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Fibres/​Yarns/​Fabrics

Ahlstrom reports improved profitability for January-June 2014

Leading high performance fibre based materials company has introduced new products to further accelerate growth and improve the sales mix.

11th August 2014

Innovation in Textiles
 |  Helsinki

Medical/Hygiene, Transport/​Aerospace

Ahlstrom, a high performance fibre based materials company, has reported a decrease in net sales for the first six months of 2014 that fell by 4.5% comparing to the January-June period last year, whilst recording an improved profitability.

Marco Levi was appointed as Ahlstrom's new President and CEO. “We have improved our profitability for three consecutive quarters, demonstrating our ability to enhance financial performance. In particular the Advanced Filtration, Food, and Transportation Filtration business areas increased their profit margins,” he commented.

Operating environment

The operating environment in Ahlstrom's main markets in the second quarter of 2014 improved slightly from the comparison period and was in line with the first quarter of this year, the company reports.

In the Advanced Filtration business area, growth continued in the gas turbine and industrial filtration applications, particularly in North America and Asia. In the Building and Energy business area, demand for construction-related materials such as flooring applications was stable in Europe, but continued to soften in Russia.

In the Food business area, demand for beverage, food packaging and tape products continued to be solid in all main geographical regions except for South America. 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 transportation filtration materials markets in Asia, North America and Europe.

Growth and development

New products were introduced to accelerate growth and improve the sales mix and profit margin. One key product launch was Ahlstrom EasyLife Spray & Up, a new offering for the fast-growing digital wall décor market.

“Comparable net sales were flat in the second quarter, with only moderate improvement in the overall market environment. As we cannot rely solely on an economic recovery to boost our sales, we will strive to improve our operational efficiency and continue to launch appealing new products such as Ahlstrom EasyLife Spray & Up for the digital wall décor market,” said Marco Levi.

“Our ambition is to swiftly position Ahlstrom in such a way that we can capture new profitable business while operating with a more sustainable cost structure.”

Outlook

The outlook presented on 30 January 2014 remains unchanged. Based on Ahlstrom's view of the development of its main markets, pricing and product mix, competitive dynamics and expected cost savings, the company anticipates net sales in 2014 to be EUR 930-1,090 million.

The operating profit margin excluding non-recurring items is expected to be 2-5% of net sales. In 2014, investments excluding acquisitions are estimated to be approximately EUR 50 million (EUR 76.1 million in 2013).

www.ahlstrom.com

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