Beijer Ref claims UK no1 spot

SWEDEN: Europe’s largest refrigeration wholesaling group Beijer Ref now claims market leadership in the UK.

Third quarter financial figures released today show a 6.4% increase in sales for the group to €211.3m (SEK1,947.4m) and an operating profit of €17.12m (SEK157.8m). This was achieved in spite of an unusually cold summer in southern Europe and a slowdown in demand due to the Ukraine crisis.

In the UK its group businesses, which include Dean & Wood and RW Refrigeration Wholesale, continue to report good results with strong sales as well as increased market share.

“In three years, Beijer Ref has progressed from third place to a position as leader in the British market,” writes Beijer Ref ceo Per Bertland in the group’s accounts.

“Beijer Ref’s business concept, where rapid service and security of delivery are decisive for end customers such as leading supermarkets, together with acquisitions, [are] important reasons for the increased market share,” he adds.

A major factor in the increased market share would have stemmed from the purchase of United Refrigeration’s UK operations in October 2011. Now renamed RW Refrigeration Wholesale, at the time of purchase the United Refrigeration UK business boasted nine branches and sales of £8.7m. That number has since been boosted to 12. Last month, RW acquired the family business Banfield Refrigeration.

This is in addition to Beijer Ref’s long-established and expanding 14-branch Dean & Wood business. 2011 saw Dean & Wood launch subsidiary business Cabinet Spares and in 2012 another Beijer acquisition added Gasco Ireland to Dean & Wood’s portfolio.

Elsewhere

Holland and Germany are also said to have developed well during the third quarter and continue to report growth and increased market share.

In Eastern Europe, Poland continues to pull the region in a positive direction whilst sales in Southern Europe were affected by a squeezed macro-economy as well as bad summer weather throughout the region. The cold and rainy summer in France, Spain and Italy affected both demand within comfort cooling, hvac and commercial refrigeration.

After the expectant start of the first six months for Beijer Ref’s Nordic market region, the trend changed during the third quarter with increased sales of 21%.

In Africa and Asia, Thailand fell slightly, whereas southern Africa reported strong growth.

During the third quarter, Beijer Ref strengthened its position as one of the three largest refrigeration wholesalers with three important acquisitions. Among other things, the Group chose to bring forward the option to acquire the remaining 49% of the shares in the Italian SCM Frigo Group, a leading manufacturer in Europe of refrigeration units based on environment-friendly technology.

In addition Beijer Ref in August acquired all the shares in Børresen Cooltech AS, a leading refrigeration wholesaler in Norway. Børresen Cooltech reports sales of just under SEK60m, has 20 employees and will be integrated into Beijer Ref’s Norwegian organisation.

In September, Beijer Ref strengthened its growing position in the German refrigeration wholesale market when it acquired the net assets in Grün Großhandel für Kälte- und Klimazubehör in Stuttgart. With this, Beijer Ref has acquired operations in Düsseldorf, Nuremberg, Munich and Leipzig since it established an operation in Germany in 2011 and now also an excellent geographic location in Stuttgart.

In addition to the aforementioned, the Group has made yet another acquisition after the end of the reporting period when it acquired all the shares in the French refrigeration wholesaler, GFOI (Générale Frigorifique Océan Indien) in October.

Related news:

Beijer Ref makes further acquisition – October 17, 2014
SWEDEN: Beijer Ref AB continues to expand, this time acquiring all shares in GFOI (Générale Frigorifique Océan Indien), a French refrigeration wholesaler on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Read more…