Assa Abloy: shares slide as organic growth slows
(CercleFinance.com) - Assa Abloy shares retreated sharply on Thursday after signs of slowing organic growth at the Swedish lock maker.
In the fourth quarter, total sales grew by 8%, although organic growth was just 1%, the Swedish company said in a statement this morning.
This is less than the organic growth of 3% over full-year 2019, and is down from 6% in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Operating income increased by 8% to 4.04 billion Swedish kronor, the group added, the first time that it has exceeded the 4 billion mark in a single quarter.
The group added that its operating margin was unchanged at 16.2%.
Looking into 2020, Assa Abloy said acquisitions will be a "main growth driver" this year, also meaning that its operating margin will be diluted, even if margins will improve gradually over time, the company said.
The comments seemed to spook investors, with the shares down 4.5% in morning trading on the Nasdaq Nordic market.
Copyright (c) 2020 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
In the fourth quarter, total sales grew by 8%, although organic growth was just 1%, the Swedish company said in a statement this morning.
This is less than the organic growth of 3% over full-year 2019, and is down from 6% in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Operating income increased by 8% to 4.04 billion Swedish kronor, the group added, the first time that it has exceeded the 4 billion mark in a single quarter.
The group added that its operating margin was unchanged at 16.2%.
Looking into 2020, Assa Abloy said acquisitions will be a "main growth driver" this year, also meaning that its operating margin will be diluted, even if margins will improve gradually over time, the company said.
The comments seemed to spook investors, with the shares down 4.5% in morning trading on the Nasdaq Nordic market.
Copyright (c) 2020 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.