Conference turris::scandia

Associated Press Thu 20-NOV-1986 18:21                            Earns-Volvo

                 Pre-Tax Income Falls 17.3 Percent in 3rd-Qtr
    
    NEW YORK (AP) - The Swedish-based Volvo Group reported Thursday its
    pre-tax income fell 17.3 percent in the third quarter as a decline in
    oil trading revenue more than offset gains in its automotive and food
    businesses. 
    
    The company based in Gothenburg, Sweden, attributed the oil trading
    decline to lower oil prices and the company's efforts to restructure
    its oil trading business. 
    
    Volvo said its pre-tax income fell to 1.28 billion Swedish kronor, or
    about $184.9 million at current exchange rates, in the three months
    ended Sept. 30 from 1.55 billion Swedish kronor in the same period a
    year earlier. 
    
    Sales fell 6.3 percent to 18.80 billion Swedish kronor, or about $2.71
    billion, from 20.06 billion Swedish kronor a year earlier. The dollar
    was trading at a rate of about 6.94 Swedish kronor on foreign exchange
    markets on Thursday. 
    
    In the quarter, Volvo said its car sales rose 9 percent and food sales
    jumped 64 percent, largely because of food business acquisitions since
    last year. But these gains were more than offset, the company said, by
    a 49 percent decline in its oil trading revenue. 
    
    For the first nine months of the year, Volvo said its pre-tax profit
    rose 3.7 percent to 5.93 billion Swedish kronor, or about $854.6
    million, from 5.72 billion Swedish kronor a year earlier. 
    
    Nine-month sales slipped 2.2 percent to 60.98 billion Swedish kronor,
    or about $8.79 billion, from 62.35 billion Swedish kronor a year
    earlier. 

 *NI3****                  Copyright 1986 CNA-Taiwan                  SISCOM IP
       CNA (TAIWAN) NEWS WIRE : Sweden's Volvo Auto Maker May Offer
    Individualized Work Schedules


       STOCKHOLM, April 13 (cna): Volvo, the Swedish automobile
    manufacturer, hopes to attract workers in the 1990s by offering
    "individualized work schedules" in its production plants, announced a
    Volvo spokesman monday.

       Workers at Volvo's automotive manufacturing plants may be able to
    choose their own hours of work in the future. Workers would not be
    bound to a "set schedule that applied to every employee at the plant,"
    but would make individual agreements with the plant management as to
    when they would work.

       The union representing automotive workers (metalworkers union) is
    opposed to such a plan. But volvo intends to negotiate with the union
    in order to offer "individualized work times" to employees in the
    1990s.

       "Young people are hesitant to take jobs in heavy manufacturing
    sector," explained the volvo spokesman. "One way to make the job more
    attractive is to offer the possibility of an individualized work
    schedule."

                 Received:  14-APR-1987 06:31                        

    From: [email protected]                                        
    Newsgroups: clari.biz.finance.earnings,clari.news.europe,clari.biz.economy.
    	world
    Subject: Volvo income drops
    Keywords: corporate earnings, corporate finance, automotive, manufacturing,
	non-usa economy, economy
    Date: 17 May 90 15:03:42 GMT
    Location: sweden
    ACategory: financial
    Slugword: earn-volvo
 
    	STOCKHOLM, Sweden (UPI) -- The Volvo Group's income dropped sharply
    in the first quarter of 1990 with sales of its main products, cars and
    trucks, down  4 percent, the company reported Thursday.  Volvo's
    first-quarter income plummeted 47 percent to $175 million from $333
    million in the first quarter of 1989.  Net income per share dropped to
    $1.30 from $3.70 in the year-ago quarter.
    
    	The drop was mainly due to lower sales volumes, pressure on margins
    in a number of markets, lower utilization of production capacity and
    higher product development costs, the report said.	"During the first
    quarter of the year we have experienced continuing stiffening
    competition in both the car and truck sectors in many of Volvo's key
    markets, the United States, Great Britain and Sweden in particular,"
    Volvo president Christer Zetterberg said in a statement.	
    "Unfavorable trends of exchange rates for a number of Volvo's key
    currencies also contributed to the reduction in income," Zetterberg
    said.
    
