Unitor Reports First Quarter 2001 Results.Business Editors OSLO, Norway--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2001 - Group sales NOK 630 million (US$70.8 million) - Operating margin stable at 7.8% - Pre-tax profit of NOK 26 million (US$2.9 million) - Continued focus on operational efficiency - Jarle Roth appointed President and CEO of Unitor ASA as of March 1, 2001 The Unitor Group today reported a profit of NOK NOK In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Norwegian Krone. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 18 million (US$2.0 million), or NOK 0.90 per share (US$0.10 per ADR ADR - Astra Digital Radio ), compared with a loss of NOK 5 million (US$600,000), or NOK 0.26 per share (US$0.03 per ADR) in the first quarter of 2000. Unitor Group sales Group sales Block sale (of large amounts) of securities to institutional investors. group sales The distribution of a new security issue to institutional clients. in the first quarter were NOK 630 million (US$70.8 million). Compared to the same period last year, this is an increase of 9.8% and confirms a positive trend. Adjusted for currency effects, sales were up 4.6% from the same quarter last year. Adjusted for accumulated ac·cu·mu·late v. ac·cu·mu·lat·ed, ac·cu·mu·lat·ing, ac·cu·mu·lates v.tr. To gather or pile up; amass. See Synonyms at gather. v.intr. To mount up; increase. cylinder effects in the fourth quarter 2000 of NOK 23 million, sales were at the same level as the previous quarter. Effective January 1, 2001 Unitor changed its reporting focus from product groups to divisions, including product groups within the divisions. The reported divisions are Unitor Ships Service and Unitor Ships Equipment. Unitor Ships Service division sales totaled NOK 511 million (US$57.4 million), while Unitor Ships Equipment division sales totaled NOK 119 million (US$13.4 million). The Unitor Ships Equipment order backlog is at a record high and is expected to result in higher revenues over the coming period. The operating result for the first quarter was NOK 49 million (US$5.5 million). Operating costs operating costs npl → gastos mpl operacionales totaled NOK 232 million (US$26.1 million). This is slightly less than the same period last year and is in line with expectations. The focus on reducing operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. continues, together with realizing the effects of the restructuring restructuring - The transformation from one representation form to another at the same relative abstraction level, while preserving the subject system's external behaviour (functionality and semantics). process started in 1999. Net financial items are down by NOK 4 million (US$449,000) from the fourth quarter of 2000, to NOK 23 million (US$2.6 million). Financial costs this period include Unitor's share of the year 2000 net loss in the joint venture with BP Marine, the Marine Alliance. Unitor's share was NOK 8.4 million (US$944,000) due to startup expenses, which exceeded the anticipated figure of NOK 3 million (US$337,000). Consequently, NOK 5.4 million (US$607,000) is booked as financial cost this period. Profit before taxes in the first quarter was NOK 26 million (US$2.9 million). This is an improvement of NOK 31 million (US$3.5 million) over the same period last year. This figure is also slightly up from the fourth quarter of 2000. This is considered a positive trend when adjusted for the financial cost booked as a consequence of inadequate provision made for losses in the Marine Alliance. Capital The Unitor Group ha a negative cash flow from operations Cash flow from operations A firm's net cash inflow resulting directly from its regular operations (disregarding extraordinary items such as the sale of fixed assets or transaction costs associated with issuing securities), calculated as the sum of net income plus noncash expenses of NOK 8 million (US$899,000). Unitor has given this situation high priority and see signs that the cash flow situation is improving. Net investments, which totaled NOK 17 million (US$1.9 million), are mainly related to investments in IT. Net interest bearing debt was NOK 791 million (US$88.9 million), which is an increase of NOK 35 million (US$3.9 million) from year-end. The effect of the stronger US dollar is NOK 23 million (US$2.6 million) of this increase. As of March 31, 2001, total equity was NOK 858 (US$96.4 million). Equity per share was NOK 43.9 (US$4.93 per ADR). Business Performance Unitor Ships Service Sales volume was up 5% over the same period last year, confirming Unitor's position as the leading ships service provider to the marine industry. Supporting this growth was a 10% increase in chemical product sales and a significant increase in sales of new refrigerant re·frig·er·ant adj. 1. Cooling or freezing; refrigerating. 2. Reducing fever. n. 1. A substance, such as air, ammonia, water, or carbon dioxide, used to provide cooling either as the working substance of blends. Unitor Safety Service grew by 6% compared with the same period last year. Pressure on prices continued due to shipowners' focus on ways to reduce operating costs. The competitive situation remains challenging, although Unitor is confident of its ability to compete effectively. Bergesen d.y. awarded Unitor a multi-year contract as the main ship's service supplier to their fleet. Unitor's e-commerce and environmental capabilities were major factors in winning this business. In addition to existing business, Stolt-Hielsen awarded Unitor a further contract to supply marine gases, welding welding, process for joining separate pieces of metal in a continuous metallic bond. Cold-pressure welding is accomplished by the