Regulatory
Press release
22 Apr 2003, 13:21 CET

Interim Report Januar-March 2003

INTERIM REPORT January-March 2003 Quarter Full year 2003 2002 2002 I IV I 2002 Net turnover, MSEK 1 844 1 735 1 756 7 067 Operating profit, MSEK 297 341 268 1 214 Operating margin, % 16 20 15 17 Profit after financial items, 276 312 247 1 116 MSEK Earnings per share, SEK 3.45 3.85 2.82 13.25 ·Demand for Billerud's products were stable during the first quarter of 2003. ·Operating profit was MSEK 297, up 11 % compared with the first quarter of 2002, mainly due to higher prices. ·Compared with the previous quarter, profits were down 13% mainly due to reduced average prices for containerboard and market pulp, higher energy costs and negative exchange rate effects. ·Profit after financial items was MSEK 276 and the return on capital employed during the past 12-month period was 26%; excluding currency flow hedging effects, the return was 17%. ·Operating cash flow was MSEK 95. Adjusted for large investment levels and tax payments during the quarter, cash flow was MSEK 240. ·Deliveries amounted to 334,000 tonnes, up 10% on the final quarter of 2002. The maintenance stoppage at Skärblacka went according to plan. ·Based on an unchanged economic situation, Billerud's estimate is unchanged; that results for 2003 will not differ significantly from the 2002 level. Stockholm, Sweden 22 April 2003 Billerud AB (publ) Board of Directors This interim report has not been subjected to a general check by the company's auditors Future financial statements Second quarter 2003 17 July 2003 Third quarter 2003 21 October 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/04/22/20030422BIT00540/wkr0001.doc The full report http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/04/22/20030422BIT00540/wkr0002.pdf The full report