9 Nov 2007

ASSA has the wind in its back

Dagens Industri, Friday 9 November 2007

In its Q3 report, ASSA ABLOY shows good growth and significant margin improvements in all divisions. ASSA ABLOY has done the opposite of the industrial company trend this quarter, where sales better than expected have been combined with weaker margins.

The lock company's 7 percent sales increase to SEK 8,274m was somewhat below expectations, while the 17.0 operating margin was higher than expected. The Asia Pacific division grew 10 percent organically and increased its operating margin from 10.3 to 13.4 percent. We have expanded our presence in China and taken back market shares in Australia and New Zealand , where we have launched new products, says CEO Johan Molin.

In the Americas division, sales increased 5 percent organically. The slowing down of the US housing market affects lock sales, but ASSA ABLOY has a limited exposure towards that part of the market.

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