Fourth quarter
· Net sales decreased by 11% to
· The underlying operating result increased to
· The operating result increased to
· Result after tax increased to
· Cash flow from operating activities increased to
· Earnings per share increased to
Statement from the CEO
The weaker demand that characterised the whole year continued in the final quarter and net sales decreased by 11%. However, in recent months, we have hopefully seen a break in the trend and in December, for the first time during the year, we had net sales that were higher than last year. Despite lower sales during the quarter, the underlying operating result increased to
Rising steel prices during the quarter resulted in an inventory gain of
Continued recovery
We are now seeing a gradual market recovery combined with rising material prices. In the main markets, the recovery is clear in the manufacturing industry while the construction industry is back to levels in line with the previous year. However, what will happen in 2021 as a result of Covid-19 and its development is still difficult to predict. What I do know is that
Steel price development
The background to rising steel prices is a strong economy in
With a limited availability and increasing lead times, customers started to accept rising prices during the autumn. By the end of 2020, the demand for steel accelerated further, and despite an increase in production capacity in
Future outlook
We continue to focus on building a good company with a solid foundation for the future. Major projects, such as the investment in Norrköping, the centralization of warehouse and production operations to Norrköping together with the closure of the warehouse in Malmö, have been completed and will have a positive impact on 2021. The restructuring in the Baltics is running according to plan and our e-commerce portal will have a pre-launch at the end of the first quarter with a full launch in the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, we also decided to broaden and increase our offering of laser-cut sheet metal in
In addition to the above, a lot is now about the fact that we must continuously and repeatedly implement small improvements in every part of the company. It is my absolute belief that our staff, with their commitment, persistence and flexibility, are ready to take on this task.
For further information, please contact:
Tel: +46 706 53 76 55, email: peter.andersson@begroup.com
Christoffer Franzén, CFO
Tel: +46 705 46 90 05, email: christoffer.franzen@begroup.com
This information is information that
https://news.cision.com/be-group-ab/r/be-group-year-end-report-2020,c3275698
https://mb.cision.com/Main/1831/3275698/1364916.pdf
https://mb.cision.com/Public/1831/3275698/bc7d4c345645fe11.pdf
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