Financial results released this week by Finnish processing group Atria suggest it has been a mixed year so far for the company. Due to continuing weak prices, Atria's full-year domestic sales have not increased, though the group's Swedish operations appear buoyant.
Turnover has seen growth of €58.2 million since the turn of the year, up 11.3 per cent to €572.9 million (€514.7 million in 2002). A large share of this growth was generated in Sweden, because the business operations of Samfood, which was acquired last autumn, were only included in the figures for 2002 as from the September of that year. The Lithuanian company UAB Vilniaus Mesa has contributed to turnover since the beginning of September 2003.
Operating profit during the third quarter was €12.4 million, up 6.1 per cent, while operating profit since the beginning of the year has amounted to €24.0 million, representing growth of 13.6 per cent.
The trends in Atria's business functions in 2003 have generally been favourable in both of its home markets, Finland and Sweden, with the exception of the slaughterhouse industry, where the overproduction of pork and low price levels have continued to drag the company's results down. In addition, the great supply of meat has lowered the price of meat products in Finland.
Despite this, the consolidated result for the first part of the year was higher than the previous year's figure due to the improvement in the earnings of Lithells in Sweden, Liha ja Säilyke in Finland and Atria's non-slaughterhouse businesses.
In the first part of the year, operations in Sweden and the manufacture of meat products in Finland improved their results. The company claims that the weak trend in the price of pork that began in September 2002 now seems to have come to an end, swinging into slight growth.
The company hopes to improve its performance next year, and is working to strengthen its key operations. Atria certainly has plans for the future - a €20 million poultry plant expansion has just been completed, which will increase capacity and improve flexibility in the control of functions. Atria says that the investment will also allow the company to stream resources into the development of new products.
Variable production expenses are also set to decline, according to the company. Atria business Liha ja Säilyke has started up the construction of a new dispatching building in Forssa, which will be completed in autumn 2004. The present dispatching premises will be utilised to achieve greater output in the focus areas of Liha ja Säilyke. The other investments made by the Atria Group are primarily replacement investments.
Another Atria subsidiary, UAB Vilniaus Mesa, is also building a new plant. The firm, which was acquired in July, is constructing a factory that will measure about 7,500 square metres in Vilnius. When the plant is completed, the company's present capacity will be doubled.
Atria says that the structure of the business is likely to change once the country joins the EU once the company establishes itself in the market place.
Atria is also set to implement a major restructuring of the business. At the end of this year, Samfood and Atria Lithells will be merged to form a single industrial company. It remains to be seen of course whether these changes will have the desired effect on the group's performance next year.
In the meantime, the Atria Group expects this year's turnover to rise to €800 million, with the Swedish market accounting for about €350 million. The company, which employs 3,700 people at present, is the biggest meat business in Finland and the largest manufacturer of meat products in the Nordic countries and the Baltic Sea area.
