Ahlstrom Corporation's Interim Report January-September, 2004: Sales volumes increased, profitability remained below the target level
Comparable figures refer to the same period last year unless otherwise stated
Ahlstrom, a leader in high performance fiber-based materials, reports a third quarter result improving on the previous year. Operating profit in third quarter was EUR 14.7 million (EUR 11.3 million), representing a 3.7% margin (3.0%). In January-September operating profit totaled EUR 47.4 million (EUR 59.5 million).
In the third quarter, net sales were EUR 393.4 million, compared with EUR 377.1 million for the same period last year. During January-September, net sales amounted to EUR 1,196.0 million (EUR 1,190.5 million). In the third quarter, volumes sold increased by 3.2% compared with the third quarter of 2003.
January-September 2004 in brief:
"Despite a positive trend seen in the third quarter, our profitability remained well below the target level for return on capital employed (ROCE) of 13%. Therefore, our short term focus lies on reducing fixed costs, increasing sales, and improving capacity utilization", says Jukka Moisio, President & CEO of Ahlstrom Corporation.
Key figures
|
EUR million |
Q1-Q3/2004 |
Q1-Q3/2003 |
Q3/2004 |
Q3/2003 |
2003 |
|
Net sales |
1,196.0 |
1,190.5 |
393.4 |
377.1 |
1,556.4 |
|
Operating profit |
47.4 |
59.5 |
14.7 |
11.3 |
48.5 |
|
Profit before extraordinary items and taxes |
37.5 |
48.2 |
10.8 |
8.9 |
33.7 |
|
Net profit |
21.2 |
27.0 |
6.7 |
5.7 |
22.4 |
|
Net cash flow from operations |
79.1 |
109.5 |
61.5 |
41.1 |
202.0 |
|
Gearing (%) |
57.1 |
37.4 |
57.1 |
37.4 |
42.3 |
|
Return on capital employed (ROCE),% |
6.6 |
7.3 |
5.9 |
4.6 |
4.6 |
|
Earnings per share (EUR) |
0.58 |
0.76 |
0.18 |
0.17 |
0.61 |
Financial information in 2005
|
Financial Statements Bulletin for 2004 |
February 7, 2005 |
|
Interim report January-March |
April 27, 2005 |
|
Interim report January-June |
July 28, 2005 |
|
Interim report January-September
|
October 31, 2005 |
Ahlstrom Corporation will publish its Annual Report for 2004 in week 11, 2005.
Helsinki, October 28, 2004
Ahlstrom Corporation
Board of Directors
The full report including tables can be downloaded from the following link: