2013 net sales were SEK63,597 million, compared to SEK64,575 million in 2012. SKF Automotive had net sales of SEK17,421 million in 2013 compared to SEK17,123 million in 2012.
“During the quarter SKF completed the acquisition of Kaydon which enables us to better support our customers with a more complete offer,” said Tom Johnstone, president and CEO. “Their sales and operating profit developed as planned and the integration into the group is going very well.
“Operational cash flow for the group was good and sales in total developed in line with expectations sequentially and grew strongly compared to the weak fourth quarter in 2012. The mix was more negative than expected due to stronger automotive sales and industrial OEM sales," he added.
Technical centres
"We continued to take steps to support our profitable growth. We gained a number of important new orders in all three business areas. We opened four new SKF Solution Factories in the quarter and now have 27 worldwide. Investment in R&D increased in the year and the number of patents was up over 10%. We have also announced the establishment of two new global technical centres in Europe which will further strengthen our R&D activities. [...] Looking forward we expect demand to be slightly higher compared to the first quarter last year and to the fourth quarter.”