Lantmännen: interim report shows positive results

Stockholm / SE. (lg) Lantmännen´s interim results for the third quarter 2009 shows a clear improvement compared with the second quarter. The period from June to September shows a profit after financial items of 288 million SEK, adjusted for items affecting comparability. The result for the corresponding period in 2008 was a profit of 285 million SEK. Although the situation is still challenging for the agricultural sector, our food business is continuing to grow.

Net sales for the group amounted to 8’778 million SEK (10’707 million SEK) during the third quarter of 2009, a drop of 18 percent. Following adjustments for changes to the group´s structure, net sales fell by 14 percent. Profit after financial items, adjusted for items affecting comparability, amounted to 288 million SEK, compared with 285 million SEK for the corresponding quarter in 2008. During the third quarter Lantmännen continued to show a positive cash flow before financing activities of 911 million SEK, compared with minus 979 million SEK in 2008. This is a result of the focused work that Lantmännen has been carrying out in the ‘cash race´ program, which aims to reduce tied-up capital by 1’500 million in 2009.

«The situation is still challenging for the agricultural sector, which of course impacts on our business, particularly our agricultural and machinery activities. But things are going well for our food business, where we have managed to improve our profit and increase market shares in some of our product segments», says Lantmännen´s Group President and CEO Per Strömberg.

Lantmännen Lantbruk´s negative results for the quarter is due to lower feed sales, lost fertilizer sales following the Swedish government´s proposal to abolish the nitrogen tax at the beginning of the year, and lower profitability in grain activities.

Results for Anläggnings- och Lantbruksmaskiner were positive in this quarter, despite the recession. This was fuelled by good capacity in the service workshops and the successful savings programs that have been implemented in Swecon. The food business continues to show positive growth, including Lantmännen Doggy. Fresh bread activities in Denmark are going well, the savings programs in, for example, Lantmännen Unibake are producing good results, and Lantmännen Doggy is growing steadily and increasing its market shares in Sweden. «The work we are carrying out in our savings programs to help us emerge stronger from the recession is the mean reason for our results for this quarter. These measures are starting to bear fruit, which is, of course, confirmation that we are on the right track», says Per Strömberg.

Info: Interim Report January to September 2009 (PDF, 26 pages, 820 KB).