STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 3, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- NCC Group:
Jan-Mars 12 months
2002 2001 April 01- 2001
(pro forma)(1) March 02 (pro forma)(1)
Orders received,
SEK M 9,613 12,599 47,661 50,647
Net sales, SEK M 8,675 9,111 47,085 47,521
Operating profit/loss,
SEK M 96 -169 -1,271 -1,536
excl. Items -205 -175 107 137
affecting
comparability (2)
Profit/loss after
financial 0 -330 -1,800 -2,130
items, SEK M -301 -338 -428 -465
excl. items affecting
comparability (2)
Earnings per share, SEK 0.30 -2.20 -19.10 -21.60
excl. Items -2.15 -2.25 -5.15 -5.25
affecting
comparability (2)
Return on equity, % Neg Neg
excl. Items affecting Neg Neg
comparability (2)
1) For information about pro forma figures, see page 2.
2) Items affecting comparability for 2002 pertain to the capital
gain of SEK 301 M on the sale of NVS. In the 12-month figures,
earnings from NVS are regarded as an item affecting comparability.
-- The result after financial items amounted to SEK 0 M (loss: 330).
-- The restructuring process is proceeding as planned and the
reported earnings matched expectations.
-- The full-year forecast of a profit of at least SEK 1,3 billion
after net financial items for 2002 stands firm, including the
capital gain on the sale of NVS.
Comments by the CEO:
"NCC is on the right track and its earnings are developing as planned. The full-year forecast of a profit of at least SEK 1 billion after net financial items for 2002 stands firm. This forecast does not include gains on sales of non-core operations. Including the capital gain on the sale of NVS, the forecast for 2002 is for a profit of at least SEK 1.3 billion.
"The NCC Group is currently in the midst of a major process of change. Although we have started to notice the effects of our internal efforts, they have yet to become visible in the Group's earnings. This is fully in line with our expectations," said Alf Goransson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC Group, commenting on the Group's current status.
"Reversing a trend in such a large, decentralized company is a comprehensive process, and the changes take time. The focus during 2002 is on turnaround efforts.
GROUP Pro forma As of January 1, 2002, the NCC Group's organizational structure is divided into ten reporting units.
Construction units in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Germany comprise the Group operations that conduct operations related to the building and civil engineering sectors, as well as housing development. During 2001, NCC Construction's operations were divided into the Contracting, Housing, Telecom and Service business areas.
International Projects comprises major Nordic and international civil engineering projects. These operations were included in Contracting during 2001.
Property Development consists of the Group's property-management and property-development operations, in which the focus is on project development. These operations are unchanged compared with the past, although the accounting principles governing them have been changed.
Roads consists of the production of aggregates, asphalt and ready-mixed concrete, as well as paving and road-marking activities (not civil engineering work for road construction, which is included in Construc tion). During 2001, most of Roads' operations were included in the Industry business area, as well as in Contracting (paving operations in Sweden).
Altima comprises the Group's machinery-rental activities. During 2001, these activities were included in the Industry business area.
All earnings figures presented below do not include items affecting comparability. All comparative figures at the business area level are presented pro forma. The comments pertain to pro forma results in accordance with the new structure and the changed accounting principles for Property Development.
Orders received and order backlog
Orders received by the NCC Group during January-March amounted to SEK 9,613 M (12,599). Proprietary property-development projects accounted for SEK 154 M (782) of total orders received during the quarter and proprietary housing-development projects for SEK 9 M (1,083). Orders received in the year-earlier period-included SEK 638 M for the now divested NVS. The decrease in orders received by the Group should also be viewed in the light of NCC's stated objective of avoiding projects yielding low profitability and of the fact that certain areas of operation have been phased out or divested within the framework of the ongoing action program. At the same time, the construction market in the Nordic region has slackened.
The order backlog on March 31 was approximately SEK 28 billion, compared with SEK 31 billion at year-end.
Net sales and earning
Consolidated net sales during January-March amounted to SEK 8,675 M (9,111), a decrease of 5 percent compared with the corresponding period in the preceding year. Excluding sales of real estate projects, net sales amounted to SEK 8,427 M (8,872).
The Group reported an operating profit (EBIT) for January-March 2002 of SEK 96 M (loss: 169). The result after financial items includes a capital gain of SEK 301 M on the sale of NVS. Excluding items affecting comparability, a loss of SEK 205 M (loss: 175) was reported. Compared with the year-earlier period, lower gains from sales of real estate projects during the quarter were offset by improved earnings from construction units.
The lower operating profit was offset by an improvement in net financial items compared with the year-earlier period. When viewed as a whole, this resulted in a result after financial items (EBT) that was slightly better than in the first quarter of 2001. EBT for the first quarter amounted to a loss of SEK 301 M (loss: 338), excluding items affecting comparability. Currency-translation differences and other financial revenues in the form of sales of tax loss carry forwards had a favorable effect on net financial items.
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