• Group profit before tax totalled NOK 3,053 million (NOK 1,951 million)¹ and operating profit before amortisation increased by over 14 % to NOK 1,194 million in the second quarter. Four out of five business areas reported profit growth.
• Orkla Branded Consumer Goods had a weak quarter in terms of profit. Higher raw material ­prices, and challenging markets for Bakers in Norway and in Eastern Europe, especially in Poland, led to ­unsatisfactory results for Orkla Foods. A considerably intensified improvement programme has been initiated, and the prices of a number of products on the Nordic market have been raised. Considering that the first quarter was particularly strong, Orkla Brands performed satisfactorily, reporting underlying² improvement in both operating revenues and operating profit in the first half of 2007.
• Orkla Aluminium Products reported another very good quarter with growth in both sales and ­margin. A final agreement to form a new joint venture based on Sapa’s and Alcoa’s aluminium ­profile operations was closed at the end of the quarter.
• Orkla Materials achieved 12 % profit growth that was particularly driven by good markets for Elkem’s silicon-related units.
• More than doubled EBITDA for REC to NOK 812 million, together with continued strong revenue growth for Jotun (+25 %), resulted in a high profit contribution from Associates of NOK 294 million (NOK -22 million).
• The return on the Share Portfolio was 16.7 % at the end of the first half of 2007. Net asset value rose by NOK 1,755 million in the quarter.
• According to IFRS, changes in the fair value of put options issued in REC must be recognised in the income statement. After a strong rise in the price of the REC share, the value of these options fell by NOK 412 million in the second quarter, thereby contributing to high financial profit.
  
  
  

¹The figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period of the previous year
²Excluding acquisitions, divestments and currency translation effects