Finnish Ahlstrom with record quarter
Finnish Ahlstrom reports its business is on an uptrend. Net sales EUR 281.1 million (EUR 253.0 million), showing an increase of 11.1%.Comparable net sales at constant currencies remained flat.
Operating profit EUR 15.7 million (EUR 9.6 million). Operating profit excluding non-recurring items EUR 16.8 million (EUR 13.4 million). Operating profit margin excluding non-recurring items 6.0% (5.3%), the seventh consecutive quarter of year-on-year improvement. Profit before taxes EUR 20.8 million (EUR -0.4 million), including a EUR 11.1 million capital gain booked from the sale of Munksjö Oyj shares
“We had a record quarter and achieved the highest operating profit margin in the current structure of the company”, comments new company president and CEO Marco Levi
Levi adds: “This was primarily driven by our efforts to improve commercial operations through enhanced pricing and product mix management. The quarter was also characterized by lower demand in some of our main markets and continued increase in net sales driven by currencies.
The Filtration business area improved profits despite the slowdown in its markets, and the Food business continued on its path of steady improvement. The Building and Energy business area also reported a welcome increase in sales, while profitability still suffered from low demand for wallcovering products as well as adverse currency effects.
We are moving ahead with the key priorities of our roadmap – commercial excellence, go-to-market process, simplification and building up the new Ahlstrom – to improve performance. While we have made progress towards our long-term financial targets, we still have a way to go to uncover the full competitive potential of this company.”
Ahlstrom revises its outlook for net sales and operating profit margin excluding non-recurring items in 2015: Ahlstrom expects net sales in 2015 to be in the range of EUR 1,025-1,125 million. The operating profit margin excluding non-recurring items is expected to be 3.85-4.5% of net sales.