Holmen’s interim report January–September 2017

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Quarter  January–September  Full Year 
SEKm  3-17  2-17  3-16  2017 2016  2016 
Net sales  3 947  4 148  3 810  12 225 11 575  15 513 
Operating profit
excl. items affecting comparability
 
593  525  520  1 745 1 583  2 162 
Operating profit  593  525  520  1 745 1 352  1 930 
Profit after tax  456  394  395  1 336 982  1 424 
Earnings per share, SEK  5.4  4.7  4.7  15.9 11.7  16.9 
Operating margin, % *  15.0  12.7  13.7  14.3 13.7  13.9 
Return on capital employed, % *  9.4  8.5  8.4  9.4 8.4  8.6 
Return on equity, %  8.5  7.5  7.7  8.4 6.3  6.9 
Cash flow before investments and working capital  498  482  560  1 722 1 792  2 320 
Debt/equity ratio  0.17  0.19  0.21  0.17 0.21  0.19 

*Excluding items affecting comparability of SEK -232 million in 2016. See also page 15.

  • Operating profit for January–September 2017 was SEK 1 745 million (January–September 2016: SEK 1 583 million excluding items affecting comparability). The improvement in earnings was due to higher wood product prices and better earnings from forests.
  • Compared with the second quarter, operating profit increased by SEK 68 million to SEK 593 million, mainly because second-quarter earnings were negatively affected by a maintenance shutdown.
  • Profit after tax for January–September amounted to SEK 1 336 million (982), which corresponds to earnings per share of SEK 15.9 (11.7). 
  • Return on capital employed increased to 9.4 (8.4) per cent.
  • Cash flow was strong during the year. A dividend of SEK 1 008 million has been paid while net financial debt decreased by SEK 360 million.

For further information please contact:   
Henrik Sjölund, President and CEO, tel. +46 8 666 21 05  
Anders Jernhall, EVP and CFO, tel.  +46 8 666 21 22 
Stina Sandell, Director of Sustainability and Communications, tel +46 739 86 51 12

This information is information that Holmen AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, on 24 October 2017 at 11.50 CET.

Holmen is a forest industry group that manufactures paperboard, paper and wood products and runs forestry and energy production operations. In 2016 Holmen’s net sales were SEK 15.5 billion and the group has approx. 3 000 employees. Holmen’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap. For more information, visit www.holmen.com