GOTEBORG, Sweden, April 20, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Semcon:
STRONG GROWTH AS PROFITS SOAR
-- Sales climbed by 14.7% to reach SEK 359 m (313).
-- Profit after tax was SEK 14.0 m (7.2).
-- Earnings per share were SEK 0.81 (0.42).
-- Operating profit after depreciation (EBIT) was
SEK 20.3 m (12.1), to produce a margin of 5.7% (3.9).
Comments by CEO Hans Johansson
Semcon's positive trend continued during the first quarter of 2005. Growth remained strong at 14.7%, which is in line with our performance over the past ten years. Our impressive organic growth of 13.4% is specially pleasing. Our success here is due to the solid customer relations we have built up over 25 years. Alongside the sales growth, our good work with our cost structure boosted profits.
Our strategy for growth is primarily to grow organically, but also involves acquiring companies with specialist competence. In the first quarter we pursued this strategy by recruiting new consultants mainly within our Vehicle segment. We have also acquired the Stockholm design company, Propeller, and the illustration studio, Pentech International Ltd, which is based in Oxford, U.K. Both acquisitions reinforce our already strong position within design and the aftermarket, and have been welcomed by our customers in each segment.
It's very impressive to see the hard work that has taken place to transform the activities that reported losses in 2004. All our businesses abroad, for example, are reporting profits, which confirms that our decision to become an international Group was the right one. To meet the demands of globalisation facing our customers we are now active in 14 countries on three continents.
Semcon's IT businesses, which focus on developing specific solutions for general IT problems, continue to grow with increased profitability. Both Zipper by Semcon and Zystems by Semcon reported profitable sales growth during Q1. Zipper has also been selected as a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner for 2005.
Other information
The Q2 interim report will be published on 26 August 2005. For further information please contact CEO, Hans Johansson tel: +46 (0)31 721 03 05, mobile: +46 (0)705 91 43 34 or CFO, Bengt Nilsson tel: +46 (0)31 721 03 11, mobile: +46 (0)704 47 28 68.
Goteborg, 20 April 2005
Hans Johansson
SEMCON AB (PUBL) Company reg. no. 556539-9549
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