- Group net sales were EUR 506.4 (465.3) million, up by 8.8%.
- Group operating profit rose by 30.3% to EUR 66.2 (50.8) million, thanks to good performance by Orion Pharma.
- Profit before taxes was EUR 66.6 (50.6) million.
- Earnings per share were EUR 0.35 (0.27).
- Equity ratio was 50.6% (40.7%).
- Return on capital employed (ROCE) was 45.0% (36.4%).
Espoo, 8 May 2006
Board of Directors of Orion Corporation
Orion Corporation
Jukka Viinanen Jari Karlson
President and CEO CFO
Contact persons:
Jukka Viinanen, President and CEO, phone +358 10 429 3710
Jari Karlson, CFO, phone +358 10 429 2883, gsm +358 50 429 2883
Eero Hautaniemi, President, Wholesale and Distribution, phone +358 10 429 2109, gsm +358 50 429 2109
Additional stock exchange releases to be issued by Orion on 8 May 2006:
- Carve-out financial information on new Orion and Oriola-KD extracted from the consolidated financial statements of the demerging Orion.
- Preliminary information of the strategies of the new companies
- Publication schedules of the new Orion and Oriola-KD for the rest of 2006
Press conference in Finnish
A Finnish press conference for the media and institutional investors will be held today, 8 May, starting at 14.30 p.m. in the VR Auditorium, Helsinki. The language of the event is Finnish.
The Finnish presentation can be followed on-line via the Internet homepage www.orion.fi/sijoittajille, or via the Kauppalehti Live web service, www.kauppalehti.fi/live.
A webcast presentation of this Interim Report will become available in English later in the evening
of 8 May on www.orion.fi/investors, on www.kauppalehti.fi/live, as well as via Thomson/CCBN's web service www.fulldisclosure.com or Thomson's extranet service for institutional investors, www.streetevents.com.
of 8 May on www.orion.fi/investors, on www.kauppalehti.fi/live, as well as via Thomson/CCBN's web service www.fulldisclosure.com or Thomson's extranet service for institutional investors, www.streetevents.com.
Also, a teleconference in English for questions and answers will be arranged today, Monday, 8 May 2006 starting at 17.00 p.m. Finnish time (15.00 GMT). Advice for participating the conference is provided on the front page of www.orion.fi.
In the calendar for 2006
On 1 July 2006, Orion Corporation will demerge into two new listed companies, new Orion Corporation and Oriola-KD Corporation. The present Orion will be dissolved at the same date. The timings for other post-demerger events other than those given here will be communicated as soon as the schedules have been established for the new companies by their Boards of Directors, respectively.
Before the demerger:
Stock Option Plan 2001 ends 31 May 2006
Listing particulars for the new
Orion and Oriola-KD about 22 June 2006
Orion and Oriola-KD about 22 June 2006
Effective date of the demerger 1 July 2006
After the demerger:
Listing of the new companies 3 July 2006
Interim Report 4-6/2006 of new Orion 7 August 2006 (proforma figures for 1-6/2006 and 1-12/2005)
Interim Report 4-6/2006 of Oriola-KD 7 August 2006 (proforma figures for 1-6/2006 and 1-12/2005)
Meeting of the shareholders
of the demerged Orion 16 October 2006 at 16.00, Helsinki Fair Center
Interim Report 7-9/2006 of Oriola-KD 1 November 2006 (proforma figures for 1-6/2006 and 1-12/2005)
Interim Report 7-9/2006 of new Orion 6 November 2006 (proforma figures for 1-6/2006 and 1-12/2005)
The financial reviews, reports and the related presentation material of the new companies will be available on their homepages instantly upon publication. The homepages also provide a facility for registration on the respective companies' mailing lists for publications and news releases. This address will be valid for the new Orion as of 1 July 2006.
The homepage www.orion.fi/investors will be adopted by the new Orion as of 1 July 2006.
The homepage address for Oriola-KD will be announced later.