Strong second quarter for Nolato

Nolato’s sales and earnings have both continued to increase. During the second quarter of 2008, sales rose by 13 percent to SEK 694 M (616) and earnings per share by 48 percent to SEK 1.75 (1.18).

“All our business areas have grown, and our profitable growth has continued,” says Hans Porat, President and CEO of Nolato. “Overall, the Group’s margin has risen to 8.8 percent (7.5).

“We also received orders during the second quarter for a number of projects for future deliveries.”

Nolato Medical saw sales rise by 13 percent to SEK 158 M (140), while operating income (EBITA) increased to SEK 22 M (18). The margin grew to 13.9 percent (12.9). Volumes were high during the quarter, particularly within pharmaceutical packaging.

Nolato Telecom’s sales rose by 24 percent to SEK 277 M (223), with operating income (EBITA) up 64 percent to SEK 23 M (14). The margin grew to 8.3 percent (6.3). Sales during the quarter consisted largely of products launched during 2008, for which volumes have shown excellent growth. Product deliveries began at the end of the quarter to the new Canadian customer, RIM, whose operations include developing and producing the BlackBerry.

“The business area’s Chinese operations are continuing to experience considerable growth and, since certain Nolato customers have questioned the use of Malaysia as a production country, we have decided to close the production unit in Kuala Lumpur during the fourth quarter so that we can focus on China. It is not anticipated that this will result in any significant future non-recurring items.”

Nolato Industrial’s sales rose slightly to SEK 259 M (257), with operating income (EBITA) up 16 percent to SEK 22 M (19). The margin grew to 8.5 percent (7.4). Volumes were high during the quarter, particularly to the engineering industry and other industries, although a drop in demand within the automotive industry was noted.