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Sales were SEK 22,408 million, compared to the analyst average of SEK 22,466 million.
Sandvik’s order intake amounted to SEK 22,051 million, compared to an analyst average of SEK 21,594 million.
Profit before tax was SEK 3,407 million, compared to the average estimate of SEK 2,876 million.
Items affecting comparability were -1.018 million SEK, compared to the analyst average of -1.096 million SEK.
Sandvik is proposing an ordinary dividend of SEK 4.50 per share (0). Additionally, SEK 2.00 is proposed in an additional dividend. It appears in the year-end report of the engineering company.
“The total dividend takes into account the current market situation while prioritizing a strong balance sheet to support our growth ambitions,” the company writes.
The total proposal corresponds to 75 percent of the adjusted profit for 2020.
Analysts had expected an average dividend of SEK 4.07 per share, based on Infront’s compilation.
The dividend proposal for 2019 was originally SEK 4.50 per share. When the pandemic was a fact, the proposal was reduced in March 2020 to SEK 3.00. A few weeks later, the dividend proposal for 2019 was completely withdrawn.
“Strong demand”
The recovery rate Sandvik saw in early October continued throughout the fourth quarter. This is stated by CEO Stefan Widing in the year-end report.
“Demand at our long-cycle mining operations was strong and we saw an increase from the prior quarter in our short-cycle operations. Thus, organic order intake increased by 3 percent for the Group compared to the same period last year (adjusted for larger orders) ”, writes the Sandvik manager.
Despite lower revenues from COVID-19, Sandvik achieved a solid and improved adjusted margin of 20.1 percent during the quarter (19.1), emphasizes Stefan Widing, who says the improvement came with support of short-term and long-term savings initiatives.
“Good cost control”
“This confirms that we have had very good cost control and adaptability during the difficult market conditions last year,” writes the Sandvik manager.
During the quarter, the company achieved around SEK 920 million in savings and reduced unnecessary expenses for the Group compared to the previous year. However, negative currency effects had an impact on reported revenue and reported operating profit, it notes.
Order intake and revenue for the full year 2020 declined by 12 and 11 percent, respectively, after the impact of the covid-19 pandemic.
“At the same time, Sandvik has been able to maintain tough tight margins of 16.9 percent (18.6),” writes Stefan Widing.
