SAABF SAAB AB (PK)

By Dominic Chopping

STOCKHOLM--Saab AB (SAAB-B.SK) announced plans on Tuesday to launch a 6 billion Swedish kronor ($665 million) rights issue to bolster its ability to compete for large orders, as it swung to a third quarter net loss.

"Large orders...imply initially increased investments in production and working capital, and at the same time the rapid technology development entails continued investments in research and development," the company said.

"Saab therefore needs a strong financial position to create room for continued growth."

To support its continued growth and to allow it to successfully compete for large orders, Saab said it plans to launch the rights issue during the fourth quarter.

Investor AB (INVE-B.SK) and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, as well as other shareholders, together representing 52.3% of the share capital and 58.9% of the votes, have expressed their support for the rights issue.

Saab posted a net loss for the quarter of SEK94 million from a profit of SEK233 million, compared with analysts' expectations for a profit of SEK305 million according to a FactSet poll. Sales rose to SEK6.42 billion from SEK6.16 billion, compared with a forecast of SEK6.72 billion.

The Swedish defense company said that order bookings in the quarter totaled SEK4.52 billion from SEK3.7 billion in the same period last year, while the order backlog stood at SEK102.4 billion compared with SEK110.12 billion.

The gross margin fell to 22.4% from 25.3% with a negative operating margin of 1.0% from a positive margin of 6.0%.

Operational cash flow amounted to negative SEK5.2 billion in the third quarter from negative SEK758 million, due to timing differences of milestone payments in large projects. Saab said the main reason for the negative cash flow was the high level of capital employed within the Gripen fighter jet business and utilization of previously received advances and milestone payments.

The company still sees 2018 sales growth in line with Saab's long-term goal of 5% annual organic growth. The operating margin in 2018, excluding material non-recurring items, is expected to improve from 2017, it said.

-Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com; Twitter: @domchopping @WSJNordics

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2018 02:12 ET (06:12 GMT)

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