Cramo says it is 'on the right track'

Strong third quarter results from Cramo’s Norwegian and German operations helped offset lower sales in markets including Finland, Sweden, Denmark.

The company saw revenues in Norway increase by 11.5% to €23.3 million and in Central Europe (mainly Germany) by 17.7% to €24.5 million.

Overall sales for the quarter were down 4.8% to €173.6 million, although on a like-for-like basis and in local currency revenues were up 2.5%. Net profits for the three months to 30 September were up 12.7% to 20.4 million.

Sales in Sweden – Cramo’s biggest market representing around 45% of sales – were down 4%, but the company said the market was developing positively; “demand is showing signs of picking up especially in the Stockholm area, Northern Sweden and Western Sweden.”

Cramo’s CEO, Vesa Koivula, said Cramo’s strategy in a “challenging market situation” was to roll out uniform business model and to focus on operational efficiency; “Together with cost savings and those efficiency measures completed earlier, we improved our profitability in the third quarter.

“We will keep our cost level low for further profitability as markets improve and sales increase. We will specifically emphasise improvements in Norway, Denmark and Central Europe, but we will also keep a keen eye on all our other markets. Development this year shows that we are on the right track.”