Electrolux Q4 profit beyond expectation

Swedish home-appliance maker Electrolux has exceeded expectations, posting a 20 percent increase in operating income during last year's fourth quarter.

That meant reporting a 1.47 billion SEK (180 million U.S. dollars) operating income compared to the expected 1.41 billion SEK (173 million dollars).

In a statement, the company puts the result down to an operation recovery in Europe, Latin America and Asia/Pacific regions, while earnings in North America were impacted by the transition to comply with new energy standards.

"The initiatives to restore profitability in our operations in Europe continue to show good results. Cost savings in combination with higher efficiency in the production and an active product portfolio management led to a significant improvement in the operating income," Keith McLoughlin, president and CEO of Electrolux, said in the statement.

He said the strong result placed Electrolux in a good position to continue to grow profitably in 2015.

"We expect to close the pending acquisition of General Electric Appliances during the year, which will strongly contribute to the achievement of the Group's vision," he said.

Founded in 1919, Electrolux has 61,000 employees and sells its products in 150 markets around the world. Its headquarters are located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the Electrolux share ELUXb is listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. Endit