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Electrolux profits jump after massive cost cuts

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Electrolux profits jump after massive cost cuts

Swedish white goods maker Electrolux announced on Wednesday that its profits tripled in 2014, as it looks to North America for growth with the acquisition of General Electrics' appliance division.

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Electrolux's 2014 annual earnings soared to 2.24 billion kronor (US $273 million, 240 million EUR).

The company had struggled to turn a profit for 18 months before its cost-cutting programme - including about 2,000 layoffs - turned results around in the third quarter last year.

"The initiatives to restore profitability in our operations in Europe continue to show good results," chief executive Keith McLoughlin said in a statement.

With its purchase of GE Appliances, the Swedish giant is looking to get a bigger share of the US market, where it recorded an eight percent rise in demand for white goods in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Electrolux predicted it will grow faster in North America than in Europe this year.

Annual turnover increased by three percent to reach 112.1 billion kronor.

In mid-morning trading on Wednesday, Electrolux's shares jumped 9.6 percent on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

Electrolux's history is closely tied to the vacuum cleaner, but today it produces a wide range of major appliances.

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