    	A total of 104,000 Volvo cars and 12,800 trucks were delivered to
    customers during the quarter, compared with 106,000 and 14,300
    respectively for the corresponding period last year.  Volvo car sales
    were $1.76 billion in the first three months of 1990, compared with
    $1.85 billion in the first quarter of 1989, a drop of 4 percent. Truck
    sales showed a similar reduction to $946 million from $990 million in
    the first quarter of 1989.
    
    	Volvo has announced plans for a cooperation agreement with French
    automaker  Renault under which 25 percent of the car operations and 45
    percent of the truck and bus operations would be transferred to the
    French company. Final agreement was expected before the end of June.

   From: [email protected] (UPI)
   Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.europe,clari.news.economy
   Subject: Official announcement of Renault-Volvo merger
   Date: Mon, 6 Sep 93 8:03:46 PDT
 
	PARIS (UPI) -- After months of negotiations begun in February 1990,
the French car manufacturer Renault and the Swedish automaker Volvo
officially announced a merger agreement Monday.
	The accord will take effect on Jan. 1, 1994, officials of both
companies said at a news conference. They also said that the merger
agreement is "the natural conclusion of a three-year intense period of
cooperation."
	The total automotive sales, surpassing 241 billion francs ($43
billion) in 1993, will make the new company the seventh largest
industrial manufacturer in Europe and the 19th largest in the world. The
new company will have a total of 204 thousands employes.
	With regard to other carmakers, the new Franco-Swedish company is the
fourth largest automobile manufacturer in Europe, behind the German
Volkswagen AG, General Motors' Opel AG and France's PSA Peugeot-Citroen,
and No. 2 in the global heavy-truck business, behind the Germany's
Mercedes-Benz.
	Louis Schweitzer, now the president of Renault SA, will become
president of a five-member managing committee of the new Franco-Swedish
company, which will be in charge of the day-to-day decisions. Pehr G.
Gyllenhammar, now president of Volvo AB, will head a 14-member quality
control committe.
	In the new company, a 65 percent share will be hold by Renault, while
Volvo will hold the remaining 35 percent share. The company headquarters
will be in Boulogne-Billancourt, in the outskirts of Paris, where
Renault has its own offices.
	The new merger agreement was prepared long ago. The two carmakers
have been cooperating since 1971, when they agreed with another French
automobile manufacturer, Peugeot SA, to build a six-cylinder engine.
	In February 1990, Renault and Volvo announced a cross-shareholding
alliance with Renault investing 13.4 billion francs ($2.3 billion) in
Volvo, and the Swedish carmaker spending 17 billion francs ($3 billion)
in the French automobile manufacturer.
	In the past year, official of both companies acknowledged that they
had prepared a common industrial plan for the next decade and that they
had teamed up in coordinating development of new car model. In the near
future, both companies will built cars with a "common frame."
	French Industry Minister Gerard Longuet said the merger agreement
will allow France "to keep the control over the new company."
	The new group structure also will facilitate Renault's privatization.
The French manufactuer is on a list of 21 state-owned companies that the
French government plans to privatize in the next few years. According to
Longuet, the new Franco-Swedish company will allow "the most extended
privatization possible."

    From: [email protected] (JERRY KRONENBERG)
    Newsgroups: clari.news.europe,clari.biz.finance,clari.biz.top
    Subject: Volvo withdraws Renault merger offer, board chairman resigns in
	protest
    Date: Thu, 2 Dec 93 16:23:09 PST
 
