2012-07-26 07:00:02 CEST

2012-07-26 07:00:15 CEST


REGULATED INFORMATION

Finnish English
Atria Oyj - Interim report (Q1 and Q3)

Interim report of Atria Plc 1 January - 30 June 2012


Atria Group's EBIT improved substantially

Seinäjoki, Finland, 2012-07-26 07:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atria Plc Company
Announcement 26 July  2012 at 8.00 am 

INTERIM REPORT OF ATRIA PLC 1 January-30 June 2012

Atria Group's EBIT improved substantially

- EBIT for H1 grew to EUR 5.8 million (EUR -5.2 million)
- Net sales amounted to EUR 641.8 million (EUR 637.6 million)
- Atria Finland's EBIT increased to EUR 13.0 million (EUR 3.2 million)
- Atria Scandinavia's EBIT fell to EUR 1.9 million (EUR 5.0 million)
- Atria Russia's EBIT improved to EUR -5.3 million (EUR -11.1 million)
- The Group's equity ratio was 39.1 per cent (31 December 2011: 39.5%).
- The new strategy focuses on strengthening core business and improving
productivity 


                            Q2     Q2     H1     H1        
                        -----------------------------------
EUR million               2012   2011   2012   2011    2011
-----------------------------------------------------------
Net sales                333.3  333.6  641.8  637.6  1301.9
EBIT                       5.7   -0.9    5.8   -5.2     8.0
EBIT, %                    1.7   -0.3    0.9   -0.8     0.6
Profit before taxes        2.8   -4.4   -0.2  -10.9    -4.7
Earnings per share, EUR   0.05  -0.15  -0.14  -0.34   -0.24
Extraordinary items*       0.0    0.6    0.0    0.1    -2.2

*Extraordinary items are included in the reported figures.

Review Q2/2012

Atria Group's net sales for Q2/2012 totalled EUR 333.3 million (EUR 333.6
million), down by EUR -0.3 million compared to the corresponding period last
year. EBIT improved by EUR 6.6 million year-on-year, amounting to EUR 5.7
million (EUR -0.9 million). The results for the comparative period include net
EUR 0.6 million of non-recurring profit. 

Atria Finland's Q2/2012 net sales totalled EUR 204.6 million (EUR 203.0
million), showing growth of EUR 1.6 million year-on-year. The EUR 7.8 million
EBIT (EUR 2.6 million) was EUR 5.2 million higher than the EBIT for the
corresponding period last year. This increase was due to an improved sales
structure, implemented efficiency improvement measures and higher sales prices. 

Atria Scandinavia's Q2/2012 net sales totalled EUR 95.0 million (EUR 95.8
million), representing a fall of EUR 0.8 million year-on-year. In the local
currency, net sales decreased by 1.7 per cent year-on-year. Increase in the raw
material costs weighed down EBIT to EUR 1.8 million (EUR 2.7 million), which is
EUR 0.9 million lower than in the comparative period. 

Atria Russia's Q2/2012 net sales amounted to EUR 31.3 million (EUR 32.5
million). In the local currency, net sales decreased by 3.5 per cent
year-on-year. EBIT was EUR -2.0 million (EUR -5.6 million), showing an
improvement of EUR 3.6 million over the comparative period. This increase was
due to implemented efficiency improvement measures and the raising of sales
prices. 

Atria Baltic's Q2/2012 net sales amounted to EUR 9.1 million (EUR 9.1 million).
EBIT was EUR -0.4 million (EUR 0.2 million), which is EUR 0.6 million weaker
than in the same period last year. The results for the comparative period
contain EUR 0.6 million of non-recurring profit. 

Atria revamped its strategy during the review period. The new strategy focuses
on strengthening core business and improving its profitability in all business
areas. The aim is to improve Atria's position especially in cold cuts and other
meat products in all business areas. This requires the revising of category
management, improvement of productivity and strengthening of customer focus
throughout the Group. 

Olle Horm was appointed Executive Vice President of Atria Baltic and a member
of Atria Group's Management Team. He will assume his position by 15 August 2012
and report to Juha Gröhn, CEO, Atria Plc. Atria Baltic's current Executive Vice
President, Rauno Väisänen, will return to Atria Finland. 

Review H1/2012

Atria Group's net sales for H1/2012 totalled EUR 641.8 million (EUR 637.6
million), showing growth of EUR 4.2 million compared to the corresponding
period last year. EBIT improved by EUR 11.0 million year-on-year, amounting to
EUR 5.8 million (EUR -5.2 million). The results for the comparative period
include net EUR 0.1 million of non-recurring profit. 

