Alfa Laval registered a 2015 growth by 13% in sales and by 16% in operating result, earnings per share rose by 30%, and the strong cash flow contributed lowering the net debt to Ebitda to slightly more than 1,5. During the fourth quarter, the order intake was SEK 9,4 billion, due to an exceptionally strong order intake for marine pumping systems, driven by ship owner’s advanced orders.
It is going to influence negatively the first quarter, concerning pumping systems demand with about 1,2 billion, while other marine business is expected to be unchanged. Process Technology’s order intake decreased somewhat sequentially, while it was unchanged for the Equipment division, and within Marine & Diesel order intake increased for both capital sales and the aftermarket. Asia benefitted from the strong development for the pumping systems, while other order intake was unchanged, and decreased in China due to a non-recurring large food order. A positive development has been recorded in the U.S. for both large projects and the base business.