Svenska Cellulosa AB Earnings Call Nuggets: Personal Care Division Margins and Seasonal Effects

Svenska Cellulosa AB (SVCBY) recently reported its fourth quarter earnings and discussed the following topics in its earnings conference call.

Personal Care Division Margins

Jan Johansson – President and CEO: Well, since we are addressing international public we probably need to answer any question in English and since we are now just here to comment on the report. I will focus on the questions regarding the report.

Oskar Lindstrom – Danske Markets Equities: Hello. This is Oskar Lindstrom, Danske Bank. A couple of questions in your Personal Care division margins declined sequentially while historically the seasonal pattern has been the opposite, i.e., higher margins in Q4 versus Q3. What is the reason for this pattern or this development that we saw this year?

Jan Johansson – President and CEO: First of all, we had, as you know, Christmas, New Year that – with a lot of days without works. We had less invoicing days. I think it was 2.5% less invoicing days, but we have also increased (A&P) during Q4 compared to Q3. So those two together are the explanation.

Oskar Lindstrom – Danske Markets Equities: Should we – a follow-up on that, should we expect a smaller sequential decline than usual in Q1 then?

Jan Johansson – President and CEO: I mean I have given my comments on Q1 and you will see a seasonal impact in Q1.