- Solidium’s return on equity holdings was -3.6% for the six-month review period and 6.3% for the calendar year 2015
- In October, Solidium paid EUR 266 million in profit distribution to the State of Finland
- The financial debt went down considerably, as the exchangeable bond amounting to EUR 600 million was repaid
- Solidium’s net asset value decreased by EUR 464 million during the review period due to the profit distribution and decrease in the value of equity holdings, and was EUR 6,390 million at the end of the period
- Solidium increased its shareholdings in Metso and Outotec
Kari Järvinen, Managing Director of Solidium Oy, comments the review period:
“The highlights of the six-month review period were the continued very strong performance of Elisa as well as good returns from Tieto and Sampo. These companies have been able to enhance their profitability year by year and have succeeded well also in comparison to their peer group.
The globally difficult situation in the metals and other commodities markets is impacting especially the steel companies Outokumpu and SSAB as well as Outotec, which serves mining and metal producing customers. The severe over-capacity has already for quite some time caused problems for carbon and stainless steel markets. In addition, the slowing growth rate of the Chinese economy affects the demand for steel and other metals.
Solidium’s return on equity holdings for the six-month review period was 3.6 per cent, which is below the general development of the Helsinki stock exchange. On top of the unsatisfactory development of certain companies owned by us, this largely reflects the sector distribution of our holdings.
Solidium is not a portfolio investor, but a long-term owner. In our return analysis, we focus on comparing each company to its peer group, in addition to the absolute return levels. We challenge our companies to continuous strategic development and profitability improvement. While certain companies have shown strong long-term development, not all companies have performed on the level of their peers.”
This half-year report is available at http://www.solidium.fi/en/publications-and-media/half-year-report/. This report is unaudited.
Solidium Oy
Further information: Kari Järvinen, Managing Director, tel. +358 (0)10 830 8905
Solidium is a limited company wholly owned by the State of Finland. Its mission is to strengthen and stabilise Finnish ownership in nationally important companies and increase the value of its holdings in the long term. The basis and core objective of Solidium’s strategy is proper, value-enhancing asset management of its current holdings. Through its stakes, Solidium is a minority owner in twelve listed companies: Elisa, Kemira, Metso, Outokumpu, Outotec, Sampo, SSAB, Stora Enso, Talvivaara Mining Company, TeliaSonera, Tieto and Valmet. The market value of Solidium’s equity holdings is approximately 6.1 billion euros at the date of this press release. Further information: www.solidium.fi/en
The complete half-year report can be found here.
