Interim Report for Duni AB (publ) 1 January - 30 June 2009

Interim Report for Duni AB (publ) 1 January - 30 June 2009

Strong cash flow and stable profitability 

1 January - 30 June 2009
- Net sales increased by 3.1% to SEK 2,042 m (1,981)
- Earnings per share for continuing operations amounted, after dilution, to SEK
2.24 (2.17)

1 April - 30 June 2009
- Net sales increased by 2.2% to SEK 1,035 m (1,012)
- Earnings per share for continuing operations amounted, after dilution, to SEK
1.45 (1.21)
- Strong cash flow, primarily as a consequence of reduced inventories
- Healthy profitability trend in Professional business area

Key financials
6 months  6 months  3 months  3 months  12 months  12 months
January-June  January-June  April-June  April-June  January-December  July-June
2009  2008  2009  2008  2008  08/09
Net sales, SEK m	2 042	1 981	1 035	1 012	4 099	4 160
Operating income 1), SEK m	157	167	84	84	414	403
Operating margin 1), %	7.7 %	8.4%	8.1 %	8.2%	10.1%	9.7 %
Income after financial items, SEK m	144	140	94	73	251	255
Net income 2), SEK m	105	102	68	57	191	194

1) Before an unrealized valuation effect of derivatives, due to the
non-application of hedge accounting, of SEK 23 m (9) January - June, SEK 25 m
(7) April - June and before restructuring costs of SEK -1 m (0)  January - June,
SEK -1 m (0) April - June.
2) With respect to continuing operations.

CEO's comments

"The second quarter of the year has entailed a degree of stabilization in demand
within Duni's consumer-related business areas. Sales in both Retail and
Professional have largely followed the pattern from the first quarter. 

In total, sales in Swedish krona increased by 2.2%. At fixed exchange rates,
this corresponds to a decline of 6%. Measured in terms of volume, adjusted for
comparability, we lost approximately 3-4% within the Retail and Professional
business areas which demonstrates that Duni is holding up well in a relatively
weak market. On the other hand, Tissue continued to perform weakly with a much
sharper decline in volume. 

Thanks to the relatively strong sales within the core business Professional and
Retail, we achieved an underlying operating income of SEK 84 m during the second
quarter, which is in line with last year. A positive factor is that Duni
succeeded well in maintaining the prices, which is also reflected in a somewhat
improved margin. The other important income component is that costs were reduced
in time and that we, to a certain extent, managed to implement the restructuring
measures earlier than originally planned. 

The most positive trend derives from our main business area, Professional. Sales
increased by 5.8% in current prices and underlying operating income increased by
12.9% to SEK 96 m. The market situation is largely the same as in the preceding
quarter. The important German business performed better than the HoReCa market
as a whole. Compared with the first quarter, we see an improvement in Southern
Europe, where France in particular has delivered relatively better sales
figures.

Sales in the Retail business area generally follow the development during the
first quarter. We experienced declining sales on the Nordic market as a
consequence of discontinuation of customer contracts with low profitability. At
the same time, we have made some important breakthroughs into new customers in
this region. The positive trend in the United Kingdom continued also during the
second quarter. Operating income was somewhat lower within Retail, as a
consequence of lower volumes.

The Tissue business area had a poor quarter, due to reduced volumes in airlaid.
As previously indicated, we expect an improvement during the second half of the
year as regards deliveries to the hygiene products sector. However, the quarter
was weaker than expected and we have further reinforced our cost savings program
as regards Tissue.

The strong cash flow in the quarter reflects that we have successfully reduced
operating capital during the period, mainly through decreased inventory levels. 

To conclude, we maintain the view regarding 2009 which we expressed in the
report for the first quarter. The market situation has stabilized to some
degree, but uncertainty remains on several important European markets for the
upcoming autumn season," says Fredrik von Oelreich, President and CEO, Duni.

Fredrik von Oelreich, President and CEO, +46 40 10 62 00
Mats Lindroth, CFO, +46 40 10 62 00
Fredrik Wahrolén, Marketing and Communications Manager, +46 734 19 62 07


Duni is a leading supplier of attractive and convenient products for table
setting and takeaway. The Duni brand is sold in more than 40 markets and enjoys
a number one position in Central and Northern Europe. Duni has some 2,000
employees in 17 countries, headquarters in Malmö and production units in Sweden,
Germany and Poland. Duni is listed on NASDAQ OMX Nordic Stockholm under the
ticker name “DUNI”. ISIN-code is SE 0000616716.