Interim report January-March 2012: Sales in Line with Estimates, Order Intake Increasing

First Quarter

• Order intake was 353.3 MSEK (350.4)
• Net sales were 339.0
MSEK (362.0)
• Operating profit before depreciation and amortization was 41.1
MSEK (53.9), equating to a margin of 12.1%.
• Operating profit was 25.5 MSEK
(41.1), equating to a margin of 7.5%
• Decline in earnings is entirely
attributable to lower volumes within business area HMI Products – however, the
trend has turned upwards during this quarter
• Profit after tax was 12.8 MSEK
(28.4)
• Earnings per share were 0.62 SEK (1.45)

COMMENTS FROM FREDRIK
JÖNSSON, CEO

“As reported, Beijer Electronics’ sales and profits were lower
in the first quarter. However, our results were better than we originally
expected, with a strong conclusion to the quarter. Increased order intake, the
group’s second highest in a quarter, which is also a clear improvement on the
two last quarters of the previous year, added to the positive outlook. The
decrease in operating profit is wholly related to lower sales volumes.

The
HMI Products business area progressed as expected, but has been through a tough
period, primarily with lower demand from the Chinese market and lower sales to
the brand label segment. Simultaneously, we are seeing signs that the market has
bottomed out, because order intake in the quarter was the third-best ever and
March was the single strongest month ever. In quarter-on-quarter terms, HMI
Products grew by 6%. The major event in the next quarter is the launch of our
new global product family of operator panels, which will be in April.

The
Automation business area made stable progress in the period with better profits
and unchanged sales. Another positive was the growth in order intake, despite a
fairly slow market in Sweden. The recovery in Norway continued and progress in
Finland was positive. Automation hit its longterm margin target of 8%.

Once
again, the IDC business area achieved good growth in order bookings and sales,
and far better profits. Our initiative on the American market has achieved
continued success. Sales in the UK and France were especially positive. In
China, IDC’s products have encountered great interest. The business areas
completed its significant market initiatives and its large-scale investments in
product development, because we see very high potential in this business area’s
future.”

INVITATION TO CONFERENCE CALL

Today a conference call will be
held for press and analysts where President and CEO Fredrik Jönsson and CFO Anna
Belfrage present the company and comment on the report.
Time:  Wednesday April
25 at 2.30 p.m. CET
To participate in the conference please dial:
From Sweden:
+46(0)8 506 85759
From the UK: +44(0)207 108 6205
To access the presentation
please use this
link:
https://www.anywhereconference.com/?Conference=108269766&PIN=999043
The
interim report and the presentation will be available at Beijer Electronics'
website www.beijergroup.com under Investors/Presentations.
A recording of the
conference call will also be available here after the event.
Welcome!

For
more information please contact:
President and CEO, Fredrik Jönsson, tel +46
(0)40 35 86 10, mobile +46 (0)705 17 16 26
CFO, Anna Belfrage, tel +46 (0)40 35
86 53, mobile +46 (0)706 35 86 53

Beijer Electronics is a fast growing technology company with extensive
experience of industrial automation and robust data communication. The company
develops and markets competitive products and solutions with focus on the user.
Since its start-up in 1981, Beijer Electronics has evolved into a multinational
group with offices in 21 countries and sales of 1.4 billion SEK in 2011. Beijer
Electronics is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm’s Small Cap
list under the ticker BELE. www.beijerelectronics.se