Northern Europe takes first step for a fully integrated European energy market

A strong regional integration of the energy markets in Northern Europe is the first step towards a fully integrated European market. This should urgently be speeded up by delivering the necessary investment in energy infrastructure and power generation. This was the main message from the north European energy industry on the North European Energy Dialogue Business Meeting in Brussels today.

With this starting point a strong  group of representatives from the northern European energy industry shipped a clear message to the North European Ministers before their North European Energy Dialogue in Copenhagen Wednesday 21st of November. The discussion about creating a strong regional integration of energy markets in Northern Europe is the first important step in making a fully integrated European energy market.

- The European energy industry is facing major challenges the coming years due to replacement of a vast number of aging power stations and massive investments in grids. We have to create an integrated European market, but to do so we have to facilitate the right conditions for investing in generation capacity and energy infrastructure. And we have to act now. Energy systems whether infrastructure or generation take years to build and are in operation for decades. 2020 is just around the corner and reducing the regulatory risk is crucial to secure the needed investments, says Lars Aagaard, CEO of Danish Energy Association.

He emphasizes that it is a huge challenge to integrate all the markets in Europe simultaneously, but points out that the Northern European countries in this respect have a strong foundation to build on to pave the way for the rest of Europe.

- Despite the economic crisis, investments in modernising our energy system are needed. Therefore the energy industry warmly welcomes the NEED-initiatives taken by Martin Lidegaard, Minister for Climate,  Energy and Building. But there is an urgent need to focus on common solutions and avoid inward looking national policies. We need an internal energy market without price regulation, with a true market coupling and open and equal access to all transmission grids with no capacity restriction.  Clarity about the future investment in power generation through an agreement on a long-term policy framework will be an important starting point to maintain a high security of supply and affordable energy prices. Furthermore, this will send the necessary long-term price signal to investors , says Mr. Aagaard.

Source: The Danish Energy Association

Record-high electricity generation from Vattenfall

Despite a challenging year for the energy sector Vattenfall presents a stable 2012 full year underlying operating profit for comparable units. Vattenfall will continue to streamline its operations, strengthen its financial position while maintaining its focus on sustainability.

Figures for year 2012 were:

• Net sales for 2012 decreased by 7.6% to SEK 167,313 million (181,040). For comparable units sales increased by 2%.
• The underlying operating profit decreased by 9.9% to SEK 27,747 million (30,793). The underlying operating profit for comparable units decreased by 1.6%.
• Reported operating profit rose 12.8% to SEK 26,175 million (23,209). Profit for 2011 was affected by net charges of SEK -7.6 billion. Profit for 2012 was affected by capital gains, impairment losses and other items affecting comparability amounting to SEK -1.6 billion, net.
• Profit for the year (after tax) rose 65.4% to SEK 17,224 million (10,416), of which the reduced corporate income tax rate in Sweden contributed SEK 3.5 billion.
• Electricity generation increased by 7.3% in 2012, to 178.9 TWh (166.7). 2012 was record year for Vattenfall’s electricity generation.
• The Board proposes a dividend of SEK 6,774 million, corresponding to 40% of profit for the year after tax. The dividend for 2011 was SEK 4,433 million.

Source: Vattenfall press release

Ericsson and SAP presentation on Mobile World Congress, Barcelona

ERICSSON AND SAP ANNOUNCE NEW COMBINATION OF CLOUD-BASED MACHINE-TO-MACHINE SOLUTIONS TO ENHANCE ENTERPRISE EFFICIENCY


BARCELONA, Spain - In an effort to meet the growing demand for machine-to-machine technology, Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and SAP AG (NYSE:SAP) have signed an agreement to jointly market and sell cloud-based, machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions and services to enterprises via operators around the globe.  The solutions will be based on a combined software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering from Ericsson and SAP within M2M.

The combined power of Ericsson's services, solutions, technology and network operator infrastructure, which are powered by Ericsson Device Connection Platform & Service Enablement Platform, and enterprise business solutions from SAP powered by the SAP HANA® platform will allow businesses to find better and more innovative ways to respond to customer needs even more quickly than they could before.  The announcement was made at Mobile World Congress, held February 25 - 28, 2013 in Barcelona, Spain.

Enterprises have faced barriers toward the adoption of M2M solutions, such as lack of complete multi-industry end-to-end offerings and deficiency of suitable global coverage connectivity solutions that are needed by multinational enterprises. Ericsson and SAP are teaming up to deliver a connected cloud-based offering to operators that will remove those barriers, while at the same time adding the benefits of minimal up-front investment and faster time-to-market. These new solutions and services will also help enhance enterprise efficiency in key business processes such as maintenance, remote service, inventory, logistics and road transport management, vending and customer experience management.

