SKF Year-end report 2011


SKF Year-end report 2011

 

Tom Johnstone, President and CEO:
“The SKF Group had a very strong performance in 2011 with record sales,
operating profit and operating margin. The integration of Lincoln is going
according to plan and we have also made important progress on the initiatives we
announced last year to support our long-term financial targets. We launched a
number of new products, gained significant business and opened our new bearing
factory in China. Spending on Research and Development increased significantly
as planned, and our new Global Technical Centre in India was opened.

In the fourth quarter overall demand softened as expected but with a somewhat
better demand in USA and weaker in Asia. As planned we ran our production lower
than sales to reduce inventories
and this had the expected impact on our results.

Looking into the first quarter we still see uncertainty in demand in Europe and
in our automotive
business. Demand for the Group in total is expected to be lower than in the
first quarter last year and similar to the fourth quarter. We will continue to
drive our initiatives to strengthen SKF and to invest in the faster growing
regions and markets. Our new structure for the industrial market is under
implementation and will improve our ability to even better support our customers
in each industry.”

Key figures                    Q4 2011  Q4 2010  Full year 2011  Full year 2010
Net sales, SEKm                16,257   15,409   66,216          61,029
Operating profit, SEKm         2,006    2,202    9,612           8,452
Operating margin, %            12.3     14.3     14.5            13.8
Profit before taxes, SEKm      1,823    2,048    8,932           7,549
Net profit, SEKm               1,205    1,350    6,224           5,296
Basic earnings per share, SEK  2.57     2.87     13.29           11.28

Net sales change in  Volume  Price/mix  Structure  Currency effect  Total
SEK, attributable
to:
Q4 2011              0.0%    2.8%       4.8%       -2.1%            5.5%
Full year 2011       9.6%    1.9%       4.8%       -7.8%            8.5%

Sales in local currency in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last
year (excl. structure)
Sales for the Group increased by 2.8%. In Europe they increased by 0.5%, in
North America by 5.6%, in Latin America by 11.0%, in Asia by 0.8% and in the
Middle East and Africa by 19.9%.
The manufacturing level was lower than in the fourth quarter last year.

One-off costs
The quarter included one-off costs of around SEK 100 million. Around SEK 40
million are related to impairment of assets and have no impact on cash flow. The
remaining costs are related to various restructuring activities.

Dividend proposal
Based on the strong performance, cash generation capacity and outlook, the Board
has decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting an increase in the dividend
of 10%, giving a dividend of SEK 5.50 (5.00) per share.

Outlook for the first quarter of 2012

Demand compared to the first quarter last year
The demand for SKF’s products and services is expected to be slightly lower for
the Group. It is expected
to be lower in Europe, higher in North America, relatively unchanged in Asia and
slightly higher in Latin America. The demand is expected to be relatively
unchanged for the Industrial Division and the Service Division and significantly
lower for the Automotive Division.

Demand compared to the fourth quarter 2011
The demand for SKF’s products and services is expected to be relatively
unchanged for the Group. It is expected to be slightly lower for Europe,
relatively unchanged for Asia and Latin America, and higher for North America.
The demand is expected to be relatively unchanged for all divisions.

Manufacturing level
The manufacturing level is expected to be significantly lower year on year and
relatively unchanged
compared to the fourth quarter.

Gothenburg, 26 January 2012
Aktiebolaget SKF
(publ.)

Tom Johnstone
President and CEO

_____________________________________________________________

AB SKF is required to disclose the information provided herein pursuant to the
Securities
Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was
submitted
for publication at 12.00 on 26 January 2012.

_____________________________________________________________

A teleconference, ref.no. 910270, will be held on 26 January 2012 at 14.00 CET,
13.00 (UK), 08.00 a.m. (US Eastern Standard Time):

SE: +46 (0)8 5052 0114
UK: +44 (0)207 162 0177
US: +1 334 323 6203

You will find all information regarding SKF Year-end results 2011 on the IR
website.

investors.skf.com/quarterlyreporting

Further information can be obtained from:
Ingalill Östman, Group Communications
tel: +46-31-3373260, mobile: +46-706-973260, e-mail: ingalill.ostman@skf.com

Marita Björk, Investor Relations
tel: +46-31-3371994, mobile: +46-705-181994, e-mail: marita.bjork@skf.com

 

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