Mr Olof Faxander president & CEO of Sandvik said that "Overall Sandvik's business was stable in the fourth quarter with good performance especially in Sandvik Tooling but also in Sandvik Mining and Construction. In Sandvik Materials Technology, the scenario was more fragmented, with high demand in the oil and gas industry offset by weakness in several other segments. The North American market was stable during the quarter, as was much of Europe and Asia."

He added that "At fixed exchange rates invoiced sales rose 9% and amounted to SEK 25.1 billion, the highest in the Group's history. Order intake declined by 7% largely due to a significant drop in demand for major projects compared with the year earlier period. Adjusted for one off costs of SEK 1.6 billion the operating profit was SEK 3.2 billion."

Mr Faxander said that "Major organizational changes always run a certain risk of the company becoming too internally focused. I am therefore delighted to see that the process has been fast and efficient and that the new organization is now in place. The Group's financial goals have also been updated. It is also satisfying that we have received such large acceptance of our redemption offer to Seco Tools' shareholders. The board of directors has, based on Sandvik's strong market position and earnings capabilities, decided to propose an increased dividend to SEK 3.25 per share."

Financial overview

In SEK million