LEGO Company improves result

March 19 2002

“A financial result that’s DKK 1.6 billion better than the year before is clear proof that 2001 was a year of immense change for the company.” So says Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, President and CEO of the LEGO Company, on publication of its annual accounts. The accounts show a profit of DKK 530m before tax compared with a deficit of more than DKK 1bn the previous year.

“Some of the changes were of a business nature, and we are now well on the way to having a much more healthy and dynamic organisation. Other changes were of a more fundamental type, helping us to consolidate the basic values on which the LEGO Company was founded – values we must never forget,” says the LEGO CEO.

“In other words,” says Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, “our company is well equipped to face the future. It has the economic strength to meet our expectations. And our product portfolio should be able to satisfy the very high expectations that parents and children have towards us.”

“The LEGO brand and the company’s employees deserve the success that this will bring.”

One of the major factors behind the substantial improvement was a massive increase in sales on almost all markets – mainly, the United States. The company’s family parks also reported a much better year, improving their result by DKK 150m.

The best-selling products globally were Harry Potter, Bob the Builder, LEGO BIONICLE and the classic LEGO range – whereas products for the youngest age groups found themselves in a much more difficult market. Steps are already being taken to improve the younger market: a new series of products is in the pipeline to help stimulate the child’s creativity, imagination and natural development.

Poul Plougmann, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the LEGO Company, says the year’s fine result is due primarily to the extensive changes implemented in recent years:

“We are now much closer to our consumers and customers than we have ever been. The company is being more efficiently managed, and we can offer the customer an attractive and varied programme. This has produced a favourable result – with which we can be satisfied, especially in the light of last year’s heavy deficit.”

Get the annual accounts from here [ http://www.lego.com/info/pdf/accounts2001uk.pdf ] (PDF format)

For further information, please contact:
Eva Lykkegaard
Global Company Communications
LEGO Company
Tlf. +45 79 50 74 24
eva.lykkegaard@europe.lego.com