STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 21, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Cloetta Fazer Group:
- Profit after net financial items amounted to MSEK 256 (411).
- Profit for the previous year included capital gains of MSEK 170 on the sale of Business Area Handel.
- For comparable units, operating profit increased to MSEK 249 (233) and earnings per share to SEK 7.56 (6.64).
- Operating profit for the third quarter rose to MSEK 94 (78) Profit and sales Profit after net financial items was MSEK 256 (411).
- The year-earlier figure included capital gains of MSEK 170 on the sale of Business Area Handel. Excluding these, profit for the preceding year amounted to MSEK 241.
Net profit after tax was MSEK 179 (325), corresponding to earnings per share of SEK 7.56 (13.90). Excluding capital gains, earnings per share in the same period of 2001 amounted to SEK 6.64. Upon full conversion of outstanding convertible debentures, earnings per share excluding capital gains totaled SEK 7.47 (6.54).
Consolidated sales are reported at MSEK 2,100 (3,563). For comparable units, the preceding year's sales amounted to MSEK 2,066.
Profit and sales, comparable units January - September 2002 Operating profit amounted to MSEK 249 (233), which corresponds to an operating margin of 11.9 per cent (11.3).
Profit after net financial items was MSEK 256 (221). The preceding year's sale of Business Area Handel has given the Group a strong financial position and contributed to improvement in net financial items. Net financial items for the period totalled MSEK 7, an improvement of MSEK 19 compared with the preceding year. Net profit rose to MSEK 179 (147).
Consolidated sales amounted to MSEK 2,100 (2,066).
Sales volumes in the two main markets, Sweden and Finland, rose by 1 and 9 per cent, respectively, which has also increased the market share. These two markets account for more than 60 per cent of total sales. In the third largest market, Poland, which accounts for around 10 per cent of sales, the volume decreased by 7 per cent. The Polish market is undergoing a structural transformation in which the major international chains are establishing themselves in the market at the expense of traditional small retailers. Our sales are begin successively adapted to the new market conditions, resulting in a temporary drop in volume.
Sales of the key brands showed favourable volume growth.
July - September 2002
Operating profit for the third quarter reached MSEK 94, up MSEK 16 on the same period of 2001. The operating margin was 13.0 per cent, compared with 11.1 per cent in the preceding year.
Sales in the Finnish market showed excellent development in the third quarter. The sales volume has increased by 15 per cent compared with the previous year, which has further strengthened our market position. Our development in the Swedish market is on par with the previous year, while the Polish market has declined somewhat.
Rolling 12-month profit
Operating profit for comparable units during the period October 2001 - September 2002 amounted to MSEK 388, an increase of 13 per cent on the corresponding period of 2000/2001. The operating margin was 12.8 per cent, compared with 11.4 per cent in the second quarter. Sales were reported at MSEK 3,035, on a level with the preceding period.
October - December 2002
In terms of sales, Christmas is the most important period of the year for the company. The fourth quarter therefore has a greater impact on earnings than the other quarters, and accounts for more than a third of annual profit. During the year we have had rising prices for cocoa raw materials. So far, the effects of this have been compensated by forward contracts. However, in the fourth quarter the rising price of cocoa will have an impact that cannot be immediately offset through higher sales prices.
Financing and liquidity Cash, bank and short-term investments totaled MSEK 441 (355). For comparable units, the Group's cash flow from operating activities was MSEK 143 (212).
Investments in these units affected cash flow in a net amount of MSEK - 76 (-75).
Liquid assets and interest-bearing receivables exceeded interest-bearing liabilities by a net amount of MSEK 342 (130).
The equity ratio improved to 75 per cent (68).
Investments
Gross expenditure in plant and equipment for comparable units totalled MSEK 84 (70). Depreciation amounted to MSEK 112 (115), of which MSEK 20 (20) referred to amortisation of goodwill and other intangible assets.
The preceding year's investments in the sold units amounted to MSEK 20 and depreciation to MSEK 30.
Personnel
The average number of employees during the period was 2,049 (2,544). The comparative figure for the previous year includes 500 employees in the sold units.
Parent Company
Net sales in the Parent Company amounted to MSEK 50 (23) and referred mainly to intra-group services and rents. Profit after net financial items was MSEK 209 (245), of which MSEK 197 (0) consisted of dividends from subsidiaries. The period's investments totalled MSEK 1 (0). Cash, bank and short-term investments amounted to MSEK 432 (318).
Share data
Cloetta Fazer's series B share is quoted on the O list of the Stockholm Stock Exchange. A round lot consists of 50 shares (as of 1 July 2002).
During the period January-September 2002, a total of 602,326 shares were traded. The highest quote for the share was SEK 212 and the lowest was SEK 165. On 30 September the share was quoted at SEK 165.
The maximum dilution effect of outstanding convertibles and warrants corresponds to around 1.5 per cent of the share capital and 0.5 per cent of the votes.
Ownership structure
On 30 September 2002 Cloetta Fazer had 6,256 shareholders. Institutional investors held around 93 per cent of the votes and around 81 per cent of the share capital.
Convertible debenture loan
Convertible debentures corresponding to 543,421 series B share were converted during the period, increasing shareholders' equity by MSEK 66. The total number of shares thus amounted to 23,977,879, of which the number of series B shares was 19,317,879.
Accounting principles, other information General The consolidated accounts have been prepared according to the same accounting principles applied in the most recent annual report.
Information about closely affiliated companies For comparable units, sales of goods and services to companies in the Cloetta Fazer Group made up 3.9 per cent (4.2) of total sales. Intra- group purchasing was negligible. Sales to associated companies accounted for 4.0 per cent (3.7) of sales, but no purchasing took place. Purchasing and sales of goods and services between closely affiliated companies are carried out at market-based prices. Outstanding debts to these companies amounted to MSEK 28 (32).
Financial information in 2003: Year-end report for 2002 -- 14 February Interim report January-March 16 -- April Interim report January-June -- 14 August Interim report January-September 17 -- October
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