Business Segments

Financial development in 2014

The Wireless Business Segment“s net sales in 2014 decreased by 13.4 per cent year-on-year, to EUR 53.0 million (EUR 61.2 million, in 2013). The share of the product-based net sales was EUR 14.1 million (EUR 6.9 million in 2013), which resulted mainly from the product deliveries of the tactical communication system to the Finnish Defence Forces and from the delivery of special terminal products for the authority use to a customer abroad.

The operating profit of the Wireless Business Segment in 2014 was EUR 1.0 million, including EUR 1.1 million non-recurring income resulting from the reorganization cases of TerreStar companies, and non-recurring costs of EUR 0.6 million resulting from Wireless Business Segment“s personnel layoffs and from the acquisition costs of SafeMove (operating loss of EUR -0.5 million, in 2013, including the non-recurring cost of approximately EUR 0.8 million resulting from the cost saving measures in the Wireless Business Segment). The decrease in the net sales year-on-year and lower than expected operating result were due to the decline in the demand for R&D services for mobile telecommunications network equipment and other markets, the increased product-based net sales did not fully compensate this decline.

On April 30, 2014 EB started personnel negotiations to adjust its cost structure for the weakened order book for R&D services in the next few months. The negotiations were concluded on May 15, and the company decided to temporarily lay off at the maximum of 90 persons in the Wireless Business Segment. With these temporary dismissals EB targeted cost savings of approximately EUR 0.8 million, which would materialized mainly during the third quarter of the year.

On November 6, 2014 EB started personnel negotiations in order to rationalize its operations in Wireless Business Segment in Finland. The negotiations were concluded on December 17, 2014 and decided to lay off up to a maximum of 19 employees in its offices in Kajaani and Tampere. As an alternative a few employees were offered new positions in Oulu. This caused non-recurring costs of EUR 0.4 million that weakened the result of the last quarter of 2014. With these actions EB will achieve annual cost savings of approximately EUR 1 million, from the beginning of 2015 onwards.

The 2013 figures presented in comparison in this Annual Report include the figures of Continuing Operations only.