ÅF AB Year-end Report 2011
For further information, please contact:
President and CEO, Jonas Wiström, +46 70 608 12 20
CFO Stefan Johansson, +46 70 224 24 01
Director, Corporate Information, Viktor Svensson, +46 70 657 20 26
Fourth quarter 2011
* Net sales totalled SEK 1,457 million (1,277)
* Operating profit totalled SEK 148 million (94)
* Operating margin was 10.2 percent (7.4)
* Earnings per share, before dilution: SEK 3.11 (2.02)
Full year 2011
* Net sales totalled SEK 5,124 million (4,334)
* Operating profit1) totalled SEK 426 million (317)
* Operating margin1) was 8.3 percent (7.3)
* Earnings per share1), before dilution: SEK 9.07 (6.55)
* Earnings per share, before dilution: SEK 9.07 (21.02)
* The Board proposes a divided per share for 2011 of SEK 5.00 (4.00)
1) Excluding capital gain from the sale of business operations. Earnings for the
first quarter of 2010 included a capital gain of SEK 458 million resulting from
the sale of the ÅF Group's Inspection Division, ÅF-Kontroll. Earnings for the
third quarter of 2010 included a capital gain of SEK 30 million resulting from
the sale ÅF TÜV Nord.
A few words from the President, Jonas Wiström:
The final three months of 2011 marked a record quarter for ÅF. Operating profit
totalled SEK 148 million (94), corresponding to a profit margin of just over 10
percent. Cash flow for the period was SEK 185 million (145). Growth was 14
percent: slightly more than half of this was organic growth, which is being
positively affected by the fact that ÅF's appeal as an employer is stronger
today than it has ever been.
The improvement in earnings may be attributed, first and foremost, to positive
trends for the Industry, Infrastructure and Technology Divisions. The Industry
Division, Sweden's leading industrial consulting organisation, reported a
fourth-quarter
operating margin of 13.9 percent. Technology once again showed strong organic
growth in terms of both sales and profits. It is noteworthy, too, that
Infrastructure continues to combine high levels of growth with an improvement in
profits. Its margin for the period exceeded 10 percent.
For the Energy Division, however, 2011 was not the best of years. The accident
at one of Japan's nuclear power plants and the increasing strength of the Swiss
franc had a significant impact on the division's earnings. Nevertheless, the
fourth quarter showed signs of an improvement and here at ÅF we remain convinced
that 2012 will see the start of an upturn in the market for international
nuclear power. This positive vision of the future was affirmed recently when ÅF
won an international tender to serve as principal technical consultant for the
construction of a new nuclear power plant in Brazil.
New orders continued to flow in at a brisk rate as 2011 drew to a close. The
market as a whole remained strong with only a few signs of any downturn. The
prospects for 2012, however, remain uncertain in the face of the debt crisis in
Europe.
ÅF's most important objective is to continue to generate levels of profitability
that place us among the very best performers in our industry - regardless of the
state of the economy. The company now has more than 4,600 highly qualified
consultants and other members of staff, and our ambition is to continue to grow,
both organically and through acquisitions, without compromising profitability.
With good cash flows and a strong balance sheet ÅF is well placed to build upon
and enhance its market positions even further.
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
This interim report has not been subjected to scrutiny by the company's
auditors.
The information in this interim report fulfils ÅF AB's disclosure re-quirements
under the provisions of the Swedish Securities Markets Act and/or the Financial
Instruments Trading Act. The information was released for publication at 10:30
CET on 13 February 2012.
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