Nobia : 28 Apr 2017 Interim report January-March 2017

January-March 2017
• Net sales for the first quarter amounted to SEK 3,315 million (3,091), negatively impacted by currency effects of SEK 85 million.
• Organic growth was 10 per cent (3).
• Operating profit amounted to SEK 273 million (245), corresponding to an operating margin of 8.2 per cent (7.9).
• Currency losses had an impact of approximately SEK 30 million on operating profit, of which a negative SEK 5 million in translation effects and a negative SEK 25 million in transaction effects.
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 205 million (171), corresponding to earnings per share of SEK 1.22 (1,02).
• Operating cash flow amounted to SEK 101 million (78).

Consolidated net sales, earnings and cash flow
Demand for kitchens in the Nordic region and Central Europe in the first quarter of 2017 is deemed to have improved year-on-year. In the UK, the kitchen market weakened as the result of heightened macroeconomic uncertainty.

Sales increased organically 10 per cent (3), primarily as the result of increased sales values, higher volumes and more delivery days than in the preceding year. Currency losses of SEK 85 million (losses: 102) impacted sales.

The gross margin declined to 38.9 per cent (39.3), adversely affected by currency fluctuations and a changed sales mix.

Operating profit improved, positively impacted by higher sales values and increased volumes, and negatively affected by higher costs.

The return on operating capital was 33.0 per cent in the past twelve-month period (Jan-Dec 2016: 32.5). The return on equity was 14.0 per cent in the past twelve-month period (Jan-Dec 2016: 13.0).

Operating cash flow improved mainly as a result of a positive change in working capital compared with the corresponding quarter 2016.

Nobia's investments in fixed assets amounted to SEK 56 million (56), of which SEK 19 million (14) pertained to store investments.

Comments from the CEO
'Nobia's organic sales growth was 10 per cent in the first quarter, favourably impacted by more delivery days than in the preceding year and primarily driven by higher sales in the Nordic region. Our UK operations also grew in local currency, primarily as a result of temporarily high project deliveries, while consumer sales in Magnet declined. The UK kitchen market has weakened and price competition remains fierce. The Group's operating profit strengthened and operating margin for the past 12-month period amounted to 10.3 per cent. We are confident in our ambition to continue delivering profitable growth, both via our own initiatives and through acquisitions,' says President and CEO Morten Falkenberg.

For further information
Contact any of the following on +46 (0)8 440 16 00 or +46 (0)705 95 51 00:
• Morten Falkenberg, President and CEO
• Kristoffer Ljungfelt, CFO
• Lena Schattauer, Head of Communication and Investor Relations
This information is such that Nobia is obliged to made public pursuant to the EU's Market Abuse Regulation and the Swedish Securities Market Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, on 28 April 2017 at 2:00 p.m. CET.

Nobia develops and sells kitchens through some twenty strong brands in Europe, including Magnet in the UK; HTH, Norema, Sigdal, Invita, Marbodal in Scandinavia; Petra and A la Carte in Finland and Ewe, FM and Intuo in Austria. Nobia generates profitability by combining economies of scale with attractive kitchen offerings. The Group has approximately 6,000 employees and net sales of about SEK 13 billion. The Nobia share is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker NOBI. Website: www.nobia.com