Interim report 1 december 1999 - 29 february 2000

4/13/2000 2:30 AM EST

• Group turnover amounted to SEK 8,265 M (SEK 7,277 M), an increase of 14 per cent. Adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations, the increase was 19%.

• Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 671 M (SEK 759 M).

• Compared with last year, the profit has been affected negatively by changes in exchange rates by SEK 62 M.

• During the first quarter, the result has been charged with start-up costs of SEK 56 M and depreciation of SEK 7 M for the operations in the USA and Spain, which had not yet started.

• Adjusted for effects of currency rate fluctuations and the start-up of the two new markets, profit before tax amounted to SEK 796 M (SEK 759 M), an increase of 5 per cent.