Nordic Business Report-October 13, 2006-HL Display AB improves sales and earnings, but continues restructuring to reach long-term goal
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The Swedish in-store communication solutions provider HL Display AB issued on Friday (13 October) its report for the first nine months of the year, posting an operating profit of SEK82m, as compared to SEK46m in the first nine months of 2005.
Net sales for the period amounted to SEK1,054m, up from SEK935m in the corresponding period last year.
Despite the 13% revenue growth and the strong earnings, in part the result of successful rationalisation measures, HL Display said that it will launch further actions.
The company said that the efficiency improvements it has achieved are balanced out by record high raw material costs, and that it needs to take additional measures in order to reach its long-term goal of a sustainable profit level of 10%.
The new measures announced on Friday include a restructuring of HL Display's sales company in Germany and the renegotiation or cancellation of unprofitable contracts in that market, the outsourcing of some production areas in Falun in Sweden, and a restructuring of a regional service centre in the Netherlands.
The measures are expected to burden the fourth quarter result by a maximum of SEK12m.
HL Display said that it expects the full-year pre-tax result to amount to some SEK90m, which would indicate a profit per share of SEK7.96. In 2005 the company reported a profit per share of SEK4.59.
One British pound (GBP) is worth approximately 13.70 Swedish kronor (SEK).
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