Interim Report January-September 1999

Interim Report January-September 1999 * Bure Health Care increased its sales by 32 per cent and operating profit before goodwill depreciation to SEK 102M (46), an operating margin of 6.6 per cent (3.9). * Distribution and stockmarket listing of Bure Health Care proposed in the year 2000. * Continued positive trend for Bure Training and Education and Bure InfoMedia. * Significantly lower profit in Bure Investments. * Consolidated capital gains amounted to SEK 200M (588). Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 244M (729). After the reporting period: * Bure Health Care has made an agreement to S:t Görans Sjukhus with access in December. * 55 per cent of the holding in MediaMetrix has been divested with a capital gain of SEK 80M. * Bure Investments has divested Troponor and Åre Vemdalen as a step in its concentration strategy. Capital gains are expected to amount to more than SEK 90M in the Group. Consolidated surplus funds from SPP amounts to SEK 310M (SEK 2.84 per share) - not included in the result. Summary of operations Bure's focusing on the knowledge-based service sector comprises Business Areas Health Care, IT, InfoMedia and Training and Education. All Business Areas reported sound growth and consolidated net sales amounted to SEK 10,815M (9,492). Consolidated profit after financial items amounted to SEK 244M (729). The previous year's profit included capital gains of SEK 588M. In the third quarter, normal seasonal variations in the service sector normally impacts on profit due to lower capacity utilisation during the holiday months. Bure's four focused Operating profit Business Areas, SEK Net sales Jan-Sep before M goodwill Jan-Sep 1999 1998 +/- 1999 1998 +/- 1 Bure Health Care 1,563 1,186 32% 102 46 122% Bure IT 1,117 711 57% 58 70 -17% Bure InfoMedia 856 725 18% 99 65 52% Bure Utbildning 458 - - 34 - - 1 exclusive of Simonsen The insurance company, SPP, has decided to make a lump-sum refund to its customer companies. The Bure Group's share of this, according to information from SPP, amounts to SEK 310M. As rules and date for use have not yet been established, this amount has not yet been posted as an asset in the Balance Sheet. Business Area Bure Health Care reported high growth and significantly improved operating margins. Operating profit before goodwill depreciation rose by 122 per cent to SEK 102M (46). Sales increased by 32 per cent to SEK 1,563M (1,186). Operating margin increased to 6.6 per cent compared with 3.9 per cent in 1998. Bure IT, which is a leading IT network in Sweden, reported operating profit before goodwill depreciation of SEK 58M (70). The result includes capital gains of SEK 14M (39). Net sales increased by 57 per cent to SEK 1,117M (711). Business Area Bure InfoMedia's investment in the US company, MediaMetrix, of SEK 33M had a market value of approximately SEK 220M on 30 September. Bure InfoMedia reported an increase in operating profit before goodwill depreciation of 52 per cent to SEK 99M (65). Net sales rose by 18 per cent to SEK 856M (725). Bure Training and Education enjoyed significantly increased demand in both corporate training and schools. Vittra Kompetens was established to secure the quality dimension that the Vittra model demands. The Business Area's net sales amounted to SEK 458M. Operating profit before goodwill depreciation amounted to SEK 34M, equivalent to an operating margin of 7.5 per cent. The Group's interest-bearing net loan liability increased to SEK 2,883M (962). The Parent Company's bank loans totalled SEK 1,557M. Equity ratio in the Group amounted to 35 per cent (47) on 30 September. At the turn of the year, the equity ratio amounted to 39 per cent. During the period, Asset Management reported a yield of 30 per cent. At the same time, the Findata Yield Index amounted to 21 per cent. Capital gains in Asset Management amounted to SEK 155M net (140). ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/11/01/19991101BIT00490/bit0001.doc The full report http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/11/01/19991101BIT00490/bit0002.pdf The full report