      United Press International

	Swedish carmaker AB Volvo's board of directors voted Thursday to
withdraw an offer to merge the company's automotive units with French
conglomerate Renault's car and truck operations.
	The decision prompted Volvo's chairman and four other board members
to resign in protest.
	On Wall Street, Volvo's stock, traded as American Depository
Receipts, rose $2.875 to $55.375 a share on the Nasdaq, where officials
suspended trading on the issue most of the day ahead of the company's
announcement. Renault stock does not trade in the United States.
	Volvo disclosed its decision after both the Swedish and French stock
markets had already closed for the day.
	Volvo spokesman Tomas Ericson said the board decided to withdraw the
offer after a large number of stockholders indicated they would oppose
the deal, while Volvo unions and management also raised questions about
the merger.
	"The major concern from the engineering and some of other unions was
that they feared cooperation between the two companies was not working
as well as hoped," Ericson said. "On the management side, the concern
was that if you don't have all the employees with you, it's going to be
hard to force (a merger) through."
	Volvo's board quickly canceled a shareholders' meeting the company
had planned to hold next week to assess the merger.
	Volvo and Renault first announced plans Sept. 7 to merge their
automotive operations through the stock-swap deal.
	Under the proposed merger, Volvo would have owned 35 percent of a new
company called Renault-Volvo RVA, while the French government -- which
currently owns Renault -- would have held the remaining 65 percent.
	Paris would have then privatized its 65-percent stake next year.
	In France, a Renault spokesman said his company "deplores that this
merger has not been ratified, as it has been signed by AB Volvo and
approved on two occasions by Volvo's board of directors. We think a
merger was justified economically, industrially and financially."
	The spokesman said Renault planned to review the matter before
deciding its next move.
	Volvo and Renault have worked together for some two decades, starting
with joint engine manufacturing and expanding to a broad alliance in
1990.
	Under a 1990 cross-ownership deal, Volvo holds a 20-percent stake in
Renault and 45 percent of Renault truck unit RVI.
	Renault likewise owns 25 percent of Volvo's car business, 45 percent
of its truck operation and 10 percent of parent AB Volvo.

    Newsgroups: soc.culture.nordic
    From: [email protected] (Mats Winberg)
    Subject: Re: Volvo vs. Renault
    Sender: [email protected]
    Organization: Ericsson Telecom, Stockholm, Sweden
    Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1993 09:56:17 GMT
 
 
  The sell-out of Volvo to Renault has been stopped. The chairman of
  Volvo PG Gyllenhammar has resigned. The board took the decision
  to cancel both the extra shareholder's meeting and the deal
  when they realized they couldn't get a majority of the votes. The
  internal criticism against the deal played also a major part. 
  The blue-collar union took a positive stand to the deal whereas
  the engineers and the middle management was heavily against the deal.
 
  The main objection against was the fact that Renault is state-owned
  and that France would limit Volvo's share in the new company to 20-35%
  Fears arose that France would let political motives get priority over
  business when it came to decisions where to make investments for
  example. PG Gyllenhammar has a long time tried to "diversify" Volvo,
  to get away from its core business, transportation. In the end, both
  the shareholders and the company revolted against him and he had to
  go.
 
  The Volvo-Renault deal has raised a lot of issues here. One example
  is the lack of active owners of some of our major companies, that is
  "real" capitalists that take an active part on the boards instead
  of the fund bureaucrats that now inhabit the
  board-rooms.   
 
    
    Mats Winberg
    Sthlm, Sweden
 

  From: [email protected] (Reuter/Simon Haydon)
  Newsgroups: clari.world.europe.western,clari.biz.top
  Subject: Back to Basics for Volvo, New Chief Says
  Date: Wed, 6 Apr 94 2:40:15 PDT
 
	 STOCKHOLM (Reuter) - Swedish industrial group Volvo AB,
stung by a failed marriage with French carmaker Renault, said
Wednesday it would in future concentrate more on its car and
trucks divisions.
	 Chief Executive Soren Gyll, who ousted Pehr Gyllenhammer
four months ago as the Renault link-up went sour, said in the
company's annual report that Volvo faced a series of strategic
choices.
	 "A series of strategic decisions must be taken to
strengthen the concern's industrial and financial strength.
	 "The resources Volvo disposes of must be guided towards the
company's core activities. The truck and car division must get
full attention," said Gyll.
	 Volvo made a net loss of $346 million in 1993, largely due
to huge costs involved in dissolving the ambitious
cross-ownership scheme with Renault.
	 The loss occurred despite a 34 percent increase in sales.
	 Volvo said Tuesday that U.S. car sales rocketed 40.2 percent
in March 1994 compared to the year-ago figure.
	 Gyll said Volvo had to bear in mind that market conditions
for its car and truck sales remained difficult.
	 "The sector has major overcapacity and is also,
commercially, one of the most competitive in the industrialized
world," he added.
	 Gyll gave no specific indication that Volvo was considering
quitting other activities, such as its 28 percent stake in drugs
firm Pharmacia AB and its majority stake in listed firm Branded
Consumer Products AB.
	 However he said Volvo would take a long time to recover from
a disastrous year in 1993.
	 "1993 was a dramatic year with a course of events which
will leave a mark on Volvo's development and direction for a
long time to come," he said.
	 Gyll gave no financial predictions for 1994, although some
analysts say ending the Renault tie-up has left Volvo
well-placed to attack the U.S. private car market with gusto and
opened the possibility of a quick return to profit.
	 Analysts have also been impressed by the bloodless coup that
removed Gyllenhammer after the flamboyant chairman spent 13
years at the helm of Volvo. Gyll's calm, understated approach to
business is seen as reassuring Volvo shareholders.

