HiQ International: Interim Report January – June 2009

Regulatory News:

HiQ International (STO:HIQ):

January – June 2009
• Net sales amount to SEK 570.3 (595.4) million
• Operating profit (EBIT) amounts to SEK 78.6 (97.8) million, an operating margin of 13.8 (16.4) percent
• Pre-tax profit amounts to SEK 78.1 (99.7) million
• Profit after tax amounts to SEK 57.1 (71.7) million
• Earnings per share amount to SEK 1.11 (1.42)
• Cash flow from operations amount to SEK 81.2 (90.1) million

April – June 2009
• Net sales amount to SEK 272.7 (309.4) million
• Operating profit (EBIT) amounts to SEK 34.0 (52.2) million, an operating margin of 12.5 (16.9) percent
• Pre-tax profit amounts to SEK 33.4 (53.1) million
• Profit after tax amounts to SEK 24.4 (38.1) million
• Earnings per share amount to SEK 0.45 (0.75)
• On 29 April the Annual General Meeting resolved to implement a share
split with mandatory redemption; an amount of SEK 1.40 per share, amounting to SEK 72 million in total, was paid out in June 2009

Significant events during the period
• HiQ named ‘IT Consultant of the Year 2009’ in Veckans Affärer’s survey
• HiQ invested in expansion in the Mälaren Valley and established operations in Västerås
• HiQ signed a new two-year framework agreement with SEB for services within systems development, quality assurance, project management and business development
• HiQ signed a comprehensive new framework agreement with Volvo Cars
• HiQ appointed as an official supplier for Sweden’s participation in World Expo 2010 Shanghai
• HiQ signed a new framework agreement in the area of IS/IT with one of the world’s leading telecoms suppliers

2009 in brief
HiQ continues to perform well in 2009 despite the continuing effect of the economic downturn on the IT consultancy sector. Net sales amounted to SEK 570.3 million and operating profit to SEK 78.6 million, a margin of 13.8 percent. The result is negatively affected by the fact that the amount of available time during the second quarter is lower compared to last year. Cash flow from operations amounted to SEK 81.2 million.

The economic situation has led to restructuring in various sectors and is affecting a number of HiQ’s key clients. Large organisations looking to streamline and rationalise their operations are trying to reduce the number of suppliers they use and to strengthen their partnership with a few quality suppliers instead. All in all, this is creating opportunities for HiQ to win new business and further strengthen its market position.

In a tougher market HiQ has continued to develop the offering to increase its competitiveness. At the same time, the work of fine-tuning and adapting operations to ensure continued high efficiency, good profitability and thus increased freedom of action increases.

HiQ was named ‘IT Consultant of the Year 2009’ in the magazine Veckans Affärer’s annual survey of buyers of consulting services. This is the third year in succession that HiQ has been top ranked. Those taking part in the survey are asked to assess their suppliers as regards confidence, customer orientation, expertise and results – areas that have always had high priority for HiQ.

HiQ is performing well in the current economic climate, albeit with certain geographical differences. In the turbulent Gothenburg region HiQ has strengthened its position substantially and is gaining market share. Other regions that are developing well are Stockholm and the Mälaren Valley, as well as Finland – where HiQ Quality Services continues to deliver strong results. At the same time, HiQ’s Danish operations performed poorly as a result of low levels of demand, particularly within the telecoms segment.

During the period we signed a number of important framework agreements with clients such as SEB, Volvo Cars, SKI (the Danish public sector procurement organisation), Ascom Sweden and Stockholm Local Transport (SL).

HiQ works with clients in around ten industries, including Veikkaus, Nokia, Ericsson, the Swedish National Tax Board, SEB, Tekes (the National Technology Agency of Finland), Tele2 and Volvo. HiQ developed very well within Defence, the Public Sector and Industry during the period.

During the period HiQ enjoyed good demand for services in areas such as IT management, which aims to streamline client processes using IT support. Other areas in which HiQ is seeing good demand and great development potential include the development of mobile and web applications within the media and entertainment segments.

HiQ has a strong position as a specialist service provider with broad geographical and market coverage, as well as very strong customer relationships with leading international companies and established authorities in the Nordic region. HiQ has a flexible delivery model and offers specialist expertise in projects on site with customers, in its own facilities and in our development centre in Russia.

HiQ works on technology and solutions that make communication possible in our daily lives – at home, at work, in our cars, etc. Technology that enables communication is constantly developing, regardless of the economic situation. The need for communication between both individuals and companies is continually increasing, and this trend is creating many opportunities for both HiQ and its clients.

HiQ International AB (publ) company registration no. 556529 -3205
Mäster Samuelsgatan 17, 9th Floor
Box 7421
SE-103 91 STOCKHOLM
Sweden
tel.: +46 (0)8-588 90 000
fax: +46 (0)8-588 90 001
www.hiq.se

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