Electrolux looks to continue to tap pandemic stay-at-home-sales surge        

Jonas Samuelson, chief executive at household appliances producer Electrolux. Picture: Janerik Henriksson/AFP/Getty

Europe’s biggest home appliances maker Electrolux expects unusually strong demand to continue in the coming months after the stay-at-home trend during the pandemic boosted sales in the second half of 2020.

The Swedish group reported a bigger than expected rise in fourth-quarter profit and proposed lifting its dividend. 

Electrolux CEO Jonas Samuelson said: 

“Sales continued to benefit from consumers allocating more of their household budgets to home improvement, and we also executed well on price and mix.”

Operating profit landed at 2.5bn Swedish krona (€245m) against a year-earlier 960m and a forecast 2.34bn in Refinitiv poll of analysts. “For the first half of 2021, we anticipate that the strong consumer demand from increased home-improvement spending experienced during the second half of 2020 will remain to some extent,” the company said.

That, combined with low inventories at retailers, meant demand would be higher than in the first half of 2020, Electrolux said, adding however that capacity and component availability would likely remain constraining factors.

Mr Samuelson told Reuters that although demand may normalise in the second half of the year, group sales were likely to rise from 2020. 

“We expect growth in the full year 2021 in terms of volume, price and product mix.” 

US rival Whirlpool last week also forecast higher sales this year.

Electrolux said it expected to pass on rising metal prices to customers in 2021 — but higher costs for logistics, ongoing plant efficiency improvements and marketing would probably mean higher net costs in the year. The group’s shares, which have risen 10% in the past 12 months, were little changed on the day. 

The group, which in March spun off its unit Electrolux Professional, proposed a dividend of 8 krona per share for 2020, up from 7 krona for 2019 and in line with expectations.