ÅF AB Year-end Report 2011

For further information, please contact:  

President and CEO, Jonas Wiström, +46 70 608 12 20

CFO Stefan Johansson, +46 70 224 24 01

Director, Corporate Information, Viktor Svensson, +46 70 657 20 26  

Fourth quarter 2011

• Net sales totalled SEK 1,457 million (1,277) 

• OpeRating profit totalled SEK 148 million (94) 

• Operating margin was 10.2 percent (7.4) 

• Earnings per share, before dilution: SEK 3.11 (2.02) 

Full year 2011

• Net sales totalled SEK 5,124 million (4,334) 

• Operating profit1) totalled SEK 426 million (317) 

• Operating margin1) was 8.3 percent (7.3) 

• Earnings per share1), before dilution: SEK 9.07 (6.55) 

• Earnings per share, before dilution: SEK 9.07 (21.02) 

• The Board proposes a divided per share for 2011 of SEK 5.00 (4.00)  

1) Excluding capital gain from the sale of business operations. Earnings for the first quarter of 2010 included a capital gain of SEK 458 million resulting from the sale of the ÅF Group's Inspection Division, ÅF-Kontroll. Earnings for the third quarter of 2010 included a capital gain of SEK 30 million resulting from the sale ÅF TÜV Nord.

A few words from the President, Jonas Wiström:

The final three months of 2011 marked a record quarter for ÅF. Operating profit totalled SEK 148 million (94), corresponding to a profit margin of just over 10 percent. Cash flow for the period was SEK 185 million (145). Growth was 14 percent:  slightly more than half of this was organic growth, which is being positively affected by the fact that ÅF's appeal as an employer is stronger today than it has ever been.

The improvement in earnings may be attributed, first and foremost, to positive trends for the Industry, Infrastructure and Technology Divisions. The Industry Division, Sweden's leading industrial consulting organisation, reported a fourth-quarter

operating margin of 13.9 percent. Technology once again showed strong organic growth in terms of both sales and profits. It is noteworthy, too, that Infrastructure continues to combine high levels of growth with an improvement in profits. Its margin for the period exceeded 10 percent.

For the Energy Division, however, 2011 was not the best of years. The accident at one of Japan's nuclear power plants and the increasing strength of the Swiss franc had a significant impact on the division's earnings. Nevertheless, the fourth quarter showed signs of an improvement and here at ÅF we remain convinced that 2012 will see the start of an upturn in the market for international nuclear power. This positive vision of the future was affirmed recently when ÅF won an international tender to serve as principal technical consultant for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Brazil.

New orders continued to flow in at a brisk rate as 2011 drew to a close. The market as a whole remained strong with only a few signs of any downturn. The prospects for 2012, however, remain uncertain in the face of the debt crisis in Europe.

ÅF's most important objective is to continue to generate levels of profitability that place us among the very best performers in our industry - regardless of the state of the economy. The company now has more than 4,600 highly qualified consultants and other members of staff, and our ambition is to continue to grow, both organically and through acquisitions, without compromising profitability. With good cash flows and a strong balance sheet ÅF is well placed to build upon and enhance its market positions even further.

Group Head Office:

ÅF AB (publ), SE-169 99 Stockholm, Sweden

Visitors' address:  Frösundaleden 2, 169 70 Solna, Sweden

Tel. +46 10 505 00 00   Fax +46 10 505 00 10

www.afconsult.com / info@afconsult.com

Corporate ID number 556120-6474

This interim report has not been subjected to scrutiny by the company's auditors.

The information in this interim report fulfils ÅF AB's disclosure re-quirements under the provisions of the Swedish Securities Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was released for publication at 10:30 CET on 13 February 2012.

All assumptions about the future that are made in this report are based on the best information available to the company at the time the report was written. As is the case with all assessments of the future, such assumptions are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may mean that the actual outcome differs from the anticipated result.

This is a translation of the Swedish original. The Swedish text is the binding version and shall prevail in the event of any discrepancies.

The full report including tables (pdf) is available for download