Year-end report, 1 September 2010 - 31 August 2011; Lower sales but profit for Q4 on par with the previous year

Year-end report, 1 September 2010 - 31 August 2011; Lower sales but
profit for Q4 on par with the previous year

Cloetta' net sales for the fourth quarter reached SEK 193 million (213).
Operating profit for the same period was SEK 0 million (-6). Net sales
for the full year totalled SEK 987 million (1,061). Operating profit for
the corresponding period was SEK 27 million (35) and profit after tax
was SEK 18 million (22). The Board of Directors proposes an unchanged
dividend of SEK 0.75 per share (0.75) plus an extra dividend of SEK 0.50
per share.

”The past year has been characterised by unusually large fluctuations,”
says CEO VD Curt Petri. “In the first quarter we posted higher sales and
slight improvement in profit. In the second quarter we were challenged
by a tougher market that resulted in significantly lower sales and
earnings. The third and fourth quarters brought a continued decrease in
sales but a somewhat higher profit. Cash flow for the year significantly
exceeded the year-earlier level.”

The drop in sales for the fourth quarter is partly attributable to sales
of volumes from the Wedding Series in the same period of 2010.

“Our earnings have been negatively affected by aggressive competition in
a grocery retail trade that saw an overall decrease in volume during
2011, but also due to lower income from products manufactured on
contract,” continues Curt Petri. “We have introduced certain price
increases that will have a positive impact on profit in the coming
financial year and starting this autumn. At the same time, we will
invest and work together with our customers to develop above all the
segments where we are market-leaders, namely countlines including
Kexchoklad, chocolate bags like Polly and seasonal products such as
Juleskum.”

To strengthen our focus on and sales of Mums-Mums and Mandelbiskvier,
Cloetta has started a collaboration with the sales company Sales Support
to sell the brands that are not part of the confectionery category
starting on 1 September.

”With a full-year profit that is clearly below our ambitions, we are
making continued changes in our positioning, establishing new
partnerships, pursuing a number of efficiency improvement projects and
developing our business together with the customers, concludes Curt
Petri.

The information in this press release is subject to the disclosure
requirements of Cloetta AB (publ) under the Swedish Securities Market
Act. The information was submitted for publication on 18 October 2011,
3:40 p.m. CET.

For further information contact
Curt Petri, CEO, mobile +46 70-593 21 69
Kent Sandin, CFO, mobile +46 70-582 77 95