Huub Baren, Managing Director: “We are pleased that we were able to continue the positive trend from the first quarter in the second quarter and to improve profitability even further. Following two quarters we are already performing substantially better than for 2006 as a whole. Our expectations for the 2nd half are also very positive. We believe we can retain our percentage profitability. The third quarter will be a little lower in terms of sales as the holiday period has a direct influence on sales in contract manufacturing. In the second quarter of 2007 sales by the Contract Manufacturing division rose through independent growth and a takeover to a record level of EURO 51.8 million (EURO 21.6 million in 2006). The independent growth of contract manufacturing was impressive, namely 28 % (from EURO 21.6 to EURO 27.8 million). The order book rose from EURO 59.2 million (end of Q1) to EURO 63.4 million (end of Q2). Sales by the automation division amounted to EURO 14.5 million, compared with EURO 13.1 million in the comparable quarter of 2006, and meet our expectations. The order book at the end of the second quarter equaled EURO 15.8 million (EURO 15.4 million at the end of the first quarter).”
EPP Europe 416