    From: [email protected] (Reuters)
    Newsgroups: clari.world.europe.northern,clari.biz.industry.automotive
    Subject: Volvo to Launch New Version of 960 in United States
    Date: Tue, 10 May 94 15:00:36 PDT
 
	 STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Reuter) - Swedish automaker AB Volvo said
Tuesday that it would launch a new version of its large 960
series of cars in California in June.
	 Bent Nissen, spokesman at Volvo Car Corp.'s marketing agent,
said the 960's body had been re-modeled to give it rounder
lines.
	 Volvo was confirming a report Sunday in the Swedish daily
Svenska Dagbladet that Volvo would launch a new version of the
960 in California this summer to emphasize the importance of the
U.S. market.
	 The new model would come in both a sedan and station wagon
version and would be equipped with more engine varieties.
	 Analysts have said that Volvo needs to differentiate its
three car model series and that it must keep its position in the
American market, especially after BMW's U.S. car sales overtook
Volvo's for the first time in the second half of 1993.

            STOCKHOLM (Reuter) - AB Volvo announced impressive profits
    of $1.2 billion for the first six months of 1994 Tuesday that
    showed the Swedish car maker is accelerating away from its
    troublesome flirtation with France's Renault.
             Volvo announced the 9.01 billion crown profit on the day
    that the French government said it would not risk the complete
    privatization of Renault and would retain a majority stake.
             Since tearing up a merger agreement in December, Volvo has
    taken radical measures to reshape itself, dumping non-transport
    subsidiaries to concentrate on cars, trucks and airplane
    engines.
             That policy started paying dividends Tuesday when it
    announced a healthy profit bolstered by a 4.1 billion crown
    ($500 million) one-time gain from its fire sales of unwanted
    equity.
             Analysts had predicted Volvo's strong first-half
    performance, and the stock price slipped three crowns to close
    at 147 crowns.
             ``It was a really good figure. Now we will have to wait and
    see how Wall Street reacted,'' one Stockholm stockbroker said,
    adding some Swedish brokers were becoming blase about strong
    first-half reports.
             Volvo said a combination of higher sales, internal
    rationalization and a weaker Swedish crown all contributed to
    the profit, which compared with a small 380 million crown ($50
    million) profit in the year-ago period.
             Chief Executive Soren Gyll said market share for Volvo's
    cars and trucks had increased in North America and the Nordic
    region and Volvo Trucks had achieved 15 percent market share in
    Europe -- its highest to date.
             Gyll, who replaced long-time Volvo boss Pehr Gyllenhammar
    after the Renault deal failed late last year, said 350,000 cars
    a year were being produced at the close of the six-month period.
             It ``will have the manpower capacity to turn out 380,000
    cars in its present plans at the end of 1994. This figure can be
    increased to 420,000 cars in 1995 if required,'' he said.
             Gyll said Volvo was recruiting technical staff for product
    development. He gave no forecast for a full-year result, but
    said, ``we have reason to look to the future with confidence.''
             While Volvo has pursued a single-minded policy of bringing
    its automotive divisions on track, French Prime Minister Edouard
    Balladur said Renault had to seek pacts with other carmakers to
    survive.
             He gave no precise timing for a Renault stock offering to
    the public but said it would follow a valuation of the firm and
    talks with Volvo, which still owns 20 percent of Renault after
    the merger fell through.
             Renault has a 45 percent stake in Volvo's truck operation
    and a small equity stake in the main Volvo AB parent.
             Balladur said, ``We will start negotiations with Volvo so
    that Volvo ... sells its stake or part of its stake and we will
    make sure that Renault ... becomes French once more by offering
    part of Renault's capital to the French public and Renault's
    employees, with the state remaining, at least for the present,
    the majority shareholder.'' 

