Clas Ohlson: Interim Report 1 May 2011 – 31 October 2011
Second quarter
* Sales amounted to SEK 1,553 M (1,435), up 8%.
In local currencies, growth was 8%
* Operating profit amounted to SEK 124 M (119), up 4%
* Profit after tax amounted to SEK 88 M (86), up 3%
* Earnings per share amounted to SEK 1.38 (1.35), up 2%
6 months
* Sales amounted to SEK 2,940 M (2,758), up 7%.
In local currencies growth was 8%.
* Operating profit amounted to SEK 243 M (234), up 4%
* Profit after tax amounted to SEK 173 M (170), up 2%
* Earnings per share amounted to SEK 2.71 (2.66), up 2%
* Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 512 M (148)
Events after the end of the reporting period
* Sales in November amounted to SEK 636 M (593), up 7%.
In local currencies, growth was 6%
CEO Klas Balkow comments:
“We are continuing to grow and claim market shares in all markets in an overall weak retail environment. During the quarter, an increased share of direct purchasing, without using intermediaries, continued to have a positive effect on our gross margin. Our profit increased in the quarter compared with the year-earlier period, including continued investments in the UK market. With our sales increase in November, we have a positive start of this year’s Christmas Sales period.
Our long-term efforts to strengthen Clas Ohlson for a European market continue. We have a strong base with more than 150 stores and have now achieved annual sales exceeding SEK 6 billion. We have a stable financial position and have never been stronger in our home markets, which gives us the scope and stamina to continue developing Clas Ohlson in a challenging market.”
Analyst and media conference
An analyst and media conference will be held today, Thursday 8 December. For participation, please visit www.financialhearings.com
For more information, please contact:
Klas Balkow, CEO and President, Clas Ohlson AB: +46 (0)247-447 55
John Womack, Director of Information and IR, Clas Ohlson AB: +46 (0)70 678 24 99
Clas Ohlson AB is a Swedish chain store that sells, amongst other things, hardware, electrical, multimedia, and home and leisure products. It is the largest hardware chain in Scandinavia. The company was founded in 1918 by the technically-minded Clas Ohlson (1895–1979), as a mail order business based in the Swedish village of Insjön, Dalarna. Initially, only manuals and technical literature were sold. He opened his first shop in Insjön in 1926 and there are now stores throughout Sweden, as well as in Norway and Finland. In 2008, the company opened its first store in the United Kingdom, in Croydon, south London. There are now stores at the Arndale Centre in Manchester, at The Harlequin in Watford, in Kingston upon Thames, Reading, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff, Doncaster and Norwich.
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