The growth among AB Novestra’s private holdings continued to be very strong during the fourth quarter 2004. All of the major holdings showed strong growth and substantially improved cash flows and results.
Strax, Inc. showed a growth in excess of 50 percent for the full year 2004 and the company anticipates continued strong growth during 2005 with continuous result improvements.
MyPublisher, Inc. had, during the fourth quarter, an increase in orders in excess of 120 percent compared to the same period the previous year as well as a growth of 62 percent for the full year 2004. So far in January this year, the growth rate has further increased and the company anticipates a substantially stronger growth for the full year 2005 compared to 2004.
Speedera, Inc., which is owned indirectly through the co-investment vehicle Continuum Group Ltd, has further increased its growth rate during the fall which is estimated to amount to close to 70 percent for the full year 2004. Continuous result improvements have substantially improved profitability compared to the previous year and this development is expected to continue during 2005.
Explorica, Inc. has shown a growth of nearly 50 percent compared to the previous year and estimates similar growth rates for 2005, even though the company has been affected negatively by the weak dollar.
Qbranch AB, which is listed among Europe’s 500 fastest growing companies, shows a growth of 21 percent for the full year 2004 and the company anticipates a net margin in excess of 12 percent. The company estimates continued growth during 2005.
Netsurvey AB showed a growth of 18 percent with substantially improved results. The company anticipates to be able to show continued strong growth rates during 2005.
“We are very pleased with last year’s development and we believe that we will experience strong growth also during 2005. We shall now look into the possibilities of exits and structural transactions and we anticipate to be able to realize and distribute substantial values to our shareholders during the next two to three years,” Novestra’s Managing Director, Peter Ekelund, says.
For further information, please contact Peter Ekelund, Managing Director, AB Novestra, phone No. +46 8 545 017 50.
About AB Novestra
Novestra is an independent investment company with a portfolio of small cap private as well as public companies. Novestra focuses on investing in companies with substantial growth or value potential.
Novestra’s portfolio of companies consists of i.a. Bytek Systems AB, Explorica, Inc., IBS AB (publ), inWarehouse AB (publ), Lagercrantz Group AB (publ), MyPublisher, Inc., Netsurvey AB, Pergo AB (publ), Qbranch AB and Strax Holdings, Inc. as well as the co-investment vehicle Continuum Group Ltd. The Novestra shares are listed on the O List of Stockholmsbörsen (the Stockholm Stock Exchange). For further information regarding AB Novestra, please see www.novestra.com .