Beijer Ref has published its results for the third quarter of 2014 which reveal a 6.4% increase in net sales to SEK1,947.4m and a 7.6% rise in operating profit to SEK157.8m, despite an unusually cold summer in southern Europe and a slowdown in demand due to the Ukraine crisis.

The increase in sales is mainly due to booming business in Central Europe and Eastern Europe, where Poland continues to be a driving market, the company says.

During the third quarter, Beijer Ref also boosted its position as one of the largest refrigeration wholesalers making three important acquisitions. It acquired the remaining 49 per cent of the shares in the Italian SCM Frigo Group, a leading manufacturer in Europe of refrigeration units based on environment-friendly technology.

In addition, in August it acquired all the shares in Børresen Cooltech AS, a leading refrigeration wholesaler in Norway. Børresen Cooltech reports sales of just under SEK 60M, has 20 employees and will be integrated into of Beijer Ref’s Norwegian organisation.

Then in September, Beijer Ref strengthened its growing position in the German refrigeration wholesale market when it acquired the net assets in Grün Großhandel für Kälte- und Klimazubehör in Stuttgart.

The Group made yet another acquisition after the end of the reporting period when it acquired all the shares in the French refrigeration wholesaler, GFOI (Générale Frigorifique Océan Indien) in October. GFOI is located on the Réunion Island approximately 800 kilometres east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

With SCM Frigo as the base, the company has also created the new business area, Beijer Ref OEM, with the aim of carrying out own manufacturing of customer-adapted refrigeration systems.

Several companies within the Beijer Ref Group already carry out own manufacturing of customer-adapted refrigeration systems. However, with the creation of Beijer Ref OEM this operation will be carried out in an even more structured and efficient way and is expected to provide a number of positive synergies.

Beijer Ref operates in three market areas: commercial refrigeration, industrial refrigeration and HVAC (comfort cooling). The Group splits its operation in the global market into five geographic segments: The Nordic countries, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe and A&A.

The company is due to publish its report for the year-end report for 2014 on 10 February 2015.