By Anna Molin
STOCKHOLM--Swedish investment company Investor AB (INVE-B.SK)
Thursday said it plans to take a more active ownership role in the
companies it owns as it reported a 3% fall in its closely-watched
net asset value.
Investor's new Chief Executive Johan Forssell said the company's
performance has recently been propped up by low interest rates but
that he "personally struggle to see how interest rates could go
much lower." Given this, he said the companies owned by Investor,
which includes telecommunications giant Ericsson (ERIC) and
industrial tools maker Atlas Copco AB (ATCO-A.SK), need to
accelerate profit growth to ensure attractive returns.
"To achieve this, we must further sharpen our role as an active
owner," he said.
He said Investor--the investment vehicle of Sweden's powerful
Wallenberg family--will refine its ownership processes and value
creation plans and put more effort into understanding how
disruptive technologies and external developments may affect its
companies.
Mr. Forssell, who in May took over at the helm, added that
near-term the company will focus on investments in its existing
wholly-owned subsidiaries and strengthening its ownership in listed
holdings but that over time it wants to add more wholly-owned
companies and doesn't "rule out" new listed investments.
The company's net asset value rose to SEK367 per share ($43), a
decrease of SEK21 per share over the quarter, mainly due to value
losses in its listed holdings.
The company swung to a net loss of SEK8.47 billion in the
quarter, compared with a net profit of SEK11.55 billion in the same
quarter last year.
In the second quarter, it bought SEK2.6 billion worth of
additional shares in ABB Ltd. (ABB.SK), bringing its ownership in
the Swiss automation and power technology firm to 9.5% of the
capital.
-Write to Anna Molin at anna.molin@wsj.com; Twitter:
@AnnaWSJ
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