The joint M2M infrastructure and industry specific solutions will be provided by operators as a service to enterprises, and Ericsson and SAP are already discussing the model with operators.

Per Simonsen, CEO, Telenor Connexion, said: "At Telenor Connexion we see that M2M is becoming an increasingly strategic and integral part of our customers' operations and products. This joint collaboration between SAP and Ericsson is key in facilitating customers' implementation of M2M, increasing the value proposition and enhancing the customer experience. In addition, this will provide great opportunities to reach new customers in different industries and markets."

Lynda Burton, Director of Wholesale at Three UK, said: "We are seeing a growing demand for turnkey M2M solutions. This partnership, combined with Three's market leadership and experience in mobile data, delivers a powerful solution to enterprise customers."

SAP is well positioned to offer enterprises market leading mobile, cloud computing and big data analytics, as well asin-depth experience in combining those technologies to create unique and powerful solutions across 24 industries.

Jim Hagemann Snabe, Co-CEO of SAP AG, said: "Today's announcement is a first step toward delivering on a shared vision that SAP and Ericsson have for co-innovating with our customers worldwide to help them deliver on the promise of M2M. Together, we will break down the barriers that prevent customer adoption of M2M solutions by delivering a simple, affordable and fast-to-implement solution.  Enterprises will benefit from an offering that provides them with everything they need to connect to machines, and helps turn high volumes of data into real-time knowledge and decision-making.

In addition to solutions and technology, Ericsson will lend its consulting, systems integration and managed services, and complementary device and applications testing, as well as verification services to facilitate a faster time-to-market, efficient use of mobile network resources and an optimized user experience. Operators, such as M2M connectivity providers, may choose from different levels of ambition, ranging from a full enterprise M2M prime supplier to an ecosystem partner.

The Ericsson Device Connection Platform and Service Enablement Platform operator community is growing rapidly, with recent announcements by 3UK, Megafon, Swisscom, TeliaSoneraand XL Axiata.

Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson, said: "The global M2M service revenue is estimated to reach more than 200 BUSD by 2017. This partnership gives us a chance to unlock some of that potential. By accessing services and controlling devices with solutions leveraging Ericsson experience from the communications industry and SAP from the enterprise segment, businesses will find better and more innovative ways to respond to customer needs more quickly. Building an ecosystem also allows our operator customers a new way to address new markets and enterprise needs."

The joint go-to-market model combines the assets of SAP, Ericsson and mobile operators, making it possible for enterprises to effectively connect their enterprise assets across multi-country operations with full integration to existing business processes, along with support for mobile and real-time scenarios.

This means that an enterprise needing a full end-to-end logistics solution - including M2M connectivity, applications and cloud services - can get a comprehensive solution from a mobile operator leveraging the SAP/Ericsson partnership.

In another example, an enterprise needing a smart vending machine solution including M2M connectivity, applications and cloud services, would be able to contract the SAP and Ericsson offerings as a service through a mobile operator leveraging the deal. Other components and vertical applications from both companies can also be included in order to offer value-add and increase the scope of the solution offered to the customer.

Is Banco Santander on the future for electronic payments?

iZettle Solves The Visa Problem: Launches A Bluetooth Chip & Pin Device

The VISA issue was one of the biggest hurdles for iZettle in Finland and pretty much everywhere else. They were unable to allow VISA transactions (For several reasons as outlined by VISA Europe) and since it is the major credit card brand in the country, many of the vendors were simply not motivated enough to use iZettle. They did try to solve the problem by introducing "a solution", however it was more of a hassle than a real solution.

Today, iZettle announced that they are introducing a new device based on Chip & Pin technology that will accept all major cards, including VISA. The Financial Supervisory Authority regulates iZettle and its services, which are EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) and it approved and confirmed compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).The way the device is going to work is by connecting to your smartphone or tablet via bluetooth, where the customer can then insert his or her card. The payment is then processed on the screen.

The device is said to be working with VISA, Visa Electron, V Pay, MasterCard, Maestro and American Express. Personally, I think that the bluetooth solution is much better than the previous version, as I was able to witness how the process worked using the old device since my wife used it at her Lakshmi Yoga Club. It was a cumbersome task to hold an already bulky iPad with one hand, while trying to manipulate the clients card into the iZettle reader. So with the new bluetooth solution, the device can just sit on the registration desk.

