Clas Ohlson releases fiscal year results

Sweden-based hardware store chain Clas Ohlson (OMX: CLAS B) reported fiscal year results for 1 May 2011 – 30 April 2012 period yesterday. Fourth quarter sales were up b y 9% to 1.27 billion SEK and Gross margin remained above 40% while after tax profit went from zero to 7 million. Full-year numbers were 6.26 billion and 400 million respectively. The company is hiking its dividend to 4.25 per share from 3.75 SEK a year ago on the heels of a strong operating cash flow. The company has been able to capture market share at retail sector and plans to grow further with recent e-commerce platform launches in Sweden and Norway highlighting those ambitions.