With Unicon's sale of the last activities in the U.S. the FLS Group is sharpening its focus on core competencies. Despite a squeezed market Unicon has sold activities in the U.S. at a total price of DKK 680m this year, and within only 18 months it has fulfilled the objective of concentrating the company's resources on production, development and sale of ready-mix concrete.
At a total price of nearly DKK 100m ( USD 13m) Unicon has agreed to sell its activities in wholly-owned Carolina Concrete Pumping, Inc. to Coastal Concrete Pumping in North Carolina and to effect a management buy-out of a minor affiliated activity within building foundation. The sale of the two activities will become effective on 3 January 2003.
Carolina Concrete Pumping, Inc. is Unicon's final remaining activity in the U.S after the sale in October of Unicon's ready-mix activities to Ready Mixed Concrete Co. at a price of DKK 580m. This year alone Unicon has succeeded in selling activities in the US at a total price of DKK 680m which is considered satisfactory considering the poor market conditions for that type of transactions. Since Unicon acquired the company in 1998 it has grown to become one of the leading suppliers of concrete pumping in the region with an anticipated turnover this year of about DKK 100m and 115 staff.
Overall, the current sale of the concrete pumping and foundation business and the disposal of the ready-mix activities in the US will not affect the previously announced earnings forecast for FLS Industries.
The sale of Carolina Concrete Pumping represents another important step towards the fulfilment of both FLS Industries'overall strategy to focus the Group's core competencies and Unicon's strategy to concentrate its activities on producing and selling ready-mix concrete in its principal markets in Northern Europe.
With the current sale Unicon has achieved the objective formulated in the autumn of 2001 to sell off all Danish and foreign non ready mix concrete activities - except two minor partially owned companies in Portugal and Poland - and can now focus on strengthening and expanding the company's market-leading position in the Scandinavian and Polish markets.
Unicon Group forms part of the core business area, FLS Building Materials, which this year has disposed of non-strategic activities at a total price of more than DKK 1bn.
FLS Industries A/S
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