Martela Oyj - Interim report (Q1 and Q3)

MARTELA CORPORATION INTERIM REPORT, 1 January - 30 June 2012

MARTELA CORPORATION INTERIM REPORT                         3 August 2012 at
8.30 a.m. 

MARTELA CORPORATION INTERIM REPORT, 1 January - 30 June 2012

Consolidated revenue up, operating result slightly lower than previous year

Key figures:



                             4-6    4-6    1-6    1-6   1-12
EUR million                 2012   2011   2012   2011   2011
- Revenue                   35,1   30,5   67,1   57,9  130,7
- Change in revenue %       15,0   18,6   15,9   19,9   20,6
- Operating result          -0,9   -0,9   -1,8   -1,6    2,6
- Operating result %        -2,6   -2,8   -2,7   -2,8    2,0
- Earnings per share, EUR  -0,29  -0,21  -0,56  -0,43   0,39
- Return on investment, %  -10,4  -12,0   -9,9  -10,4    6,0
- Return on equity, %      -16,5  -11,9  -15,9  -11,9    5,1
- Equity ratio, %                         44,4   54,2   44,7
- Gearing, %                              29,3   -4,2   -2,6


The Martela Group expects to post year-on-year revenue growth for 2012, and an
operating result at or above the previous year's level. 

Market

The uncertainties affecting the global economy have not had a significant
impact on the demand for office furniture in the Nordic countries. In fact, the
demand remained at a reasonably good level in Finland, Sweden and Poland during
the year. In Denmark, however, demand is still weak. 

Statistics on office construction are available for the first quarter of 2012,
and according to these, 24 per cent more office space was built in Finland in
terms of square metres in the first quarter of 2012 than in the first quarter
of 2011. There were 15 per cent more new office building starts than in 2011,
but at the same time significantly fewer building permits were granted (‑41%). 

Consolidated revenue and result

Consolidated revenue for the second quarter was EUR 35.1 million (30.5), an
increase of 15.0 per cent on the previous year. Consolidated revenue for
January-June was EUR 67.1 million (57.9), an increase of 15.9 per cent on the
previous year. The acquisition of the Grundell companies at the end of 2011
increased revenue. Revenue also grew substantially in the traditional sales
channels in Finland, and it grew slightly in Poland. However, revenue began to
decline in Business Unit Sweden and Norway. The comparable revenue growth
without acquisitions in the review period was 10.6 per cent. 

The operating result for the second quarter was EUR ‑0.9 million (‑0.9). The
operating result for January-June fell slightly short of the previous year and
was EUR ‑1.8 million (‑1.6). The Group has continued its investments that were
commenced last year to develop and increase its business, which has raised
fixed costs. Fixed costs were also raised by the Grundell acquisition executed
at the turn of the year. The objective of these investments is particularly to
strengthen the Group's service business and sales channels. Due to the
investments carried out, the Group's operating result declined despite the
increase in revenue. The Group's fixed costs are not anticipated to increase
from the current level in the latter half of the year. 

Codetermination negotiations were initiated during the review period to
establish a new service production unit. The purpose of the unit is to improve
the efficiency of operations, simplify customer service and ensure high
quality. The negotiations were concluded on 20 April 2012 and as a result the
number of personnel in the Group will decrease by nine. In addition, six
permanent office employees will transfer to service production as permanent
factory employees. 

The result before taxes was EUR ‑2.3 million (‑2.0), and the result after taxes
was EUR ‑2.3 million (‑1.7). 

Martela's full interim report for January-June 2012 is included in PDF format
as an attachment to this release. The interim report is also available on the
company's website at www.martela.com. 


Martela Corporation
Board of Directors
Heikki Martela
Managing Director

ATTACHMENT: Martela's interim report January-June 2012


Additional information
Heikki Martela, Managing Director, tel. +358 50 502 4711
Markku Pirskanen, CFO, tel. +358 40 517 4606

Distribution
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
Main news media
www.martela.com

Attachments:

ReleaseQ22012.pdf