Nolato six-month report: Sharp increase in sales and continued growth in earnings

In today’s interim report for the first six months of 2006, Nolato reported a sharp increase in sales and continued growth in earnings. • Sales increased 32 percent to SEK 1,461 M (1,108) • Income after financial items increased 28 percent to SEK 106 M (83) • Earnings per share increased 40 percent to SEK 3.35 (2.40) • Cash flow after investments was strong at SEK 102 M (87) “Sales at Nolato Telecom more than doubled during the second quarter as a result of a greater value per delivered unit,” said Nolato’s CEO, Georg Brunstam. “The major reason for this is a customer project in which Nolato Telecom has had a greater share than usual of the value chain, which entailed among other things extensive assembly and testing of purchased components. “But also contributing to this increase in sales is a greater share of complex mobile phones, with more plastic components and higher demands for surface finishes like painting, metallization etc.” Nolato Medical increased its sales by 28 percent, largely because of the project involving the takeover of production for Novo Nordisk. Efforts to develop the European market, which were begun in 2005, have led to growth in sales and resulted in new projects being produced in Hungary. At Nolato Industrial, volumes were stable during the period. Efforts made to take on new projects in the automotive industry and other selected general industries are beginning to yield results in the form of higher sales, while Nolato’s marketing strategy to decrease activities in consumer electronics and household appliances has had the opposite effect on sales. “Our second quarter was strong. Overall, Group sales increased 53 percent in the second quarter, while income after financial items increased 26 percent,” noted Mr. Brunstam. The complete interim report is available at www.nolato.com.