Electrolux Group has reported a drop in sales of 2.7 per cent for the second quarter of this year, which was “driven by lower volumes”, the company said.
Operating income amounted to SEK 1,619m, corresponding to a margin of 5.1 per cent.
Sales in Europe and Latin America increased due to price increases and mix improvements, while strong sales growth in the beverage area was the key driver for Professional Products.
In the second quarter, overall market demand in Europe increased by one per cent year-over-year, and demand in Western Europe was stable. Electrolux operations in Europe reported organic sales growth of 0.8 per cent for the quarter. This was a result of improvements in product and brand mix as well as price increases. Growth in the cordless vacuum cleaner area continued, the company reported.
Electrolux President and CEO, Jonas Samuelson, commented: “A strong focus on innovation to improve consumer experiences is our guiding compass and a key driver for profitable growth. It is therefore encouraging to see that we once again have a favourable earnings impact from improved mix by selling more high-margin products and we continue to invest in marketing to support the major launches we have this year.
“We re-confirm our market view for 2019 where we now estimate the demand in the region to be slightly positive.”
He added that the company estimates the negative year-over-year impact from raw materials, trade tariffs and currency to be approximately SEK 1.4-1.6bn in 2019 based on current trade tariff levels.
“The uncertainty on trade tariffs continues to impact our visibility,” Mr Samuelson continued.
He said that this year, the 100th year for Electrolux, will be “product launch intensive” with “significant kitchen range launches in Europe and Asia-Pacific”.
“Looking ahead, I am confident that we are well positioned to create value through our profitable growth strategy.”
