Finland Tikkurila’s Q4 net loss widens 6.7%, sales down 4%

LONDON (ICIS)–Finland’s Tikkurila net loss in the fourth quarter 2013 worsened 6.7% year on year to -€4.8m as sales fell 4.0% to €116.7m, the company said on Monday.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) from October to December 2013 stood at -€4.2m, down from -€3.2m in the same period the year before.

Erkki Jarvinen, CEO of the Finnish manufacturer of paints and lacquers, said sales in the fourth quarter of 2013 had been weaker in all Tikkurila’s key markets, especially in Russia, on the back of a decline in construction activity, slower home sales and cautious spending by consumers.

“Economic growth in our key markets was fairly weak, estimated at less than one percent. Furthermore, weakened currencies reduced our euro-denominated revenue,” said Jarvinen.

“On the other hand, the favourable development of the sales mix and price increases implemented in certain markets had a positive impact on our revenue which in total was slightly lower than the level of the comparison period,” he added.

For the whole of 2013, Tikkurila’s net profit rose 23.1% to €50.1m, while sales stood at €653m, a decrease of 2.6% compared with 2012.

Earnings per share (EPS) in 2013 stood at €1.14, an increase of 23.1% compared to the year before.

The company expects the economic situation in Europe to improve “moderately” in 2014, although it still said overall growth would remain weak, with Tikkurila’s key markets of Russia, Sweden, Finland and Poland growing at around 2%.

The company’s CEO also said Tikkurila has the “necessary financial prerequisites” to expand through mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures after cost saving programmes have supported profitability in during the last years.