ASPO INTERIM REPORT JANUARY 1 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2002
2002-10-31T09:12:17 CETThe net sales of the Aspo Group rose by 11.6% to EUR 98.2 million (MEUR 88.0). The operating profit for the period totaled EUR 5.5 million (MEUR 5.7) and the profit before taxes was EUR 12.4 million (MEUR -2.0). Earnings per share were EUR 0.40 (EUR 0.42). Group net sales for the entire year are expected to continue to grow at a rate exceeding 10%. We expect the Group to generate as good or better earnings than last year.
GROUP NET SALES AND PROFITS
Net sales for the Aspo Group totaled EUR 98.2 million for the period from January 1 to September 30, 2002, compared with the previous year's figure of EUR 88.0 million. The Systems division succeeded in increasing its net sales, whereas the net sales of the Chemicals and Shipping divisions remained at last year's level. Chemicals put in a clearly better financial performamce than last year. In contrast the operational performance of the Shipping division fell short of last year's performance due to dry-docking costs from the beginning of the year. Systems was unprofitable for the first part of the year. Divisional and company-specific net sales figures and earnings by division are presented in the tables below.
The Group's operating profit was EUR 5.5 million or 5.6% of net sales including EUR 1.5 million capital gains from the sale of Navintra Ltd's operations (EUR 5.7 million; 6.4%). Depreciation increased by EUR 0.4 million to EUR 5.6 million. Net financial costs totaled EUR 0.8 million (EUR 0.6 million).
The profit before extraordinary items and taxes totaled EUR 4.8 million (EUR 5.1 million). The Group's pre-tax profit was EUR 12.4 million (EUR -2.0 million). Extraordinary gains include back-tax refunds with interest totaling EUR 7.6 million related to the reimbursement decision made by the provincial tax authorities with respect to the company's 1994 taxation. Earnings per share totaled EUR 0.40 (EUR 0.42).
FINANCING AND INVESTMENTS
The Group's financial position was satisfactory throughout the period. The Group held liquid assets totaling EUR 11.0 million at the end of the period. The Group's investments, totaling EUR 7.2 million, were directed at acquiring the shares of Autotank and of the barge shipping company, Travans Oy. The Group's net financial costs as a percentage of net sales totaled 0.8% (0.6%).
The Group's equity ratio was 53.9% (47.9%) at the end of the period under review. The primary difference between the figures of the compared periods derives mainly from the tax ruling regarding the year 1994. At the yearend the Group's equity ratio stood at 52.7%.
EQUITY
The total share capital of Aspo Plc as of September 30, 2002 was EUR 17,101,442 with 8,550,721 shares outstanding, each of which has a book value of EUR 2.
At the Annual Shareholders' Meeting on April 25, 2002, the shareholders decided to decrease the company's share capital by EUR 439,390 by invalidating the 219,695 shares held by the company. The decrease in share capital was registered on May 6, 2002.
During the period extending from January through September 2002 a total of 523,845 shares with a value of EUR 4,332,112 changed hands on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. The non-domestic share in the ownership of the stock was 0.3% as of September 30, 2002. The share price reached a high of EUR 9.26 and a low of EUR 6.15 during the period under review.
AUTHORIZATIONS OF THE BOARD
At the Annual Shareholders' Meeting the Board was authorized to raise share capital using one or several new share issues and/or convertible bond and/or stock option issues. In connection with these issues the company's share capital can be increased by an aggregate maximum amount of EUR 3,420,000. The authorization includes a provision allowing for the suspension of the shareholders' pre-emptive rights related to new shares.
The shareholders further authorized the Board to acquire and dispose of the company's own shares as it sees fit. The Board is entitled to deviate from the shareholders' right of pre-emption provided that there are sound financial reasons for the company to do so.
All authorizations will be valid for one year from the date of approval at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting. The Board has not exercised its shareholder authorizations during the period under review.
TAXATION
The provincial tax authorities convened on May 22, 2002, to review appeals for changes to the company's adjusted 1994 taxation, which had resulted in significant back-taxes being levied against the Group.
The review committee accepted Aspo's motion and reversed the Helsinki tax authority's decision to add an additional FIM 73 million to the income of Aspo. The back-taxes, charged to the company in 2001 and amounting to EUR 7.6 million with interest, was refunded to Aspo without further discussion.
The Helsinki tax authorities have appealed the decision of the review committee.
PERSONNEL
The Group's personnel averaged 520 from January 1 to September 30, 2002 compared with 406 for the same period the previous year. Personnel averaged 412 for 2001.
PROSPECTS FOR 2002
The acquisitions and divestitures carried out last year and this year have streamlined Aspo's operations and strengthened both the market position and the earnings potential of our operations.
Chemicals has consolidated the Baltic automotive chemicals company acquired last year, improving the profitability of its automotive chemicals product group.
Market conditions for chemicals and plastic raw materials have gradually improved during this year and delivered volumes have been increasing. The same trend appears to be continuing for the remainder of the year.
Shipping picked up an addition of about a million tons of transport capacity per annum through the acquisition of the Travans barge shipping company in the beginning of September. The additional capacity will improve the company's service level under recovering market conditions and the rest of the year may well see the best quarter of the year.
Systems will continue the integration of Autotank. Operations have suffered in the first part of the year from a slowdown in investments in the service station sector in the Baltic Sea region. However, the order book has grown towards the end of the year, which is expected to improve earnings during the last quarter.
The prospects for different divisions support a forecast of an approximately 10% growth rate for the Aspo Group as a whole on the year. If earnings pan out as expected for the rest of the year, we believe that the Group's financial performance should turn out as good or better than last year.
The full report including tables can be downloaded from the following link.