Atria Finland's H1/2012 net sales totalled EUR 393.0 million (EUR 389.3
million), up by EUR 3.7 million year-on-year. The EUR 13.0 million EBIT (EUR
3.2 million) was EUR 9.8 million higher than the EBIT for the corresponding
period last year. This increase was due to an improved sales structure,
implemented efficiency improvement measures and higher sales prices. 

Atria Scandinavia's H1/2012 net sales totalled EUR 184.5 million (EUR 183.6
million), representing an increase of EUR 0.9 million year-on-year. In the
local currency, net sales were at the same level as last year. Increase in the
raw material costs weighed down EBIT to EUR 1.9 million (EUR 5.0 million),
which is EUR 3.1 million lower than in the comparative period. 

Atria Russia's H1/2012 net sales amounted to EUR 59.6 million (EUR 60.8
million). In the local currency, net sales decreased by 3.0 per cent
year-on-year. EBIT was EUR -5.3 million (EUR -11.1 million), showing an
improvement of EUR 5.8 million over the comparative period. This increase was
due to implemented efficiency improvement measures, price increases and the
streamlining of the product range. 

Atria Baltic's H1/2012 net sales totalled EUR 17.0 million (EUR 17.3 million),
representing a fall of EUR 0.3 million year-on-year. EBIT was EUR -0.9 million
(EUR 0.0 million), which is EUR 0.9 million weaker than in the same period last
year. The results for the comparative period contain EUR 0.9 million of
non-recurring profit. The slow development was caused by the increase in raw
material prices, which could not be fully transferred to sales prices. 

Due to an increase in investments, the Group's free cash flow during the review
period (operating cash flow - cash flow from investments) was EUR -9.6 million
(EUR -8.7 million). Interest-bearing net liabilities came to EUR 419.8 million,
showing an increase of EUR 17.0 million since the turn of the year. 

During the review period, a programme was launched to improve the profitability
of Atria Scandinavia's production of meat products. Atria is investing
approximately EUR 4.7 million in new production equipment for the Malmö plant.
The manufacture of ham products and the slicing of cold cuts will be
transferred from the Halmstad plant to the Malmö plant. The Halmstad plant will
be closed down after the production transfer. The programme is expected to
generate annual cost savings of approximately EUR 1.5 million. The savings will
begin to materialise in 2012 and will be fully effective from the beginning of
2013. 

During the review period, Atria Russia launched a programme aimed at improving
production efficiency at the Sinyavino and Gorelovo plants. These measures are
expected to generate annual cost savings of around EUR 2.0 million, which will
be fully realised from the beginning of 2013. Meat products are now produced at
the centralised Sinyavino and Gorelovo plants in St Petersburg. 

Atria Plc's Board of Directors decided to terminate the share incentive plan
for Atria Group's key personnel and replace it with a new long-term reward
programme. The share incentive plan will no longer be applied in 2012. 

Key indicators                                                
EUR million                         30.6.12  30.6.11  31.12.11
--------------------------------------------------------------
Shareholders´ equity per share EUR    14.59    15.02     14.81
Interest-bearing liabilities          425.1    432.7     409.4
Equity ratio, %                        39.1     40.0      39.5
Gearing, %                            102.3    101.3      97.1
Net gearing, %                        101.0     99.3      95.5
Gross investments in fixed assets      25.7     24.4      47.0
% of net sales                          4.0      3.8       3.6
Average FTE                           5,038    5,642     5,467


Outlook for the future

The Group's EBIT was EUR 8.0 million in 2011. A considerably higher EBIT is
anticipated for 2012. Some growth in net sales is expected for 2012. 

Publication procedure

Atria Plc complies with the publication procedure in accordance with standard
5.2b of the Financial Supervisory Authority and publishes its 1 JANUARY - 30
JUNE 2012 interim report release as an attachment to this company announcement.
The full interim report is available on the company's website at
www.atriagroup.com. 

For more information, please contact Juha Gröhn, CEO, Atria Plc, tel. +358 400
684 224. 

Invitation to a press conference

A press conference conducted in Finnish will be arranged today 26 July 2012 at
10:00 am at Atria offices in Helsinki, address Läkkisepäntie 23, Helsinki. The
presentation material will be available on the company's website
(www.atriagroup.com/en/investors/FinancialInformation/quarterlyreports) after
the distribution of the interim report and as an attachment to this company
announcement. 


ATRIA PLC
Board of Directors


DISTRIBUTION
Nasdaq OMX Helsinki Ltd
Major media
www.atriagroup.com