ONWARDS . . .

The indications of lower volumes and falling demand that we received from a number of customers towards the end of the previous quarter have largely been realised. The challenges linked to the shortage of materials and components have hampered both our own operations and those of our customers. Overall, the Group still boasts good delivery capacity, but the conditions have conclusively become more difficult. This is seen most clearly in the impact on our major automation projects, where many customers are postponing deliveries of ongoing projects and delaying the start-up of new ones. At the same time, costs are continuing to increase. We are continually adjusting our prices, although with a somewhat delayed effect. One sign of improvement since the end of the previous quarter is that staff absence related to Covid-19 has decreased.

We are definitely in a tough situation, but we have confidence in our business model. It provides the Group with the necessary tools to adapt rapidly in the event of both upturns and downturns. Our committed employees are constantly looking for new ways of making progress. We are therefore shifting up a gear in areas such as sales and innovation. In order to reinforce the impact of this work, the collaboration between our companies is also being extended.

A prolonged period of strong results has provided the Group with a solid financial position. Through recently expanded credit facilities, we have further reinforced our potential to remain aggressive when it comes to investments within marketing activities and technical development, for example. Our financial strength also provides us with good conditions to implement further strategic acquisitions.