Vocabulary:

market share gains - увеличение доли на рынке

share buyback - обратный выкуп акций: выкуп компанией своих собственных акций на открытом рынке

Обычно к обратному выкупу прибегают, если акции являются недооцененными; обратный выкуп уменьшает количество акций в обращении, увеличивает доход на акцию и повышает рыночную стоимость бумаг, оставшихся у акционеров; также обратный выкуп может являться попыткой защиты от поглощения

diluted earnings per share, diluted EPS, DEPS - разводненная прибыль на акцию

Чистая прибыль, приходящаяся на одну обыкновенную акцию, рассчитанная с учетом как находящихся в обращении обыкновенных акций, так и акций, которые могут быть выпущены при конвертации облигаций, привилегированных акций и некоторых других конвертируемых долговых обязательств

49. Electrolux Blames Fall on Paranoia

Fears of a sharp slowdown in US consumer demand haunted the white goods sec­tor yesterday after Electrolux, the world's leading maker of household appli­ances, reported a 10 per cent fall in deliveries to US retail­ers in the first two months.

The Swedish group's shares plunged more than 10 per cent after the disclosure, but recouped ground in late trading when they were 6 per cent lower at SKrl51.

Michael Treschow, chief executive, said the deliveries fall stemmed mainly from "paranoid" inventory cut­backs by US retailers. "Janu­ary was a bit below last year, February somewhat more below last year," he said.

Consumer demand in the US was also lower - but only by a couple of percentage points. "We haven't seen a freefall in consumer demand," Mr Treschow said.

Analysts said Electrolux appeared to want to send out a relatively downbeat mes­sage about its short-term prospects. But they were encouraged by its comments that deliveries in Europe had risen 5 per cent in the first two months.

North American consumer goods sales account for 38 per cent of Electrolux's sales, and European white goods sales make up 34 per cent.

Mr Treschow stuck to his group's overall view that Europe and the rest of the world would be stronger this year, with weaker sales in the US.

Meanwhile, Wolfgang König, head of Electrolux's home products division (EHP), said the company was aiming to lift the operat­ing margin in its European consumer goods businesses to 8 per cent by next year from last year's 5.1 per cent.

This would mainly be achieved by cost-cutting, supply chain improvements, and by expanding sales fas­ter than the market. EHP was aiming to cut its mar­keting and administration costs by 1-2 per cent a year, he said. Its overall goal was to achieve a double-digit rise in operating income this year, compared with SKr2.18bn ($217m) last year.

Last year Electrolux's European consumer goods sales were flat, despite a 5 per cent rise in volumes, partly because it grew faster in low-margin countries than high-margin countries. It also suffered cost over-runs as it tried to move to a pan- European based organisa­tion.

Mr König said the group would be seeking to build up its operations in Poland, Russia and Turkey, either through acquisitions or set­ting up on its own.

He said the company was considering building a fac­tory in Russia.