Clas Ohlson: Interim Report 1 May 2012 – 31 July 2012
First quarter
* Sales totalled SEK 1,462 M (1,387), up 5%.
In local currencies, growth was 5%
* Operating profit amounted to SEK 101 M (120), down 16%
* Profit after tax amounted to SEK 72 M (85), down 14%
* Earnings per share amounted to SEK 1.14 (1.33), down 14%
Events after the end of the reporting period
* Sales in August totalled SEK 530 M (527), up 1%.
In local currencies, growth was 3%
* New e-commerce platform now established in all markets
CEO Klas Balkow comments:
“We continue to expand and capture market shares in all markets. Sales in comparable stores were lower due to a generally weak market during the summer, which also impacted earnings. Our financial position is strong and the level of activity is high for our efforts to continue to develop and strengthen Clas Ohlson.
In August, growth corresponded to 3 per cent in local currencies and was mainly impacted by lower visitor traffic in our Swedish stores. The rate of traffic varied significantly, with a more positive trend noted during the latter part of the month.
“We have now launched our new e-commerce platform in all markets, which is key to our strategy to be easily accessible and offer sales and services via several collaborating channels. Clas Ohlson is now focusing on the autumn, with a new catalogue and more than 1,000 new products for people interested in home improvement,” Klas Balkow, President and CEO.
Analyst and media conference
An analyst and media conference will be held today, Wednesday 5 September. For participation, please visit http://about.clasohlson.com or 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)247-444 05
The information in this press release comprises information that Clas Ohlson AB (publ) is required to disclose pursuant to the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was released for publication at 08:00 (CET) on Wednesday 5 September 2012.
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, Norwich and Newcastle.
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