Year end report of 1999, HL Display AB

Year end report of 1999HL Display AB (publ) * Consolidated sales rose by 18.8 per cent to SEK 768.5 m (646.6). * Profit before tax totalled SEK 47.1 m (71.0). * Proposed dividend SEK 1.30 (1.30) per share. Sales and earnings Group sales amounted to SEK 768.5 m (646.6), an increase by 18.8 per cent compared to 1998. Exchange rate fluctuations had a negative impact of 0.2 per cent on net sales. Profit before tax was SEK 47.1 m (71.0), a decrease by 33.6 per cent. Sales and profit levels correspond to the previously stated forecast for the year. Exchange rate effects have negatively affected profit before tax by 8.9 per cent compared with the preceding year. 1999 in brief During 1999 the market has not developed as expected. Still, HL Display's growth rate has been continuously high. For the third year in a row HL Display is included in the Europe's 500 list, a rating of the most rapidly growing companies in Europe. 1999 has been a year with much lower profitability than previous years. HL Display shows a profit margin of 6.1% and the company has not reached the goal of 10-15%. Large investments have been made in production floor space, sales personnel and ERP-systems in order to meet the expected future growth rate. However, the market development during 1999 led to a lower capacity utilisation and thus a lower profit than originally expected. HL Display is at the same time well equipped to meet the forthcoming growth. HL Display has during 1999 established sales companies in Latvia, Russia and Turkey. The build-up of these companies is part of HL Display's growth strategy for the eastern European market. A production company in England, RIM Fabrications Ltd, has been acquired as well as the remainder of the shares in HL Display Falkenberg AB. Investments Investments amounted to SEK 59.3 m (61.2) during the year. In addition SEK 8.5 m (2.4) is attributable to acquisitions. Investments include capitalised lease contracts of SEK 12.1 m. Depreciation according to plan during the year amounted to SEK 31.3 m (25.7). Financial position Liquidity was weakened by SEK 15.8 m since the beginning of the year and amounted to SEK 22.9 m (38.7) on December 31. The decline is mainly attributable to the reduced profitability combined with the large investments. The equity/assets ratio was 51.6 per cent, compared with 52.0 per cent at the beginning of the year. Share data Earnings per share after full tax amounted to SEK 4.20 (5.81). Shareholders' equity per share at the end of the year was SEK 28.89 (26.00). The total number of shares outstanding is 7,688,872. Personnel The average number of employees during the period was 679 (582), and the number of employees on December 31 was 714 (614). Dividend, AGM and Annual Report The Board proposes that the dividend for 1999 will be SEK 1.30 (1.30) per share. The Annual General Meeting will be 20th of March, at 4:00 p m, at Industrihuset, Storgatan 19, Stockholm. The annual report for 1999 will be distributed during week 9. Reporting dates: Monthly 1 month 16.02. report 2000 2000 Monthly 2 months 20.03. report 2000 2000 Shareholder 20.03. s' meeting 2000 Interim 3 months 18.04. report 2000 2000 Monthly 4 months 16.05. report 2000 2000 Monthly 5 months 19.06. report 2000 2000 Interim 6 months 17.07. report 2000 2000 1) See Annual Report for definitions 2) Of which, translation differences Dec 30, 1999: SEK -3.8 m; Dec 31 1998:SEK +3.6 m; Dec 31 1997: SEK +1.6 m 3) Full tax 4) Before exchange adjustments of monetary items For the Board of Directors: Stockholm, 25th of January 2000 [REMOVED GRAPHICS] Anders Remius President ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/01/25/20000125BIT00340/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/01/25/20000125BIT00340/bit0002.pdf