Improved earnings during 1st quarter of 2007

Improved earnings during 1st quarter of 2007

Key data from the SAS Group's interim report that was published today:

•  Income before capital gains and nonrecurring items amounted to MSEK -469
(‑1,319) for the period, an improvement of MSEK 850. 

•  The improvement in income is due to a combination of healthy market growth,
higher yield, effective capacity and cost controls, and new business models.

•  The Group's total operating revenues increased by 6.7% to MSEK 13,839.



Mats Jansson, President and CEO, comments:"The trend in the first quarter was in a positive direction. The economy in our
home market around the Baltic Sea region and globally remained favorable and
contributed to growth in the air-travel market. Seasonally, this is the weakest
quarter of the year, but we have adjusted our capacity to lower demand levels in
this quarter to a greater extent than in prior years.

The positive market trend, combined with continued internal
efficiency-enhancement measures, resulted in an improvement in income before
capital gains and nonrecurring items of MSEK 850 compared with the preceding
year, amounting to MSEK ‑469. 

During the period January-April, two unlawful disputes affected SAS customers
and shareholders. This is action that I deeply regret. The SAS Board of
Directors has discussed the future consequences of the disputes to ensure that
we can secure our customer commitments long-term.

I have now been President of the SAS Group for four months, a period that has
been very intense and inspiring. We are now entering into the final stage of our
strategy work, which will answer many questions that are being asked and will
provide us with a clear and distinct direction for the future."

Refer to the interim report at www.sasgroup.net for further detailed
information.


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