The new Chip & PIN device works with the free iZettle app. This time around, iZettle is not offering the device for free but the price is not something to be afraid of as he new card reader can be purchased at iZettle.com, for €49.

“Our vision from Day One has been to simplify and democratize payments, said Jacob de Geer, co-founder and CEO of iZettle. “Small business deserves a simpler, more mobile and affordable way to accept card payments. Adding a Chip & PIN device to our product offering will play an important part in making that happen.”

That's not the only news from iZettle today, they also announced a partnership with Banco Santander, one of the world’s largest and leading banks. So as of today, iZettle will be available to Santander banking customers in Spain.

Rejlers' Year-end Report 2012

Rejlers is a Nordic group offering technical consultancy services in the fields of electrical engineering, energy, mechanical engineering, automation, electronics, IT and telecommunications, for the the following markets; Industry, Infrastructure, Energy, and Construction and property. 

Strong growth - increased profit margin target / January-December

• Revenue totalled SEK 1,332.7 million (1,146.0), an increase of 16 per cent
• Operating profit was SEK 79.4 million (100.3)
• Operating margin amounted to 6.0 per cent (8.8)
• Profit after tax was SEK 58.5 million (64.3)
• Earnings per share were SEK 5.17 (5.68)
• The operating profit includes non-recurring items in the amount of SEK 16 million
• The Board proposes a dividend of SEK 3.00 per share (3.00)

Fourth quarter

• Revenue totalled SEK 388.6 million (322.7), an increase of 20 per cent
• Operating profit was SEK 24.1 million (26.4)
• Operating margin amounted to 6.2 per cent (8.2)
• Profit after tax was SEK 18.1 million (13.7)
• Earnings per share were SEK 1.60 (1.21)

Statement from President and CEO Eva Nygren:
Rejlers continues to experience growth. During 2012, growth was 16 per cent, two-thirds of which was organic. With a strong position on markets such as Energy and Infrastructure and despite indications of a weaker market within both Industry and Construction and property, we have continued to see a good inflow of orders during the fourth quarter.

Source:  Rejlers press release

Tuesday's updates on Nordic Business...

Nordic markets are securing bases... 

1) SinterCast secures new order for commercial vehicle series production installation
• Major European commercial vehicle OEM orders SinterCast process control technology
• SinterCast System 3000 to be installed in captive foundry during first quarter of 2013
• Product development and series production of heavy-duty CGI cylinder blocks
(http://www.sintercast.com/corporate)

2) According to Statistics Finland, the wages and salaries sum of the whole economy was 2.3 per cent greater in the past October to December period than in the corresponding period twelve months earlier. In December alone, the wages and salaries sum of the whole economy fell by 0.8 per cent year-on-year. In the October to December period one year ago, the wages and salaries sum grew by 3.4 per cent.

3) Ericsson sign USD 1 billion managed services contract for wireline and wireless networks for North and West India
• Covers 100,000 km of fiber and mobile infrastructure in 11 telecom circles, across North and West of India, including Delhi and Mumbai
• Will lead to productive integration of 5,000 employees by moving them to Ericsson - providing them global opportunities
• Integrated management to deliver world class customer experience using global expertise and bringing in operational efficiencies and cost optimization


4) Swedish Orphan Biovitrum
- Recombinant Fc fusion proteins show potential to transform care by providing long-lasting protection from bleeding with fewer injections than the current standard of care -
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi) (STO: SOBI) released data that confirmed the ability of investigational recombinant factors VIII Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc) and IX Fc fusion protein (rFIXFc) to provide long-lasting protection from bleeding with fewer injections than are required with the current standard of care for people with hemophilia. The data, from the largest phase 3 registrational studies conducted in hemophilia to date, were presented this week at the 6th Annual Congress of the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders (EAHAD).


5) Presentation of Telenor's fourth quarter results 2012. Telenor will present its financial results for the fourth quarter 2012 on Wednesday 13 February 2013 at 09:00 hrs Norwegian time/CET. The presentation, which will also be broadcast live over the Internet, will be held in Auditorium Voice, Telenor Expo Visitor Centre at Fornebu near Oslo. The figures will be published on Telenor's website at 07:00 CET. CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Richard Olav Aa will present the results. The presentation will be held in English.

