ACANDO INTERIM REPORT Q3, January – September, 2012

Third quarter, July 1 - September 30, 2012

• Net sales SEK 321 m (326)
• Operating profit SEK 18 m (4)
• Operating margin 5.5% (1.4%)
• Profit after tax SEK 12 m (loss: 3).
• Earnings per share after dilution amounted to SEK 0.17 (loss: 0.04).

Accumulated, January 1 – September 30, 2012

• Net sales SEK 1,137 m (1,109)
• Operating profit SEK 81 m (63)
• Operating margin 7.1% (5.7%)
• Profit after tax SEK 58 m (37)
• Earnings per share after dilution amounted to SEK 0.80 (0.49).
• Cash and cash equivalents SEK 75 m (99)

Statement by Carl-Magnus Månsson, CEO

During the year, our focus has been on organic growth. In the third quarter, over one hundred new employees started at Acando including experienced consultants and younger members of staff, who participated in our Academies through which we ensure access to critical skills for the future. We are proud of our ability to attract the best consultants through offering exciting assignments and a tightly-knit fellowship with other colleagues.

After the summer, a general slowdown and weaker demand was noted than earlier in the year, although, the market situation varied according to geography and range of services offered. In general, we anticipate somewhat higher demand in the Management Consulting, Strategic IT and Business Systems areas of expertise, while demand in IT Consulting is somewhat weaker. In a weaker market, we are now moving our operative focus to margin management and efficiency and consequentially, a somewhat lower inflow of new consultants over the coming quarter.

In Sweden, we had a major inflow of new personnel during the quarter in line with our growth objective. In parallel, a major product was concluded early during the latter part of the quarter, which, taken in combination, led to a decline in the utilization rate for operations in Sweden. Although we have noted increased inertia in the decision processes for projects and a somewhat lower level of demand for expert services, we are still acting from a position of strength. A broad customer base with numerous ongoing projects in combination with a vigorous sales focus means that we are in a favorable position for returning to the normal utilization rate for operations in Sweden in the fourth quarter.

In Germany, we have continued initiatives to raise efficiency, broaden the customer base and increase the focus of the offering during the quarter. The broader customer base provides us with enhanced opportunities to manage business cycles based variations while enabling more rapid organic growth in a healthy market. First and foremost, it is operations in southern Germany that are growing vigorously.

Growth in Norway during the first three quarters, more than 15%, which also gives a direct impact in terms of margin improvement in the quarter. By being selected as a strategic partner, as part of a consortium with Steria as the main party, in a major modernization program within the public sector we will further strengthen our position. The agreement is one of the largest in the history of Acando. IT architecture is our main responsibility, but the agreement also includes services from the Acando portfolio in Management Consulting and IT Consulting. The agreement will be an important platform to continue to grow our area Strategic IT in Norway, both in the public and private sector, as it makes us a very attractive place to work with substantial extent in key roles in one of the largest and most advanced IT projects in Norway.

This is information that Acando AB (publ) is obligated to disclose according to the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. This information was submitted for publication on October 26, 2012. www.acando.com           Ticker: ACAN

For further information, please contact:
Carl-Magnus Månsson, President and CEO, +46 8 699 73 77
Anneli Lindblom, CFO, +46 8 699 73 09

Acando is a consulting company that in partnership with its customers identifies and implements sustainable business improvements through information technology. Acando provides a balance between high customer value, short project times and low total cost. Acando has annual sales of about SEK 1.5 billion and approximately 1,100 employees in five countries in Europe. The company is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic exchange. Its company culture is based on the core values of Team Spirit, Results and Passion.