ACCELERATING GROWTH IN THE PORTFOLIO COMPANIES DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER
Novestra’s portfolio companies have generally had a strong development in sales during the fourth quarter and for the full year 2007.
MyPublisher reported a sales growth of approximately 108 percent during the fourth quarter, which lead to a sales growth of approximately 94* percent for the full year. The company expects growth rates at the same levels or higher during 2008.
Qbranch increased its sales by approximately 37 percent during the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year. For the full year, this means a sales growth of approximately 27 percent, and the company expects growth for 2008 to equal or exceed that of 2007.
For the financial year 2006/2007 that ended in August, Explorica´s sales growth amounted to approximately 23 percent. The company expects to increase sales and to improve the result in 2008, despite a weak U.S. educational travel market.
Strax continued to strengthen its position in the market for mobile phone accessories during 2007, with a sales growth of approximately 7 percent in this business area. Sales in total decreased with approximately 4 percent in 2007, as a result of the decision not to prioritize businesses with low margins within the market of mobile phones.
As communicated earlier, Diino has experienced a strong increase in the number of users. The company expects a continued strong increase of users during 2008, and hopes to reach one million users during the first six months.
“We had some problems during 2006 in some of the portfolio companies, where MyPublisher and Explorica had some setbacks. Most of the problems have now been solved and the companies have regained the losses, in growth as well as in improved results, during 2007. We believe that this trend will continue during 2008 irrespective of the general development of the business cycle”, says Johan Heijbel, Managing Director at Novestra.
For further information please contact Johan Heijbel, Managing Director, AB Novestra, telephone no. +46 8 545 01750.
About AB Novestra
Novestra is an independent investment company with a portfolio of investments in a number of privately held growth companies including Diino AB, Explorica, Inc., MyPublisher, Inc., Netsurvey AB, Qbranch AB and Strax Holdings, Inc.
The Novestra shares are listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm. For further information regarding AB Novestra, reference is made to www.novestra.com
*Estimated for remaining operations. Total growth is approximately 74 percent for 2007 compared to 2006.
Download press release (PDF)