President and CEO Keith McLoughlin’s comments on the results for the fourth quarter 2015
Continued earnings recovery in our major business areasDemand for appliances continued to grow in all markets in Western Europe and was particularly strong in the Nordics, Spain and the UK. Most markets in Eastern Europe, outside of Russia and Ukraine, also showed positive growth. In this market, Major Appliances EMEA showed good organic growth and managed to profitably grow its market share. Segments within built-in kitchen and laundry contributed positively and the operating margin was 7.4% for the quarter – the highest level since 2010. We expect the Western European market to grow by 2-