Sandvik Construction?s sales for the fourth quarter of the year were down by -7 per cent to SEK 2.17 billion ($332 million). The division recorded an operating loss of SEK 223 million ($34 million) for the three months, compared to SEK 83 million ($13 million) profits for the same period last year.

For the whole year, the company?s sales fell by -11.2 per cent to SEK 8.6 billion ($1.32 billion), compared to SEK 9.68 billion ($1.48 billion) in 2012. The division?s operating profit for the year was SEK 110 million ($17 million), compared to SEK 748 million ($114 million) in 2012, and the order intake was down -6.5 per cent to SEK 8.51 billion ($1.3 billion). The company added that the operating loss it saw in the further quarter of the year was due to under-absorption of fixed costs as well as some one-off charges. The improvement it experienced in the fourth quarter of the year was due to increased sales in Europe, North America and Asia, which accounted for 77 per cent of its revenues in the three- month period. Revenues were down in Africa, the Middle East, Australia and South America, although it saw an uptick in orders from South America.