Stable volume and earnings trend in third quarter

Third quarter 2014
• Sales volume reached 39.3 ktonnes (39.2), level with the corresponding quarter last year.

• Net sales totalled SEK 1 198 million (1 104), an increase of 8.5% compared with the same quarter last year.

• Operating profit increased to SEK 81 million (60), corresponding to an operating margin of 6.8% (5.4).

• Adjusted operating profit amounted to SEK 106 million (98), corresponding to an adjusted operating margin of 8.8% (8.9).

• Profit for the period was SEK 55 million (40). Earnings per share amounted to SEK 0.73 (0.53).

January-September 2014
• Sales volume reached 122.3 ktonnes (121.0), an increase of 1.1% compared with the previous year.

• Net sales totalled SEK 3 531 million (3 577), a decrease of 1.3% compared with the previous year.

• Operating profit increased to SEK 326 million (226), corresponding to an operating margin of 9.2% (6.3).

• Adjusted operating profit amounted to SEK 360 million (287), corresponding to an adjusted operating margin of 10.2% (8.0).

• Profit for the period was SEK 230 million (147). Earnings per share amounted to SEK 3.08 (1.97).

• Gränges has a sound financial position. At 30 September 2014, the equity/assets ratio amounted to 44.3% and net debt corresponded to 1.5 times adjusted EBITDA (on a rolling 12-months basis).

Comments from Gränges CEO Johan Menckel:
“Gränges continued to enjoy stable development during the third quarter with a sales volume level with the previous year and improved earnings. Adjusted operating profit increased by 8% to SEK 106 million which corresponds to a margin of 8.8%. The weakening of the SEK had a positive impact during the quarter and compensated for increased central costs and somewhat higher costs in the production facility in Shanghai. In Sweden, we can see that efficiency improvements continued to have an effect”, says Johan Menckel.

“In the third quarter we saw some slowdown in global vehicle production, particularly in Europe. We expect this trend to continue in the fourth quarter.”

“Like several others in the industry we have also noted rising aluminium premiums which is expected to have some impact next year provided the upswing continues. This means that there might be some lead time before Gränges receives full coverage for the entire premium cost. The Gränges business model is characterised by long-term customer relationships which often stretch over several years but is affected in the short term by underlying market development.”

“Overall we feel comfortable ahead of 2015. We have a leading global position and a clear growth strategy where both Asia and North America are prioritised geographical areas. Our aim is to secure and further strengthen our position with continued good profitability”, says CEO Johan Menckel.

Webcast telephone conference
On Thursday, 13 November 2014 at 10.00 CET, CEO Johan Menckel and CFO Oskar Hellström will present Gränges’ interim report for January-September 2014 via a webcast telephone conference. The webcast can be accessed on Gränges website www.granges.com/investors. To take part in the telephone conference, please call +46 851999030 (Sweden), +44 2076602077 (United Kingdom) or +1 8552692607 (USA).

For additional information, please contact:
Pernilla Grennfelt
Director Communications and Investor Relations
pernilla.grennfelt@granges.com
Telephone +46 (0) 702 90 99 55

The information in this interim report is such that Gränges must disclose pursuant to the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication on Thursday, 13 November 2014 at 07.30 CET.

About Gränges
Gränges is a leading global supplier of rolled products for the brazed aluminium heat exchanger industry. The Group develops, produces and markets advanced materials that enhance both production economy during the customer manufacturing process as well as the performance of the final products, the brazed heat exchangers. Gränges has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, and operates in three geographical regions: Europe, Asia and the Americas. The company has production, research and development facilities in Finspång, Sweden, and Shanghai, China, with total annual capacity of approximately 210,000 metric tonnes. Gränges was founded in 1896 and the company started its present operations in 1972 when it started to develop material for brazed heat exchangers. Gränges has some 1,000 employees and net sales in 2013 totalled approximately SEK 4 642 million. For more information about Gränges, you are welcome to visit www.grange