Net profit was SEK4,878 miilion, down from SEK6,224 million.
Sales for the full year in local currencies and excluding structure decreased by 5% in Europe, by 10% in Asia and by 2% in Middle East and Africa. In North America they increased by 7% and in Latin America by 11%. Manufacturing for the full year was significantly lower year over year.
“We saw a weak development in our sales in the fourth quarter and particularly in December due to the uncertain macro situation and inventory reductions in the market,” said Tom Johnstone, SKF president and CEO. “We reduced our manufacturing and inventories more than planned going into the quarter which enabled us to deliver a very good cash flow even if it impacted our result.
“For the full year our sales were slightly down in local currencies with growth in North America and Latin America and lower sales in Europe, Asia and Middle East and Africa. We significantly reduced inventories in the year and delivered a very good cash flow, giving us a continued strong financial position."
Johnstone stated that at the start of this year SKF announced actions to accelerate and expand its activities to significantly reduce cost and strengthen its growth in the faster developing areas of SKF's business. He said these are very important steps to enable the company to deliver on its long-term growth and profitability targets. SKF also announced the acquisition of Blohm + Voss Industries, an important addition to its marine business. Johnstone attests to the difficulties in forecasting company finances for 2013.”The overall macro environment is difficult to read with still a lot of uncertainty," he explained. "However, at this point we expect demand in the first quarter for the Group to continue at the same level as the fourth quarter but still lower year over year. We plan to run our manufacturing broadly in line with sales in the quarter.”
The full report can be found here.
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