Interim report 1 January - 30 June 2000

Interim report 1 January - 30 June 2000 Positioning for broadband opportunities * Sales during the first six months of 2000 increased to SEK 840.5 million (112.0), including SEK 111.0 million from the conversion of the additional purchase price in Bredbandsbolaget and the divestment of companies during the first half of 2000, and SEK 3.5 million from the sale of Bredbandsbolaget in May 1999. * Operating profit after depreciation of tangible fixed assets (EBITA) amounted to SEK 131.2 million (22.8) for the first six months of 2000, including SEK 111.0 million and SEK 3.5 million as above, as well as the effects of surplus funds from SPP to the amount of SEK 49.4 million. * The number of employees as per 24 August amounted to approximately 2 570. Of these, approximately 800 persons are employed outside of Sweden. Excluding acquisitions, the number of employees rose by 162 during the first quarter, by 353 during the second quarter and sofar by approximately 300 during the third quarter. * Framfab is successfully building up new operations in parallel with the rapidly expanding consulting business. The table below shows the EBITA result and adjustments to show the result for the consulting business. Jan-June Q2 2000 Q1 2000 SEK millions 2000 Net sales 727.0 409.4 317.6 Other operating income 113.5 2.2 111.3 Sales 840.5 411.6 428.9 EBITA for the consulting business 19.8 -15.5 35.3 Initiatives in new entities and -49.0 -29.1 -19.9 development of software Income from Bredbandsbolaget, SPP and 160.4 49.8 110.6 from divestment of companies EBITA 131.2 5.2 126.0 * The company has continued its initiatives in Framfab Innovation and Driftbolaget during the first six months of the year. In addition, the company has intensified its efforts to develop software, in particular the portal software Brikks and the Content Management system CM. * The development of the UMTS network provides an opportunity for Framfab to benefit from its portal product and its expertise of mobile Internet. As part of the initiatives in mobile Internet, the company is taking part in consortia that are applying for UTMS licenses in Sweden and Norway. * The consulting business has stepped up its recruitment drive during the first six months of the year and has worked to integrate new employees, acquired companies and existing operations. The strong recruitment as well as the integration have been successful but have generated costs and required internal resources. A limited negative effect has also resulted from the fact that the market for traditional IT services has been weaker than expected during the second quarter. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/08/24/20000824BIT00070/bit0001.doc The full report http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/08/24/20000824BIT00070/bit0002.pdf The full report