HKL and CAF entered into contract on the procurement of metro trains

HKL- the Metro Operator in Helsinki - and the Spanish manufacturer of rolling stock Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles S.A. i.e. CAF) signed a contract on the procurement of 20 new metro trains on Wednesday 6th of February.

HKL’s Executive Board chose CAF as the supplier of the new metro trains of Helsinki in October. CAF’s tender was the most affordable in terms of overall economy as the acquisition price and the commercial terms, operating and maintenance costs, level of the train technology, design and innovativeness as well as co-operation capabilities and the reliability of deliveries were taken in the account in the evaluation.

After signing the contract the procurement project of metro trains will continue by drawing up more detailed technical designs. Also a life-size mock-up will be made of the new metro train that enables the assessment of the structural details of the new trains with different user groups.

The total length of the new trains is 90 metres, corresponding to the train units currently in use at off-peak hours and with a passenger capacity of 576.

The train is accessible in its entirety from one end to the other, making it easy to move between cars during the journey. In terms of their visual appearance, the trains will resemble the M200 series, the exterior and seat colour being orange also in future.

The trains will at first be equipped with a temporary driver’s cab, necessary in the transitional stage towards the automation of the metro traffic control system. Once the automation is completed, the temporary cabin will be dismantled and the space converted for passenger use.

CAF is one of the major manufacturers of metro vehicles in the world. In recent years CAF has delivered metro trains for example to Madrid, Rome, Washington, Barcelona and Brussels.

The new metro train fleet is required for the West Metro. The delivery schedule of the new trains is planned so that the operation of West Metro can be started according to the schedule. The first train will arrive in Helsinki for test runs in the turn of January-February 2015. In total 15 trains will be delivered by the end of the year 2015 and they are needed for starting of the operation of West Metro. The remaining trains will be delivered in spring 2016.

In addition, the procurement is part of the preparation for the potential extension of the West Metro from Matinkylä to Kivenlahti. The procurement also covers the opportunity to exercise the second option, should the so-called East Metro to Sipoo be realised sooner than expected.

Source: Helsinki City Transport

Statoil: 2012 fourth quarter results

Operating and Financial review

Statoil's (OSE:STL, NYSE:STO) fourth quarter 2012 net operating income was NOK 45.8 billion. In 2012, net operating income was NOK 206.6 billion.

Statoil delivered equity production of 2,004 mboe per day in 2012, increased by 8% from 1,850 mboe per day in 2011. Adjusted earnings increased by 7% to NOK 193.2 billion in 2012, from NOK 179.9 billion in 2011. Statoil achieved an organic reserve replacement ratio (RRR) of 1.1 in 2012.

"2012 was a year of strong strategic and operational progress for Statoil. We grew our production by 8% in 2012, in line with the target we announced in 2011, and we deliver strong earnings growth. We are well underway to deliver profitably on our ambition of producing more than 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalents per day in 2020," says Helge Lund, Statoil's president and CEO.

"Statoil's strategy remains firm. We continue our strong exploration performance, adding more than 1.5 billion barrels in new resources, and we are maturing our high quality project portfolio, including the Johan Sverdrup and Skrugard fields. We continue to manage our balance sheet and enter 2013 from a robust financial position," says Lund.

Statoil's Board of Directors will propose to increase the dividend to NOK 6.75 per share for 2012. This is in line with the company's dividend policy and an increase from NOK 6.50 in 2011.

Statoil maintains its ambition of producing more than 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalents per day by 2020 and estimates organic capital expenditures for 2013 at around USD 19 billion. The company will complete around 50 exploration wells in 2013 with a total exploration activity level at around USD 3.5 billion.


Capital Markets Update

Today, Statoil presents the Capital Markets Update, focusing on our position as the leading oil and gas operator in Norway and the second largest gas supplier to Europe.

"On the Norwegian continental shelf, we announce that we are on track to meet our ambition of producing more than 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalents per day in 2020," says Lund.

"We also announce that Statoil's gas sales in the European markets were all-time high in 2012, at solid prices. We see a strong outlook for the European gas markets and are well positioned to capture value as the markets develop," says Lund.

Statoil also announces today increased gas volumes for the Block 2 discoveries offshore Tanzania to 7-9 Tcf in total recoverable resources.

Fourth quarter results 2012

Statoil's net operating income was NOK 45.8 billion compared to NOK 60.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Adjusted earnings were NOK 48.3 billion, compared to NOK 45.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Adjusted earnings after tax were NOK 15.1 billion, up from NOK 14.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Net income was NOK 13.0 billion compared to NOK 25.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.