Nobia prepares for a weaker kitchen market

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Nobia's net sales for the third quarter of 2008 amounted to SEK 3,690 million (3,748). Profit after tax amounted to SEK 105 million (189). Organic growth was 1 per cent. Earnings per share amounted to SEK 0.63 (1.09) after dilution.
 
Demand in the third quarter weakened in the new-build sector in the Nordic region and in the consumer sector in the
UK and France.
 
Operating profit for the quarter amounted to SEK 186 million (272) and the operating margin was 5.1 per cent (7.3). Exchange-rate effects, primarily in GBP and USD, had a negative impact on operating profit for the period in the amount of approximately SEK 30 million, distributed between translation and transaction effects.
 
Operating cash flow amounted to SEK 142 million (205). Further measures were initiated in all business units during the quarter to combat weaker demand.
 
Comments from the CEO
"We are now preparing for more difficult times by continuously adjusting production capacity. In addition, we have introduced cost-saving programmes in our various business units. We are continuing to slow the pace of the establishment of new stores, although we are also launching concepts to capture new customer groups," says President and CEO Preben Bager.