Nobia sales and profits up in Q1

Nobia has reported a growth in profits in the first quarter of 2016.

The Swedish kitchen giant, which includes brands Magnet, Rixonway Kitchens and Poggenpohl, saw net sales of SKr3.32 billion (£282 million), compared with SKr3.25bn in the same period in 2015.

Nobia attributed the uplift in sales to the acquisition of Commodore and CIE in November 2015. Collectively, they generated sales of SKr 104m in Q1.

Despite this, the group saw organic growth slow at 3%, compared with 5% in Q1 2015. It said the slowdown was caused by currency effects that negatively impacted growth.

Operating profit also increased in Q1 at SKr235m compared with SKr211m in the previous year, which corresponded to an operating margin of 7.1% (6.5% in Q1 2015).

The group saw currency losses of around SKr30m, which had a negative effect on operating profit.

Profit after tax in the first quarter amounted to SKr171m (SKr153m in 2015) and operating cash flow more than doubled from SKr34m in 2015 to SKr78m to in Q1 2016.

Nobia also experienced growth in the UK during the first quarter of 2016, reporting net sales of SKr1.58bn, compared with SKr1.52bn in the same period in 2015.

Organic growth in the UK was at 2%, which was attributed to higher sales in Magnet. However, this was lower than the same period in 2015, which saw organic growth of 8%.

Gross profit in the UK was at SKr 621m (SKr 604m in 2015) with gross margin declining slightly to 39.4% (39.7%). The decline was a result of lower sales values and the acquisition of Commodore and CIE.

Operating profit increased from SKr 94m in the first quarter of 2015 to SKr 111m in Q1 2016, which resulted in an operating margin of 7%.

Nobia also saw Rixonway Kitchens sales decline as a result of reduced public financial aid for social housing renovations introduced in summer 2015.

President and chief executive Morten Falkenberg said: “Organic sales growth in the group was 3% during the first quarter. Our two largest regions, the UK and Nordic, which together accounted for 90% of the quarter’s sales, reported both organic growth and improved operating profit. The operating margin for the past 12 months amounted to 9.4%. We are now focusing on growth and increased profitability. During 2016, we will achieve the target of an operating margin of 10%.”

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