application of high pressure at room temperature; forge welding (forging) is done by means of hammering, with the addition of heat. , chemicals and bearings to their fleet of chemical product tankers. Three further Customer Service Centers were implemented, making a total of six worldwide. The customer service network is operated by the Marine Alliance, an independent company owned 50/50 by Unitor and BP Marine. Unitor's e-commerce enabler, e4marine was first in the market with a solution for onboard Refers to a chip or other hardware component that is directly attached to the printed circuit board (motherboard). Contrast with offboard. See inboard. e-procurement. Silja Line Silja Line (Tallink Silja Oy) is a Finnish shipping company owned as of 2006 by the Estonian ferry operator Tallink. Silja Line was previously owned by the shipping company Sea Containers LLC. Silja operates multiple ferry lines on the Baltic Sea. , the Finnish ferry operator, was the pilot customer. Orders are placed electronically and go directly into Unitor's new IT system, PortLink. E-procurement offers a fast and efficient way to realize cost reductions. The combination of e4marine and Unitor's PortLink system reduces transaction costs Transaction Costs Costs incurred when buying or selling securities. These include brokers' commissions and spreads (the difference between the price the dealer paid for a security and the price they can sell it). significantly and eliminates many steps in the order cycle. This benefits both customers and Unitor. Unitor Ships Equipment Shipbuilding remains strong in the first quarter, and there was a significant increase in the number of requests for quotations for Unitor's ships equipment. Order intake has stabilized sta·bi·lize v. sta·bi·lized, sta·bi·liz·ing, sta·bi·liz·es v.tr. 1. To make stable or steadfast. 2. and is expected to remain at current levels for the next three to six months. Unitor Ships Equipment's order backlog grew from NOK 476 million (US$53.5 million) at the beginning of the year to NOK 584 million (US$65.6 million) at the end of March. Major Unitor Ships Equipment contracts include a NOK 4.5 million (US$506,000) order for advanced deck foam and HotFoam systems for six new vessels under construction at Samsung Shipyard in Korea and a NOK 14 million (US$1.6 million) order for fire protection systems for four gas carrier vessels building at Izar iz·ar n. A long cotton outer garment, usually white, traditionally worn by Muslim women. [Arabic 'iz Shipyard in Spain. Marine Contracting became a wholly-owned subsidiary company from January 1 and was re-named TI Marine Contracting AS. Supplying thermal insulation The term thermal insulation can refer to materials used to reduce the rate of heat transfer, or the methods and processes used to reduce heat transfer. Heat is transferred from one material to another by conduction, convection and/or radiation. systems to LNG LNG (liquefied natural gas): see under natural gas. and LPG LPG: see liquefied petroleum gas. 1. LPG - Linguaggio Procedure Grafiche (Italian for "Graphical Procedures Language"). dott. Gabriele Selmi. Roughly a cross between Fortran and APL, with graphical-oriented extensions and several peculiarities. gas carrier vessels, TI Marine Contracting has a market share of approximately 25%. Korean as well as European yards have recently signed contracts for a significant number of gas carriers, and TI Marine Contracting AS is in a good position to obtain several new contracts for insulation projects in the coming months. Recent contracts include an order worth approximately US$5 million from Hyundai Heavy Industries in Korea for a thermal insulation system for the third in their series of Nigerian gas carriers. Another contract from Hyundai Heavy Industries was a US$650,000 deal for a foam insulation system for a liquefied petroleum gas liquefied petroleum gas or LPG, mixture of gases, chiefly propane and butane, produced commercially from petroleum and stored under pressure to keep it in a liquid state. carrier building at Ulsan Shipyard. Unitor, the world's leading marine service company, is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange Oslo Stock Exchange An exchange founded in 1819 and trading stocks, bonds, and stock options that is considered the options market of Norway. and its ADRs trade over-the-counter in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Each Unitor ADR is the equivalent of one Norwegian share. NOK = Norwegian kroner Currency exchange rate: U.S. $1.00 = NOK 8.8991 /Contact: Ole Martin Roine (011-47-22-13-14-15) or Claudia Gatlin (212-830-9080)
UNITOR GROUP
Three months Three months
ended ended
March 31, 2001 March 31, 2000 % Change
USSm NOKm USSm NOKm USSm
Operating revenues 70.8 630.0 64.5 574.0 10%
Cost of goods 36.5 325.0 34.0 303.0 7%
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Gross profit 34.3 305.0 30.4 271.0 13%
Depreciation 2.7 24.0 2.7 24.0 0%
Other operating expenses 26.1 232.0 26.4 235.0 -1%
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Ordinary operating profit 5.5 49.0 1.3 12.0 308%
Net interest and other
financial expenses
(income) 2.6 23.0 1.9 17.0 35%
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Income before taxes 2.9 26.0 -0.6 -5.0 -620%
Income taxes 0.9 8.0 0.0 0.0 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Net profit 2.0 18.0 -0.6 -5.0 -460%
======================================================================
Earnings per share 0.90 -0.26
Earnings per ADR 0.10 -0.03
Weighted average number of
shares outstanding
(millions) 19.5 19.5 19.5 19.5
Currency translation rate: $1.00 = NOK 8.8991
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