Trelleborg earnings up as Mitas integrates

Trelleborg, Sweden – As Trelleborg completed the integration of its latest acquisitions in the third quarter, sales and earnings rose in the three months to end of September, according to an interim report by the Swedish rubber company.

Net sales increased to SEK 7,072 million (€728 million) from SEK 5,975 the previous year, despite registering a 5% decline in organic sales due to downturn in the oil & gas segment.

The drop in the oil & gas sector was offset by structural changes, which made a positive contribution of 24%, mostly as a result of the acquisition of the Mitas parent group, CGS earlier in May.

Earnings (EBIT) rose by 15% to SEK 915 million, which Trelleborg said was the group’s highest result to date for a quarter.

The third quarter saw Trelleborg’s new structure emerge, as previously signalled by CEO Peter Nillson.

“We have divested Vibracoustic and CGS is included for the first time for a full quarter. We have advanced our positions and have a good structure for the future,” said Nillson commenting on the Q3 results.

The “favourable results”, according to Nillson, were a result of focussing on market positioning and cost control.

“Offshore oil & gas was the main factor underlying the fall-off in organic sales, at the same time as a more positive trend was noted for our aerospace and automotive-related operations,” he added.

Trelleborg said it was working on further integrating CGS and other acquired businesses “in a long-term and sustainable” manner.

“We are particularly pleased with the acquisition of Schwab in industrial antivibration and the fact that we successfully completed a number of exciting bolt-on acquisitions in Trelleborg Sealing Solutions,” Nillson added.

According to the Trelleborg boss, trends remain low in several segments, mainly offshore oil & gas and heavy general industry and agriculture.

However, the group’s growth is driven by segments such as automotive and aerospace industries.

Trelleborg also expects the agricultural equipment markets, to start plateauing at a low level this year.