Fiskars Posts Rise In Q4 Profit

Fiskars Oyj FKRAF reported a rise in its profit for the fourth quarter. Fiskars posted a quarterly net profit of EUR718.1 million, versus a year-ago profit of EUR32.6 million. Its sales declined to EUR203.9 million from EUR212.6 million. Operating profit slipped 81% to EUR2.3 million from EUR11.7 million, while operating profit, excluding non-recurring items, shrank 24% to EUR 10.7 million. Fiskars President and CEO, Kari Kauniskangas said, "Despite the overall economic uncertainty, Fiskars strong financial position and positive cash flow enable us to continue the determined execution of our strategy in 2015 to lay the foundation for our future international growth. We will ramp up our business and retail network in Asia, and the integration and turnaround of the newly acquired US watering business has started. In addition, we plan to increase investments in our brands in Europe. These strategically important efforts will increase our costs and, together with the amortization related to our five-year investment program, lead us to expect that our operating profit excluding non-recurring items for 2015 will be below 2014 levels."