CEO Håkan Jeppsson comments:
"In the third quarter of 2013, we increased our sales and strengthened our margins compared with the year-earlier period. Sales continued to be affected by the weak economy although profitability improved thanks to the measures we have undertaken to lower our costs and raise our gross margin. It is gratifying that we have been able to report an operating margin of 12 percent despite declining volumes and difficult market conditions. Over the past two years, we have made structural changes in virtually all of our markets. We are continuing to further gradually enhance efficiency.

When it comes to our individual markets, we are still seeing a decline in the operations in Norway. This is primarily driven by a weakened position in the door market, although the process of change that we are undergoing is also temporarily weakening the efficiency of our Norwegian organisation. However, we consider this process necessary if we are to be able to assume a role as the principal challenger in the Norwegian market. In the other Nordic markets we experienced a weakly improved market towards the end of the quarter, as could also be seen in increased order bookings. With the structure we have created, increased volumes have an immediate impact on profitability, as was reflected by our figures for the quarter. Outside the Nordic Region, the most important event from Inwido’s perspective was that we have now entered the Austrian market. On 10 October, the operations were launched and a showroom was inaugurated in Vienna. This is Inwido’s first greenfield venture and an important step in our strategy in Europe. For other markets in the segment, development in the quarter was uneven, although there are weak signs, particularly in the UK of an improved market situation.

We have great respect for the prevailing economic climate. Consequently, although we may now be seeing some weakly positive signs, we do not believe there will be a rapid change in the market situation. We will therefore continue to review and adjust our structure to further enhance efficiency. We are also intensifying our efforts to develop even better and more intelligent products and services. In the longer term, we judge growth opportunities to be favourable since the underlying need for new and improved homes is considerable around Europe. Inwido is a well-trimmed company with a strong market position, meaning we have strong potential when the market improves.”

Read the entire report in the pdf attached