For the second quarter Ahlstrom reported net sales €265 million ($354 million) and operating profit of €6.4 million ($8.57 million).
The operating environment remained unchanged during the second quarter as the overall demand in Ahlstrom’s main markets continued to be soft with regional variations. Geographically, demand in Europe remained weak, particularly in the southern part of the continent. The North American market showed some positive signs, while growth was fastest in Asia.

In the Advanced Filtration business area, the markets for gas turbine, laboratory and life science filtration, and water applications continued to strengthen, particularly in North America and Asia.

In the Building and Energy business area, demand for wind energy applications weakened. Demand for flooring materials in Europe, and Russia in particular, stayed at a healthy level during the review period. Demand for wallpaper and wallcovering materials in Europe and China remained stable.

In the Food and Medical business area, the markets for tape, food packaging and beverage materials (e.g. teabags) strengthened in North America, while remaining soft in Europe and Asia during the review period. Demand for medical materials weakened.

In the Transportation Filtration business area, the market for transportation filtration materials was volatile during the second quarter, especially for heavy duty vehicles in North America. Demand for transportation filtration materials in Europe was stable despite the sluggish macroeconomic development in the region. Demand in Asia continued to grow.

“Our sales and operating profit excluding non-recurring items improved slightly from the comparison period, but our performance did not yet meet the targets we have set, despite the significant efforts we have taken to restructure our product portfolio and renew our way of working,” said Jan Lang, president and CEO, Ahlstrom. “To enhance our competitiveness, we have announced a rightsizing program, which aims at reducing our annual cost base by €35 million in the next 18 months. We need to adjust our cost base to reflect the size and scope of our business now that the Label and Processing demerger in Europe has been completed. This will unfortunately impact the employment of about 350 people globally.

“Advanced Filtration continued to perform well in the second quarter. The integration of Munktell, which we acquired last October, is also progressing well,” says Lang. “Transportation Filtration performed steadily, but there was surprising volatility in North American demand despite the continued recovery of the U.S. economy. The organizational adjustments to deliver more efficient execution and improve performance in Food and Medical have also been completed.