Highlights of the third quarter of 2023
- Net sales amounted to SEK 33,427m (35,244). The organic sales decline of 7.9% was mainly driven by continued weak market demand and consumers shifting to lower price points. Mix was positive, supported by the innovative product offering, despite this market shift. Price was negative year-over-year as promotional activity has returned to high levels this year.
- Operating income amounted to SEK 608m (-385), corresponding to a margin of 1.8% (-1.1). Operating income included a previously announced positive non-recurring item of SEK 294m from the divestment of the Nyíregyháza factory in Hungary. Excluding this, operating income amounted to SEK 314m (-35), corresponding to a margin of 0.9% (-0.1).
- The Group-wide cost reduction and North America turnaround program continued to progress well, resulting in a positive year-over-year impact of approximately SEK 2.4bn. The substantial savings contributed to a positive underlying operating income development year-over-year, despite the negative impact from volume and price.
- Income for the period amounted to SEK 123m (-605) and earnings per share were SEK 0.46 (-2.23).
- Operating cash flow after investments improved to SEK 1,147m (-1,483).
- Acceleration of cost reduction efforts to restore margins have been initiated and are expected to result in net cost savings of SEK 10-11bn in 2024 vs 2022, compared to previous cost reduction target of over SEK 7bn. This is expected to lead to a restructuring charge of SEK 2-2.5bn in the fourth quarter of 2023.