             STOCKHOLM, Nov 15 (Reuter) - Car and truck maker AB Volvo on
    Tuesday reported a huge leap in its nine-month pre-tax profit to
    $1.7 billion, the biggest profit ever for a Swedish company,
    analysts said.
             Volvo, one of Sweden's best-known brand names, said its
    profit surged to 12.7 billion crowns ($1.7 billion), above
    analysts' average expectations of 12.0 billion ($1.6 billion)
    and a sharp improvement from the 1.1 billion ($151 million) made
    in the same year-ago period.
             ``This is the biggest profit ever for a Swedish company,''
    said analyst Jorgen Avall at Swedish brokerage Carnegie.
             Profits at the diversified automotive group were boosted by
    larger market share and increased muscle from its trucks unit.
             Volvo Truck Group's operating profit of 2.7 billion ($370
    million) represented a near 15-fold increase on the 183 million
    ($25 million) it made in the first nine months of 1993.
             Trucks contributed the largest share -- 2.70 billion crowns
    -- while Volvo Cars' share was 1.95 billion ($267 million).
             The Fortos group, which contains the BCP consumer products
    and Alfred Berg brokerage holdings and runs Volvo's asset
    divestments, accounted for 1.72 billion ($236 million).
             The sharp increase was largely due to higher volumes of
    sales in all markets, resulting in very high capacity
    utilisation. Cost rationalistation programmes and the positive
    effects of the floating crown also helped.
             ``The substantial increase was due to growth on the world
    market and to the very strong demand for new FH series trucks,''
    Chief Executive Soren Gyll said in Volvo's earnings statement.
             Volvo Truck's share of the European market for heavy trucks
    rose to 15.5 percent from 12 percent and it expects world market
    share for heavy trucks to increase by 15 percent this year.
             ``The improvement in earnings in our core operations, while
    indeed gratifying, is not yet adequate,'' Gyll said.
             He called Volvo Truck's operating margin of slightly more
    than 7.0 percent ``adequate for continuing expansion'' but saw a
    need for higher profit margins in car-making and noted that
    currency hedging effects were still slowing profit in the unit.
             Car sales rose by 18 percent, to total 269,000 cars, in the
    period and operating profit jumped from 10 million crowns ($1.2
    million) to almost two billion crowns.
             Car sales were lower in the third-quarter due to seasonal
    variations.
             Gyll said: ``Volvo Car's operating margin of just under 4.0
    percent imposes greater demands on its earnings capacity. Car
    operations are currently being affected by increased costs in
    connection with the changeover in production.''
             Volvo's share traded slightly lower on the Stockholm bourse,
    down 0.5 crown at 137.5 crowns at 1130 GMT on slight
    disappointment at the car unit's margins. ``Volvo's result is
    better than expected, but at the same time cars are not showing
    particularly good figures,'' a share analyst said.
             Volvo's profit spurt has accelerated since it tore up a
    merger agreement with French state-owned carmaker Renault in
    December.
             In the nine-month period, Volvo divested an 8.0 percent
    block of its stake of just under 20 percent of shares in Renault
    in connection with the privatistion of the company and
    repurchased a holding in Volvo Truck Corp from Renault.
             Volvo made a net 4.17 billion crown profit ($571 million)
    from securities sales as part of its divestment of non-transport
    assets, cutting its net debt to 700 million ($96 million) from
    14.5 billion ($2.0 billion).
             Since the merger failure, Volvo has embarked on a radical
    plan to reshape itself, dumping non-transport subsidiaries to
    concentrate on cars, trucks and plane engines.