“Following the late start of the season, we delivered a second quarter largely in line with expectations, confirming that our strategy of broadening the operations and increasing e‑commerce is working.” 

“Sales increased by 3% to SEK 1,729 million, organically down 2%, and the operating EBITA margin was 10.6% (11.5). The lower profitability can primarily be attributed to effects of the year’s cold and late winter and weaker development in our Swedish operations. Order bookings increased 5% compared with last year – adjusted for currency and acquisitions, order bookings were slightly higher than last year.”  

“We are continuing our efforts to realign our operations in Sweden-Norway and Norway returned to profitability in the quarter. Although we are not satisfied with the outcome in Sweden, the Swedish market is challenging with somewhat lower demand, fierce competition and ongoing structural changes. In other markets, development was largely as planned. Finland increased both sales and earnings, and Denmark continues to perform well. Development in EBE is also pointing in the right direction, driven mainly by e-commerce continuing to grow strongly with good profitability.” 

“Although we remain concerned about the economy and property prices in the Swedish market and certain upward pressure on raw material prices, we see continued underlying demand in our other markets. In addition, we are defending our strong Nordic position, are maintaining a high level of efficiency in our factories, have implemented two strategically important acquisitions in the past year, and are well-equipped for the second half of 2018.”  

Read the full pressrelease, including KPI table, in the pdf attached