Assa Abloy announced results for the second quarter of 2024. The company's sales grew 10%, driven by strong acquired net growth of 11%, while organic sales declined 1% and the operating margin was strong at 16.0%.
Key performance metrics
- Net sales increased by 10% to SEK 37,968 M (34,474), with organic growth of –1% and acquired net growth of 11%. Exchange-rates affected sales by 0%.
- Organic sales growth was good in the Americas and the Europe, Middle East, India and Africa regions, stable in entrance systems, but declined in Asia-Pacific and global technologies.
- Eight acquisitions with combined annual sales of about SEK 1,000 M were completed in the quarter.
- Operating income increased by 11% and amounted to SEK 6,085 M (5,500), with an operating margin of 16.0%.
- Net income amounted to SEK 3,927 M (3,731).
- Earnings per share amounted to SEK 3.54 (3.36).
- Operating cash flow amounted to SEK 5,604 M (6,671).
Continued solid non-residential development in the United States contributed to good organic sales growth of 3% in the Americas division while EMEIA's organic sales grew 1%. In entrance systems, organic sales were flat, where much lower demand for loading docks in the U.S. were offset by strong growth in pedestrian. Organic sales in Asia-Pacific and global technologies declined by 5% and 7%, respectively. The decline in Asia-Pacific was mainly because of continued low construction activity in China, while high comparable sales figures last year due to the backlog catchup in physical access control remained a challenge for global technologies.
Company's response
"To deliver on our 10% annual growth target, we work with strategic activities shared across our divisions. One of these activities is to continue our acquisition journey. This has been a vital part of our strategy since the foundation, and it is further underscored by the strong growth in the first half of 2024," says Nico Delvaux, president and CEO. "After a record of 24 acquisitions in 2023, we have closed another 11 acquisitions in the first six months of 2024. Given our robust pipeline and strong financial performance, we can continue our successful acquisition strategy. We are also convinced that the combination of our well-structured M&A process, our local knowledge and clear-cut investment criteria, provide a solid base for continued synergy realization while also enabling accelerated organic growth over time."
