Eksportfinans ASA: First half-year 2010

Press release
August 19, 2010

Eksportfinans first half-year of 2010: Record high level of disbursements of
export related loans, strong underlying business performance 
The strong underlying business performance continued into the second quarter
and the net interest income was NOK 694 million in the first half-year of 2010.
Disbursements of new loans for export financing purposes were record high with
a total of NOK 15.3 billion. 

Some positive signals for the Norwegian maritime sector
Eksportfinans has a solid order book for export related financing in 2010. New
disbursements were NOK 15.3 billion in the first half-year of 2010, compared to
NOK 11.8 billion for the corresponding period in 2009. The volume of
outstanding export loans was NOK 94.5 billion at June 30, 2010 compared to NOK
81.4 billion at December 31, 2009 and NOK 79.5 billion at June 30, 2009. 

New disbursements are primarily related to export contracts entered into in the
previous two years for the financing of shipbuilding, ship equipment and
projects within offshore oil and gas. The Norwegian maritime sector still
experiences strong international competition, but the first half-year of 2010
showed signs of a more positive trend within the sector. The number of
contracts entered into at Norwegian shipyards is increasing and the value of
new contracts entered into in the first half-year of 2010 is higher than
contracts entered into in the same period in 2009. 

“The Norwegian and the international economy are still affected by some
uncertainty, but certain signs indicate a positive development for Norwegian
export industry. Eksportfinans is in a good position to support the customers'
needs in the event of growth”, says President and CEO Gisele Marchand. 

Good access to funding markets
Eksportfinans experiences good access to the funding markets, and the Company
issued two benchmark transactions in the first half-year of 2010. One 3-year
USD 1 billion benchmark transaction specifically targeted at American investors
and one 5-year JPY 30 billion transaction targeted at Japanese investors. 
Total new funding in the first half-year of 2010 amounted to NOK 41.9 billion
through 462 individual trades, compared with NOK 32.9 billion and 550 trades in
the same period of 2009. 

Results
Total comprehensive income for the first half-year of 2010 was NOK 176 million,
compared to NOK 425 million for the same period in 2009. Net profit excluding
unrealized gains and losses was NOK 415 million in the first half-year of 2010,
compared to NOK 523 million in the corresponding period in 2009.During the
first half-year of 2010, the uncertainty in the international capital markets
has lead to relatively high credit spreads which again have lead to high income
from liquidity placements. Eksportfinans expects this situation to be
temporary. 

“Eksportfinans currently has a competitive advantage in the funding market that
makes it interesting for clients to combine long-term financing from
Eksportfinans with bank guarantees. We are pleased to deliver strong results in
the first half-year of 2010”, says President and CEO Gisele Marchand. 


The complete 1st half-year report for 2010 is available at www.eksportfinans.no


For further information, please contact:

President and CEO Gisele Marchand, phone: +47 22 01 23 70, e-mail:
gma@eksportfinans.no 
EVP Director of Staff, Elise Lindbæk, mobile: +47 90 51 82 50, e-mail:
el@eksportfinans.no.