotive Division.
Demand compared to the fourth quarter 2011
The demand for SKF’s products and services is expected to be relatively unchanged for the Group. It is expected to be slightly lower for Europe, relatively unchanged for Asia and Latin America, and higher for North America. The demand is expected to be relatively unchanged for all divisions.
Manufacturing level
The manufacturing level is expected to be significantly lower year on year and relatively unchanged compared to the fourth quarter.
Gothenburg, 26 January 2012
Aktiebolaget SKF
(publ.)
Tom Johnstone
President and CEO
_____________________________________________________________
AB SKF is required to disclose the information provided herein pursuant to the Securities Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 12.00 on 26 January 2012.
_____________________________________________________________
A teleconference, ref.no. 910270, will be held on 26 January 2012 at 14.00 CET, 13.00 (UK), 08.00 a.m. (US Eastern Standard Time):
SE: +46 (0)8 5052 0114
UK: +44 (0)207 162 0177
US: +1 334 323 6203
You will find all information regarding SKF Year-end results 2011 on the IR website.
investors.skf.com/quarterlyreporting
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