Aspiro AB (publ): Interim Report January-September 2006

Improved Margins in Q3 Result in Highest Earnings Ever

• Third-quarter EBITDA amounted to SEK 20.1 m (SEK 11.4 m), a 53% increase quarter on quarter.

• Third-quarter earnings after tax were SEK 20.0 m (SEK 5.4 m); earnings per share were SEK 0.10 (SEK 0.03).

• Net sales were SEK 108.5 m (SEK 111.3 m) in the third quarter, with acquired enterprise Mobile Avenue contributing SEK 6.5 m, and the liquidated operations in the UK and Spain reducing sales by SEK 3.9 m. Aspiro has reduced unprofitable sales within existing business in favor of improved margins.

• Aspiro will be focusing on its new growth segments of mobile TV, music downloads, mobile marketing, search services and communities. A number of professionals were recruited internally and externally, products developed and acquisitions prepared. Aspiro also launched a community in Norway.

• After the end of the period, on 1 October, Aspiro acquired the company Rubberduck, with its leading-edge mobile TV technology solution, with a customer base including TV4, Telenor, NRK, MTV Nordic, the BBC and FOX Movies.

• The Board of Directors reiterates its previously announced objective of the company achieving minimum like-for-like EBITDA of SEK 65 m in 2006.

• Primarily, growth in the coming years will be sourced in the mobile TV, music, mobile marketing, search services and communities segments.

- Right now, Aspiro is securing positions in mobile TV, music downloads, search services, mobile marketing and communities. We anticipate robust growth from these segments through the coming years. In these activities, we proceed from the solid positioning in mobile services Aspiro has secured in recent years, towards consumers, operators and other partners. But in the future, our offering will not be limited to mobile phones. We’re now seeing the convergence between PCs and mobile phones—merely a new topic of discussion a few years ago—really happen. While first and foremost, we will grow organically, we also plan for a series of corporate acquisitions as a supplement. To realize our growth ambitions, in our existing business we’ve decided to focus on profitability and strong cash flows. This orientation has the natural consequence of reduced sales but higher margins, while we have significantly re-aligned in-house resources towards these new segments, notes Johan Lenander, Aspiro’s CEO.

KEY FIGURES JUL-SEP 2006 (2005)
Net sales, SEK m: 108.5 (111.3)
EBITDA, SEK m: 20.1 (11.4)
Operating profit/loss, SEK m: 16.9 (9.3)
Earnings after tax, SEK m: 20.0 (5.4)
Earnings per share, SEK: 0.10 (0.03)
Liquid funds, closing balance, SEK m: 74.6 (90.0)
Cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital, SEK m: 19.5 (6.9)
(Figures in brackets are for the corresponding period of the previous year)