IMPROVED MARGINS AND STRONG CASH FLOW
JANUARY -
- Sales volume amounted to 4,892 tonnes (4,941 tonnes) a decline by 1%.
-
Net sales amounted to
SEK 251.0 (226.7) million, an increase by 11%. Organically there was no change in net sales. -
Operating profit amounted to
SEK 15.6 (11.4) million, an increase by 36%. - The operating margin increased to 6.2% (5.0%).
-
Profit for the period amounted to
SEK 13.4 (8.8) million, an increase by 52%. -
Earnings per share before dilution amounted to
SEK 0.67 (0.44), and after dilution, toSEK 0.64 (0.42). -
Net debt amounted to
SEK 59.6 (50.4) million at the end of the period, 0.6 times (0.5 times) EBITDA. -
The cash flow from operating activities increased to
SEK 20.9 million (SEK 1.0 million ).
Market conditions
The volumes continued to decline during the first quarter of 2023 for the entire industry, although at a lower rate than in 2022. Our understanding is that we maintain our market position. A decline is apparent in the application area construction, while certain other areas have made a slight recovery. Toward the end of the quarter we have seen indicators that the demand from customers in the distribution chain have increased.
Raw material prices started to decline during the last quarter of 2022 and continued to decline somewhat during the first quarter. We are experiencing production disruptions and a limited material availability by our main suppliers, which is making the price development difficult to assess.
Improved margins and strong cash flow
Arla Plast´s volumes decreased by 1 per cent. Net sales increased by 11 per cent, as a result of the acquisition of Alphaplex in 2022 and exchange rate effects. The gross margin was positively affected mainly by a favorable product mix, but also by a high degree of material utilization. The gross margin increased to 19.9 per
Sustainability
In line with our ambitions to reduce our environmental footprint and to increase our supplier responsibility, we have during the quarter, initiated several activities of which one is to increase the circularity. The activities have led to an increased recycling of material in the supplier chain which will have an impact on the carbon footprint going forward.
Outlook
The market conditions are challenging and difficult to assess. The uncertainty is still great with low demand from several application areas such as the construction sector but have partially returned from other sectors. The situation regarding availability and price development of raw materials is difficult to assess. We have a large and well diversified customer- and product portfolio with a well spread risk to multiple industries and markets, which is extra important in times such as this.
We are continuing our long-term ambitions of developing our business. The focus is to integrate sustainability within the entire business, integrate the acquisition of Alphaplex, to work with efficiency measures and to strengthen the organization.
President and CEO
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Forward-looking information
Certain statements in this report are forward-looking and the actual outcome may be significantly different. In addition to the specific mentioned factors, other factors may have material impact on the actual outcome. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the general economic climate, exchange-rate fluctuations and changes in interest rates, political developments, the impact of competing products and the prices of such products, interruptions to the access to raw materials.
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