- Net sales amounted to SEK 3,175.7M (3,481.1).
- Operating profit before one-time items was SEK 166.3M (210.1). Including one-time costs, operating profit was SEK 132.1M for the first half of 2013.
- Profit for the period excluding one-time items amounted to SEK 107.8M (150.4). Including one-time items, profit for the period was SEK 82.8M (172.4).
- Profit per share amounted to SEK 2.42 (3.42) excluding one-time items and to SEK 1.83 (3.94) including one-time items.
- Per Bertland appointed as the new Managing Director and CEO.
G & L Beijer is a technology-oriented trading Group which, through a combination of added-value agency products and products of the company’s own development, offers competitive solutions within refrigeration and air conditioning.
Sales
G & L Beijer showed a better development during the second quarter of 2013 compared with the first quarter. However, sales were affected negatively by currency effects as a result of the strong SEK. In addition, the spring was unusually cold in Europe which affected demand.
Consolidated sales fell by nine per cent to SEK 3,175.7M (3,481.1) for the first half of the year. When adjusted for currency effects, sales fell by four per cent. Sales for the second quarter fell by six per cent to SEK 1,711.9M (1,826.3) and by two per cent when adjusted for currency effects.
The sales development varied between the Group’s different regions. The Scandinavian countries and United Kingdom reported some recovery with rising sales volumes during the second quarter. Central Europe also reported a stabilisation with largely unchanged volumes. In southern and eastern Europe, sales volumes fell at the corresponding rate as in the first quarter. Southern Africa enjoyed strong volume growth.
Results
Consolidated operating profit excluding one-time items of SEK 34.2M amounted to SEK 166.3M (210.1) for the first half of the year. Including one-time items, operating profit was SEK 132.1M for 2013. For the
second quarter, operating profit excluding one-time items amounted to SEK 117.6M (129.0). Including one-time items of SEK 34.2M charged to profit in the second quarter, operating profit was SEK 83.4M. The one-time items relate to costs for severance pay for the Managing Director of SEK 15.6M and structural measures of SEK 18.6M. The structural measures mainly comprise reductions of approximately 40 staff in Europe in order to meet lower demand. The measures are expected to generate annual savings of approximately SEK 25M with full effect from the third quarter.
Excluding one-time items, operating profit fell by nine per cent for the second quarter compared with a fall of 40 per cent for the first quarter and 21 per cent for the first six months as a whole.
The Group’s financial income/expense excluding one-time items amounted to SEK -15.0M (-14.2) for the first half of the year. Financial income/expense in 2012 included a capital gain of SEK 22.0M from the divestment of a participation in an associated company. Profit before tax amounted to SEK 117.1M (217.9). Profit after tax was SEK 82.8M (172.4). Profit per share amounted to SEK 1.83 (3.94). Excluding one-time items, profit per share was SEK 2.42 (3.42) for the first half of the year. Financial income/expense for the second quarter amounted to SEK -9.6M (-7.5). Profit before tax was SEK 73.8M (121.5) and profit after tax amounted to SEK 50.4M (93.0). Profit per share was SEK 1.14 (2.12). Excluding one-time items, profit per share was SEK 1.73 for the second quarter.
Other financial information
Consolidated capital expenditure, including acquisitions, amounted to SEK 34.4M (55.1) for the first half of the year. Liquid funds, including unutilised bank overdraft facilities, were SEK 433.1M (491.9) on 30 June 2013. Shareholders’ equity amounted to SEK 2,247.5M (2,375.9). The net debt was SEK 1,479.3M (1,418.8). The equity ratio amounted to 41.7 per cent (42.4). The average number of employees during the period was 2,106 (2,120).
Significant events
In April, G & L Beijer acquired the Danish refrigeration wholesaler, FK Teknik, which reported sales of approximately SEK 32M in 2012 and showed good profitability. The company, founded in 1956, enjoys a very good reputation in the market. FK Teknik has five employees. The acquisition is a step forward in the continued consolidation of the Danish market. G & L Beijer already has a strong position through its existing operation in Denmark. The acquisition is deemed to have a marginal positive effect on G & L Beijer’s profit per share. FK Teknik is included in G & L Beijer’s accounts from 1 April 2013.
In June, the Board of Directors appointed Per Bertland as the new Managing Director and CEO of G & L Beijer. Per Bertland took up his duties on 1 July 2013. He has worked in different functions within the Group since 1990 and has been Head of the Beijer Ref business area and a Member of the Executive Management.
Risk assessment
The operations of the G & L Beijer Group are affected by a number of external factors, the effects of which on the Group’s operating profit can be controlled to a varying degree. The Group’s operations are dependent on the general economic trend, especially in Europe, which controls the demand for G & L Beijer’s products and services. Acquisitions are normally linked with risks such as, for example, staff defection. Other operating risks, such as agency and supplier agreements, product responsibility and delivery undertaking, technical development, warranties, dependence on individuals, etc., are continually being analysed and, when necessary, action is taken to reduce the Group’s risk exposure. In its operations, G & L Beijer is exposed to financial risks such as currency risk, interest risk and liquidity risk. The parent company’s risk picture is the same as that of the Group. For further information, see G & L Beijer’s Annual Report.
Financial information
- The Nine-Month Report will be published on 18 October 2013.
- The Year-End Report for 2013 will be published in February 2014.
- The Annual Report for 2013 will be published in April 2014.
The Board of Directors and the Managing Director assure that this Six-Month Report gives a true and fair view of the company’s and the Group’s operations, position and results and describes significant risks and factors of uncertainty which the company and the companies included in the Group are facing.
Malmö, Sweden, 17 July 2013
Peter Jessen Jürgensen, Chairman
Bernt Ingman, Board Member
Anne-Marie Pålsson, Board Member
William Striebe, Board Member
Philippe Delpech, Board Member
Harald Link, Board Member
Joen Magnusson, Board Member
For further information, please contact:
Per Bertland, CEO
switchboard +46 40 35 89 00, mobile +46 705 98 13 73
Jonas Lindqvist, CFO
switchboard +46 40 35 89 00, mobile +46 705 90 89 04
This interim report has not been the subject of an examination by the company’s auditors.
www.beijers.com