PartnerTech, a contract manufacturing firm, will divest its stake in PartnerTech Poole, one of its three subsidiaries in the UK, as part of its industrial structuring.
The subsidiary will be acquired by its current management and awaits approval of a general meeting, scheduled to be held in January 2009.
PartnerTech manufactures products for the telecommunications, IT, engineering and medical technology sectors. The Swedish firm has plants in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland, the UK, the US and China. The Poole subsidiary manufactures printed circuit boards for the local markets.
PartnerTech group has reported net sales of SEK1,877m for the first nine months of 2008. While its operating profit was SEK9.2m, it has incurred a loss of SEK1.4m after tax. The company says that the Poole subsidiary contributes 3% of the total group sales.
The company has decided to divest in the Poole plant as it has been functioning under loss and lacks any strategic importance as other subsidiaries also manufacture printed circuit boards. PartnerTech has said that the divestment is not going to affect its earnings.
PartnerTech has implemented an action programme in 2007 after a decline in sales volume by 13% from the previous year. The structuring plan in 2007 included change of the CEO and elimination of 150 jobs in Sweden, Finland and the UK.
