"Continued improvement in Boliden's remaining operations"
· The structural transaction between Boliden and Outokumpu was
completed as planned at the end of December 2003. The transaction
involved the acquisition by Boliden of Outokumpu's zinc and copper
mining and smelting operations and the sale of the fabrication and
technology sales operations to Outokumpu. The new Boliden commenced
operations on 1st January 2004.
· Turnover for the remaining Boliden operations (Mining Operations
and Smelting Operations) totalled SEK 7,153 million (SEK 7,127 m) for
the full year 2003, and SEK 1,973 million (SEK 1,651 m) for the fourth
quarter.
· Earnings after net financial items for Boliden's remaining
operations improved to SEK 327 million (SEK 144 m) for the full year
2003, and to SEK 160 million (SEK 105 m) for the fourth quarter.
· Profit after tax for the remaining operations totalled SEK 596
million (SEK 166 m), which corresponds to an EPS of SEK 6.92 (SEK 1.94)
for the full year 2003. The profit after tax for the fourth quarter was
SEK 257 million (SEK 108 m), corresponding to an EPS of SEK 2.96 (SEK
1.26).
· Cash flow for Boliden's remaining operations was SEK 697 million
(SEK -32 m) for the full year 2003.
· The Equity Ratio increased to 30.7 (24.2) percent while the
Debt/Equity ratio improved to 147 (183) percent at the end of 2003. The
rights issue planned for the first quarter of 2004 will further improve
these key ratios.
· Turnover for the Boliden Group including divested operations
totalled SEK 9,545 million (SEK 9,556 m) for the full year and SEK 2,583
million (SEK 2,304 m) for the fourth quarter.
· Earnings after net financial items for the Boliden Group including
divested operations totalled SEK -251 million (SEK 111 m) for the full
year 2003. Earnings after net financial items for the fourth quarter
were SEK -331 million (SEK 78 m). The result for the fourth quarter was
negatively affected by a substantially lower earnings trend than
anticipated in the divested Business Area Fabrication. The previously
announced capital loss of SEK 394 million, which also includes
provisions for future guarantees relating to the operations divested,
also had a negative effect on the result. At the same time, the figure
was boosted by the positive trend in the Business Area Mining
Operations.
· Profit after tax for the Boliden Group including divested
operations amounted to SEK 13 million (SEK 132 m), while the figure for
the fourth quarter was SEK -237 million
(SEK 80 m).
· The cash flow for the Group including divested operations was SEK
611 million (SEK -14 m) for the full year 2003 and SEK 577 million
(SEK 466 m) for the fourth quarter.
Stockholm, 10th February 2004
Jan Johansson
President and CEO
Boliden AB (publ), company registration number: 556051-4142
This Interim Report has been prepared in accordance with the Swedish
Financial Accounting Standards Council's RR 22 Interim Reporting
recommendation. The accounting principles and methods of calculation
comply with the recommendations and guidelines issued by the Swedish
Financial Accounting Standards Council.
The Interim Report has not been subject to specific examination by the
company's auditors.
Contact persons for further information:
Jan Johansson, President & CEO Tel +46 8 610 16 02 [email protected] Mobile +46 70 555 02 02 Ulf Söderström, VP, Public Relations Tel +46 8 610 15 57 [email protected] Mobile +46 70 618 95 95 Jan Öhman, CFO Tel +46 8 610 15 33 [email protected] Mobile +46 70 624 19 05
Boliden's homepage: www.boliden.com