Finnish nonwovens producer Ahlstrom reports flat Q3 sales
October 30, 2014 - Finland
For the third quarter ending September 30, 2014, Finnish nonwovens producer Ahlstrom reported near flat sales, when compared with third quarter ending September 30, 2013.
In the three months to September 30, 2014, net sales at Ahlstrom stood at EUR 252.0 million against EUR 251.1 million in the corresponding months of 2013.
Ahlstrom said comparable net sales grew 2.3% at constant currency rates with growth coming in from Advanced Filtration, Transportation Filtration and Food business areas.
However, operating profit excluding non-recurring items for the third quarter of 2014 zoomed to EUR 9.7 million from EUR 1.5 million in the third-quarter of 2013.
Third quarter of 2014 operating margin excluding non-recurring items also skyrocketed to 3.9% from 0.6% in the prior year quarter.
Including non-recurring items of EUR -23.2 million, Ahlstrom posted an operating loss of EUR 13.4 million versus operating profit of EUR 1.5 million in the year ago quarter.
Loss before taxes touched an alarming EUR 19.9 million, up from loss before taxes of EUR 4.4 million in the corresponding quarter of 2013.
“The operating environment in Ahlstrom's main markets in the third quarter of 2014 varied considerably depending on regions and markets,” the nonwovens producer said.
In the Advanced Filtration business area, growth continued in the gas turbine and industrial filtration applications, particularly in North America and Asia.
The markets for laboratory and life science also grew, whereas demand for high efficiency air applications was somewhat softer, particularly in Europe.
“In the Building and Energy business area, demand for construction-related materials such as flooring applications has improved in Europe, but continued to soften in Russia,” Ahlstrom added.
The market for reinforced glass fiber products for the wind energy industry in Europe remained soft and demand for wallpaper and wallcovering substrates softened in Europe and Russia, while it remained solid in China.
In the Food business area, demand for beverage, food packaging and tape products continued to be solid in all main geographical regions. Growth continued in the single-use coffee products market.
In the Medical business area, demand for medical fabrics was stable in Europe and North America, while it strengthened in Asia, supported by the growing trend for single-use products.
In the Transportation Filtration business area, solid growth continued in the markets in Asia, North America and Europe. In South America, the market continued to show positive signs following a slowdown in the second half of 2013.
Ahlstrom narrowed its outlook range for net sales and operating profit margin excluding non-recurring items outlook in 2014.
The nonwovens manufacturer now expects 2014 net sales to be in the range of EUR 960-1,020 million and operating profit margin excluding non-recurring items is expected to be 2.5-4% of net sales.
In 2014, investments excluding acquisitions are estimated to be approximately EUR 50 million against EUR 76.1 million in 2013.
CEO Marco Levi said, “I am pleased with the strong sales growth in three of our businesses; Advanced Filtration, Transportation Filtration and Food. Our ongoing rightsizing program is also progressing as planned."
"We will improve margins and enhance customer segmentation through our commercial excellence program. We are going to refocus our product development portfolio to shorten the time from idea to successfully commercialized product.
“In addition, we will simplify our processes, which will lead to a more competitive cost structure. To this end, we are now announcing a new organizational structure."
Ahlstrom is a high performance fiber-based materials company. Its materials are used in everyday applications such as filters, medical fabrics, life science and diagnostics, wallcoverings and food packaging.
In 2013, Ahlstrom's net sales from the continuing operations amounted to EUR 1 billion and its 3,500 employees serve customers in 24 countries. (AR)
In the three months to September 30, 2014, net sales at Ahlstrom stood at EUR 252.0 million against EUR 251.1 million in the corresponding months of 2013.
Ahlstrom said comparable net sales grew 2.3% at constant currency rates with growth coming in from Advanced Filtration, Transportation Filtration and Food business areas.
However, operating profit excluding non-recurring items for the third quarter of 2014 zoomed to EUR 9.7 million from EUR 1.5 million in the third-quarter of 2013.
Third quarter of 2014 operating margin excluding non-recurring items also skyrocketed to 3.9% from 0.6% in the prior year quarter.
Including non-recurring items of EUR -23.2 million, Ahlstrom posted an operating loss of EUR 13.4 million versus operating profit of EUR 1.5 million in the year ago quarter.
Loss before taxes touched an alarming EUR 19.9 million, up from loss before taxes of EUR 4.4 million in the corresponding quarter of 2013.
“The operating environment in Ahlstrom's main markets in the third quarter of 2014 varied considerably depending on regions and markets,” the nonwovens producer said.
In the Advanced Filtration business area, growth continued in the gas turbine and industrial filtration applications, particularly in North America and Asia.
The markets for laboratory and life science also grew, whereas demand for high efficiency air applications was somewhat softer, particularly in Europe.
“In the Building and Energy business area, demand for construction-related materials such as flooring applications has improved in Europe, but continued to soften in Russia,” Ahlstrom added.
The market for reinforced glass fiber products for the wind energy industry in Europe remained soft and demand for wallpaper and wallcovering substrates softened in Europe and Russia, while it remained solid in China.
In the Food business area, demand for beverage, food packaging and tape products continued to be solid in all main geographical regions. Growth continued in the single-use coffee products market.
In the Medical business area, demand for medical fabrics was stable in Europe and North America, while it strengthened in Asia, supported by the growing trend for single-use products.
In the Transportation Filtration business area, solid growth continued in the markets in Asia, North America and Europe. In South America, the market continued to show positive signs following a slowdown in the second half of 2013.
Ahlstrom narrowed its outlook range for net sales and operating profit margin excluding non-recurring items outlook in 2014.
The nonwovens manufacturer now expects 2014 net sales to be in the range of EUR 960-1,020 million and operating profit margin excluding non-recurring items is expected to be 2.5-4% of net sales.
In 2014, investments excluding acquisitions are estimated to be approximately EUR 50 million against EUR 76.1 million in 2013.
CEO Marco Levi said, “I am pleased with the strong sales growth in three of our businesses; Advanced Filtration, Transportation Filtration and Food. Our ongoing rightsizing program is also progressing as planned."
"We will improve margins and enhance customer segmentation through our commercial excellence program. We are going to refocus our product development portfolio to shorten the time from idea to successfully commercialized product.
“In addition, we will simplify our processes, which will lead to a more competitive cost structure. To this end, we are now announcing a new organizational structure."
Ahlstrom is a high performance fiber-based materials company. Its materials are used in everyday applications such as filters, medical fabrics, life science and diagnostics, wallcoverings and food packaging.
In 2013, Ahlstrom's net sales from the continuing operations amounted to EUR 1 billion and its 3,500 employees serve customers in 24 countries. (AR)