KONE Corporation reports operating profit of EUR360.1m for 2006

Nordic Business Report, Jan 26, 2007

NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT-26 January 2007-KONE Corporation reports operating profit of EUR360.1m for 2006(C)1994-2007 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com

Finnish elevators and escalators maker KONE Corporation reported on Friday (26 January) an operating profit of EUR360.1m on sales of EUR3.60bn for the financial year 2006.

Both comparable operating profit and sales for the 12-month period increased, respectively from EUR272.0m and EUR3.24bn, as compared to 2005.

Operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2006 amounted to EUR123.4m on sales of EUR1.15bn.

Earnings per share (EPS) for 2006 increased to EUR1.86 from EUR0.87 in 2005. Fourth quarter EPS amounted to EUR0.64, up from EUR0.43 in the corresponding period in 2005.

The board of directors will propose a dividend of EUR1.00 per class B share.

KONE said that its target for 2007 is to achieve an approximate 10% increase in net sales, calculated at comparable exchange rates, compared to 2006. The operating income (EBIT) target is to achieve growth of approximately 20% from the 2006 figure of EUR360m. In 2008 KONE's objective is to achieve an EBIT margin of about 12%.

KONE, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is one of the world's leading elevator and escalator companies. The company has 27,000 employees and reported sales of EUR3.2bn in 2005.

One British pound (GBP) is worth approximately 1.49 euros (EUR).

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