Year 2009 good considering the circumstances
Net sales of Tekla Group for January-December 2009 totaled 50.07 (58.90) million euros, decreasing by 15%. The operating result was 6.81 (14.10) million euros, 13.6% (23.9%) of net sales. Earnings per share were 0.23 (0.49) euros. The Board's dividend proposal to the Annual General Meeting is 0.20 euros per share.
Net sales for the fourth quarter amounted to 14.29 (15.80) million euros, decreasing by 9.6%. The operating result for the quarter was 2.20 (3.63) million euros, or 15.4% (23.0%) of net sales.
Ari Kohonen, President and CEO, comments on the reporting period:
- The slightly positive development continued during the fourth quarter. The quarter saw the highest net sales of the year, similarly to previous years. Net sales and profitability did fall short of the year before, but less than during the previous quarters of the year. As for the year as a whole, the company's profitability, cash flow and solvency can still be deemed good, especially in view of the challenging operating environment.
- As we have mentioned before, there is still reason to be cautious in estimating the future. The global economy is on the verge of recovery, but there is still no certainty of the beginning of the actual upturn. Our customers have not reported an improvement in their business performance either. No fundamental changes have taken place in the demand situation, but some cautious positive signs can be seen.
- The net sales of our main business area, Building & Construction, for the fourth quarter were slightly better than during the first three quarters. The operating result fell considerably short of the year before, as the cost savings achieved during the year did not have an equally strong impact on the result for the fourth quarter. Full-year net sales and operating result were considerably lower than the year before. Nevertheless, the operating result and its level (13.0%) can be considered good in the difficult conditions.
- The longer-term outlook of the business area continues to be promising as the building industry is utilizing information models more and more extensively. Customers show great interest in Building Information Modeling (BIM), and the BIM trend is a strong one in the industry.
- In terms of market areas, license sales increased during the fourth quarter in North America, India and France.
As for the year as a whole, sales trends were negative in India, Western Europe, the UAE and the Nordic countries among others. License sales increased in China and Indonesia among others. The most promising among the potential markets is South America.
- The Infra & Energy business area succeeded in increasing its net sales and operating result on an annual level, with which we are very pleased. The fourth quarter was by far the best during the year, similarly to several previous years. The operating result percentage was 15.1, which we consider good in the prevailing business environment.
- The number of personnel remained at the same level during the fourth quarter and the year as a whole. The average number of personnel during the entire year increased by 26 persons on the previous year. Nevertheless, total expenses were slightly lower compared to the year before. The lower costs were due to cost control and result-based bonus level adapted to profitability.
The rate of the recovery of the global economy has a major impact on the development of Tekla's net sales, but foreseeing it is naturally difficult. At this stage, the Board of Directors estimates both net sales and operating profit to increase moderately.
Ari Kohonen
President&CEO
Tekla Coporation