Excellent six-month figures for Moelven
Operating revenues the second quarter increased in all three divisions and totalled NOK 3,277 million for the first six months of the year, compared to NOK 3,086 million for the same period last year. Operating profit totalled NOK 141 million for the first six months, which is a significant increase compared to the NOK 79 million posted last year for same period.
Operating revenues for the second quarter totalled NOK 1,716 million, compared to 1,674 million in 2005. Favourable market conditions and an increase in market shares in several business segments are the main reasons for the increase in volume. Operating profit totalled NOK 91 million, compared to NOK 76 million in 2005. The background for the increase is a combination of a general improvement in market conditions, combined with savings generated through internal efficiency measures.
Higher efficiency and better market orientation
- More efficient use of raw materials, better coordination throughout the value chain and higher sensitivity to market demands are the main reasons for the higher financial figures. Some of the measures implemented in 2005 generated results the same year, while there is still potential for savings in 2006 as well as the coming year. Many of the efficiency measures involve multi-year investment programs with long project phases that will take time before they have an impact on the financial figures, says President and CEO Hans Rindal.
Ordinary pre-tax result totalled NOK 123 million for the first six months of the year (52). Profit after tax and minority interests totalled NOK 88 million (34).
New opportunities on the horizon
President and CEO Hans Rindal explains the improved results at Moelven with the fact that after many years of new acquisitions the Group now seems to be working very effectively as a whole.
- We are now Scandinavia's largest wood-working Group, with a focus on the Värmlandsregion in Sweden and inland parts of Eastern Norway. There is still plenty of growth potential in Scandinavia, however, even though growth in turnover is not our main objective. We are open for new opportunities, and we are now looking at the bioenergy market as an exciting and perhaps necessary opportunity. Bioenergy may even develop into a new division in Moelven, but not until autumn 2007 at the earliest, says Mr. Rindal.
Good prospects for Moelven
The favourable market conditions generated by the overall high level of construction activity is expected to continue in the Scandinavian countries throughout 2006. Within the Building System division, order reserves are now higher than normal, and it may be necessary to implement measures in order to increase production capacity. For plants dependent on timber deliveries, access to raw materials has been satisfactory in most regions, and the demand for sawn wood in Europe is expected to remain at a high level. Overall, the Board anticipates a better profit figure in 2006 than the year before. - The objective is to develop the Group into a market leader -- the natural choice -- when purchasing wood-based building products and associated services in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, explains Mr. Rindal.
Moelven is a Scandinavian industrial group supplying wood-based building products and associated services to markets primarily in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Most of the employees in the group work in Norway and Sweden, with a total of approximately 1500 employees in Swedish companies located in close proximity to Lake Vänern.
For more details, please contact:
President and CEO Hans Rindal, mobile phone: +47 90 69 69 10
Communications Advisor: Tom E. Holmlund, mobile phone: +47 91 66 86 68
The full report including tables can be downloaded from the following link: