Interim report January–June 2013

Higher year-on-year earnings

  · Net revenues totaled MSEK 837 (731) for the quarter and MSEK 1,541 (1,449)
for the first six months.
  · Profit after net financial items amounted to MSEK 114 (93) for the quarter
and MSEK 188 (191) for the first six months.
  · Earnings per share after tax totaled SEK 2.90 (2.25) for the quarter and SEK
4.78 (4.62) for the first half of the year.
  · Cash flow excluding corporate acquisitions amounted to MSEK 116 (73) during
the quarter and to MSEK 130 (131) for the first half of 2013.
  · The balance sheet remained strong and the net debt/equity ratio was 17.3
percent (11.7).
CEO’s comments

The business activities of the Beijer Alma Group posted significant improvements
in the second quarter compared with the first three months of the year. Order
bookings and invoicing increased and contributed to improved earnings and
enhanced operating margins. The trend for demand and earnings is positive even
in comparison with the year-earlier period. The past year’s acquisitions by
Lesjöfors and Beijer Tech contributed to growth, but the Group has grown even
measured in comparable units. Total invoicing was MSEK 837, which, after
adjustments for acquisitions, was up 3 percent measured in SEK year-on-year.
Order bookings were in line with invoicing. Profit before tax was MSEK 114,
compared with MSEK 93 in the year-earlier period and the operating margin rose
0.8 percentage points to 14.0 percent. The underlying reason for the increase in
operating margin was attributable to Lesjöfors, which has the highest margins in
the Group, accounting for a larger share of invoicing and earnings than
preceding years. In addition, a positive cash flow trend totaled MSEK 116,
excluding corporate acquisitions, for the quarter. Cash flow benefited from
robust earnings and a reduction in tied-up working capital. The balance sheet
remains strong, which provides opportunities for additional acquisitions in
existing and new business areas.

Lesjöfors’s invoicing rose 28 percent to MSEK 472. The acquisitions made in
Germany over the past year contributed to growth. After adjustment for these
acquisitions, invoicing grew 12 percent. Chassis Springs posted the strongest
trend at Lesjöfors and reported growth of 35 percent. The second quarter is
traditionally the peak season for these operations. In addition, demand
benefited from the cold winter, which meant an increase in exchange units for
chassis springs. Other customer areas reported generally unchanged sales year-on
-year. Operating profit for the Lesjöfors group totaled MSEK 98, compared with
MSEK 79 in the year-earlier period. The operating margin declined slightly due
to the lower profitability of the newly acquired units in Germany compared with
the other operations of Lesjöfors.

Habia’s sales grew 6 percent year-on-year. Higher invoicing was reported for
telecom and the other business areas. Telecom sales benefited from healthy
demand and Habia’s capture of market shares in the Chinese market. Demand from
defense customers was also healthy, while other customer areas reported
unchanged or slightly weaker invoicing. Operating profit was MSEK 13, which was
slightly up on the year-earlier period and the operating margin was unchanged.

Beijer Tech is more sensitive to the weaker market trend than other Group
companies. Invoicing declined by a total of 3 percent to MSEK 204 in the second
quarter. After adjustment for acquisitions, the decline was 13 percent. The most
heavily impacted business area was Industry. This area focuses on heavy industry
including steelworks, foundries and manufacturing engineering industries. Almost
all sales are in the Nordic region with particular emphasis on Sweden. The fluid
technology business area reported a smaller decline in demand. In addition, the
operating margin in this area trended favorably despite a slight decline in
volume. Operating profit for the Beijer Tech group was MSEK 14, which was
unchanged year-on-year. The operating margin was also in line with the year
-earlier period.

The Beijer Alma Group was impacted by the weak economic declinescenario. The
primary area impacted was demand from traditional industry. However, this
stabilized in the last quarter. The one exception is Beijer Tech, which is
exposed to heavy industry in the Nordic region and is more heavily impacted than
other Group companies by demand. Beijer Alma is, however, not dependent on
cyclical industries. All Group companies have business areas with the potential
to post favorable performance irrespective of the economic situation. The
foremost example is Chassis Springs at Lesjöfors, which grew 22 percent in the
first six months of the year. Habia’s telecom operations, which also reported
high growth, are another example of operations that are not directly affected by
the economy.

The Group enters the third quarter with, generally, unchanged order stocks.
Furthermore, operations at Lesjöfors and Habia reported healthy figures during
the summer, while the weaker demand situation continued for Beijer Tech. In
summary, the prerequisites are in place for a relatively healthy trend in the
third quarter.

Bertil Persson
President and CEO
If you have any questions, please contact:

Bertil Persson, President and CEO, Telephone +46 8 506 427 50,
bertil.persson@beijeralma.se
Jan Blomén, Chief Financial Officer, Telephone +46 18 15 71 60,
jan.blomen@beijeralma.se