Clas Ohlson: Year-end report 1 May 2009 – 30 April 2010
Fourth quarter
* Sales totalled SEK 1,078 M (1,053), up 2%
* Operating profit was SEK 14 M (38), down 63%.
* Profit after tax totalled SEK 12 M (29), down 57%
* Earnings per share amounted to SEK 0.19 (0.45), down 58%
12 months
* Sales totalled SEK 5,556 M (4,930), up 13%
* Operating profit was SEK 591 M (503), up 17%
* Profit after tax totalled SEK 433 M (366), up 18%
* Earnings per share amounted to SEK 6.72 (5.62), up 20%
* Dividend of SEK 3.75 per share proposed (3.00), up 25%
Events after the end of the reporting period
* Sales in May amounted to SEK 384 M (372), up 3%
CEO Klas Balkow comments:
“Summing up the financial year, we can state that Clas Ohlson continues to grow with favourable profitability in line with our long-term financial objectives. Growth, of 13%, was somewhat lower than the target due to weaker sales growth during the fourth quarter. We increased profits by 17% during the financial year despite major investments in the future including expansion in the UK, expansion of the distribution centre and continued development of our existing operations in the Nordic region.
“Growth in the fourth quarter was lower than we are accustomed to. We opened fewer stores, while demand for seasonal products for the spring was lower than normal. In addition, we were negatively impacted by exchange-rate fluctuations. The lower growth, combined with market investments in the UK, also impacted the quarterly earnings, which were significantly lower than a year earlier.”
Analyst and media conference
An analyst and media conference will be held today, Thursday 10 June at 10 a.m. (CET). 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 and Leeds.
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