The CEO comments;
"As we reached the halfway point of the year, this second quarter was one of Inwido’s strongest in terms of earnings and our best second quarter ever. Our operating profit of SEK 180 million equates to an increase of 20 percent on the same period in 2014. Sales increased by 4 percent, adjusted for currency, and the operating margin rose to more than 13 percent.

The quarter saw persistent significant variation in our different segments. Sweden and Denmark continued to be boosted by increased consumer market optimism and the strong trend at the beginning of the year persisted and gained momentum. We have also started to see clear results from our ongoing realignment work in Sweden which aims to increase exposure to the attractive consumer market. In Denmark, we are continuing to capture market share in a growing market. Underlying demand in Norway and Finland was weaker than expected, as were our sales in these markets. However, we are seeing positive effects from the efficiency improvements we have implemented in recent years, which helped raise margins and slightly improve the situation in Norway. In Finland, we have launched a cost saving programme, which will mainly impact earnings in 2016.

Overall, order booking development was in line with the corresponding quarter last year. Our strategic realignment towards the consumer market means that order growth is decreasing in less profitable segments, but is increasing in our priority customer segments. Sweden, Denmark and EBE experienced strong order bookings, while orders in Finland and Norway declined, reflecting the demand in these markets.

Mid-2015 marked the next step in our initiative to focus on online sales with the launch of our new e-Commerce business unit. Later this year, we will also be launching online sales in two new markets, Germany and Finland. The e-commerce initiative is part of a phase we are now entering that involves increased investments in a number of areas to create additional profitable growth. This will include a greater focus on product development and further strengthening of our position in smart solutions.

There is, of course, a possibility that we will be affected by increased fiscal uncertainty in Europe and stock market fluctuations in China, and we are therefore following these developments closely. But it has been a strong first six months for us compared with last year and we look ahead with a certain degree of confidence to the rest of 2015. 

MALMÖ, 17 JULY 2015

Håkan Jeppsson
 
President and CEO

Read the full report in the pdf attached