For further information:
Jonas Wiström, President/CEO +46 (0)70-608 12 20
Eero Auranne, President, ÅF Process Division +46 (0)70-320 09 53
Viktor Svensson, Director, Corporate +46 (0)70-657 20 26
Information
Roberto Gerosa, CEO Colenco +41 (0)56 483 12 12
ÅF has acquired the Swiss energy consulting company Colenco with 250
members of staff in Europe and Asia. The takeover makes ÅF one of the
largest independent consulting companies in the energy sector with a
position as a world leader in nuclear power.
Colenco is an international energy consulting concern with its
headquarters in Baden, Switzerland. The company has a 250-strong
workforce, 180 of whom have Switzerland as their base. Colenco has
offices in eleven countries and is currently engaged in projects in
more than 40 countries. The company's main areas of activity are
nuclear power, hydropower, electrical networks and conventional power
plants. The acquisition of Colenco reinforces ÅF's market position in
Europe, the Baltic region, Russia, South-East Asia and South Asia.
Colenco's sales for 2006 were equivalent to SEK 271 million, and the
company's profit margin was 7.4 percent. During the first six months
of this year sales totalled SEK 159 million with a profit margin of
10.7 percent. Current orders are worth in the region of SEK 825
million. One of company's major clients is the Swiss power company
ATEL. Colenco is a spin-off from ATEL (2001), whose history can be
traced back to 1895.
The purchase price, paid in cash, is approximately SEK 300 million
(33 million euros) for 100 percent of the shares in Colenco, plus an
additional purchase price to be based on profits over the next three
years. This can amount to a maximum of approximately SEK 100 million
(11 million euros). Colenco brings with it cash and cash equivalents
to a value of SEK 80 million and premises valued at approximately SEK
100 million. Based on an additional purchase price of approximately
SEK 50 million, intangible assets are estimated to total SEK 190
million, of which SEK 180 million is classified as goodwill.
It is anticipated that the acquired operations, to be consolidated
into ÅF and its Process Division with effect from the third quarter,
will start to have a positive effect on earnings per share for ÅF
before the end of the year, even before synergy effects are taken
into account.
The acquisition reflects ÅF's international strategy of meeting
rapidly expanding demand on the international energy market. The
market within the energy sector is strong in both Europe and Asia as
a result of the fact that major investment programmes extending over
several years have been launched in most countries.
AB Ångpanneföreningen
Corporate Information
The ÅF Group is a leader in technical consulting, with expertise
founded on more than a century of experience. We offer highly
qualified services and solutions for industrial processes,
infrastructure projects and the development of products and IT
systems. We are also one of the leading names in testing and
inspection. Today the ÅF Group has more than 3,500 employees. Our
base is in Europe, but our business and our clients are found all
over the world.
